Diner Morning News: Philly's Dilemma

QUOTE: "Champions do not become champions when they win the event, but in the hours, weeks, months and years they spend preparing for it. The victorious performance itself is merely the demonstration of their championship character." -- T. Alan Armstrong

FROM BOB BROOKOVER OF THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER... (Brian) Westbrook's agent, Todd France, who did not return a call from the Inquirer, told ESPN.com that this injury was not related to the ankle sprain of last season. "It's just some bone spurs," France said, according to ESPN.com. "We talked about it when he was at the doctor's office and went through the options, and decided it was better to clean it up. The ankle has been bothering him since last year."

The Eagles have been very productive this offseason, filling in their needs along the offensive line by adding Jason Peters in a trade. However, this injury to Westbrook has some implications that will affect the Birds’ offense. The good news is that the injury happened now, which means he has all summer and training camp to get healthy. It won’t take Westbrook long to get ready for the season as long as he’s healthy. In fact, missing camp will reduce his chances of getting another injury, so the time off now is not the issue.

However, the injury has some long-range concerns, mostly centering on later in the season. For the Birds to win the Super Bowl, they will need Westbrook to have a typical Westbrook year, or for LeSean McCoy to make an impact as a rookie. The Eagles are not a power running team; they utilize the screen game, space-passing play to complement their offense. And Westbrook is a vital part of this. He has never played 16 games in his career, so being healthy all season is not likely, but for the Eagles to make a run, being healthy at the right time is critical.

Since Westbrook will not be able to take reps during mini-camps or the start of training camp, it will allow the education of McCoy to advance. He will get every opportunity to prove he can handle the job, mentally and physically. He must prove he can pass protect, with anchor ability, and not be driven back on contact. Once he proves he can handle that aspect of the game, then he can assume the role created by Westbrook.

Some may see this injury as a sign of bad things coming for the Birds, but I feel it will give them ample time to evaluate what they can expect from McCoy. They need to have the right back behind Westbrook, because everyone knows his durability is suspect. In the event that McCoy is not ready, then Lorenzo Booker is available (I wrote that half-heartedly; I don’t expect him to fill that role) and the Eagles can search for what I believe is a key component of their offense -- a back-up to Westbrook. (By the way, I feel the Eagles No. 1 need is a blocking tight end, and have written that too many times. As Bill Parcells used to remind me often when I worked at the Hotel, “The dog is dead, quit kicking it.” So I’ll stop kicking the tight end dog issue.

FROM LORI NICKEL OF THE MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL... Instead of focusing on what Aaron Kampman didn't say Wednesday, it might be more insightful to look at what he did choose to say for the first time since his Green Bay Packers converted to the 3-4 defense and changed his role dramatically: "New techniques. New terminology. All in all, it's learning the new system. It's all new." … And ... “I’m one of 11 in this defense. … This is a big transition for everyone.?For whatever reason, a lot of people want to know what I think." And ... "I'm learning it. I don't have a whole lot else to say. I'm learning it." Translation? Hold off on the judgment of anything.

For every player who has played a certain position most of his career, change is tough; it’s difficult to understand. Even if you changed the style in which you play the same front, going from a one-gap scheme to more of a two-gap scheme creates new techniques that must be learned. Kampman is moving positions, seeing the game from different body positions, different angles and different eye levels. How you see the game is critical -- it shapes your movement, your body control and reactions. Much like a golfer who revamps his swing, the old way still feels better, but the new swing is vital to his long-range success.

The one saving point here is that no matter what happens on first and second down, Kampman knows he can rush from the outside on third down from the same body positions he has grown accustomed to. He can get his hand back in the dirt and utilize his skills. All this talk about his contract being up next year and affecting his play is not realistic. Kampman should know (his agent does, for sure) he has enough tape for all the four-man line teams to value his play. So if he clicks with the new 3-4 defense, it brings in more potential suitors for his services.

Kampman is a genuine football player. He has overcome a lack of overall innate athletic skills to achieve more than 50 sacks in his career. He plays the game with great passion and great awareness, and as he learns to play on his feet, it will only add to his game. He’s never going to be the best space player in the 3-4 defense, but this scheme will provide better match-ups for him physically, allowing him to be more successful.

Like any new challenge, there will be tough times. But there will also be enough plays for Kampman to assume his familiar role and make an impact on the Packers’ defense, even if he doesn’t fit into the new scheme.

If the Packers are as good as I think they might be on offense (getting leads at the half), Kampman will spend more time playing rush end than rush backer.

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