Is This The Best The Eagles Wide Receivers Have Been For Quite Some Time?

Obviously, statistically, it is way too early in the season and in the careers of DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin to answer that question with a sure-fire yes, but things certainly seem to be looking that way. With Kevin Curtis on the injury, Jeremy Maclin got his chance to shine, and boy did he shine, with 6 receptions for over 100 yeards. Which does beg the question, is this the best looking group of wide receivers the Eagles ever had? From the Philadelphia Inquirer

Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb said Maclin's emergence resulted from Tampa Bay's coverage on Jackson.

"They rolled the coverage a lot to his side, and you want to get your weapons going," McNabb said. "Teams are going to try to take someone in this offense out of it. They're trying to take DeSean out, and when you give [other] guys an opportunity to make plays for you, I have full confidence that they will."

Jackson may still end up being the featured weapon in the Eagles' offense, but this is the first time in recent years that we've been this far into the season without knowing exactly who will be McNabb's go-to guy.

During the Eagles' 2004 run to the Super Bowl, Owens was the main man, and ever since then it has been running back Brian Westbrook. Teams tried to stop both men, but usually couldn't.

Now, the Eagles have Jackson, Maclin, Westbrook, and tight end Brent Celek, not to mention Michael Vick, rookie LeSean McCoy, and this thing called a Wildcat offense.

Although the Eagles have averaged 31.8 points per game - second best in the NFL - every aspect of the offense hasn't always worked. Sunday, for instance, the Eagles averaged only 2.4 yards per carry on 19 designed rushing plays.

"We need to be more efficient when we do run the football," Reid said.

Westbrook, at least through four games, doesn't appear to be the same force he has been the previous five seasons. He had just eight touches against the Bucs, and it's strange not to see his name among the league leaders in rushing yards and yards from scrimmage. McCoy actually had one more touch than Westbrook.

Long gone are the days of Andy Reid settling for mediocrity at that position by starting guys like Hank Baskett, Greg Lewis, and Reggie Brown who all were a sure fire bet to drop half the balls thrown their way. And even though Jackson and Maclin are doomed to make some mistakes and have some bad plays just because of their age, for once we can say that the potential at the wide out position is there and we may be looking at a couple of Pro Bowlers, a term that has not even come close to describing an Eagles wide receiver since Terrell Owens was here. And while Maclin only got the start because Kevin Curtis was injured, you can bet that if he keeps playing like this, he will be starting on a regular basis soon enough. Also, while Curtis has proven that he is a decent, not great, starting wide receiver, I think he is most dangerous as a 3rd guy, when teams are not paying him much attention. And don't forget about Jason Avant. McNabb likes throwing to him in clutch situations and more often than not, Avant can make the play.

It took him awhile, but Andy Reid has woken up and has finally figured out how to draft offensive players, just look at the running back position as well. Sure, the Eagles have Brian Westbrook, but in the past the Eagles relied on him way too much, and the result is the beaten and broken down man that you see now. This is not the same Westbrook that we saw a 2, 3 years ago, and if I'm a betting man, I don't think that he will ever regain that form. He is not a 30 carry-a-game back, he never was, and the Eagles trying to make him that all but ruined his career. Sure, he'll come in and make a big play every once in awhile, and while I see him as a great change of pace back, I think that in little time, we will be seeing more and more of Shady McCoy, another great find and great draft pick by Andy Reid. Sure he is a little Westbrook-esque, but unlike Brian, Shady is more groomed to be an actual running back, instead of some random dude like Westbrook who lines up out of the backfield, but if more effective catching the ball and bouncing it to the outside rather than running the ball.

And forgotten in all of this is perhaps one of the most underrated tight ends in the NFL, Brent Celek. Eagles tight ends have never gotten any national credit or spotlight, but perhaps if Celek keeps making plays like the one in the video below, he is surely going to get the national recognition he deserves real soon.



It's not everyday that you see someone leapfrog Ronde Barber. And speaking as an Eagles fan, that was just so sweet to watch as countless times in the past, when the Bucs played the Eagles, Ronde Barber has made a big, ginormous play against us that kills our momentum.

Bottom line, regardless of who the quarterback is, if the Eagles can play defense like they know how to play defense, and if Maclin, Jackson, and Celek really emerge as the big go-to targets and stay free of injury, this Eagle team will be in the hunt for the Super Bowl for many years looking down the road. And now just ask yourself, were we really ever saying this about the Eagles during the era of Lewis, Baskett, and Reggie Brown?