Press Pass: Brian Westbrook

they made my job a lot easier. And for me to just go out there and make people missing, you know, game yards, it was the easy work. But those guys in front of me, of course, my offensive line and those guys outside block and helps me a lot. Um. But this is a this is a great honor. I

never really thought about it. You know. I've seen guys like Dark and Donovan, those guys who carried this team for so long get inducted to the Hall of Fame, and I believe you get there their number retired, Um, you know, and of course I congratulate it and I celebrate those guys because I know that they were great players. Um, never really knew if I was going to get the opportunity,

but my day came, and it's a blessing. When you played and we asked you about your numbers, you always said that's something I'll think about when I can retire. Now that you've retired, to you look back at the stats to catches, the yards. I think you're one of only six players ever with thirty receiving touchdowns and thirty rushing touchdowns. And what does all that stuff mean to you?

What it means a lot. You know, you put a lot of hard work into just being able to play and being able to be good at multiple things in your NFL career as a player. But it just means a lot, you know. And when when when I have people come up to me now that are saying that rattled off my stats and say I watch you when I was young, things like that, it still amazes me just a bit because you know, I don't look at

myself that way. I look at myself with just another guy that that worked hard at his job and grind it and good things happen when you work hard. And I was fortunate run when you came out of Nova. I'm trying to get your mindset. Did you had ever envisioned something like this happening. Did you have a certain certain irrational arrogance that you were good enough even back then or not. Well, I think when you go to a smaller school, you never are quite sure and until

you get out there and do it. And you know, it was my end of my first year, I was like, Okay, well I'm good enough, but I don't know if I'm going to ever get the opportunity. Deuce was still here, Buck was coming back from an injury, and so you never are quite sure that you'll get the opportunity to

show what you can do. My second year, we split time me bucking Duce a three Headed Monster, which was a great experience for me because it allowed me to get on field experience as well as played special teams and things like that. And then my third year I was able to get some starting experience and that was when I was able to kind of take it to the next level and kind of commend coach Reid for

bringing me along slowly. Even though you want to play when you're younger, but he did a great job of bringing me along slowly and allowing me to develop as a player to stand out, you know, when you call on the team accomplished, like well, I think making making it to the super Bowl means a lot to me. Even though we didn't win. There's not a lot of people that can say that they made it to the super Bowl, you know. Um, so that that's a big accomplishment.

I think personally, the pump return against the Giants means a lot, you know, winning those playoff games, beat in Minnesota, beating Atlanta here to go to the NFC excuse me to go to the super Bowl meant a lot to me. Um, you know, I just you know, when when I think about the memories of playing football here, you just think

more so about the time that you share with your teammates. Uh, those times in the locker room, was times on the practice field where you're really just messing around, just guys in the locker room, guys playing around, hanging out. Um, those are the things that you think about. But you

also think about the games that you won. And we won an awful lot of games while I was here, And um, you know there's some guys like I talked to Tekio Spikes all the time and he said that he never made it to the playoffs, and for us making it to the playoffs, that was that was that was expected, that was something that we were supposed to do, and we were part of a winning tradition here in Philadelphia and it feels good to be a part of something like that. You always preached your level in the

playoffs and your playoffs numbers are really good. How much pride you have in particular that you were able to kind of shine in the biggest games, Well, yeah, I think you know. It's been always my mindset that the best players play play the best when they needed the most, and your team was never going to need you more than in a scenario where if you lose, you go home. And so that's the playoffs, and your mentality has to

take it to a different level. There's a there's a level of training camp and many camps things like that, and then when you go up to the next level to regular season games, there's a little bit higher level than the playoffs. Is an ultimate high and you got to take your game to the next level. And that's what coach Reid priest to us. But that's what we also priesch to each other, and we were able to go to the next level and win a lot of a lot of playoff games. It looks like they're going

to have a three headed monster here again. Can you talk about the challenges Metslinkers. I remember you sometimes, you know, everybody wants to football when you're a running back, and how do you deal with that. Well, it's tough, and

especially with these guys. Ryan Matthews, he was a starter out there in San Diego, DeMarco was starting, so they're used to being on the field most of the game and it's gonna be a little tough because when you're you know, for me, it was different because I was coming from not playing very much to playing a little bit, which felt pretty good, and you weren't as hungry to play as much because you were kind of working in

the system. But these guys have been playing seventy five eighty percent of the time, so it's a little bit different if they get that knocked down to fifty and fifty percent of the time. So it's going to be a learning process for them, but they will stay fresh. It's just it's hard to stay involved in the game when you're in the sideline. Some of the plays where you think you should be out there, so it becomes

frustrating just a bit. But I think over time they'll figure it out and they'll run enough plays here to make sure everybody gets their opportunity. They could have chosen any game to bring this and have this chose the Giants. Yeah,

you find that to be ironic obviously. Yeah, when mister Laurie called me, he said, you know, we couldn't have chosen a better game to kind of induct you to the Hall of Fame than uh, when you play against the Giants, and you know, he just mentioned you took so much pride in h playing well against those guys. It was it was you know, for me, it was this great matchup. It was a great opportunity to show people close to what we can really do here and

what I could do as a player. Um, but yeah, it's kind of fitting that I'll go into the Hall of Fame against the Giants. When you guys introduced out there, I don't know if you noticed, but the volume level for you know, Correl and you and even a j when you retired, did you did you have a sense of the legacy that you guys loved here or does that kind of give to take a little time away before you realize where you did it permanent later, I think you have a good idea of what you've done.

But I also think that as time continues, you get a better sense of how special winning all those games that we've won. You know, even before I got here, a couple of years before, the span between two thousand and two thousand and eight or nine two ten, we were able to win an awful lot of games. And so when when your team doesn't do as well, they haven't made it to the playoffs and won games like that, it makes it, you know, what you did in the

pass a little bit more special. Um, it's a hard feat. You know. We had a really good football team, and we had guys around me that that were great. But at the same time it's hard to do. We did, um, and I think for us in the city, we kind of take it for granted just a bit, and we didn't realize how how important and how easy I mean not not easy, how hard it is to get to that point. And now I think because of the winning, we haven't won as many playoff games, of course as

we are expected to. Um. You know it now you can see a little bit better. How special that team was away that you guys weren't able to win the big one. It's time trying to heal that or you still kind of have that burn. I don't think time. Time never heals it. It just doesn't. Because you watch the NFL network and they showed a game and they showed up the playoff at the Super Bowl, and that's a game that you should have won. I mean, that's

the game that we had in our hands. A few a few too many turnovers hurt us, but you know that that losing it never goes away. It never stops eating at you. Because when you say you're a Super Bowl champion, that's something that no one can never take away from you. Now, of course, playing in the game is special, but winning it, that's the estimate goal, the estimate prize, and unfortunately we weren't able to do it against the Giants and what it meant for your legacy

and I would kind of jump started. You're kind of persona as someone who performing the clutch, so well, yeah, I think I think about it all the time. Um, I kind of labeled that game in my mind the game that it was kind of my breaking out game, my coming out game where where people they kind of knew where I was. But because not until you make big plays like that consistently that people can you know, know that the teams can depend on you, but also

know that you had that capability as a player. And it really wasn't until that point that people actually saw the talent that I was able to have and as a player that that boost is your confidence. That takes your confidence to a whole nother level and allows you to kind of play a little bit more freely and allowed me to open up my game just a bit as well. Style personality. What do you think of about you resonating Well, I think you know, just like Rocky,

they love the underdog. They love a guy coming from a small school that's willing to work his butt off to dedicate himself to the game. But also um that can relate to the public. You know, the people understands that's me, That's who I am. You know, I see how they love Brian Dawkins, and I know why because he put his heart and soul on the field and he left it on the field and he was able to get everybody insided. And I'm not a raw rod guy like dark was on the field, but you know,

I left everything I had on the field and everything. Um, it wasn't just because of the team. It wasn't just because we wanted to win, but it partly partly had to do with the fans as well. They inspired us

to win. And when you walk out into the stadium and invent my rookie year and you hear the fans screaming and yelling, there's two degrees outside, and whether it's ninety nine degrees outside, they're still giving the harder money and they're out there acting crazy, and that tocites you, and that makes you want to do the things that we were able to do and make me want to work a little bit harder, especially during the week, to get to the point where you can play well out

there on Sundays. And so, you know, it's just meaningful. You think about those odds lazy in your career, like throwing your touchdowns lazy. You never probably things you need to do like Miami when you got a chance to do that, like ter come up with those when I'm talking to my boys and they talking trash and my friends they don't really have any mercy on me at all, And so you can't do this and you can't do that,

and those are the times that I have to remind them. Now, I threw a touchdown pass, and I was able to play against some of the best players and have good games against them, and so those are the times I

think about that the most. And you know, my my girlfriend, she's not she she's Panamani, so she wasn't into football like that, and so she doesn't quite understand with throwing and catching the house special it is sometime for running back to be able to throw a touchdown and how rare it is, and um, you know, she still doesn't believe it. So I have to actually show her to

take to make her understand it. Well, I think, um, you know, the talent's there, the talents there, and then you know, in the NFL you can have an awful lot of talent that doesn't necessarily translate to wins. Um, this team has to go out and proof her. So just like every other team, I think it's a lot easier when you had like a team like we had back in the day, where you you knew Donovan was gonna be there, you knew Doc was gonna be there, you knew I was gonna be there in Trey and running.

We're gonna be there. And you kind of understood what this team was going to be all about. I think this year, uh, you just don't know quite yet. Yeah, you want to see exactly what this team is going to be all about. I think that's why all the fans are here today. They want to see what the Marco Murray is gonna look like in the Eagles uniform and how he's going to perform. Same thing with Bradford, the same thing with Maxville. They want to see how

well these guys can play. And I know that they were good on the other teams, but we also have seen guys that have you know, free agents that haven't played as well in the new team. So it's a big, big question mark. But if you're talking about talent, this is one of the most talented teams in the league, and unfortunately for talent potential, sometime it goes to the

other way. So, uh, you know, players play, and if you get better on that football field you win games, then people here in the Philly area, people around and league will respect you a little bit more. What does it like means is when you're watching an Eagles game, right, do you feel yourself being like a fan? I do, you know, because I work with comcasting, do the pre and post game, you know, you have to be a

little bit objective. But yeah, I want the Eagles to win every single game, you know, because they're my team. This is this is where I grew up at, this is where I learned how to be a professional, and so I want them to win and I want them to do well. So when I see to Marca Murray out there, I want him to have two thousand yards rushing, the same thing with Bradford, I want him to have three thousand and four thousand yards passing um. And that's

what I wish for this football team. But it's always exciting to h to be around it, and I'm excited to be here. There's been a lot of talking culture locker room and stuff. Can you get care of what it was like in your locker rooms? You know where it made me like? Now it different? You know, I really I can't speak to what it's like now in the locker I just don't know. I'm just not around enough to know what's going on in the locker room. I kind of read the papers and watch the TV,

just like everyone else. But I know what it was like in our locker room, and I know that Andy Reid preached respect. I knew that he expected the veterans to lead, lead the younger guys in that. Um, you had to respect everybody and if you stepped out the line. Brian Dawkins didn't have a problem putting you aside. Troy Vincent didn't have a problem putting you aside. Running didn't have a problem and so and as I got older,

I didn't have a problem me. They're pulling those younger guys inside and saying, listen, that's not how we do things here. And UM, I think as time goes on, this team will be able to do that as well. It's just no one exactly what Chip wants and allowing that to transfer in the locker room as well as on the field. Right, Jimmy Rolms back in town to like Dodgers you guys, You guys that seven kind of both a year, you guys, a big year. Did you guys know each other at all? And tell me a

little bit? Yeah, we hung out a little bit a couple of times here and there. What's it like? Kind of at the end of your career. I mean he's kind of gone out with a different team. Yeah, it was difficult. Um, it was difficult for me in San Francisco because no one's gonna love you like the team that drafted you, especially if you play well there, no one's gonna love you that way. And so you go to a different team that people treat you a little

bit different. I'm not sure how the Dodgers are as far as they're fan base, but San Francisco's fan base was nothing, nothing like Philadelphia. I mean, yeah, could walk around the grocery store downtown San Francisco and nobody would care. I can have a San Francisco I gotta have my jersey on literally and nobody would care. Um, But you go to the grocery store, you go to seven eleven, the Wahwa here, everybody wants to know Hasma nab doing,

what's what's the game plan for this weekend. It's a different love for the game here in Philadelphia, and I'm sure Jimmy's probably feeling it. Um, it's just different. It's different. The fans here they love the sport, and um, you feel that love, and I think that's something that you try to translate from a player's perspective onto the field, just to show the fans of respect that they deserved. It take you time to learn that that their passion

went both ways. That sometimes would be annoying as hell and other times it was great. But if all just exuded from their passion for the game. I went to school of Villa Nova, so I saw it firsthand. I saw it on Sundays when I watched the Eagles games. Um, but you know, I also felt it as the pressure as a player, the pressure is to win is great. Um, this is a what have you done for me lately? League? And the fans kind of feel that way too. You did good last week, but what are you going to

do this week? You had to testdown last week? How many testdowns can you score this week? And the expectations there, But that also is the same thing that pushes you to be a better player, and that that that passion, those expectations pushed me to be the best player I could be.