Giants focusing on Eagles' dangerous Westbrook

Just as they did while practicing for their previous game with the Eagles, the Giants had one of their practice-squad players wearing a red No. 36 pinny yesterday. Kay-Jay Harris was the one playing at being the Eagles' Mr. Everything, Brian Westbrook. That Sunday night in late September, the Giants got a nice surprise on game day when Westbrook was held out with a knee injury. Without their best player as well as a few other key veterans, the Eagles were a mess, especially on offense. Westbrook's knee is still a problem, as he missed practice in Philadelphia yesterday, but he'll almost certainly play Sunday in Philadelphia. And the Giants had better pay attention, because Westbrook has many ways of burning defenses. The Giants are 8-4 with four games left (Philadelphia, Washington, Buffalo, New England). How will they finish the season? 12-4 11-5 10-6 9-7 8-8, playoffs 8-8, no playoffs The Week in Sports Photos "He's more than 50 percent of their offense, so you have to take care of him," linebacker Kawika Mitchell said. "There are certain things you have to do if he crosses your path. It's definitely something to focus on." Westbrook is 6 yards shy of his second consecutive 1,000-yard rushing season and nine receptions shy of setting a career high with 78 catches. He even mixed in a punt return Sunday against the Seahawks, and all he did was run it back 64 yards to the 14-yard line with 1:16 to play, giving the Eagles a chance to win that ended with A.J. Feeley's fourth interception. The absence of Westbrook for the first Giants-Eagles game was softened when backup Correll Buckhalter ran for 103 yards, the only rusher to break 100 against the Giants this season. But without Westbrook's versatility, coupled with the absence of left tackle William Thomas, Donovan McNabb was at the mercy of the pass rush, leading to the record-tying 12 sacks the Giants recorded. "I think I could have taken some pressure off the other guys on offense," Westbrook said. "Spags [Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo] knows our offense very well, he was here for years. We need to know what we're going to do to try and counterbalance his knowledge of our offense." And the Eagles have to counter the Giants' stingy run defense, which ranks fifth in the NFL, allowing only 92.3 yards a game. Westbrook has a very strong history against the Giants, with 11 touchdowns in 10 games during his six seasons - seven rushing, three receiving and one punt return in 2003. Westbrook also has at least 100 combined rushing and receiving yards in his last seven Eagles-Giants games. "They throw the ball so much, they kind of use the run as a changeup, which is what hurt us the last time we played them, even with Westbrook out," Mitchell said. "I think we're a lot better prepared now." Perhaps the Giants' scheme is better, but their health is not. Linebacker Antonio Pierce (ankle), Gibril Wilson (knee) and James Butler (hamstring) sat out practice yesterday, and that's the defensive captain and two starting safeties who are in danger of missing the game. Wilson, who is the most likely to miss Sunday's game from among the three, would be especially missed for his downfield tackling. "He's an extremely dangerous guy with the ball in his arm," coach Tom Coughlin said of Westbrook. "He's the focus of their attack." Notes & quotes: RB Brandon Jacobs (hamstring) returned to practice on a limited basis yesterday and said he hoped to be medically cleared to play, with Derrick Ward having been placed on injured reserve Tuesday. "I have to be there for this one," said Jacobs, who missed the last two games ... CB Aaron Ross (hamstring) also was limited but sounded hopeful of being ready for Sunday ... WR Steve Smith (hamstring) was the most optimistic, having gone through a full practice for the first time since the second week of the season ... The Giants added DB Andrew Shanle to their practice squad. Sunday Giants at Philadelphia 1 p.m. TV: Ch. 5 Radio: WFAN (660)