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Does it really matter if Westbrook plays or not?


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I mean this same team was able to go into Philly last year and beat the Eagles on Monday Night with Westbrook so to hear lots of eagles fans saying that having Westbrook will defintely lead the eagles to a win is silly. Even the Philly Sports Media is saying the Redskins will probably win on Sunday.

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Probably not especially if he isn't 100%. As fast as the games go and as important as an ankle is to a player of his style I just can't see him being as explosive as he usually is anyway. But if he does play I think Zorn will be even more pressed to control the clock to keep him off the field.

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Of course it matters. He's their best player and one of the best in the league. His playing does not preclude us from winning, nor does his absence assure victory.

No doubt, though, they are a better, more dangerous team with him on the field. He changes the whole dynamic of the game.

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If you don't think a healthy Westbrook makes a difference then you don't watch football. Westbrook is a Problem. If he is close to 100% he will hurt us because he is the most multidimensional back in the league. He can make people miss in a phone booth. He is a focal point for their offense. You have to dedicate a coverage safety to him to have a chance of covering him on routes. Do I want to have to detail Landry or Horton to this guy all game? Do I want to watch him smoke Doughty or our LBs all game? No and no.

To recap: Westbrook playing = harder game to win for us

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Here is a little side note The Skins has won the last three in Philly.

2 of the last 3. We lost in 2006.

As for Westbrook, it all depends on how healthy he is. If he comes back 100% then it really does matter. He always does well against the Skins and gives them an added dimension of Correll Buckhalter. If he's limited by the ankle then no it doesn't matter.

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If you've watched any Eagles games for the past few years, you'd know the answer is yes. They are a completely different team without him.

Damn right I don't want him in there, anymore than Philly fan wants Shawn Springs or Jason Taylor in there.

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unlike the Cowboys RB's who don't do as well against us, Westbrook usually does. It's almost like he's become the new Tiki in terms of hurting us bad. Westbrook is a great player, and while I respect him, I am hoping the injury is enough to help bench him.

I think our team can still win with or w/o Westbrook being in, but otherwise, it'd make our job far more easier. He's the first real RB we'll be facing. Marion Barber is a single style runner, we knew how to stop him. But like I said, we don't usually do as well against Westbrook.

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I mean this same team was able to go into Philly last year and beat the Eagles on Monday Night with Westbrook so to hear lots of eagles fans saying that having Westbrook will defintely lead the eagles to a win is silly. Even the Philly Sports Media is saying the Redskins will probably win on Sunday.

Yea. It matters. I have to admit i said the same thing about the Cowboys game but the problem I see is that I truly believe the redskins can remove any ONE component from a game. If the Redskins defense says "we are going to take away Brian Westbrook in this game" I believe they can just like they did to Reggie Bush. If they want to make Donovan beat them they can. If they want to make sure Desean Jackson doesn't get a catch, they can. If they refuse to allow underneath dink and dunk stuff, they can. I question (particularly with Westbrook) in the game whether they can do all of that at one time however.

The difference in my mind with the iggles is that they have a coach who will find what we will "allow" and take it. There is no ego. There is no "me". There is no "we have to keep this one guy happy or he might blow up in the media", there is no overconfidence where they say "we will do it pretty". This eagles team plays to win.

If we take away westbrook, they will throw downfield with Jackson and reggie brown and make us back up. If we roll coverage to Jackson they will take one on one matchups with Reggie Brown (Springs MUST play in this game by the way) regardless of who is covering him. If they double the outs, they will absolutely get LJ smith in a one on one situation with Marcus Washington. And if we drop everyone into zones they will take the seams AND screen westbrook and stretch run all day long.

With Westbrook out, I think we can take away two things at once. We can remove Corel Buckhalter from the game and cover the tight end. We can take Buckhalter out and shade coverage to Jackson etc. I think it absolutely matters whether Westbrook plays. The guy along with Mcnabb has owned this team for years.

That being said, I want to know what we really have. I don't want a #2 ranking in the power rankings and know deep down that its inflated. I want to see us stop this team in their house, move to 4-1 and KNOW we are the real deal. Its a great opportunity.

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Im not sure. We beat Philly last year, but according to Philly sources, McNabb wasnt healthy.

It's not that he wasn't healthy, it was that he wasn't 100% recovered from the knee. You could see he was physically uncomfortable on his knee when he planted during the game. Either one of them uncomfortable makes things easier. One of them missing, more so. A healthy Westbrook and McNabb can be trouble for us.

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The numbers do not lie. With Westbrook the Eagles are a different team. He is a workhorse and probably the best all around RB in the league.(Yes, he is better than even LT imo). Does this mean if he is on the field the Skins will loose? Of course not. However, it makes the job of winning that much harder. :2cents:

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The numbers do not lie. With Westbrook the Eagles are a different team. He is a workhorse and probably the best all around RB in the league.(Yes, he is better than even LT imo). Does this mean if he is on the field the Skins will loose? Of course not. However, it makes the job of winning that much harder. :2cents:

Westbrook has been a thorn in the Redskin's side. He was the one who put away the game for Philly at Fed Ex last year.

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I mean this same team was able to go into Philly last year and beat the Eagles on Monday Night with Westbrook so to hear lots of eagles fans saying that having Westbrook will defintely lead the eagles to a win is silly. Even the Philly Sports Media is saying the Redskins will probably win on Sunday.

Is this a trick question?

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We may be able still beat Philly even if Westbrook plays, but to say it doesn't matter he plays or not is ridiculous. Even knowing that he will play matters already as the defense will have to plan for him regardless if he's 100% or not.

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I mean this same team was able to go into Philly last year and beat the Eagles on Monday Night with Westbrook so to hear lots of eagles fans saying that having Westbrook will defintely lead the eagles to a win is silly. Even the Philly Sports Media is saying the Redskins will probably win on Sunday.

As an NFLAnalyzer you would also remember that Philly came to Washington and Westbrook basically beat us himself. It does matter if he plays. We can still win with him in the game, but it would be much to our advantage if he wasn't. I personally feel he needs to take one more week off.

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