Brian Westbrook is back.
So now the big questions are these: Is Brian Westbrook really back and, if so, how does that impact the Eagles' offense as they prepare for Sunday night's first-place showdown with the Dallas Cowboys?
Westbrook returned to practice on Wednesday for the first time since suffering a concussion in the first quarter of the team's Oct. 6 win against the Washington Redskins.
"He's good to go," coach Andy Reid said when asked if Westbrook needed medical clearance before playing against the Cowboys.
For the first time since suffering the first concussion of his career, Westbrook talked about the scary episode, when he lost consciousness after taking a knee to the head from Washington linebacker London Fletcher.
"I feel pretty good," Westbrook said. "My memory has returned, and it really didn't go away except for that one play. The headache is gone, so I'm excited about the opportunity to play again."
He said the experience was frightening and forced him to look more closely at the long-term effects of concussions.
"It's almost like a sense of uncertainty there," Westbrook said. "You're not quite sure what's going to happen and how things work. I didn't have a great understanding of concussions before."
Westbrook said he received information about concussions from trainer Rick Burkholder.
"I've been trying to learn more about it and get more information about it," Westbrook said. "I'm concerned about it, because I'm concerned about the long-term effects of it. But when you go out there and play football, you have to ... play worry-free football. You have to go out there and try to play with reckless abandon and do the things you can do on the football field."
Westbrook, of course, has been the focal point of the Eagles' offense for a long time and, at least when you talk to opposing coaches, he remains the primary focus.
"He's the guy you have to stop," Cowboys coach Wade Phillips said during a conference call. "You have to stop him in the running game and the passing game. That's why he is so dangerous. He's a great, great player. He can change a game or win a game for them by running or catching the ball."
In truth, Westbrook has had little to do with the Eagles' five wins this season. He didn't play in two of the victories " lopsided wins over Kansas City and the New York Giants " and had little impact in wins over Tampa Bay and Washington.
Westbrook's best game of the season was during the ugly loss at Oakland, and it appeared as if the Eagles were going to lean heavily on him against the Redskins before he got hurt.
"I thought he was as good as I've seen him that Washington week," Reid said. "That was a freak thing that concussion."
Westbrook, who had surgery on his left knee and right ankle during the off-season and missed the Kansas City game with a sprained right ankle, said he was feeling as well as he has all season before the concussion.
"I just look at it as a fluke thing," Westbrook said. "The first couple carries of that game, I felt pretty good and then the concussion happened. It's one of those situations that is frustrating, but ... I guess the bright side of it, if anything, is that it wasn't my knee, and it wasn't my ankle."
The bright side for the Eagles is that rookie LeSean McCoy has emerged as a capable understudy for Westbrook. McCoy averaged 5.4 yards per carry and scored two touchdowns in the two games he started in place of Westbrook. Both Reid and McCoy have credited Westbrook with helping the rookie.
"Somebody took me under their wing when I was young, too," Westbrook said. "It's one of those things where if they don't learn from the older guys then they are going to make a lot of mistakes. Hopefully, I'll have a good impact on LeSean."
Reid said McCoy and Westbrook will share the load Sunday against the Cowboys. In the four games they've both been healthy, Westbrook has had 55 touches and McCoy has had 32.
"I honestly feel that when I'm healthy ... I am one of the better running backs in the league," Westbrook said. "But I have to be able to go out there and do that. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to do that as of yet."
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