Brian: Eagles not wasting prime

THE ONE TIME Brian Westbrook went to the Pro Bowl, it seemed like just about any Eagles starter had a shot at a trip to Hawaii - 10 Birds either were selected originally in that Super Bowl season of 2004 or ended up going as injury replacements. Westbrook was in the latter category, earning his berth only when Seattle's Shaun Alexander pulled out.

This time ought to be different.

Most years, including last season, when Westbrook surely was one of the most dynamic players in the NFL, the Pro Bowl snub has been explained away with a lot of tap dancing about how much of his value comes from catching passes, and how the Pro Bowl berths tend to go to guys who really carry the mail, whose rushing totals dwarf Westbrook's. This season, Minnesota rookie Adrian Peterson is the only runner in the NFC with more rushing yards. (Peterson has 1,200 yards on 198 carries, Westbrook 1,110 on 236.) That alone would put him in pretty good shape, even without the 642 receiving yards, on 74 catches, that give Westbrook the NFL lead in total yards (1,752).

"It's important that you be recognized for your accomplishments . . . by your peers. I think that everybody in the NFL would say that it's important," Westbrook said yesterday, as the Eagles began preparations for this week's visit to the Cowboys. Players and coaches vote this week for the Pro Bowl - fan voting ended last week. "It's not more important than wins and losses, but it's important that people outside of your team recognized the things that you can bring to the game, and that you're a quality player."

In fact, Westbrook has been so dominant, the debate has shifted away from where it was a few years ago - does he get hurt too much, is he a product of the West Coast offense, etc. - to a tack no one would have foreseen, back when the Birds were mounting the commemorative Pro Bowl portraits on the NovaCare walls in bunches.

Now the questions are more like this: Do the Eagles lean too heavily on No. 36? And is his prime being wasted, as the only difference-maker on a 5-8 team that almost certainly isn't going to the playoffs?