Archives for September 27, 2003

‘With the possible exception of quarterback Donovan McNabb, nobody on the Eagles will be challenged more vigorously than second-year cornerback Lito Sheppard tomorrow in Buffalo. Filling in for All Pro Bobby Taylor — who is expected to miss another game with a strained foot — Sheppard will make the first road start of his young career, and the scenario couldn’t possibly be more daunting.’

‘"It hurt, but I let it go. You have to let it go," Westbrook said. "The worst thing you can do is dwell on a mistake like that. If you’re thinking about your last game or your last play, that means you’re not thinking about the next game or the next play.’

‘The Eagles have run a total of 128 plays this season. They’ve attempted 32 running plays and 96 passing plays. That’s a 25 percent to 75 percent run-pass ratio.’

‘The Bills have until 4:00 on Saturday to activate a runningback if they feel they need to.’

‘"I can’t imagine they’d run,” Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson said. ”I think they’re going to stay with the vertical passing game. They want to go deep. I think they would like to run the ball better. We’ll see if they can, but I think their philosophy is to get the ball deep.”’

‘Sunday’s matchup against the Buffalo Bills is a huge deal for the Eagles. And following suit of previous years, the pressure will default to McNabb, who’s never had the luxury of a big-time supporting cast. That’s part of the reason he’s so highly regarded. Such is Donovan’s double-edged sword of success — the good news is that he did it without anybody else before, the bad news is that … he did it without anybody else before.’

‘Williams said Henry’s status for Sunday will be a game-time decision. The coach said Henry won’t wear a flak jacket if he does play.’