Green Light with Chris Long - Green Light Exclusive with Brian Westbrook

Episode Date: January 5, 2020

1:20 - Buzz in Philly. 10:33 - Resilient Teams. 19:30 - Eagles Surprsing Running Backs. 24:58 - Marshawn. 27:32 - Quick Hitters About Chalk Media: Following the unfiltered voice and vision of Chris Long, Chalk Media is the interactive online community for you, the intelligent and humorous sports fan. Driven by access, Chalk delivers a unique perspective that cuts through the canned talking points and provides a variety of content from your favorite sports and entertainment celebrities. Here at Chalk, we don’t take ourselves too seriously, but we are rooted in challenging the perception of professional athletes. We embrace the “real” with a unique combination of humor and intelligence. Chalk is a community with a voice beyond 240 characters that brings a perspective and vibe to a traditionally brash and boastful sports media space. Subscribe and enjoy weekly content including podcasts, documentaries, live chats, celebrity interviews and more. Nothing is off limits at Chalk - hot news items, trending discussions from the NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, NCAA are just a small part of what we will be sharing with you. 🌍🏀🏈SUBSCRIBE NOW ⚾🏒⛰️ http://bit.ly/chalknetwork Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joining us on the Greenlight Pod, this is something I'm really excited about Villanova Zone, Philly's Own, Eagles Hall of Fame, all pro, all everything, Brian Westbrook, a guy who I saw right out of the gate as a rookie, and I was like, man, these guys are good up here. First game for me was at The Link, and you guys beat us, I think, like 40 to nothing. Do you even remember that game? I vaguely remember it. I know we got out there just a little bit. You guys caught us at a time when we had things rolling pretty well as a team, and so

I was a rude awakening for you, but it was for us business as usual. Yeah, man. I mean, when you trod out on the field as a rookie and they're like, okay, you go line up next to that guy. You're like, which guy? You're like, oh, the guy on that side. Oh, which big guy? No, not John Runyon, the other guy, Trey Thomas.

So we had both those tackles. We had McNabb. We had you. So that was a hell of a rude awakening. But never did I think that when I played that first game in Philly that I'd end up there and love it so much. What's the buzz in Philly? really right now. I mean, like, just getting ready for this playoff game, three, four weeks ago,

dead in the water. Everybody's mad. Now what's the buzz? Well, yeah, I think you're right. When you talk about where the Eagles were and where they're at now, it's two different things. I mean, a month ago, everyone's saying, you know, we lost to the Patriots, we lost in Seattle. There's no way we'll make the playoffs offensively. We look terrible. Our defense is trying to figure it out and hold us down. and then, you know, we go and lose to Miami, and now you're saying not only does the offense look bad, but the defense looks bad. And then we got a stretch of four NFC East games.

You know, we had the Giants a couple times. We played the Redskins in Dallas. And then the ball starts to roll in the right direction. Offensively, we get things going in the second half of the Washington game, the second half of the Giants game, and we find a way to put up points against the Dallas Cowboys, getting the chance there. that kind of sealed the deal in my mind.

And I think in a lot of people's mind in Philadelphia, of us being able to make it into the playoffs. But we still had to play that last week against the Giants up in the Meadowlands. And we were able to take care of business. And so the buzz really shifted about a month ago from doom and gloom. And to this point now we're saying, okay, we're in the playoffs. We have a chance to make a deep run. But we've got to get some things right.

And so we have some issues offensively. we have some issues defensively personally. But when you look at it, I think as a hometown fan base, people are excited about our challenge. They're also looking forward to it from the underdog perspective. You were a big part of that whole underdog perspective a couple years ago in that Super Bowl year. And now no one expects anything of us. No one thinks that we can get past Seattle. And now we have an opportunity to kind of shock the world in the way.

And I think the fans have reflected that. And I feel like Doug in this team in the city, it's a perfect marriage because it seems like you get your best ball when the chips are down. It's not like, hey, let's roll the ball after weeks one through eight and look like world beaters. We want to play chicken with, you know, with our demise. And that's what Doug's done. Doug's delivered three or four years now with the chip stacked against us in a lot of situations. He's done a great job. I thought the Dallas game, I was worried about the giant.

The Dallas game, to me, Dallas has been getting everybody right all season. You know, everybody beats Dallas and they're like, we beat a good team. Well, you beat a good team on paper. It actually turns out they're not very good at all. The Giants game was one for me that was this is the big test because you just had this, this huge win against America's team at home. People think you've arrived. People think you're back. And then you go on the road and beat a Giants team, which was kind of surging offensively a little bit.

So I thought that was really good. they made some big plays there. Do you think division teams still deserve a home game? There was a lot made of that as both teams looked like they were going to limp into the playoffs. Either it was the Eagles or the Cowboys. And now the Eagles are surging. But do you think the division teams deserve a home game? Well, I believe in having the divisions.

And the reason why you have the divisions because you create robberies like the Eagles versus the Giants and the Eagles versus the Cowboys. And those robberies are really fan bases are. are built on, our hatred for the cowboys and Dallas sucks and all the crazy stuff that people in Philadelphia say. And really the same thing for the people in Giants uniforms and their fans. We want to hate on them. We want them to lose just as much as we want to win. And so I think you have to have the divisions to be able to do that. And I think when you think about it, you should be rewarded for beating all the team that you played twice a year. I really believe

that you should. And I know a lot of people wanted the play. also kind of be realigned where you have the best schedules and they get the home field advantage and stuff like that. Well, that just kind of sucks. I mean, on the Patriots, they, they had the benefit of playing in the AFCEs a terrible division forever. Long time.

And they've been so good and so dominant in that division for a reason. And, you know, if I'm the Eagles, I want to reap the benefits of playing against two teams that will have brand new head coaches, three teams in our division. that have brand new head coaches next year. And so I think that there is, you know, there's some good and bad when you look at it. But if I'm playing, I want to have division play against my rivals,

and the winner of that division certainly deserves a home game. Yeah, I would agree that they have to, you got to put the division winner in, period. Like, no question. Now, you know, if there's a certain situation, you could, you know, bring a compelling argument to me that maybe if it was a San Francisco,

I think San Francisco earned the right, had Seattle not pissed down their leg on the one yard line last week, they'd be coming to Philly. And I know Niners fans would be rightfully so, like, what the fuck? I mean, and I get that part of it. But I do think that if you don't let these teams in, and there were some people who were being extreme about it. Like if you win your division, you don't get in it.

You don't get the beast quake moment. You remember that? You don't get, listen, there's some teams that snuck in and made some runs. I think this team could win a game or two here in the playoffs. and the Eagles have had good runs late throughout Doug's tenure. I think since 17, they're 15 and 5 in December. That's first in the league. Why does this team seem to peak?

And is it something Doug does? Is it a style of play? Well, I want to remind you, too. Remember the Giants won the Super Bowl and they were 9 and 7. Exactly. So they weren't a great record team as well, but they got hot at the right team, the right time of the season. And so that kind of worked out well for them.

You know, when you talk about this team peaking at the right time, you have to point to two different things. One, you have the point to the leaders on the football team. They're getting these guys galvanized coming together at the right time. Obviously, I thought you were a big leader, especially in the D-Line when you were there, Malcolm Jenkins, Fletcher Cox, you know, Carson, two in his stint, Jason Peters, Jason Kelsey Lane. All those guys that have been around for a long time, they know when the money is to be made during a football season. And that's November and December. If you get the ball rolling during those months, then you have a chance to outplay and really play your way into the playoffs.

So I have to give some of the leaders on the team a lot of credit there. I think secondarily, you know, Doug has a way with the guys. And I've never played with Doug. Doug was actually on a coaching staff when I was in Philadelphia. But I know Doug a little bit and his ability to get the guys to come together despite what's going on, despite with people. People in the media like myself are saying about a football team, despite with the fans in Philadelphia are saying he has a way of getting the guys to come together and believing in themselves. And whether it's the underdog, whether it's no one respects us, no one likes this type of thing.

Whatever that is, Doug has a way of bringing the guys together. And that's why they're 15 and 5 in December and are playing so well because Doug can bring a group of guys who haven't performed up to their potential, up to what we thought they were going to. perform throughout the season. But in December, he could bring those guys together. And it's really been a beauty to watch because as an outside guy, as an analyst, I'm saying, you know, Doug is much more of a player's coach. He's a guy that you can, you kind of walk over a little bit. But I think inside the locker room, he gets much more respect than I would. I think analysts would probably give him. And it's a credit to the team, but also to his, his philosophy and thought process and his approach to the guys in the locker room, it's been pretty cool.

a lot. Yeah, I thought coming from the outside in, I was like, okay, Doug's a player, coach that's kind of his rap or whatever. We used to practice our ass off and training camp was no joke. And, you know, he had his things. He picks his spots, which I think good coaches do. And you've had coaches where coaches have idiosyncrasies. They have stupid rules that you don't like. But if you like the coach, you try to follow it. You know, even if you're like, I don't feel like tuck in my shirt. And that's one with Doug. I used to be like, fuck about my shirt. That's not going to make me play better. But if it's important to you, I'll cut the bottom of my shirt so it's not hanging down. You know, I'm going to be, if it's, you know, no, no, you know, no flip

flops in the meeting room, I'm going to put some shoes on. If that's what's important to you, not that's a Doug rule. But I think what the biggest thing is, he's a coach that doesn't panic. And like, you know, as well as I do, coaches do that very well. They panic when the chips are down. They point fingers. They're no more mature than players. They're just, they're just coaches. They have offices upstairs. Now, Doug is a guy who doesn't panic. And to Jim Schwartz's credit, Jim doesn't really panic. So I think the lack of panic and then also his adjustments through the year.

Now with, you know this, with the new CBA, you don't have camp and OTAs to the same effect you used to. So I think like during the year, right now, you're trying your personnel out. Maybe the guys you thought were your studs aren't your studs and maybe some guys that are buried in depth can actually help you.

So I think he's done a good job with that. They're also just a resilient team. You mentioned leadership. Was there a team that you played on in Philly that maybe wasn't the most heralded, but was the most resilient? Was there a single team that you remember? You know, we had an 0-18, and, you know, we were just okay throughout the regular season. We kind of got on the road towards the end.

We beat the Cardinals and Thanksgiving, and the ball kind of got rolling for us just a little bit at that point. And, you know, we ended up, we had to have a lot of different things happen for us to get into the playoffs. and we get to the last game of the season and all those things that had to happen, they all happened for us. And then we go out and we really beat down the Cowboys that last game of the season in Philadelphia. Our defense had a hell of a day.

From an offense perspective, our defense played so well, I felt like I was watching someone else playing the game because they were playing, and I wasn't even involved offensively. That's how well they played. We went on that year to, you know, beat a couple of teams in the playoffs, the Vikings. We ended up playing in the

NFC championship game and losing to the Cardinals who played, I think, the Steelers and the Super Bowl. Yeah, yeah, that great catch in the corner of the end zone. That was a great Super Bowl. That's right. So, I mean, it was just a resilient team. We overcame injuries. We overcame a lot of different stuff just to be able to make it to that point. And then, of course, we fell short in the end. But, you know, in football, you got to overcome just stuff. You know, because you're, first of all, you're a man, but also you're a player. And so when you're you're you're dealing with the man, you got kids, you got family, you got wife, you got girlfriends, you got all different types of things that you're dealing with on your personal.

Hopefully not both. Some guys, maybe. Yeah, a little bit of both. But then you talk about things on the field. You're dealing with injuries. You're dealing with infighting with the other teammates. Sometimes you're dealing with different coaching philosophies. And so we were dealing with kind of all of that in the same time.

and we were able to find a way to kind of get it done and be able to compete on a high level and make it to the NFC championship game. So it was kind of a testament to Andy and the leadership on our football team. And we've seen some of that on the 2019 Eagles football team too with dealing with all the injuries, all the different things that have gone on,

some of the infighting with guys being, you know. Which is bullshit. To me, I can't, I can't, and you know, I think the one place in society that is beautifully straight up, like, to the point, and you should be able to communicate directly is an NFL locker room. So if you got a problem with somebody, just he's right over there. He's right over there. I don't understand it.

I don't get it. The biggest thing that you would think is that, you know, because in the NFL, we always talk about brotherhood. We always talk about, you know, I'm a brother's keeper and things like. that and just to your point, you have the ability to go talk to that man right there. It's a man talk to a man type of deal. And, you know, of course, we don't have women in the locker. We don't have little kids.

We're just men in there. I got a chance to go talk to you chest to chest man to man. And for some of the guys on the team to kind of break that bond and go outside of that, it's certainly, it's not a good feeling inside that locker room. And we had it in a year when we had T.O. there. It wasn't so much, you know, sources that no one knew. We had a pretty good idea where it was coming from, but we didn't handle it in the right way. Those sources didn't handle it in the right way.

And it kind of led to our demise the next season in 2005. Well, it shocked me because once you see the anonymous sourcing thing, I never expect them to be back here in this situation. They've overcome a lot. This is going to be a different game Sunday than it was the first game. There's a number of reasons, right? You've got Carson and Penny out, right? Because you have Clowny in, right? He's going to play.

You've got probably some issues on the right side of your line. The game goes 17-9 the first time. I still think it's low-scoring. How do you see the flow of this game going? How's it going to be different? Well, I mean, just to go back to that last game, Rashar Penny, you know, he had a good game against us running the football. I think our rush defense is much better now than it was before.

I know I know that Russell Wilson left 14 points on the field. Absolutely. The Hollister throw, right? Wide open. And then Metcalf dropped. I mean, they left 14 points on the field. I think offensively, despite having less talent, I think we're a better group.

I agree. I agree. I think they can figure out how to get Miles Sanders going just a bit. That's going to help the offense. But most importantly, the Seattle Seahawks' defense is just not a great defense. Obviously, it's not the Legion of Boom. They haven't done a great job of attacking quarterbacks. The one thing they've done very well is getting turnovers.

Their third in the league with 32 turnovers on the season. In the game that we played them early in the season, Carson had four turnouts, two interceptions and two fumbles. And you can't win football games, especially in the playoffs, turning the ball over like that. And if I'm Carson and I'm the Eagles, all I'm saying is that, you know, we had four turnovers. I think they ended up having five. I think someone else had a turnover too.

Yeah, it was awful. Yeah, I mean, I would be saying, listen, they won by eight points and we gave them the ball five times. We're at home where our defense gives up, you know, 12 less points a game. We've been playing out of our mind. This game is our opportunity to make the most of our season. This is an opportunity for us to beat a good team, an MVP candidate early in the season and Russell Wilson and make them look bad in our own house.

That's why you win the division. So you get that game at home in front of your own crowd. And the Philadelphia Eagles has basically been giving up 16 and a half points at home all season long. And so I think it's a great opportunity for this football team. And it's a great opportunity for Carson Wentz to continue the maturation to show everybody who he is going to be as a pro as well. Yeah, and that's what I like. I don't feel like the Eagles are taking a victory lap on we just did the impossible

they want to win a fucking game. And Carson, you know, he's got a lot left that he wants to prove, although it's crazy to me some of these arrows have been thrown at him. Like people don't look around the league and see that these talents don't just grow on trees. I mean, we got a guy here that can be the guy for a long time. But the Eagles, like 40 throws a game is not sustainable. It's not sustainable in the playoffs. And I know, like, maybe I'm not some old school run game guy.

how do they manufacture run game and is it the screen game? Because they've been pretty good against, you know, throwing the ball to the running backs and Miles Sanders is a big reason. You know all about that from your playing days. And then Seattle's not great versus the screen. So is that how you get that going? Yeah, I mean, I think your first point that the run game, I mean, the past game is not sustainable in the way that they've been doing it.

When you look at the last six or seven games, they've had over 40 attempts in each and one of those games. And I just, you know, I think Carson's a good player, but putting the ball in his hands 40 times, I just don't think that's a good way to go about offense, period. But Doug has a belief and confidence in them. I think you try to just get the run game going early. And I know without Brandon Brooks and possibly without Lane Johnson, the whole right side of your offensive line, it may be hard to do. But that's what you have to do.

You want to shorten the game, keep the ball in your possession just a little bit more, and get the ball to your most explosive player on offense. And that's Miles Sanders. Boston Scott could be probably the second most of supposed to play on your offense at this point. And so I think you take the wind out of their sale against a defense that has been susceptible to teams running the football. Why not do that? You also, if you're Doug Peterson, you're saying, well, hell, the Seahawks secondary isn't very good either. So there's some opportunities there.

The biggest question is, who the heck are you throwing the ball to? Are you throwing the ball to Dallas Goddard? Will Zachers really be functional out there with the last runny and broke ribs, which I don't know how even is playing? Or are you going to throw the ball to a bunch of guys that were on the practice squad and, you know, haven't played very much, but have been balling out these last weeks with his football team. And so there's some possibilities, but there's also some big time question marks there

for Doug Peterson in his office. I want to address the running back position before we get to some fun quick hitters here. Going into Sunday, this has got to be the most interesting. interesting running back stable taking the field on both sides of the field that I've seen in the playoffs lately because you got a guy first off in Miles Sanders who, we'll start with him. Does he remind you of yourself in some ways? I know the way he can do it all reminds me to you, but I'm sure I've been told as a player before, oh, that guy reminds me to you. You're not sliding the player and saying, hey, maybe he doesn't so much. You're misreading this thing.

He does a lot of the same things. What are the differences and similarities between y'all? Well, I mean, first of all, I watch Miles a little bit at Penn State, but really just early on in his rookie year. And early on, he was making a lot of the same mistakes that almost all rookie running backs make, thinking that your speed and your athletic ability on this level is going to be able to get you through. And that's just not true. Saquan went through the same thing. Same thing with Miles Sanders, where they're getting to football and running to the edge. And it's just not a sustainable thing in the NFL because defensive players are faster.

You know, the ankles leave a lot better. In the NFL, you have to set your blocks up, read them, and it's not about speed to the hold. It's about speed through the hole. And so once Miles Sanders, and he struggled early on, I think Doug, rightfully so, took the ball out of his hands just a little bit, gave the ball to Jordan Howard, who had a good run there until he got injured. And then Miles Sanders matured in a way that, even myself, in my rookie year, I played a little

bit, but I wasn't playing as much as Miles has. But he's matured in a way where we're now seeing his patience. We're now seeing his lateral ability, his vision, his ability to set blocks up in the run game, as well as the past game. And then you're seeing something that I never actually had was speed. He has breakaway speed, the ability to run away from defenders. We've seen in the last couple games where he's just breaking these long runs. And that's because he's using all those things together, all those things that he's developed over the course of the season. And to this point now, he's one of the most explosive players in the NFL, certainly over the last eight games, one of the most productive guys at the running back position.

Yeah, I mean, he looks like he's going to be a fixture for a long time. And for me, I guess the moment I knew he was going to be real good was when he put the ball on the ground twice against Detroit. And they kept giving him the ball. So I'm like, okay, usually if you're a rookie and you fumble twice in the game, you're ass is sitting over there for a while. They kept giving him the ball, and I was like, this kid's going to be all right. So you got Boston Scott for me, and I respect any rookie undrafted, drafted, it doesn't

matter how you got there. That's coming from a high draft pick, and I've seen a bunch of low draft picks, you know, have long careers. So when a guy like Boston Scott walks in the locker room, he doesn't look like a football player. I mean, like, to me, I was like, who is this guy? But he, and he's a great kid. He works his ass off.

to me, and this is no disrespect to anybody who, but a lot of guys, you're like, okay, their career is an afterthought right now. I don't know he's developmental. I don't know if he's going to work here. But to score three touchdowns in a pivotal game leading into the postseason, I never would have bet in a million years it would have been Boston's got. Was he on your radar at all? I don't think he was on anybody's radar.

And they tell you that he was, and they're just, they're making things. They're lying. There is no reason to believe. going into the last three, four games of the season that Boston Scott would have the impact on those games because he's been sitting on the bench. He's been on practice squad. They just haven't been able to use him. But what he's provided is, and just as I say, that Miles Sanders is the most explosive player. Boston Scott has provided explosive plays both in the run game and the past game. He's a much, much, much younger version of Darren's Froe. So you think there's

something here with Boston Scott. It's not a flash in the pan. thing. I mean, I think that he has shown, it hasn't just been about, listen, they haven't played the best teams in the league. What he's shown is explosion. He's shown acceleration. He's shown tackle breaking ability. He's shown quick feet. All those things are in a successful running back on this level. And so unless that changes, to me, that's something that can be used in this offense for years to come. He's a mismatch problem. He's a problem for defense. Anytime you have. have a linebacker on him, he's going to win that one-on-one matchup. And if you can get him in space, which I know Doug knows how to do, then you can use him at any point. To me, he may not

have as big of a role next year if you get a backer running back, but he certainly has a role on third down. And if he continues to play well on third down and situation of football, why wouldn't you want to play him more as a second running back right behind Miles Sanders? So do you think the next, we've had the last six years with the Eagles, there have been six different rushing leaders. Do you think next year we're going to have a repeat and Miles Sanders is going to be somebody else to your point? No, it'll be Miles Sanders.

I think we'll give him the opportunity to continue to be the lead horse in that stable. And really, they've been trying to find the replacement for LaShaul McCoy since he left. And finally drafted him and Miles Sanders. And he's done a great job. And, you know, I know guys

in the biggest jump between your rookie year and your second year, I'm excited to see how much better I mean, he's good already, but how much better you're going to get? I think that's going to tell really the take for the rest of his career. Especially if you can next year find a piece, whether it's Deshaun coming back or, you know, some other guys. You can stretch the field. Underneath stuff's a lot more there.

And then finally, on Marshaun, how unprecedented is this to you? Like, you've got this guy, Hall of Famer, one of the best I've ever played against. and he's coming out of retirement. Probably, I presume, off the couch. If I know Beast Mode, he can get up off the couch and run. There's some athletes who can just, they don't need to train a long time. They're just streetball type,

hey, let's just go pick up the rock and play. How impressed are you with that? And what do you expect from him in a game like this? I'm really impressed because I remember my last year, after I was playing, after I retired. and I was in no place by December to be able to go play football for anybody for almost the amount of money. Now, if they had told me at the beginning of December, hey, by, you know, the end of December, we're going to pick you up for the last game of the year.

You need to get off the couch. Stop drinking beer for a little bit. I certainly would have been able to do that if they were going to pay me a bunch of money. But for Marshaun to go out there and be prepared to play, it was pretty cool to watch. He wasn't very effective throughout the course of the game. But it was just pretty cool. Especially at home, it was cool. Yeah.

Yeah, I mean, it really, that football team, you need that attitude, you need that presence, you also need that threat of the run. And I think he brings all of that. In fact, Travis Homer had a much better day. He avered 6.2. Yeah, that's the real emergence there. I mean, Homer, I think he had 60 yards on the ground or something like that. It gives them, they just, Seattle, they seem to churn skill guys out when you don't realize, like, whether it was Metcalf and he slid. or whether it's been Lockett or whether it was Baldwin or any of these guys,

like historically, they're not guys that you expected to step in and play roles. That's one thing. And I think Pete can be a little bit overrated as a head coach because he hasn't adapted to certain things. But one thing he does well is they find these unheralded skill guys and plug them in. And that's also a testament to Russell Wilson. I mean, so let's not get that twisted. That dude is amazing.

It's funny. I was on a show this morning. They were saying, well, you know, since they don't have any running back, they're going to have to fall back on Russell Wilson and let him carry the team and I don't know if he can do it. And I'm like, well, time out. Russell Wilson, before Lamar Jackson just started going crazy six or seven games ago, Russell Wilson was the MVP of the league.

MVP. If you're talking about having to fall back on the potential MVP, at least second place MVP, that's not a bad, that's not a bad consolation prize. Could be worse. I want to hit a couple quick hitters before we go, again, appreciate your time. And for those of you joining us or watching and hung in there, he's on Bleacher Report Show with Lefco, and it's tremendous.

I do catch a lot of clips, you know, between being a dad of two kids and trying to run my own thing. I can't watch whole shows, but I'm always excited to hear what B. West has to say, because he's got great intel. Let's start with this. Chief's Eagles, if they get to the Super Bowl, do you feel weird because it's Andy against the Eagles?

This is a tough question. Do you root for Andy because you love, I presume you love him, or do you root for the Eagles? But we're fat and happy. We already have one. Yeah, well, I absolutely love Andy. And I want him to get a Super Bowl, but when the Eagles win is good for me. Yeah. So I want Andy to win, but not against the Eagles.

So, of course, I'm going to root for the Eagles in that situation. So they're second in line for you, the chief. Yeah. Okay, I presume. Because Andy has been so good to me over the course of my career. Yeah, I haven't heard too many bad things about him. Most underrated teammate is a player you ever had that maybe people in Philly don't even realize. Most underrated teammate.

Wow. You know, I think there, a lot of people don't understand the importance of a center. And because my ability to play and be able to be successful, depending upon my offense line. And obviously the receivers are at a lesser extent, but our offensive line just to get it done. and Jamal Jackson, our center. I mean, he was an undersized guy. He went to a small school, Delaware State. He came to him and worked his butt off every single day with Juan,

and he got a chance to play. And he never gave the position up. He would always get us in the right protection, always going in the right way. And no one ever mentioned his name as far as the good offense alignment that we had because we had some really, really good ones. But that center is one of those pieces that kind of pulls everything together. He's the quarterback of the offensive line.

So I would probably say Jamal Jackson. Wow, I do remember him. He was a heck of a player, actually, and you guys had a lot of them up front. So how about this? We asked about Marchand, Brian Westbrook gets a call from a team, hypothetically. And you got to go play in a week 17 game against the Niners or a playoff game. I'm sitting the over-under on scrimmage yards. Let's do 40.

40. No training. Well, here's the thing. The question has to be, can I run 40 yards? I'm talking about without a helmet or shoulder pads or anybody else on the field. Hey, Torado does wonders. Yes.

Do they still give Torral? If they still give that. Man, hey, listen, let me tell you something. There was one time where a team doctor came to me before a game and said, we don't do Toradole shots here. And it was a new doctor. And I said, go get the head coach.

And the head coach came, and I said, I'm not playing today. And he said, What the fuck are you talking? I said, your doctor won't give me tort all. I'm not playing. He said, give him a fucking tort all shot. I didn't play without tort all.

And I wouldn't play without tort all. Like, no way. People don't understand. Listen, you're never 100% after the first day of training camp, right? And so by the time week 17 comes, your body is just shredded up. And the training staff are kind of just putting it back together every single week. That tortural takes you from 65% to 95%. it's a difference maker.

It's like a tort all commercial. Two old guys, they're going to hire us to sell tort all. This is good, though. We can make some more money on the side. Best Philly cheese steak. You know, here's a weird part. When I was in Philly, you know, I went to school there. So I wasn't, you know, it wasn't a stranger.

So I didn't really eat a bunch of cheese steak. I don't even eat cheese. So that part of that right there. But, you know, I used to go in the hood and eat cheese steaks at, you know, different spots in the hood because my boys are, There. So, you know, I never really had one. I never was a Patrick G-Nose type of guy because that's where everyone else outside of the Philly

market came to eat. I was more, let's go in the hood, eat a little carry-out spot and enjoy it that way. Yeah, see, and for me, and this is an admission here, and I've been talking to Mike Scott from the Sixers because we were talking about going to get our first cheese steak. I don't think he's had one. I haven't had one in Philly while I was playing there because at 33 years old, I don't need any love handles, you know, popping out of the. the jersey. I'm trying to keep things.

So I didn't have a single cheese steak. Now, me and Mike are going to go, maybe you can come along. We'll go sample a couple of cheese steaks one of these days. Okay. So favorite division rival player that you played against, it could be one of you respected or like watching play.

You know, I love watching Sean Taylor play, obviously, RIP, rest and peace to him. It was weird because when Sean was a rookie, they came to Philly to play, and I was just kind of warming up on the field. And I saw the guy, I saw him underneath the goalpost with his hands up.

And he had a big bush at the time. He's 6'4. And it looked like from the other end zone where I was at that he was touching the damn goalpost. And then I saw him running around. He's fast. I'm like, okay, well, initially, brace on his height, you're saying he's a D-N. Then I'm saying running around, I'm like, they don't got a wide receiver's at 6-4. And then I saw him up close and I'm like, oh, that's Sean Taylor.

And so throughout the game, I mean, he was talking. probably the most trash that I've ever heard. He was saying so many crazy things to me. So would I if I was Sean Taylor. You could do anything. And he could back it up. I mean, he was able to cover from hash to hash from sideline to sideline. And then after the game, after talking bad about me, my mother, my family, everything,

he came up to me and gave me a hug, like, oh, man, it was great to play against you. And I'm looking at him like, what in the worst of all with you? But it was, I mean, he was a great player. Obviously, you hate to see the way things ended for him. So I love playing against him the few times we were able to do that. I love playing against Antonio Pierce because I thought he was a really good player, but we always got the best of him. And for some reason, Spaggs always wanted to put him in man-to-man against us.

And that was when I was at my best. We were getting in space against a slower linebacker. And so. Angle route. Oh, yeah, absolutely. Anytime you had to make him change direction, we were able to take advantage of him a little bit. And so it was always pretty cool to play against those guys.

So how about hatred of division rivals in order? I think it would go the Giants, the Cowboys, and then the rest, because I grew up in D.C., so I wanted to beat those guys, but they just weren't very good. They were just bad. And really, when you think about it, the Giants weren't that good during my tenure there in Philadelphia either. Our main competition was the Cowboys. No, my Scars, the Cowboys weren't that good. The Cowboys weren't that good.

The Giants were pretty good. What's the loudest you ever heard the link as a fan now and as a player? I was there. Really, it's the same games. The NFC championship game, when you guys played, what was it, Atlanta? Minnesota. Minnesota. It was huge.

It was loud. And I think really for me, it was the NFC championship game. When we played Atlanta back in 2004, 05, when we were headed to the Super Bowl. We ended up winning both of those games when I'm talking about it. But the crowd for us was going crazy because we haven't been to the Super Bowl in a long time.

And I think for you guys, it was going crazy. Obviously, you haven't been to Super Bowl in a long time. But also, at the beginning of the season, I didn't expect you guys. And I think I don't know the fans expected you guys to be as good as you were. And in fact, the underdog mask and the underdog philosophy was built that year because nobody else thought it either.

and the fans was kind of showing their appreciation. I remember we said when we ordered those masks, it was the scariest thing in the world because it was like, we're either going to look like the biggest bunch of morons and we're going to be memed for a decade. Like, crying Jordan was big back then. Right.

They would have been crying Jordan. I was waiting the entire playoffs for somebody of crying Jordan or German Shepherd Mass. But, you know, that was the great thing about it. We just, we put, we push all the chips on the table. and that's what you got to do in the playoffs as an underdog. Lastly, last question, the rest of the division, they all either just found a head coach

or they're looking for head coaches. All things considered. That includes Jerry, Gettelman, the quarterbacks, anything. Allen, what's your most attractive job out of those three? If you're a head coach. I think I would go with, let me hear some factors. So if you're talking about Dallas, You're saying they probably have the most experienced players, guys that have done it the most in the NFL.

But you got to deal with Jerry every single day. And him kind of- And the window's closing. Absolutely. And so the offensive line is getting a little bit older. They've been underperforming. So I put that there. I'm thinking about it.

In Washington, Daniel Snyder is not as bad as Jerry, but he's made a lot of bad decisions there. It sounds like he wants to kind of change that around. You got a young quarterback. You got some young, very good skill position receivers out there. I think they'll have to draft another running back because Darius guys has remained, hasn't remained healthy. Yeah, it's been tough. So there's a situation there.

And then when you think of the giants, just personnel-wise, do you want to deal with a very young quarterback, a very good running back in Saquan? But, you know, and they got some good skill position, too, good wide receivers. So, you know, if I want to win right now, I'm just. one in the Dallas and trying to figure out a way to deal with Jerry. But I think in the future, and I think I think the Giants are probably the best organization out of all three. But I also worry about their ability to get over the fact that the Giants and the Redskins have young quarterbacks. And who really knows what happens to quarterbacks in this league? Sometimes they

pan out. Sometimes they just don't. And that jump between their first year and their second year is going to be huge. And I guess we kind of will see who Daniel Jones will be as well as Duane Haskins. Well, it'll be interesting to see right now it is, I am happy to say the Eagles have a vice grip on the NFC East, baby. And it looks like if they can make the right moves, that'll keep on happening. No matter what happens Saturday, I would say this. I think that Philly will respect this team for the resilience, resiliency, whichever word that is. I mean, you're the more to the more educated radio guy than I have. But they'll be respected for a long time, I think.

We'll see what happens Saturday. So, Brian, thanks for joining us. Again, you can catch B. West on, you know, Bleacher Report with Lefco. What's the name of the show? The Lefco show. Leftco show. I think it should be called The Westbrook show. I think it's kind of fucked up.

So tell Lefcoe. I said that. Anyways, dude, join us any time. We really appreciate the time and go birds. And I'll catch you up in Philly. Sounds good, brother. Take care. Thank you. Okay, B, thank you very much.