Curtis and Westbrook may not be Eagles much longer.
When LeSean McCoy and Jeremy Maclin were drafted, I went on record as saying that I thought both players would step into starting roles before the year was over, and most likely fairly early in the season. Well that's come to fruition, but even as a fan of the rookies I didn't believe their time would come in game four of 2009.
That appears to be the case now as Reid has said that Westbrook will "rotate in there with LeSean (McCoy)." Add that onto the fact that offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg has said that Westbrook only looks a "little bit" better than what he did before the Kansas City game and the bye, and you have the makings of a changing of the guard.
As far as Kevin Curtis goes, the Eagles, at least publicly, feel like he's going to play but Garry Cobb of GCobb.com, who regularly attends practice recently wrote, "I can tell you that Kevin Curtis is not ready to play. His legs aren't coming around like they hoped they would."
I don't think it's much of a stretch to say that Kevin Curtis will not be an Eagle next year. His contract runs through 2012, but he's due a $1 million roster bonus next year, and will most likely be traded or released in order to make way for Jeremy Maclin and the other young receivers.
Westbrook will probably be gone after the 2010 season since it doesn't make much sense to get rid of him before that. At least when he's healthy he'll make an impact, unlike Curtis who hasn't been making an impact even when healthy over the past two seasons.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. They're both on the roster now, and are certainly capable of helping this team, this season.
With McCoy taking the majority of the snaps, Westbrook becomes the best 1a, if you will, running back in the entire league. If he can get between 12-15 touches per game with McCoy taking in roughly 25 per game, this Eagles offense could be more explosive than ever.
McCoy will take the beating in the running game, which will leave Westbrook fresh to take anything outside of the tackles, and in the passing game. Screens and swing passes to Westbrook can be huge for the offense this year if the lighter workload keeps him healthy all season.
As far as Curtis goes, my personal opinion is that the Eagles put him back in the slot. When he was in St. Louis, he made the big plays because he could catch a quick slant or dig pattern underneath while Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce ran clearing patterns. The speed of Maclin and Jackson could certainly be used to clear out an underneath pattern for Curtis.
Curtis is similar to a guy like Wes Welker or Anquan Boldin in that gaining yards after the catch is where he makes his money, not catching the deep post or fly over the receiver. The Eagles have been trying to make him that guy, but he's shown now that he's not capable of being the No. 1, so why not use him in his natural position?
Both players will, or should, be on the field and will, or should, contribute this week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. How they contribute, and how much time they actually see this season going forward, however, is still not known. Westbrook's time is probably guaranteed, whereas Curtis could face losing his job.
