SB Nation - Byron Westbrook

Denver Broncos @ Washington Redskins; Friday Injury Report

Tim Lynch — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 21:49:13 -0000

DENVER BRONCOS
Player	Injury	Wed. Participation	Thur. Participation	Fri. Participation	Friday Status
Josh Barrett (S)	Hamstring	Did Not Participate	Did Not Participate	Did Not Participate	Doubtful
Ryan Harris (RT)	Toe	Did Not Participate	Did Not Participate	Did Not Participate	OUT
Brandon Marshall (WR)	Back	Did Not Participate	Full Participation	Full Participation	Probable
Ryan McBean (DL)	Knee	Limited Participation	Limited Participation	Limited Participation	Questionable
WASHINGTON REDSKINS
Player	Injury	Wed. Participation	Thur. Participation	Fri. Participation	Friday Status
Chris Cooley (TE)	Ankle	Out	Out	Out	OUT
Ladell Betts (RB)	Ankle	Did Not Participate	Did Not Participate	Limited Participation	Questionable
Clinton Portis (RB)	Concussion	Did Not Participate	Out	Out	OUT
Mike Williams (T)	Ankle	Did Not Participate	Out	Out	OUT
Jason Campbell (QB)	Ankle	Limited Participation	Full Participation	Full Participation	Probable
Hunter Smith (P)	Right Groin	Limited Participation	Did Not Participate	Limited Participation	Questionable
Byron Westbrook (CB)	Knee	Limited Participation	Limited Participation	Limited Participation	Questionable
Stephon Heyer (T)	Knee	Not Listed	Limited Participation	Limited Participation	Questionable

Panther Paw Prints: First Victory of 2009 Edition

Jaxon — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 01:04:54 -0000

More photos » by Chuck Burton - AP

2 months ago: FILE -- This is an Oct. 11, 2009, file photo showing Carolina Panthers' Julius Peppers, foreground,gesturing during an NFL game against the Washington Redskins, in Charlotte, N.C. Days after being called out by teammate Jon Beason, the Pro Bowl defensive end helped the Carolina Panthers to their first victory. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton, File)

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They say winning solves all of a teams' problems. For the Panthers that is true for at least a couple days as this edition of Paw Prints is saturated in the sweet taste of victory. The first four come courtesy of Darin Gannt and QB Jake Delhomme:

Panthers rally from dismal start to post first victory in 287 days | The Herald - Rock Hill, SC
"That is what it's about," Delhomme said. "It's about coming into the locker room after a game when it's just the coaches, players, trainers and equipment managers. It's been a month since the season started. We've got so many young guys, and you want that atmosphere to breed. That is what you want. That is the big thing. "That is why you do any and everything you can during the week; take care of your body to get ready, because this is what Sunday is about. You want it to feel like this on Sunday afternoon."

Jake isn't without his problems but demonstrating leadership isn't one of them.Along those lines, its not often he hear John Fox self-eviscerate:

Panthers' Peppers earns his pay with solid outing | The Herald - Rock Hill, SC
"It was real big," Panthers coach John Fox said of Peppers and Davis' play. "The dumb head coach for the Panthers went for it on fourth down and didn't get it. So, that was important to get field position."

WR Kenny Moore admits to not following his blocks on his first return, then gets it right with his game-changing return:

Moore gives special teams a boost with big return | The Herald - Rock Hill, SC
"Right before the play, I was big on just making a play," Moore said. "Just get something started. I just wanted to come out and do something big, because we looked flat. The play before, I had a chance to, but I didn't run my track right, so that time I was real focused on setting it up right and it was there. "The whole emotion of the game changed after that. That was big. We drove it in and scored on that drive, and the defense came out big and everyone was ready to play after that."

Another player who had a 'big' impact that was maybe less noticeable to the average fan was new DT/NG Hollis Thomas:

Darin Gantt's Panthers Blog | The Herald - Rock Hill, SC
You know who made a big impact today without getting his name called? Hollis Thomas. This just in, it actually helps having a nose tackle to play nose tackle, rather than a narrow-pantsed Nick Hayden. Having a big body helped with the run defense, and helped clear some things for Damione Lewis and the ends. It's no accident it was their best pressure game of the year, and it's not just because of Julius Peppers.

Remember when we were complaining about the poor tackling by the Panthers? Not to exacerbate someone else misery but its nice to hear the other team making these complaints, in particular when they involve our skinny, old QB

Recap: Panthers Game Highlights Everything Wrong with the Washington Redskins - Hogs Haven
I'm still furious with the tackling. The most obvious is DeAngelo Hall's failure to contain on the final bootleg, then his inability to bring down a skinny, old QB in the open field. Did you notice that one run play where Jon Stewart carried the entire Redskins defense for 10 yards and a first down? Look at Hall on that play. He barely throws a shoulder. Pathetic.

It doesn't hurt that they are railing on DeAngelo Hall either. Though KevinE at Hogs Haven keeps it real about his teams tackling, this Chris Chase with Shutdown Corner gets it wrong when describing the Redskins muffed punt:

It's legal to block a guy into a returner who has called fair catch - Shutdown Corner - NFL - Yahoo! Sports
With the Redskins holding a 17-12 lead early in the fourth quarter, the team was set to return a punt after forcing a three-and-out from the Panthers. Antwaan Randle El(notes) signaled for a fair catch but was run into by teammate Byron Westbrook(notes) who, while preparing to block, was pushed into Randle El by Panthers safety Quinton Teal(notes). The ball dropped into the resulting scrum, hit Westbrook in the foot and was eventually recovered by Carolina.

Sorry Chris but Westbrook was fully engaged and just got tooled by Quinton Teal. Speaking of getting tooled, Redskins RT Stephon Heyer

Redskins Return Home With Carolina Blues - washingtonpost.com
The Panthers cut the Redskins' lead to 7-2 in the second quarter when Portis was tackled in the end zone for a safety after Peppers pushed Heyer back into the end zone on a sweep play to the right. "Stephon got pushed back a little bit," Zorn said. "Clinton had no chance."

Pushed back a little? He "got trucked" would be a better description. I guess Zorn has got to be more politically correct when describing his own players but I can see why the 'Skins fans are concerned about their depth on the o-line.

Ask a Redskin: 3 Random, Tough Questions and Their Replies

KevinE — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 15:33:29 -0000

August 8, 2009: Carlos Rogers with his daughter after practice Fan Appreciation Day.

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Fan Appreciation Day was this past weekend, and given the light mood after practice, I thought it'd be fun to ask the players non football related questions for a change. First things first, the offensive line did look better. The quarterbacks did not throw well, which was disappointing, but there was only a few number of sacks and the QBs did have time to throw the ball. Coach Zorn in his intro speech raved of Hunter Smith. I clocked his last 5 punts, which had the hang-times: 4.05, 4.39, 4.18, 4.81, and 5.?. (I received a text message as I was clocking the last punt, but it was a massive 60-yard punt that was well over 5 seconds). When asked in the post-practice interview about Hunter, Zorn said that when Hunter the Punter misses a kick, it's still in the 4+ seconds range versus last year where the punters mis-kicks were in the 3.1 and 3.2 seconds range. That certainly is a huge difference and should go a long way for field battle positions. Anthony Alridge and Byron Westbrook were getting time as the punt runners on my side of the field.

I spoke with Renaldo Wynn about the offensive line, and he had this to say:

The key is how they gel together. It's like the Giants' offensive line. They're not the most talented, but they work together. If we can get these guys to pull together and come together as a unit, I think they can be pretty great. Keep guys healthy number two. That was a huge problem last year. Chris Samuels, Randy Thomas, Jon Jansen were hurt. Most of the guys in there were battling some type of injury.

That seems fair enough to me. Let's see how they do Thursday before completely throwing them under the bus. I also asked several of the players who of the young guys are standing out most in camp. Jeremy Jarmon is in the huge lead (Orakpo is already a given at this point).

Wynn: "Jeremy Jarmon. Edwinn Williams, the center from MD. He's having a heck of a camp."
Portis: "[Marques ]Hagans at receiver. [Robert ] Agnone. Fred Davis...I think he's had the best camp out of anyone."
Randle-El: "Marko Mitchell, Trent Shelton, and that cat we got in the supplemental draft Jeremy Jarmon. He's nasty."
London Fletcher: "Reed Doughty looks good."
Todd Yoder: "Orakpo. He is strong as a bull and fast. I'm expecting big things out of him...he's got great strength for his size and a real quick first step.

As of right now it is looking like Jeremy Jarmon was a STEAL with next year's 3rd round pick...not to mention the added benefit that we get having Jarmon on the roster this year. I don't see how he doesn't make the 53-man roster.

So onto the fun questions. I asked the following questions to 17 players (and Dan Steinberg):

1.) If Hollywood was making a movie of your life, who would you want to play you?
2.) Who would you rather spend a weekend in Vegas with: Shaun Suisham or Ethan Albright?
3.) Who would win a QB accuracy contest today: Zorn or Brunell?

Can you guess for #1 who picked Johnny Drama and who Fred Smoot and Jim Zorn picked? Answers after the jump...

I think it'd be close. I honestly can't give away either one. They're both friends. Brunell is probably a little less rusty so I'll go with him."

	Actor to play their life story	Vegas	Zorn or Brunell Contest
Fred Smoot	"TI!"	"Albright!. He's my boy! He's Irish ... I'm Dutch, we're gonna roll together!"
Carlos Rogers	"Smoot!"	"Suisham."	"Zorn."
DeAngelo Hall	"Me"	"Neither."
Todd Yoder	"Me. Can I be in a movie? Or maybe I can get Cools and then maybe I can star in a movie playing him."	"Albright because he's the Red Snapper."
Antwaan Randle-El	"Cuba!"	"Suisham"	"Brunell" (with confidence)
Clinton Portis	"Jamie Foxx"	"Albright"	"I don't know, you're talking about 2 old arms that got it done at their time. Brunell at this point since he's still in the league."
Marko Mitchell	"hmm..Will Smith!!"	"Suisham. He's a funny, cool guy and down to Earth."
London Fletcher	"Me! [laughing]"	"Probably Albright. Ethan's old school so I'm sure we'll have a good time."
Cornelius Griffin	"Denzel Washington"	"Neither one."
Renaldo Wynn	"[laughing] Someone with some good looks. Probably have to say Denzel."	"Man...I have to go with Albright. I have to go with Albright. I'd just like to see what he does for fun. Suisham, he's a regular guy, but Albright, he'll be like Chevy Chase waering the plaid pants."
Chris Samuels	Chris: "I don't know, that's tough." Kevin: "Gary Coleman?" Chris: "No...haha, not at all. Samuel L...I need someone big. Oh! The guy that played Deebo...even though my eye is straight!"	"Ethan Albright. I like him..old wise veteran."	"Zorn because he's my coach...even though I love Brunell."
Chris Cooley	"That's a good question man. I'd go with Johnny Drama.He'd be good."	"Suisham"	"I think it'd be close. I honestly can't give away either one. They're both friends. Brunell is probably a little less rusty so I'll go with him."
Jason Campbell	"Denzel"	"Suisham"	"Brunell"
Shaun Suisham	"Matt Damon"	(I asked Shaun to make his case for players to choose him)" "Me. Because I'm lucky."
Mike Sellers	"The dude they call 'Tiny' in the movies."	"Albright. He's funny. That's my buddy."
Jim Zorn	"Hmm..that's a good question. You know who I like...Robert Duvall. . He's really good. I like Matt Damon. I like Tom Criuse. I like those guys. They make fun movies. They're good actors."	"Neither!!"
Dan Steinberg [Bog]	"I'd have to say Moby."	"Suisham...he loves me."	"I'll take Zorn."

Redskins get inside injury news on Brian Westbrook from... his brother?

Skin Patrol — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 18:55:43 -0000

Very interesting story via Redskins Insider. As reader(s) are no doubt aware, our own Byron Westbrook (practice squad cornerback) is the brother of Eagles super star running back slash whatever they ask him to do Brian Westbrook:

Redskins cornerback Byron Westbrook said he would be very surprised if his brother Brian played for the Eagles this weekend. Byron Westbrook said he speaks to his brother, whose presence completely changes the effectiveness and productivity of the Philly offense, nearly every day.

"I don't think he'll play," Byron Westbrook said. "The ankle injury is more serious than what the Eagles put out. You know how Andy Reid is about injuries and giving out information. Just watching him on the sidelines after he turned his ankle [against Pittsburgh two weeks ago], it didn't look good.

I have equal doubts about the following two propositions: 1) Andy Reid does not mind that the brother of one of his players is potentially giving away information he has carefully moderated for, ostensibly, the reasonable team-oriented purpose of preventing your next opponent from maximizing their game-prep due to guess work over the roster they will eventually face, 2) Andy Reid can dictate to Brian Westbrook that he not talk with his brother.

The situation presents an interesting dilemna. Teams, through their coaches, have an interest and a limited power to regulate the communications made by the players. The power to do so does not extend infinitely, though, and if ever there was a line to be drawn it would be the point at which a team tries to tell brothers to stop being brothers.

This isn't cynicism, just commentary, but doesn't this non-trivially increase the value of having Byron Westbrook on the practice squad? I think he's there because he earned a spot on the team, but isn't he all the better to have around if he can provide inside information on one of the most valuable players of a division rival? Practice squad players cost the team pennies (so to speak), so the financial value attached to them is relatively tiny. Doesn't this make Byron Westbrook one of the most valuable practice squadders we have?

Imagine what discussions this spawns between the brothers? Is Brian going to call up Byron and tell him to shut up? Do you always do what your brother tells you?

Whatever interest the betting public may have in Brian Westbrook's presence on the field this Sunday, it hasn't affected their decisions: Line has now moved from -5 to -5.5 or -6, depending who you ask. Philly gets better as Westbrook's certainty to play decreases? That's odd.

Of course, maybe Byron just hasn't kept up with current events:

Byron said he last spoke to Brian on Sunday... Good news for Eagles fans is that had Byron spoken with Brian today, he'd know that Westbrook returned to practice, albeit in a limited capacity.

Who knows?

Westbrook's brother weighs on his injury

JasonB — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:00:15 -0000

Brian Westbrook's brother, Byron Westbrook, happens to be a defensive back on the Washington Redskins practice squad. Today he told local media that he doesn't think Brian Westbrook will play this weekend

"I don't think he'll play," Byron Westbrook said. "The ankle injury is more serious than what the Eagles put out. You know how Andy Reid is about injuries and giving out information. Just watching him on the sidelines after he turned his ankle [against Pittsburgh two weeks ago], it didn't look good.

"He's a warrior and it's an NFC East game and he wants to play, but its also early in the season and it's not a playoff game. If he goes out and plays at 75 percent, you could end up making it a lot worse. He would want to get to 90 percent to really be able to play."

Byron said he last spoke to Brian on Sunday... Good news for Eagles fans is that had Byron spoken with Brian today, he'd know that Westbrook returned to practice, albeit in a limited capacity.

Running back Brian Westbrook participated in the team's walk-through Wednesday morning and could see some reps in the afternoon practice.

Now just because he could see the practice field today doesn't mean he'll definintely play this weekend... but the fact the could take reps this early in the week can only be seen as good news.

Let's hope it's wishful thinking from baby bro...