Even though Brian Westbrook didn't play against the Giants, he had a big effect on the performance of one of the players on the field - his replacement, rookie LeSean McCoy.
Since McCoy joined the team, Westbrook has assumed the role of McCoy's mentor willingly and the tutelage didn't just because he was on the sidelines in street clothes.
"We were talking throughout the game," McCoy said. "When I come off the field, I look forward to going to talk to Brian to see where he's at, just for advice. There are some things he might have seen that I didn't see. That's the thing about having a pro-bowler stud on my team, it helps me out."
In the early stages of the fourth quarter, with the Giants having cut the lead to two scores, McCoy broke off a 66-yard touchdown run to ice the game at 40-17, and he gives the credit to Westbrook telling McCoy to run more straight-forward.
"Lately, when I've been running, I have been stuttering a little bit," McCoy said. "Brian has been coaching me up to just hit the hole and make my move down the field. (On the touchdown run), I just hit it and the line opened up a huge hole.
It was the second touchdown of McCoy's young career, and the longest run for an Eagles' rookie since Herman Hunter's 74-yard touchdown run in 1985 against the Dallas Cowboys. But in order for McCoy to be so explosive, he needed to first be patient.
"(Westbrook) was just telling me eventually it's going to pop," McCoy said. "(Westbrook was telling me to) stay consistent with the run. We'll take those (three-yard gains) and (two-yard gains), don't be discouraged. In college, I was used to 40-yarders, 50-yarders, but on this level you just have to keep at it."
Like his backfield-mate Leonard Weaver, McCoy also gives the lion's share of credit to the offensive line for opening up big holes.
"They're doing a great job," McCoy said of the line. "We wanted to get the matchup of our line against their line. Our line stood up and did a great job today. On tape, we thought our line would have an advantage today. We thought we could be successful with the run, and that is what happened today."
-- Posted by Bo Wulf, 7:29 p.m., November 1
