Westbrook, Eagles expect to come out of the gate fast

Brian Westbrook is not one to mince words. He doesn't like training camp.

"A lot of players say they like training camp, but I don't like training camp at all," Westbrook said yesterday during Week 2 of the Eagles' Organized Team Acitivity. "I think that we need the work, but I think that training camp is a little bit too long."

While the grueling two-a-days in Bethlehem remain a month away, it's hard to blame Westbrook's trepidation. For the second straight day, area thermometers tickled the 95-degree mark. On the practice field at the NovaCare Complex, even without pads, it felt like triple digits at times.

"It was hot out there," Westbrook said. "It was a great practice and it kind of gauged where you're at as far as conditioning."

Westbrook is coming off one of the greatest seasons ever by an Eagles running back. He carried the ball a career-high 278 times, gaining 1,333 yards on the ground and another 771 through the air. Westbrook broke franchise records in receptions (90) and yards from scrimmage (2,104).

But instead of rewarding Westbrook with a new contract, the Eagles are holding him to the five-year, $25 million deal he signed in 2005. Some feel the team may have brought in his replacement when they traded a fourth-round pick to Miami for Lorenzo Booker.

But Westbrook applauded the move, saying it gives the team another playmaker. After last year's 8-8 finish, something had to change.

"We have to get some momentum from the beginning and get our swagger," Westbrook said. "I think last year we lost our swagger along the way."

THOUGHTS, i got a few want to see what the rest of you bleeding green and non bleeding green think