Buckhalter signs a 1 yr deal, P.S-why do Phili do RBBC?

[Str8 Pimpin-Vikings]

Westbrook will get most of the carries and Buc iwl get the 3rd down carries and goal lines

[WhiteChocolate]

they go RBBC because they don't care about having a feautured back to help out fantasy owners.. there more competitive to have interchangeable RBs.

[MCG321]

Buckhalter has just signed a 1 yr deal as a restricted FA. Unfortunately this probably means the Eagles will persist with RBBC this season. My question is, do people actually beleive Phili will go with RBBC and if so why would they continue with this tactic with Brian Westbrook showing last season he is more than capable of carrying the load?

Kinghidra has previously mentioned that coaches do RBBC because they beleive they don't have a RB that can do "everything", however last season Westbrook was 7th in the NFL in yards per carry and was ALSO ranked 7th in yards per reception. So clearly Westbrook is quite the accomplished player, why are the Eagles afraid of letting Brian carry the load and seeing what he can do on a larger scale?

It seems that the staff is not sure that Westbrook can take the pounding of a full season. By rotating him with Bucky, there's a better chance he will be fresh and healthy for the playoffs (and this year, for the Super Bowl!).

[mig28]

They use the rbbc becasue there is no way westbrook can handle 280+ carries by himself... look at warrick dunn he is prolly one of the toughest players in the league and he couldnt do it for more than a season in TBay and I think dunn is/was a lot more skilled than westbrook... as for the yds per carry they were so high for westy because he didnt do short yardsage which completely brings the avg down...

The comparison to Warrick is presicely what I was thinking before I scrolled down to Heat's post. Westy broke down with 116 carries last year, is a small back ( 5'8'', listed at 200 lbs.), and works in a pass first offense.
I think it's fair to say that most of us hate the RBBC approach, but coaches like Reid and Mariucci make it work for their teams, not ours.

[maddog60]

Buckhalter is insurance if Westbrook goes down. He'll see some playing time b/c he's good enough, but Philly has rarely had RBBC. We went from Ricky Watters, to Garner, to Duce, and had last year was a transitional year with the RBBC stemming mostly from Duce's hold out. Otherwise, I gaurantee you Duce would've had the job outright, and both Westbrook and Buckhalter would've had limited roles.

It could go back to RBBC, and it all really depends on Westbrook's health and ability to take hits. Even at 200 carries he'd put up 1000 and 10+ TDs if you base it off his stats last year.

[Gunslinger]

Here's more evidence of an expanded role for Westbrook:

Eagles running back Brian Westbrook finished second in the NFL and first in the NFC in punt return average last season, but the team is not positioning Westbrook for another shot at the title. The team used this past weekend's minicamp to audition new punt returners, as Westbrook's expanded role in the running game will keep him from those duties. Backup runner Reno Mahe is the favorite for the job according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. The Eagles are also trying out new kick returners, as Westbrook and departed receiver James Thrash were their top kick return men in 2003.

OUR VIEW
This news is not at all surprising, and it's good that the Eagles won't ask the injury-prone Westbrook to handle those extra duties. We're expecting Brian to be the team's primary runner in 2004, although Correll Buckhalter will certainly get plenty of carries as well.

I think everyone agrees that it should be about 2/3 Westbrook and 1/3 Buckhalter. That could go more towards an even 1/2 split if Buckhalter plays up to his potential. As KG mentioned, he's 2 years removed from the knee injury. Let's see if he regains form like Lewis or continues to play safe like James.