"It was a staggering statement, raw and honest. It was also necessary and long overdue.

The Eagles released Brian Westbrook a week ago today. From a football standpoint, it was the right thing to do. After eight years of impressive service, injuries and age and, sadly, too many concussions made the running back expendable. It was time to move on. No one should fault the organization for showing Westbrook the door, though the way they pushed him through it was typical of a franchise that's largely inept when it comes to P.R. and basic decency.

After saying goodbye to the only employer he's known in his NFL career, Westbrook revealed that he hadn't spoken with team president Joe Banner or owner Jeffrey Lurie. The Eagles issued a statement in which both Lurie and Banner gushed about him - Banner called him a "special person" and marveled at the way Westbrook interacted with Banner's children - but neither, according to Westbrook, bothered to pick up the phone and say "thanks" or "so long."

That the Eagles botched the farewell worse than an Asante Samuel tackle isn't shocking, but what Westbrook said after being cut was most certainly surprising. For years, Westbrook was a loyal company man, content to regurgitate all the proper, preapproved talking points at all the proper, preapproved times. He was sort of the anti-T.O. - doing and saying all the right things. He protected the organization.

Not anymore.

"The thing for them, the Eagles, it's always money. It's always dollar signs," Westbrook said on Dan Patrick's radio show. "If they can find someone to do it a little bit cheaper, they'll go with that guy."

He didn't say it with malice, didn't raise his voice or curse the front office. He just stated it simply, as though it's widely accepted as fact by anyone who knows anything about the way the Birds conduct business. When Patrick followed up and asked which is more important to the Eagles - stuffing more money into their already fat wallet or winning - Westbrook paused and thought hard before answering.

"I've seen them go the money route with so many players," Westbrook said. "I wouldn't know. You'd have to ask someone with the Eagles. With the players, winning is a priority. With the management, I would hope winning is the priority - but I don't know that."

It was a damning indictment of the franchise levied by the last person you'd expect to stand in judgment of the Eagles. It wasn't Terrell Owens questioning the team's true motivation. It wasn't Lito Sheppard or Sheldon Brown or Jeremiah Trotter or Hugh Douglas or any other past or present Eagle with a pattern of speaking his mind and challenging the organization. It was Westbrook, a man who was respected during his time here by the team and outsiders alike.

The Bird Brains out there - the small-minded sycophants who willfully submit to the Eagles brainwashing - will brand Westbrook disloyal and claim he's lashing out at the franchise for cutting him. The independent, on the other hand, will read his remarks and reel from the brutal candor."