by By PAUL DOMOWITCH; pdomo@aol.com , The Philadelphia Daily News

WHEN Tony Romo has been good against the Eagles , he's been very, very good. In his two career wins over the Birds, the Cowboys quarterback completed 74.5 percent of his passes, averaged 11.6 yards per attempt, threw six touchdown passes and two interceptions, and wasn't sacked a single time.

When Romo has been bad against the Eagles , he's been very, very bad. No, check that. He's been putrid. Think JaMarcus Russell and multiply that by three.

In his three losing starts to the Eagles , he had a 46.1 completion percent, a 5.18 yards-per-attempt average, one TD pass and six interceptions and was sacked 10 times.

So forget about Marion Barber and Felix Jones and Tashard Choice. Forget about the return of Brian Westbrook. Forget about DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin and whether they'll be able to make the Cowboys' cornerbacks eat their dust.

Tomorrow night's NFC East clash will come down to which Romo shows up - the very, very good one or the very, very bad one.

The Eagles' defense will have a lot to say about which one we see. If it can pressure the Cowboys quarterback the way it did in the Eagles' three wins against him, the Birds likely will have first place in the NFC East all to themselves by the end of the night. If they can't, they'll probably fly to San Diego next week with a 5-3 record.

Pressuring Romo means not only hurrying him, but keeping him in the pocket. He has the ability to extend plays with his feet, and much like Michael Vick when he was with the Falcons, he's much more dangerous outside the pocket than inside it.

"I mentioned to the team that part of their success on offense is due in part to those [outside-the-pocket] plays," Eagles defensive coordinator Sean McDermott said. "Those Brett Favre-type plays, where he scrambles, the play breaks down, he checks the ball down to a running back or tight end, or gains a first down with his feet, or throws the ball down the field to a [wide] receiver when he's going through the impromptu stuff that he does. Yards-after-breakdown, so to speak. I don't know if that's a stat, but he does a great job with it, and we have to be aware of it.

"This week, it's important that we try to trap the quarterback and that he doesn't get out of the pocket, either outside or up the middle."

Easier said than done, of course. Keeping a mobile quarterback like Romo in the pocket means staying in your rush lanes. And staying in your rush lanes often means sacrificing time to the target.

The Eagles have studied Romo closely on tape this week. They know his tendencies. They know how he tries to escape a pass-rusher.

"The biggest thing for us is fundamentals," said defensive lineman Jason Babin, who has replaced injured Victor Abiamiri as an inside rusher in the Eagles' nickel package and has notched a sack in each of the last two games. "We know he likes to do that little butt-turn spin. We need to focus on that and not let him get out of the pocket."

Right end Trent Cole has a team-high 6 1/2 sacks. But he's had tough luck getting his hands on Romo, with only one of those 10 Eagles sacks against the Cowboys quarterback.

"It's going to be very important to keep him in the pocket," Cole said. "Because this guy can elude people. [He can] do that little twist and run out of the pocket backwards. After he eludes people, he can get that ball off. He keeps his eyes downfield."

Cole said he rushes Romo differently from how he would a less-mobile quarterback who isn't looking to get out of the pocket.

"When I rush at him, I make sure I come at his upfield shoulder," he said. "Because the first way he wants to go is backwards and spin out. So I want to stay on that upfield shoulder, stay on that the whole game. And stay high, not low."

B-West update

Brian Westbrook didn't practice yesterday and is listed as questionable on the team's injury report. But the running back is expected to play against the Cowboys.

"He had 2 hard days of work [on Wednesday and Thursday]," coach Andy Reid said. "He took a ton of reps the last 2 days. He's all right. I just held him out, like I've done on other Fridays."

Westbrook suffered a concussion 2 weeks ago in the Washington game when he was accidentally kneed in the head by Redskins linebacker London Fletcher. He didn't play in Sunday's win over the Giants. He also missed the Eagles' Week 3 win over the Chiefs with an ankle injury.

Gocong's status

The Eagles probably will be missing a key component of their run defense. Linebacker Chris Gocong, who suffered quadriceps and hamstring injuries to the same leg in Sunday's win over the Giants, didn't practice again yesterday and is listed as doubtful.

The Cowboys are sixth in the league in rushing yards per game (147.6) and third in yards per carry (5.4).

If Gocong can't play, rookie seventh-round pick Moise Fokou will start.

"He's all right, he'll be ready," Reid said of Fokou. "He's worked hard. Even when Chris was healthy, he'd go in and take a couple of reps in practice and stayed on top of things. He'll be OK."

The only player listed as out on the injury report is wide receiver Kevin Curtis (knee). But defensive end Victor Abiamiri (knee), who is listed as doubtful, will miss his third straight game. Listed as questionable along with Westbrook are defensive tackle Brodrick Bunkley (knee), safety Macho Harris (ankle) and cornerback Dimitri Patterson (quadriceps, hand).

The Crayton factor

The Eagles' punt-coverage unit has allowed just 5.3 yards per return this season, the fourth best mark in the league. In their last six games, they've held opponents to 3.9 yards per return and haven't given up a punt return longer than 11 yards during that period.

They'll get a major test from the Cowboys' Patrick Crayton, who has returned punts for touchdowns in each of the last two games. He had an 82-yard return against Seattle Sunday, and a 73-yarder against Atlanta the week before.

"He's doing the job right now," said cornerback Joselio Hanson, one of the Eagles' "gunners" on the punt coverage unit. "If he gets another one, that'd be the record [for consecutive games with a punt return for a TD]. We can't let that happen."

Crayton's touchdown returns were the first two of his career. He came into this season with a career average of 8.4 yards per return.

At 6-foot and 204 pounds, there's nothing fancy about Crayton's return style. He's more Brian Mitchell than DeSean Jackson.

"He's going to catch it, find a seam and try to break it," Hanson said. "We can't give him that straightforward seam." *

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