Westbrook Injury Leaves Eagles Thin at RB

Tailback Brian Westbrook joined quarterback Donovan McNabb and wide receiver Terrell Owens on the list of the Philadelphia Eagles' seemingly irreplaceable offensive players when the club lost running back Correll Buckhalter, who was to split the workload with Westbrook this year, to a season-ending knee injury suffered during the preseason.

But Westbrook's history of injuries made it likely that the Eagles would have to try to get by at some point this season without him. That time has arrived. Rick Burkholder, the Eagles' head athletic trainer, said today that Westbrook cracked a rib during last Sunday's overtime triumph at Cleveland.

Burkholder called Westbrook's status day to day and said the tailback will be listed as questionable on the club's official injury report for Sunday's game against the Baltimore Ravens at Lincoln Financial Field. But the Eagles apparently expect Westbrook to miss the Ravens game and probably a Nov. 7 game at Pittsburgh as well. He missed today's practice.

"We estimate four to six weeks for full healing . . . [but] that doesn't mean he's going to miss four to six weeks,'' Burkholder said during a news briefing today alongside Eagles Coach Andy Reid.

Westbrook suffered a muscle strain and a non-displaced fracture of the first rib that did not show up on an X-ray Sunday, Burkholder said. The Eagles had Westbrook undergo an MRI exam and a CT scan Monday, the trainer said, and the crack was visible only on certain cuts of the CT scan. According to Burkholder, the timetable for Westbrook's return will depend in part on Westbrook's pain tolerance and his ability to function with the injury.

"The big thing with him is whether we can get him comfortable,'' Burkholder said. "He's having trouble sleeping. Then we rehab from there.''

The injury won't require surgery. Burkholder said it appears that the crack in Westbrook's rib resulted from the bone being pulled by a muscle. But he said the injury is not, as it was described earlier, a true avulsion fracture, defined as an injury in which a ligament or tendon tears away a piece of the bone to which it is attached.

Westbrook was hurt when he landed on the ball while being slammed to the turf on a fourth-quarter hit by Browns defensive end Kenard Lang. Reid said during his news conference Monday that Westbrook had suffered a chest contusion and was "very sore,'' and was undergoing further tests. Those tests revealed the extent of the injury.

The unbeaten Eagles plan to use Dorsey Levens and Reno Mahe at tailback while Westbrook is sidelined.

"Brian is a big part of our football team . . . [but] if he's not there, he's not,'' Reid said Monday, before the severity of Westbrook's injury was determined. "We move on. That's what we've always done. We have a couple guys who want to play more.''

Westbrook, a third-year pro who was born in D.C. and attended DeMatha High School, is one of the league's top two-way threats, with his ability to run the ball and catch passes coming out of the backfield. He ranks eighth in the NFC in rushing this season with his 458 yards on only 90 carries, an average of 5.1 yards per carry. He also has 31 catches, the 10th-best total in the NFC.

He was part of the Eagles' three-headed tailback monster last season, splitting carries with Buckhalter and Duce Staley. Westbrook is the only member of that trio still on the team's active roster. Staley signed with the Steelers as a free agent in the offseason.

Durability always has been the major question about Westbrook, who's listed at 5 feet 10 and 205 pounds. He ended up at Villanova because some of the powerhouse football schools that were recruiting him were scared off by a knee injury he suffered in high school. He missed a season in college because of a knee injury. He missed a game as an Eagles rookie in 2002 because of a sprained ankle and underwent wrist surgery following that season. Last season, he missed a November game because of an ankle sprain and was knocked out of the postseason -- severely damaging the Eagles' playoff chances -- by a torn left triceps suffered during the regular-season finale against the Washington Redskins at FedEx Field.

The Eagles were severely tested by the Browns, who became the first of Philadelphia's six opponents this season to lose by fewer than 10 points, and now must face Baltimore's formidable defense without Westbrook. But the Ravens will have difficulty generating points because their offense will be without suspended tailback Jamal Lewis and injured left tackle Jonathan Ogden and likely without injured tight end Todd Heap. The Steelers, who take a 5-1 record and a four-game winning streak under rookie quarterback Ben Roethlisberger into Sunday's game at home against the New England Patriots, will be a difficult road test for the Eagles, especially if they are still without Westbrook.

The Eagles undoubtedly will lean even more heavily on their passing game without Westbrook. McNabb is the NFC's second-rated passer and threw for 376 yards and four touchdowns in the 34-31 win over the Browns. Owens has topped 100 receiving yards in four straight games, and fellow wideout Todd Pinkston joined him last Sunday with his first 100-yard game of the season.

Levens and Mahe have totaled only 110 rushing yards on 24 carries this season. But Levens ran for 48 yards on seven carries in Cleveland, and the Eagles are hoping he has something left in the tank at age 34. He is the league's second-oldest running back, behind only Arizona's 35-year-old NFL career rushing leader, Emmitt Smith. Levens averaged 5.5 yards per carry as a part-time player for Philadelphia in 2002 and, after spending last season with the New York Giants, was summoned back to the Eagles after Buckhalter was hurt. He is a former two-time 1,000-yard rusher for the Green Bay Packers. He also had as many as 71 catches in a season during his eight-year stay in Green Bay.

"I thought when Dorsey and Reno were asked to step in there in crunch time [against the Browns], they stepped up and played well,'' Reid said. " . . . I have a lot of trust in both those guys. You got an idea of what they can do [Sunday]. If those two have to play, then they play.

" . . . When Dorsey left here, he was playing pretty good football. When he had an opportunity to play against us when he was with the Giants, he played pretty good football. It was a matter of whether he wanted to keep playing. I thought he had another year left in him. It was a matter of him getting in shape.''

The Eagles finally are facing some adversity. They led after every quarter of their first five games of the season, but faced a 24-21 deficit entering the fourth quarter in Cleveland.

"The guys hung in there,'' Reid said. "I thought they toughened up. They hung together and made plays. I liked what I saw. That's the name of the game. You're going to have highs and you're going to have lows. . . . I hadn't seen that side of the team, and I liked what I saw.''

Chargers Cut Ball

San Diego released former starting center Jason Ball on Tuesday. Ball's career continues to suffer from his ill-conceived holdout in a contract dispute.

Ball, a third-year pro, was the Chargers' starting center for most of the previous two seasons. He wanted the team to sign him to a lucrative multi-year contract last offseason, but the Chargers refused. Ball had little or no leverage in the dispute, since an NFL player isn't eligible for restricted free agency until after his third season and isn't eligible for unrestricted free agency until after his fourth season. He held out anyway, and had lost his starting job to rookie Nick Hardwick by the time he agreed to report to the Chargers and play for a prorated portion of his third-year minimum salary of $380,000.

Ball returned to the starting lineup for two games after Hardwick underwent arthroscopic knee surgery. But Hardwick reclaimed his starting job for last Sunday's win at Carolina, and Ball's displeasure with being demoted again apparently led to his ouster.

The Chargers re-signed guard Bob Hallen, a former starter for them, to take Ball's roster spot. They also cut wide receiver Micah Ross and promoted defensive back Jerrell Pippens from their practice squad.

Cowher Criticizes Broncos' Block

Steelers Coach Bill Cowher said the "cut'' block by Denver right tackle George Foster during Monday night's game at Cincinnati that ended the season of Bengals defensive tackle Tony Williams was legal but nevertheless improper.

Foster dived from the side at the lower legs of Williams, who suffered a fractured and dislocated ankle and is scheduled to undergo season-ending surgery today.

"I saw the play and I would not condone it,'' Cowher said during a news conference Tuesday in Pittsburgh. "Is it illegal? No. Is it necessary? I don't think so, personally, having played the game. I know if I would have lost one of our players with that type of play, I would be very upset about it. It is not illegal, but I would certainly never condone that on our football team.''

NFL rules say the sort of block that Foster made on Williams is legal, as long as the defensive player isn't blocked high at the same time by another offensive player (called a "chop'' block). But it also is the sort of block that has had opposing players and coaches accusing Denver's offensive linemen of dirty play for years. Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Paul Spicer suffered a season-ending broken leg on a low block by Broncos left tackle Matt Lepsis earlier this season. Jaguars Coach Jack Del Rio originally objected to the play, but backed off his criticism after watching game tapes.

"We have rules and regulations,'' Cowher said. "I understand sometimes those things are hard to monitor. When can you cut a guy? Is he looking at you [or] not looking at you? I think they tried to do a pretty good job of defining a lot of that blocking. Still, a lot of it comes down to, in my mind, respect for the game and respect for the players. Do unto others as you want others to do unto you. It's a physical game that we play. It's a very competitive game that we play. But within that, there are certain lines that you don't go over and I think that if you played the game long enough and have been a part of it, you recognize where they are.'' . . .

Bengals Coach Marvin Lewis is planning to have rookie Matthias Askew, a fourth-round pick from Michigan State who hasn't played in a game since Cincinnati's season opener, replace Williams on at least a part-time basis. Second-year pro Langston Moore filled in Monday night after Williams got hurt. . . .

NFL officials are investigating the Bengals' decision to play wide receiver Peter Warrick in Monday night's game after listing him as "out'' on Friday's official injury report because of a shin injury. . . .

The Broncos today signed running back Kris Briggs, who worked out for the team last week. He takes the roster spot of tailback Quentin Griffin, who was placed on the injured reserve list after suffering a season-ending knee injury during Monday night's game. An MRI exam confirmed Tuesday that he had a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Griffin inherited the Broncos' starting tailback job from the departed Clinton Portis and began the season by running for 156 yards and two touchdowns in an opening win over Kansas City. But he failed to reach even 70 rushing yards in any of the next three games he started. He fumbled in each of the season's first three games, and he suffered a sprained ankle that gave an opportunity this month to converted fullback Reuben Droughns, who won the tailback job and has had three straight 100-yard outings. Griffin missed six games last season as a rookie because of a broken leg. . . .

The Packers signed safety Curtis Fuller today. Fuller played in nine games for Green Bay last season as a reserve but was cut just before this season. He gives the Packers additional depth in their depleted secondary, with safety Darren Sharper perhaps sidelined this week by a sprained knee ligament. Bhawoh Jue would replace Sharper in the starting lineup. Fuller takes the roster spot of defensive lineman Larry Smith, who was released Tuesday. Green Bay re-signed Smith, who'd been cut before the season, after knee injuries to defensive tackles Grady Jackson and James Lee, but they returned to action last weekend.

Chiefs Guard Wins AFC Award

After the Chiefs set an NFL record with eight rushing touchdowns last Sunday against Atlanta, Kansas City guard Brian Waters was named the AFC offensive player of the week. He is the AFC first offensive lineman to be honored since the inception of the award in 1984, and is the first guard in either conference to be selected. Three offensive tackles -- the Giants' Brad Benson in 1986, the Redskins' Jim Lachey in '90 and the Cowboys' Erik Williams in '92 -- have been named the NFC offensive player of the week.

B. Green To Return To Giants' Lineup

Linebacker Barrett Green will return to the Giants' lineup in running situations this week, Coach Tom Coughlin said today. Nick Greisen will continue to occupy the position in passing situations, according to Coughlin.

"Hopefully we're going to get the best of both worlds,'' Coughlin said during a news briefing.

Coughlin benched Green in favor of Greisen during last Sunday's loss to Detroit at Giants Stadium after Green reportedly was at least 90 minutes to work one day during the Giants' bye week. Green was one of three Giants players who had grievances filed on their behalf by the NFL Players Association earlier in the season after they were fined for showing up early to a team meeting, but not early enough to suit Coughlin. Green said after last Sunday's game that he had expected to play on defense. He played only on special teams against the Lions, and Coughlin today praised Green's play on those units.

"He recognized the circumstances and he did very well with it,'' Coughlin said. "He went out and contributed, and he played very well on special teams.''

Coughlin had refused to say Sunday and Monday whether Green's punishment would extend beyond one game. He said that Greisen will continue to play on likely passing downs because Greisen has excelled in those circumstances.

"Nick played well in those situations the other day,'' Coughlin said. "He seems to have a good grasp, a good savvy, for that.'' . . .

Tampa Bay promoted running back Earnest Graham from its practice squad to its 53-man roster today, and released wide receiver Marcus Knight.