If running back Brian Westbrook has his druthers, the Eagles offense will look vastly different when they play the Falcons on Sunday.
Westbrook practiced on Monday and he was joined by receivers Reggie Brown and Kevin Curtis, marking the first time this season all three offensive weapons were on the field at the same time.
"We were out on the field together today, so hopefully we can all get on the same game field at the same time this week," Westbrook said.
That should be music to Eagles fans' ears, as should Westbrook's assessment of his ability at practice.
"It felt good," Westbrook said, referring to how his fractured ribs felt. "I did everything. (I'm) just trying to get back into the flow of things. (I've) been off almost two-and-a-half weeks, so (I'm) just trying to get back.
"I'm able to practice. I'm able to do some things out there, so it's getting better. (I'm) just trying to get it to a point where I'm comfortable all-around." Joe Banner on Eagles Live!
Westbrook said that he spent the bye week rehabbing his various injuries and that he only left town briefly. He also said that he wasn't feeling as sore as he had and that he's hoping to stay healthy for the remainder of the season.
"No question, the week off made a big difference," Westbrook said. "I feel comfortable out there, so I had the opportunity to go out there and run around today. We didn't do a whole lot today, but I had the opportunity to run around a little bit trying to get comfortable out there."
Westbrook also complimented fellow running back Correll Buckhalter and how he played in Westbrook's absence. Westbrook said that he'd like to see Buckhalter on the field at the same time as the rest of the Eagles' arsenal of weapons.
"I think (Buckhalter) did a great job," Westbrook said. "I think we should run the ball a little bit. I think we should definitely do that, but I think he did a great job while he was in there. I'm looking forward to getting back in there to help out this team a little bit and hopefully we can both be in there running the ball."
With the teams in the division suffering surprising losses the last two weeks, the Eagles find themselves back in the hunt for the NFC East crown. With Westbrook and the other injured Eagles getting healthy, this may be the time for a serious push.
"We have some opportunities with the losses other teams have had," Westbrook said. "It's just important for us to go out and win football games. We can't have any situations where we're letting games slip out of our grasp by not scoring on third down or not scoring in the red zone, things like that. You have to score touchdowns and execute the things we know we can do."
Perhaps the losses to the Bears and Redskins served as a wake-up call for the Eagles.
"The more I think about it, we had some injuries early, we had some close calls early, games we should have won but we lost," Westbrook said. "Hopefully, we have had our wake-up call pretty early and move on from there to have a very successful last part of the season."
MONDAY PRACTICE NOTE: The only two players to not practice on Monday were guard Shawn Andrews and cornerback Jack Ikegwuonu, who is eligible to practice between Weeks 6 and 9 and then would have to be placed on the active roster or the injured reserve list. Ikegwuonu was drafted in the fourth round by the Eagles this year and placed on the Reserve/Non-Football Injury list because of an ACL injury he suffered while training for the Scouting Combine.
