ATLANTA -- Give Leonard Weaver the ball and this is what can happen. He touched the ball enough in the first half to make a difference -- catching a 4-yard touchdown pass, making a highlights-reel 59-yard catch and run and carrying the ball twice for 22 yards, including a 17-yard dash on which he was a shoestring tackle away from maybe scoring from 70 yards out.
Not a bad performance from a fullback who knows his touches are few and far between.
"Running the ball and catching the ball is something I've always been able to do throughout my career," said Weaver, who finished with exactly 100 yards from scrimmage. "I was fortunate coach called my number and I was able to get the job done."
In fact, Weaver's number might have been dialed more during Sunday's 34-7 win over the Falcons because of a recent meeting he had behind closed doors with head coach Andy Reid in light of Brian Westbrook's absence due to his concussions.
"I went in and saw Andy a couple of weeks ago and I told him, 'I know West is out right now. Whatever you need me to do, I'll be there to do it. Just lean on me if you have to,'" Weaver said.
Weaver's touchdown put the Eagles ahead 10-0. On a first-and-goal play, quarterback Donovan McNabb dropped back to pass and then moved forward, giving the look of a run/pass option. He saw Weaver in the end zone and flipped it to him, and Weaver reached down and made a nice grab for the score.
On the team's next possession, from the Eagles' 16-yard line, Weaver was the featured player again in the passing game. He ran a route out of the backfield and had a step on the coverage and reached out with his left hand to reel in a McNabb pass. It was a spectacular grab, and then Weaver gathered himself and raced to the Atlanta 25-yard line for a 59-yard gain.
"It really surprised me," Weaver said of McNabb's longest pass play of the season. "I didn't think Donovan was actually going to throw it to me because I was covered pretty well by the linebacker, but he threw it to me and I just figured if I put my hand out I may have a chance."
-- Posted by Bob Kent, 6:52 p.m., December 6
