Making Plays With A Short Field

One of the most remarkable stats on DeSean Jackson this year is that all of his 7 touchdowns (5 receiving, 1 rushing, 1 punt return) have been 48 yards or longer. The fact that he has 7 plays like that in a single season -- let alone just 10 games -- is amazing.

But what is also remarkable is the absence of anything else. In fact, when the ball moves past the opponent's 40 yard line, DeSean Jackson begins to disappear. And I'm not just talking about his play; the QBs just aren't throwing the ball in his direction as much. Take a look at how passes thrown to him as a percent of the team total begin to decline, and even more tellingly, how his catches and yards really nosedive. The latter two suggest his performance is more than just a lack of opportunity:

 

I inserted QB rating on passes targeted to Jackson as well on that figure, not because I think it is especially telling for WRs, but because it is just a handy single metric to unify some concepts.

One take-away from this could be that Jackson is terrible as the field gets short. That isn't necessarily true. He may be drawing coverage away from other players. The better articulation is probably that DeSean is un-coverable with a lot of field to work with, but can be controlled in a shorter field. And this probably isn't an area that will change a great deal: DeSean is a little guy, and knows it. He seems like someone who willingly sacrifices certain things to be able to excel at big plays. For example, he gets out of bounds rather than take a hit. You don't want him sacrificing his body for a couple of yards when you are trying to keep him fresh to get 50 yards at a time.

On the other side, the WR who is excelling those situations is Jason Avant:

 

In fact, one might argue that Avant is becoming such a weapon in a short field, and especially in the red zone, that we should be throwing to him a lot more. I know that every time we get the ball in the red zone, I yell at Donovan to just throw the damned ball to Avant. When they do, they have had success. He also seems to be the WR making the most out of his chances in the 39-20 range. Bottom line: more Avant!

Long term, however, we can't always go to a three wide-out formation. Which gets to my real point. It is very important that Jeremy Maclin develop into a guy who can excel with a short field. The truth is, he has all of the tools. Despite the initial misconception that he would be another DeSean Jackson, he has shown that he isn't the open field elusive guy that Jackson is, but is tough and runs nice routes, especially outs and slants, in addition to being able to stretch the field. He shows good hands and is a willing blocker. However, as yet, he isn't a strong red zone player, likely due to both experience and not having developed as much functional strength as he hopefully will given a couple of years in an NFL weight room.

 

Right now, the team often plays Avant and Jackson in two WR sets in the red zone. Longer term, if Maclin can develop into a better red zone player, the team might be better off with him and Avant in two WR sets, and saving Jackson for other situations.

Finally, let's take a look at Brent Celek, the other main red zone threat right now:

 

He's getting 36% of the attempts, 51% of the yards and 50% of the TDs in the red zone. The low passer rating is a reflection of an interception in the red zone that was targeted at him by Kevin Kolb in the Saints game. Like I said, passer rating isn't necessarily the best metric here, and this is an indication of that. Celek is clearly our biggest threat.

In conclusion, I want to be clear that I don't intend to suggest that DeSean Jackson is "the problem" in the red zone for this team. I'm not suggesting that they take him off the field when they reach opponents' territory. But he isn't "the guy" with a short field either, and it isn't clear that it is reasonable to expect him to ever be "the guy". Right now, that's Celek and Avant, but those two could use some more help. That's where the loss of Cornelius Ingram really hurts, by the way. The idea that we'd have a second TE who was a red zone threat could have made a real impact.

Is Maclin's Time Coming?

As Les Bowen has mentioned in the past, reading philadelphiaeagles.com is something like reading Pravda. Dave Spadaro had a couple of back-to-back bullets in his column today that resonated for me:

* I could be totally wrong about this, but didn't it seem like the Saints paid wide receiver Kevin Curtis very little respect? They single-covered him and tried to use press coverage on Curtis and held Curtis to 3 catches for 44 yards. According to the official play-by-play sheet, Kolb had Curtis as a target 9 times and completed just 3 passes to him. That isn't very productive.

* Meanwhile, Jeremy Maclin had a couple of catches for 13 yards and I wouldn't be surprised to see him get a few more reps in the coming weeks. The Eagles need his explosiveness.

Kevin Curtis definitely struggled this weekend, and not because of lack of talent or skill, necessarily, but because he is clearly hurting. And he especially seemed to get hung out to dry by play calling a little bit. As Derek noted in an e-mail this morning, "And that one deep ball yesterday ... that we called the play after he took a shot and LIMPED BACK TO THE HUDDLE.  I mean, seriously...."

The more interesting note here is what we do at the X WR position, which is where Curtis lines up. Last year the backup there was Hank Baskett, who is gone. I'm not sure that Brandon Gibson profiles well there and Reggie Brown would have to travel a long way back here from Siberia, so it isn't clear that the commute would be worth the effort. So that leaves the guy who was drafted to fill that role, and who got more attention from the offensive game planners yesterday: Jeremy Maclin.

I'd feel a lot better about that idea if he had showed more in training camp, but of course, he held out. The guy on the other side of that negotiation had a very interesting post about that holdout today:

In negotiating the contract for Jeremy Maclin, the wide receiver taken after Crabtree in the first round (albeit nine picks later), one of the difficulties was that the selection was sandwiched in the first round by players who were defensive linemen, offensive linemen, a tight end, a quarterback, etc. Should that matter, you ask? For the purposes of base contract and guaranteed money, not really. The player is picked where he’s picked; it’s of no import -- except for a quarterback -- what position he plays.

The place it matters is upside, i.e., escalators. It’s challenging to equate the level of difficulty of the escalator to players in entirely different positions where statistical accomplishments -- very important to a wide receiver -- are largely irrelevant, save for sacks. The primary escalation marker for many positions is playing time, not directly relevant to a receiver.....

In the Maclin negotiation, the concern about escalators from the Maclin camp was that even though the Eagles pass as much as any team in the league, they spread the ball around, lessening the chances for dramatic impact of the escalators.

Of course, the Eagles are already in a spot where Maclin could get a lot of playing time. He'd probably have a much easier time reaching the thresholds if he'd had an extra 10 days in camp to beat out Curtis from the start. I've always argued that training camp time missed is massively overrated in the long run, but in the short run, it matters.

-----

A few other useful notes from that Andrew Brandt article:

Carolina
A.J. Feeley received $50,000 to sign. The only team in the NFL under the Mendoza line of $1M of Cap room, look for the Panthers to try to restructure a contract or two soon since we’re in a season where all earned incentives are going to count on the cap when earned -- unlike previous years -- due to next year being uncapped.

Philadelphia
Jeff Garcia also received $50,000 to sign and a two-game guarantee of salary. The amount is moot, however, because Garcia, as a vested veteran, is guaranteed at least one-quarter of the 10-year minimum salary, an amount worth approximately $211,000.

Indianapolis
Hank Baskett, released by the Eagles and unclaimed due to his $1.545-million salary (the restricted free-agent tender for the second-round draft compensation) was given a $100,000 bonus to sign with the Colts after being pursued by the Rams and a couple of other teams.

And here are some players who took pay cuts prior to the start of the season, avoiding release by their teams:

- Sean Jones, Eagles

Jones took a $500K base salary pay cut, from $1.5 million down to $1 million.

-----

Finally, in Derek's honor, NFP also has a bit of praise for the great Mark Whipple.

More On The Deep Ball

I'm running what I guess amounts to something of a guest column today.  Jason Hutt is an Eagles fan and also part of the game charting project for Football Outsiders.  He's been doing it longer than I have, however, so he has more Eagles games under his belt and has charts going back a couple of years.

Coming out of last week's discussion, Jason went back through his charts and pulled out every deep pass he'd charted over the past two years.  He then went into the official play-by-plays and grabbed the rest, to give a complete picture of where the ball has been going when they air it out.

The results look something like this:

 

With all the receivers, it's a huge file, so rather than posting it as a series of images, you can just download the pdf of his work here. 

Here's Jason's take on the numbers:

I had a chance to do tonight what I was hoping to look into last night.  I went through my game charts and the play-by-play for ’07 and ’08 and compiled data on all passes over 20 yards.  To be clear, I’m only focusing on passes that travel more than 20 yards in the air, not passes that have a lot of yards after the catch.  My goal was to try and see how the receivers were doing getting open and making receptions deep.

I’m missing 1 game in ’07 and 3 games in ’08.  The numbers still offer some interesting insights.  Of course a lot of contextual data is missing here, you can’t tell the defensive coverage, who the primary receiver was, and if there were any mitigating reasons for a throw being off target [Derek's note:  As Jason mentioned in a separate email, this is an important point.  "Off target" can mean there was a miscommunication or the receiver slipped or any number of things.  It doesn't necessarily mean the throw was bad.]  On halves I charted, I was able to document a reason for the incompletion.  On uncharted halves, I just listed incompletion unknown.

Kevin Curtis’ ’08 season was derailed early because of injuries, but the Eagles seemed to have learned in ’07 that he was not a great deep threat.  In two seasons, he’s caught only 2 of 14 passes over 30 yards.  If it was just a matter of getting the timing down with McNabb, you would think that Curtis would have had a better catch rate in the latter half of ’07, instead it seems as if they stopped throwing to him really deep.

Desean Jackson was the Eagles best intermediate route receiver out of the last two seasons.  Nobody comes close to his 56% catch rate on those routes.  However, he was only 1 for 11 on routes over 30 yards.  Getting a burner opposite him who can push the safety back and stretch the middle zones may help Jackson next year as defenses try to key on him more.  It’s also interesting that McNabb was picked off targeting Desean on these routes more than any other receiver.  I wonder if that’s due to trying to squeeze the ball into Desean, due to Desean’s smaller stature, or to him being a rookie.  It will be interesting to see if that changes next year.

Greg Lewis filled this field stretcher role in ’07, but there really wasn’t anyone to take advantage of that.  In ’07, Lewis was the target on the second most passes over 30 yards behind only Curtis.  His 33% catch rate in that area was best on the team.  He was targeted less in this area in ’08 but there’s no telling if he actually ran fewer deep routes.

Reggie Brown was abysmal on the intermediate routes in ’07 and that no doubt factored into his decreased workload this year.

Thanks to Jason for putting this together.

Eagles - Giants Game Preview: It ’ s cold outside, and we wouldn ’ t have it any other way

Of course the Birds would have to play the Giants.  Of course.  As if it wasn't offensive enough that the Giants won the Super Bowl last year, now they have a chance (a four-point chance at home with a bye week in the mix) to end the Eagles' season.  It's been a glorious and serendipitous couple weeks for the Eagles and their fans, but now we've to deal with the defending champs.  And I've signed up to watch it in person.

Certainly I can feel emboldened by our previous trip to the Meadowlands.  Sure, the intensity on the field and in the stands was different that day, and the Giants' fans in our section were very polite (even before it was obvious that the Birds were beating them down), but that was definitely my best-ever Eagles experience in that stadium.

I do not expect a repeat of that experience today, either from the Eagles or the locals.    This is going to be as tough as it gets on the field and in the stands (I swear I'm not going to lose my temper if I absorb a snowball in the head -- I will bend like the reed in the wind!).

But here's the thing -- can we ask for much more than this?  Even if the Eagles win, any matchup the following week will be a letdown.  The defending champs in rough conditions in their own soon-to-be-retired stadium?  With two of the best defensive teams in the league?  If the NFC East has its own set of Gods, surely they must be pleased by this offering.  As a fan, even if it doesn't go our way, I consider myself lucky to have a seat for this one.

(At least that's how I'm rationalizing it.  I'll be a complete lunatic by kickoff I'm sure.  At least I can say I made a commercially reasonable effort to be an adult.)

What I'll be shouting about:

I'm looking for someone to convince me that the Eagles will succeed on offense.  The weather is going to make it difficult to throw the ball effectively.  The offensive line didn't get much of a push last week against the Vikings (though admittedly the Vikings are pretty tough against the run), the starting fullback (Buckhalter) weighs as much as I do (yikes!), and the starting running back continues to limp.  Can McNabb and the wideouts be strong enough -- again -- to move the chains?  That might be asking a lot.  I dunno.  It's a bit disheartening.

Speaking of, Jon Runyan doesn't look good.  And I don't just mean because of his hirsute appearance or cretinous manner of discourse.  He didn't move well against the Vikings last week, and I can't imagine he'll move any better in 28-degree weather.  But hey, he's only facing Justin Tuck, that shouldn't be a problem.  We can only assume that Runyan will have an ungodly cocktail of painkillers pumped into his bloodstream before the game and that he'll hobble through it again.  Don't worry, Jon.  Walking in your forties is completely overrated.

And then, the apocalypse scenario.  Runyan or one of the guards gets hurt.  Mike McGlynn is on IR.  Thus would Winston Justice enter the game.  That will be the point where my wife has permission to roofie me for the remainder of the game.

First tackle.  First foul.  First shot.  First goal (1).  So last week it was Brian Dawkins who established the appropriate level of violence with his brutal shot on Adrian Peterson.  Who's going to step up with a big hit early this week?  Feels like it's Sheldon Brown's turn.

First tackle.  First foul.  First shot.  First goal (2).  Given my general level of concern about the offense's ability to succeed against the Giants, it's extremely important that the Eagles survive the inevitable rush of enthusiasm from New York in the first few minutes of the game.  Going down by more than 10 points in the first half could be deadly.

I wish I could be more excited about the special teams.  After the Minnesota game, I assumed that special teams would be an advantage for the Birds.  Then I remembered how David Akers is completely spooked by the Meadowlands and how multiple field goals were blocked.  Still, this will be the rookies' place to shine today.  We've come to expect it from DeSean Jackson; wouldn't it be lovely if we got something special from Demps?  The Giants struggle in their kickoff coverage -- it could happen.

Things that do not worry me.  The Giants' passing offense.  I imagine that the Eagles' secondary thinks they can handle the Giants' wideouts, and I imagine that they'd be correct.  And I'd also say I'm especially emboldened in this prediction after pulling my little stats in defense of Tavaris Jackson the other day.

Things that might worry us.  As well as the Eagles have defended the run over the past two months (really since the first Giants game), I still think they'll have a tough time of it versus the G-Men today.  The Birds didn't get a week off, and it's cold outside -- you can imagine them wearing down a bit.

Do we have bandwidth for one more superhero performance from 36?  It is unlikely that the Eagles will be able to win without a superhuman effort from the gimpy 36 Chambers of Brian Westbrook.  Westbrook had enough for the Eagles to win last week, but he didn't look consistently strong throughout the game.  I can't imagine that the Eagles win without Westbrook making at least one big play.  The nice thing about Westbrook is that he completely terrifies Giants fans.  In the parking lot a month ago, more than one person was still haunted by his punt return in 2003 -- and then he goes and scores twice that afternoon.  Seriously, he has them spooked.  Also, if the wideouts don't catch the ball, the Birds are cooked.

Hopefully they'll score before they get to the 20.  Things haven't looked so good in the red zone of late.  Huh.  Guess they'll have to score from 21+ yards out!

Actual prediction.  Rational brain, you go away now, and stop reminding me how healthy the Giants are and how the Eagles have a pretty limited ceiling on offense, and how the conditions favor the rested, ball-control offense.  Instead, suggest that the Eagles' defense really might be that good, and that Andy Reid and Jim Johnson are up to the challenge today.  I can't imagine either team making it much past 20 points; let's hope the Eagles are on the friendly side of that number.  Luckily, we can all rest assured that churches throughout the Delaware valley are filled with young men and boys ignoring a series of horrific wars around the globe and are silently praying for an Eagles victory.  And really, who are we to argue with the power of prayer?  Eagles 17, Giants 16.

GO BIRDS.

Eagles - Vikings Game Preview: don ’ t pretend you know what we ’ re getting today

Well none of us are going to pretend we expected this.  Sure, we could envision this, but to expect this would have been a bit strong after the Washington game.  The Eagles are actually in the playoffs.

So, are they any damn good?

That's the thing about the Eagles game today.  We don't actually know what the narrative of this season is yet.  Is is the "Eagles go on a run like 2006 (Washington game is 'just a blip')" or is it "Eagles stumble into playoffs, but are who we thought they were"?  If they win today, many many sins will be forgiven -- even if they lose the following week.  Then they're good but not good enough, and that's a lot better than we thought we'd get in mid-November.  If they lose today, especially if they do so in one of the ways to which we've become accustomed, well, then they were essentially last year's team with a better punt returner: good on paper, but bad when it matters.

I wouldn't be completely shocked if the Eagles didn't show up at all today, but I don't think it'll happen.  Rather, I think that there's a compelling reason why it might not happen: the Eagles defense.  But more about that in a bit.

What I'll be shouting about in re: today's big Wild Card Game:

Your storylines.  It's a little overwhelming (and by overwhelming, I mean that it makes writing a preview really challenging) when your team makes the playoffs in re: the clear national storylines.  As in, (1) Jim Johnson versus Tavaris Jackson (must include reference to total available quantity of blitzes), (2) Can the suddenly elite Eagles' defense contain Adrian Peterson, (3) Teacher-versus-Pupil.  What's sweet is that I feel good about each of those.  And the thing that worries me most is just that they go out and throw it 48 times.  Andy Reid, you haunt me!

Storylines we refuse to consider.  You're not allowed to say, "This is an extremely close game in simulations with the Eagles winning just under 51 percent of the simulations. The key to the game is turnovers," in an article entitled "Intel Report" on ESPN.  Generally speaking, I think blathermonkeys should be fired on the spot for uttering the phrase, "The key to the game is turnovers."  The key to scoring is touchdowns and field goals.  The key to defense is tackling.  Yes.  It's all true!

Fan storyline that's a bit odd.  I assume most of you are like me in that you feel good about defense and special teams, and have no idea what we're getting from the offense.  It's worth noting that said offense set the franchise record for points scored...and I still don't think we're remotely irrational for not trusting them.

The last time these guys played in January.  The future Mrs. BountyBowl got us tickets for the game as a Christmas gift, circa December 2004.  This was a very clever strategy of hers for currying my affections.  Seemed to have worked out for everyone.  F***ing cold that day, though!

Hip, whatever.  The Birds paid a lot of money for Asante Samuel.  Mr. Samuel has traditionally been very successful in elimination games (save for an awkward moment along the sideline last February).  It'd be lovely if he felt compelled to demonstrate his penchant for the big moment against the Vikings.  Also, I'm pretending that the injury thing is an illusion.

Speaking of, he doesn't need to play.  L.J. Smith has his impending free agency to worry about.  Let's cut the guy some slack and let him get healthy.  It's for the best.

The CamelCased One.  What a wonderful opportunity for young Master DeSean to go out and demonstrate he has a feel for the big moment (and redeem himself for the Washington game) than to make a play against the absolute worst punt coverage team in the league?  Very tempting, no?  We'd hate to think the kid had issues with the spotlight.

Speaking of wideouts.  Both Kevin Curtis and Reggie Brown made circus catches against the Vikings when the Eagles played there last year.  A similar effort this afternoon would augur well for the Birds' chances.

Jared Allen is scary, though not as scary as Demarcus Ware.  I think Allen will be slightly more dangerous than Ware was last week if only because Ware's team completely quit.  But if the Birds can handle Ware, why not Allen?  (That said, I think Allen is excellent.)

Adrian Peterson is scary, though not as scary as Brian Westbrook.  Sure, AP ("Purple Jesus") is a megastar guy who has a chance to be the best back of his generation.  But in a game that matters I feel extremely good about a Brian Westbrook, and not just because he might be the single smartest guy on the field.  He's also good at not getting tackled!

Eagles thoughts from during the Cards - Falcons game.  While I know it's not for everyone, it sure looks like you can run your offense through a couple dominant wideouts.  Those guys are good.

Eagles thoughts from during the Bolts - Colts game.  This was actually painful to watch for me, if only because there were so many little plays that almost but didn't quite go the Chargers' way (at least until the coin toss!).  Lots of dropped picks, bad bounces, that sort of thing.  It's rare that I can feel like an Eagles fan watching another team.  Thanks, Chargers!

Things I'm glad I haven't thought about in weeks.  How about that David Akers!  Doesn't seem to be struggling any more.  And he's got to feel good about a dome.

No one believes in you, Donovan.  I hope Mr. McNabb is on his laptop this morning reading the InterWebs just so he knows that NO ONE BELIEVES IN HIM.  Nope.  Not a one.  And the ONLY WAY HE CAN STICK IT TO THE FICKLE DOUBTERS is to play the game of his life.  That's the only way you can really get us, Donovan.  Seriously.  It'll totally piss us all off, because we don't really like you and don't want you to succeed.

Cardboard Box.  One of the things that makes me feel confident about the game today is that I think the Eagles actually will get the speed of the playoff game.  That is, there are a few guys on the field for the Eagles who won't be intimidated by the moment and will come out playing fast.  Mostly I'm thinking that Brian Dawkins and/ or Sheldon Brown isn't going to be afraid to endanger themselves in order to announce their presence with authority in the first few minutes of the game.  And now, because I can't help it, is the link.  Treat yourself.

Game prediction. I think that the defense is going to show up this week for the Eagles, and that if the Birds can get it to 20 points they should be chill.  The problem is that I can't really speak for the offense.  I think they could be awful.  I think it's important that the Eagles wide receivers play well.  That means getting open and it means catching the ball.  Eagles 20, Vikings 13.

Birds fall to Skins in Platonic ideal of Bad Eagles Loss

Well that wasn't very fun at all.

Not quite Cincinnati-game frustrating, and not Baltimore-game terrible, and not even Redskins-home-loss humiliating, but pretty crappy.  Nothing shameful about the defensive performance (though the Redskins' offense doesn't conjure up memories of the Greatest Show On Turf), but the offense was a bad in all of our old/ familiar/ favorite ways.

That is, today's loss approached the Platonic ideal of a bad Eagles game: no plays or playmakers amongst the wideouts, an abandonment of the running game, some iffy clock management, and -- most importantly -- a horrific performance from L.J. Smith.  If they could have just managed to somehow surrender some points at the end of the first half (in some particularly surprising/ unlikely manner involving the special teams?), well, the universe just might have exploded.

After a couple weeks of strong performances, we can't pretend that the Birds weren't due for one of these efforts.  They certainly didn't get blown out, they just didn't really make any of the plays that are required to win.  Pretty standard, really.

Highlights of frustration below:

Welcome back, the-wideouts-aren't-good-enough meme.  The drops were bad throughout, but the Redskins dropped their fair share as well.  This was a game where I wish I could have been in the stadium to see if guys were actually getting open (my guess is an emphatic no).  We love the CamelCased one, but young DeSean dropped a couple that would have made a difference.  He's a rookie, yup, but he was also the best guy the Birds had out there today.  I dunno.  At least we're all pretty well-versed in beating up on the wide receivers.  I look forward to closely monitoring which diva pass-catchers from around the league are unhappy this off-season.

There's something about Jason Campbell.  Does this guy play this way every week?  I mean, it doesn't seem threatening and explosive at all, nothing vertical or down the field, but he's a pain in the ass on third down.  Those scrambles for first downs are insanely frustrating.

The Redskins' best player.  Helluva a day from the Redskins punter.  Seriously -- that Ryan Plackemeier did himself proud out there.

Intrigue remains in re: Big Five.  McNabb wasn't great today, but he also wasn't terrible.  He'll take heat for this game, sure, but it didn't look like he had a ton of help out there -- from his teammates or the play selection.  And he did make a couple big throws in the fourth quarter, only to get let down by the overwhelming lameness of the wide receivers.  Net net, it means that we can't emphatically ship him out of town in this week's papers.

L.J. Smith and his personal quest to lose games against the Redskins.  Was it the two drops in the first half on third down?  Or the horrific missed block on the screen to Westbrook at the Redskins' five (lots of good questions in the postgame pressers about that one)?  Which specific play was the worst?  I actually think that he might have been the one who was out of position at the beginning of the third quarter when the Birds burned their timeout as well.  Maybe we wouldn't get down him so much if he hadn't also been personally responsible for goal-line mistake against the Skins in October as well.  Not impressive. I hope the fans at the Dallas game remember that this will be their last chance EVER to boo L.J. in an Eagles uniform.

Other BOOOOOs.  Asante Samuel for dropping that pick.  Reggie Brown for being almost but not quite good enough.  Sav Rocca for being outpunted.

My goal is to not spend the rest of the evening moping about and reading every word bit of Internet content on the game.  I'm putting in a movie, ideally something really stupid and/ or cartoonishly violent.  More tomorrow.

Kevin and DeSean, huh?

Just watched Andy Reid's presser. It contained actual information!

Most interesting/ compelling thing he said: "...it'd be Kevin and DeSean" in re: who will be starting at wideout. Sorry, Reggie Brown!

Least interesting/ compelling thing he said: "I feel like I have an All-Pro tight end" in re: a question about L.J. Smith. That's probably why you guys went after Tony Gonzalez! So you could have two All-Pro tight ends!

I think there are plenty of footballs (also, Greg Lewis can have a seat)

With the ostensible return of Kevin Curtis and Reggie Brown to the Eagles' lineup this weekend (though there's still plenty of time for Brown to strain a groin before Sunday), talk has turned to the Eagles', hold on, deep breath, suddenly deep and talented receiving corps.

With the what now? 

Are we actually using phrases like "There are enough balls to go around"?  Really?  Because of a win against the Niners?  What about the two weeks of lousy against the Skins and Bears?  Personally, I think the Eagles' receivers are just fine -- certainly not elite, but definitely competent when healthy.  But this isn't the 1992 Dream Team; I expect most fans will be content if the Eagles can muster up just a few big plays from their wideouts.  I certainly don't think we have to worry about hurting these guys' feelings.

Of course, a healthy Curtis means that someone among Baskett, Avant and Greg Lewis is likely going to sit this week.  Um, again, I don't think this is an advanced-placement-level question: the answer is Greg Lewis.  I guess he and his 172 lbs. play a little special teams, but so do brand-new linebackers. 

Of course, the larger question here is what happens to young Master DeSean.  I really hope that having Curtis and Brown healthy doesn't land him on the bench, and instead is used "as an excuse to find him deep in single coverage."  That'd be sweet. 

Reggie Brown is soooo 2006

Good news for the Birds: it looks like Reggie Brown has been cleared to play tomorrow against the Steelers.

At least you'd think it was good news -- Reggie Brown was a presumptive starter for the erstwhile wideout-challenged Birds, and surely he must be an upgrade over the backups who've been out there the past couple weeks?  But the buzz in more than a couple places is that Brown's return really isn't such a big deal at all. In fact, given that DeSean Jackson has been lining up at Brown's "X" receiver position (Editor's Note: I don't really know what that means), some have wondered if there will really be a role for Reggie Brown.

While I've had my issues with Reggie Brown in the past, the guy has actually made some plays in the past.  And whilst I obviously eat up any and all rumors regarding his "rocky relationship" with Donovan McNabb, Reggie Brown is definitely a better NFL player than Greg Lewis, Hank Baskett and Jason Avant.  The issue is young master Jackson, who's, um, apparently pretty good, and certainly a lot more exciting than Brown.  It's tough not to be distracted by Jackson; he's a much brighter/ shinier object than boring old Reggie Brown.

All that said, Brown getting back on the field is good news.  The passing game has been delightfully vertical so far, and adding one more solid wideout can only increase the offense's upside.

Lewis, Baskett looking to brush up on flattery, obsequiousness?

Uh oh. 

First it was Lorenzo Booker who was going to be complimentary to Brian Westbrook (and really, who among us shouldn't be complimentary to Brian Westbrook -- he was the best back in the NFL last year!).  Now it appears that both Greg Lewis and Hank Baskett have picked up some manners from Booker and will be sharing kind words of praise with the rest of the receiving corps:

Brown's uncertainty leaves the Eagles short in experience at wide receiver. With Kevin Curtis already out indefinitely after sports-hernia surgery, the Birds are down their top two from last season. Greg Lewis and Hank Baskett are decent complimentary options, but neither has ever been a No. 1. Head coach Andy Reid said he has some maneuverability.

It's one thing when an error shows up in marketing copy on PE.com, it's quite another when it shows up in the dailies.  Errors happen, sure, and we all know the fishwrapper biz is in the midst of implosion (that pesky Craigslist!), but this is almost correction-worthy. 

I say almost because, well, it's in the sports section, and, um, no one really cares but nerds like me.