Whats Wrong with Westbrook?

There are a lot of reasons that the Eagles are where they are right now. At 5-4, they are tied for last place in the NFC East. But for being tied for last place, you can't say the Eagles are not a good team. Every single one of there games could have been wins- except for possibly the Redskins. 

They couldn't get one yard against the Bears to take the lead on 4th and 1 from the goal line. They couldn't execute a single hand off against the Cowboys while trying to run down the clock. And Sunday night, with the offense clicking and driving down for the winning score, they couldn't get 3 yards- even though they got 2 tries. 

Obviously, the common factor in those plays is the running game. Who is to blame for the in ability to get the tough yard, or execute a simple play, when it comes to the run game? 

You could blame Andy Reid for continuing to call run plays in those situations, but as much as his finger prints are all over this so far dissapointing season, the players still need to go out and execute they plays. Regardless of how bad the play call, 1 yard is 1 yard. 

The offensive line could be the reason. Shawn Andrews, the pro bowl right guard, has been a non factor this season, missing most of training camp with a battle with depression, then missing the rest of the games with back spasms. John Runyan and Tra Thomas are getting older, but they have done a good job keeping McNabb safe. So the offensive line is not the problem.

The failed experiment at fullback could be it. So far, the starting fullback for the Eagles have been: Dan Klecko, Jason Davis, Tony Hunt, then Dan Klecko again. This is alot like when Reid refused to bring in a punt returner, until it came back to kill him last year. The fullback problem has been a huge one this year, and another way that Reid the GM has killed this team.

But while all of those options could be the problem, maybe the problem is with our pro bowl, brand new contract running back, Brian Westbrook. Westbrook carried us last season (as much as a player can carry a team that dosn't make the playoffs) setting a franchise record for total yards in a season. 

This year however, something is not the same. In seven games this season, he has 448 yards a 6 TD's. He also has 29 catches for 207 yards and 2 TD's. But if you break those numbers down, you will see that he hasn't scored a touchdown in the last two weeks. Also, since starting the season with 5 touchdowns in the first two games, he has only scored 3 in the next 5. He hasn't had a receiving touchdown since week 2, giving Todd Heremans more touchdown catches since week 2 then Brian Westbrook. 

In key divisional games, he had 12 carries for 33 yards against the Redskins, and 13 carries for 26 yards vs the Giants on Sunday. Of his 448 yards rushing, almost 40 percent of those came in 1 game, vs the Falcons. That also has been the only game he broke over 100 yards rushing. 

It could be that he is hurt, having missed 2 games this season with both ankle and rib injuries. But this is the reason that Eagles were hesitant to give him a extension in the off season. Bur regardless of how hurt, or how big you are, if you want to be a Pro Bowl, franchise running back, you need to get those 3 yards in two tries on Sunday night to get your team the win. 

If the Eagles want this season to turn around, it needs to start with Brian Westbrook returning to his normal Pro Bowl form.