It's been a long week for Will Witherspoon, the newest member of the Philadelphia Eagles. Witherspoon arrived at the NovaCare Complex early Wednesday morning to get to work after being acquired by the Eagles from the St. Louis Rams the day before.
Witherspoon had a lot on his plate, in addition to getting acclimated to a new defense, he was also moving from weakside linebacker to middle linebacker.
"There are enough differences (between the Rams' defense and the Eagles' defense) that make the transition something that's hard to do," Witherspoon said. "That's the reason I've been up here 12 hours a day, just making sure I get what I need to done, talking about different scenarios, making sure I understand all the adjustments and things.
"It probably is (one of the toughest challenges of my career), but it's a challenge I love to face. It definitely puts me on the spot to say I want to hold up my end of the bargain, which is to be out on the field making plays."
Witherspoon is described by head coach Andy Reid as a three-down linebacker, and he is expected to play a major role Monday night against the Redskins in place of the injured Omar Gaither. He's been working closely with the rest of the linebackers to prepare.
"The guys in the locker room are all great," Witherspoon said. "We're all working together. We're all doing exactly what we need to and trying to make this team better, and that's what great about it. Chris (Gocong), Akeem (Jordan), and Trot of course, those guys are all great."
Witherspoon has the added advantage of having already played the Redskins this season. In week two, Witherspoon's Rams lost in Washington 9-7.
"It's going to help me prep a little bit for the game," he said. "There's going to be some instinct that you're going to have to rely on."
Witherspoon expects to get a nice introduction to the intensity of NFC East matchups.
"I'm getting a good taste of it right about now," he said. "I'll be excited to play in this whole division and see how it comes together. These next several weeks for us are going to be some good fun.
"I've heard a lot of great things about these matchups and I can't wait to see what the atmosphere is like on Monday. And I think with it being a Monday night game, that just elevates it to the next level. I think everybody's going to come out fired up and it's going to be a great game."
-- Posted by Bo Wulf, 8:40 p.m., October 25
