Bedtime Fan Fuss - The biggest loss of all

Losing is contagious. Nowhere in the NFC is this as apparent as in Philadelphia, where the Eagles look helpless. Not to say that the team is playing below their potential, they surely are not. This team just isn't the Philly team that played in February. The current crop is a glob of second and third stringers reaching their ultimate goal due to a sports injury, or injured ego. The Birds' biggest loss of all came on Monday (not the 42-0 drubbing by Seattle), when Brian Westbrook was injured thus ending his season.

On of the few top-flight Birds that has not been the subject of tabloid news articles or fan ridicule, Westbrook was quietly putting together a solid season. Sure he held out for a week of training camp, but that was merely a symbolic gesture to let the brass know his feathers were ruffled. Once he arrived, Westbrook left his business dealings to his agent, and just played football. He was handsomely rewarded with a new contract shortly before this fall's Philly implosion.

Westbrook, the fourth pro bowler that the Eagles have lost for the season due to injury, had amassed nearly 1,300 total yards with seven TDs. That's a great season for some, but he did it in only 12 weeks. His services will surely be missed, as the Eagles will now have a four-headed monster rushing attack; QB Mike McMahon, and RBs Lamar Gordon, Ryan Moats and Reno Mahe.

Lessons in humility have surly been learned this year by the Eagles. But this latest blow is the one that overshadows them all. Westbrook is the wingman that gets the job done well. And he does it with the silent dignity of an era gone bye.