Westbrook could emerge from hiding vs. Eagles

Several members of the media were hoping to speak with running back Brian Westbrook today, but he didn’t appear. He was in the exercise room and training room for about 40 minutes while us media hacks loitered in the locker room.

Of course, there is an obvious punchline here — something about it being possible that Westbrook, based on the season’s first four games, was, again, really in his undisclosed secret location.

Since signing a $1.25 million contract on Aug. 16, Westbrook has been largely invisible, collecting more dust than playing time.


Four games. Four plays. Three touches. A puzzling workload for a running
back who, based on his body of work (9,791 total yards), could seemingly
provide a spark for an offense that could use a little assistance.

Offensive coordinator Mike Johnson did allow today that Westbrook could
see more playing time Sunday night against the Eagles, his former team,
with tight end Delanie Walker out with a high ankle sprain.

“We are constantly, each week, trying to find ways to get Brian and
other players involved,” Johnson said. “We know Brian’s been a very good
player in this league for a long time. And we’re going to try to
utilize his talents and get him involved in some way here pretty soon.”

Mike Singletary has been asked about Westbrook’s lack of use on more
than one occasion. On Wednesday, he said the Niners have wanted to see
what Westbrook “can and cannot do and letting it develop.” Puzzling,
since Westbrook is in his ninth season. It would seem that what he can
do (run, catch passes) and cannot do (kick field goals, long snap, speak
Cantonese) is no longer a secret.

On a blog yesterday, I threw out some possible reasons for why Westbrook isn’t being used. To review, in a bit more detail:

He’s still not up to speed on the playbook.

Johnson mentioned possible protection issues with Frank Gore and
Westbrook on the field at the same time, saying Westbrook has been with
the team “for such a short period.” Still, the notion that Westbrook
hasn’t grasped enough of the offense after seven weeks seems unlikely to
be the primary reason he hasn’t played. On a conference call with the
Bay Area media Wednesday, Eagles coach Andy Reid said Westbrook “might
be the smartest player I’ve ever coached.”

He’s a 31-year-old running back who’s taken a few too many hits.

Westbrook has suffered his share of injuries during his career,
including two concussions in a three-game span last year which forced
him to miss a total of seven games. After missing five games following
his second concussion, he played in the season’s final two games, rushing
for 49 yards on 14 carries (3.5 yards per carry) and catching six passes
for 25 yards (4.2 yards). In his previous six games in 2009, he rushed
for 225 yards on 47 carries (4.8) and caught 19 passes for 156 yards (8.2).

Granted, that’s a painfully small sample size. But it’s something. And
it would help explain why the Niners haven’t been salivating at the
thought of getting Old Man Westbrook on the field.

The Niners haven’t figured out a role for him. Or they have. And, to this point, it hasn’t been much of one.

This seems to be the most logical answer. Jimmy Raye said Westbrook’s
role was to be Frank Gore’s backup. Period. (Of course, this doesn’t explain Westbrook lining up in the Wildcat vs. the Saints). And the Niners have never
been too fond of taking Gore off the field, which would explain
Westbrook’s lack of playing time. (Ditto for Glen Coffee, DeShaun Foster and Michael Robinson).

In addition, Westbrook isn’t a change-of-pace back with Gore as the
starter — they have similar skills. On a third-and-1 against the Falcons
in the fourth quarter, for example, Gore was gassed, but Westbrook
didn’t leave the sideline. Instead, 233-pound rookie Anthony Dixon was
called on to plow ahead for the first down.

Now, it sounds as if Westbrook will be something more than Gore’s
never-used backup – an expanded role inspired, at least in part, by
Walker’s injury.

By the way, although Westbrook didn’t speak today, he did talk briefly last week.

When asked if he thought the promotion of Johnson to offensive
coordinator would lead to a larger role, he said, “I’m still waiting for
an opportunity. I prepare myself every week to play.”

His lack of playing time, not surprisingly, hasn’t been his favorite
topic. He’s a veteran who’s too smart to grumble or express any
frustration to the media.

Here’s guessing last week’s answer hasn’t changed much.

• Johnson was asked about Steve Young’s assessment of Alex Smith on KNBR
on Wednesday – that Smith needs to play less cautiously and fling the
ball downfield more often. Johnson didn’t dismiss the notion (“I think
somewhat,” he said), but went on to say that, in the case of Sunday’s
game, the Niners were mindful of getting the ball out early against
Atlanta’s defensive front.

“They have a very good defensive front and we didn’t call a lot of the
things that we had up because of the protection issues that we had,”
Johnson said. “We didn’t want to take the risk of having our quarterback
drop back and take a sack and now (lose) field position. We try to mix
things up and keep ourselves in manageable third downs.”

• Johnson said Ted Ginn was “not totally healthy yet” and would likely
share snaps with Dominique Zeigler at No. 3 wide receiver against the
Eagles.

• Punt returner/kickoff returner Kyle Williams has a sprained right
middle finger, an injury he suffered after catching a punt awkwardly
Wednesday. Williams’ finger was in a splint today and he expected to
miss practice. It’s probably safe to assume that Ginn would handle those
duties if Williams can’t play.

• Defensive coordinator Greg Manusky signed off without hesitation on
Nate Clements’ ill-fated attempt to score against the Falcons. “Go
score. You’ve got the opportunity, go score. Why not? Shoot, I would. I
think you’re a ballplayer, you’ve got to feel the game and go with it.
Did he want to fumble the ball? No. He was trying to make a play and I
think the more players that you have on your team that are trying to
make plays, the better off you are going to be.”

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