Philly.com's Bob Brookover wrote an article today about the future of Eagles running back Brian Westbrook.
First of all, Westbrook might need off-season knee surgery. It probably will be only be a scope but that's not a good thing.
He talked to former NFL MVP running backs Marshall Faulk and Terrell Davis about Westbrook's future and their remarks reflected a promising future for Westbrook.
This is after he ran 50 times for 119 yards, then caught seven passes for another 119 yards in three playoff games.
They stressed the fact that Westbrook has been the kind of guy who plays despite not being a 100% and that he hasn't been the kind of back who was getting 20 carries a game throughout his entire career.
"But what they should see is that, although he did hurt his knee," Faulk said. He continued to play throughout the season. He missed two games and that's what you want. As a running back, people are going to get banged up. You're not always going to feel good, but it's the guy who continues to play versus the guy that sits out and needs time to heal. You can't play running back if you need to sit out and heal up."
I agree Westbrook played through the injuries but he wasn't himself. I saw Faulk play when he was banged up and he was much more productive than BWest. Davis is a different story because he never recovered after he hurt his knee. I think the hits have taken a major toll on BWest.
Now onto the number touches factor.
"Think about Westbrook's career and his number of touches," Faulk said. He continued, "It's like a boxer. How many times do you get hit? He hasn't had a lot of touches. His first couple of years, he was just a guy that would come in every once in a while to run a screen and he returned punts. For the most part, I don't think his shelf life is something to be worried about right now."
Davis gave his take on how the number of touches factors in.
"He's definitely not the same guy as when he first came into the league or even two years ago," Davis said. "But I still think he can be productive. Brian doesn't run the ball a lot. His runs are short passes, but he's still getting banged. I think he can still be productive in terms of his role. If he was getting the ball 20 times a game, you'd be more concerned. I think a guy like him can extend his career. He's a lot like Marshall and Marshall was productive until he left the game."
If you compare Faulk and Westbrook, I don't think Faulk took the same amount of pounding as BWest because he was playing with Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce. I think Faulk is also almost 10 pounds heavier than BWest.
You couldn't load up defensively to stop Faulk because you had two Pro Bowl receivers outside to cover. There was no way any defensive coordinator was going to move that safety up to the line of scrimmage.
Westbrook has played the last few years against eight-man fronts. Defenses couldn't afford to stack the box against Faulk. Remember how the Vikings, Giants and Cardinals stacked the box against Westbrook.
I don't know how much Westbrook has left but the Eagles should go into free agency and the draft, as if they've got damaged goods in BWest.
