Philadelphia Eagles: McNabb Finally Has Receivers Competing for Spots

Throughout his career, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb has faced his fair share of criticism.

When the Eagles selected him with the No. 2 pick overall in 1999, he was booed by fans who wanted Ricky Williams instead. His controversy with Rush Limbaugh shed light on the issue of African-American quarterbacks in the league. Even this past November, he dealt with criticism after head coach Andy Reid benched him in the second half during a 36-7 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

If he fails to win a Super Bowl by the time he decides to call it quits, McNabb’s legacy in Philadelphia may be remembered for the five NFC Championship game appearances in eight years without a championship. However, he should be considered along with the group of wide receivers he has played with over his career before he gets judged.

Peyton Manning had Marvin Harrison. Steve Young had Jerry Rice. Troy Aikman was lucky enough to have Michael Irvin at wide receiver and Emmith Smith at running back.

Even though he played less than two seasons with the Eagles, Terrell Owens may always be seen as the best wide receiver McNabb ever played with. Eagles fans may not want to believe it, but it’s true. McNabb and Owens had the potential to be one of those dynamic duos that won a Super Bowl together.

Unfortunately, that never happened.

In 21 games, Owens caught 132 passes for 1,963 yards and 20 touchdowns. He and McNabb had the potential to become a pair similar to Manning and Harrison.

Besides Owens, McNabb has never played with a truly dominant No. 1 receiver during his career. Despite this, he has still managed to throw for 29,320 yards and 194 touchdowns during his 10-year career. Looking at the Eagles leading wide receiver each year, the numbers are impressive for McNabb considering which receivers he has had to work with. Look at the Eages’ leading receivers each season since 2000:

2000: Charles Johnson, 56 receptions, 642 yards, and 7 touchdowns

2001: James Thrash, 63 receptions, 833 yards, and 8 touchdowns

2002: Todd Pinkston, 40 receptions, 798 yards, and 7 touchdowns

2003: Todd Pinkston, 36 receptions, 575 yards and 2 touchdowns

2004: Terrell Owens, 77 receptions, 1,200 yards, and 14 touchdowns

2005: Terrell Owens, 47 receptions, 763 yards, and 6 touchdowns (only played in 7 games)

2006: Reggie Brown, 46 receptions, 816 yards, and 8 touchdowns

2007: Kevin Curtis, 77 receptions, 1,110 yards, and 6 touchdowns

2008: DeSean Jackson, 62 receptions, 912 yards, and 2 touchdowns

Owens and Curtis are the only wide receivers to record more than 1,000 yards in a season during the McNabb era. Other receivers that McNabb has played with through his career include James Thrash (2001-2003) and Freddie Mitchell (2001-2004). Throughout his career, McNabb has been able to post solid numbers considering the wide receivers he has worked with.

Ever since the departure of Owens, one of the main topics surrounding the Eagles’ organization has been about Donovan McNabb and how he needs a true No. 1 wide receiver. Even during the offseason, McNabb made it clear to the media that he would see what moves the team made during the offseason before making a decision about a contract extension.

Over the last couple of years, rumors have swirled around the league about the possibility of the Eagles landing a big-name wide receiver. No matter how many rumors have swirled around, the matter of fact is the team has never been able to acquire that top wide receiver McNabb always wanted.

As much as the Eagles may have wanted to acquire Anquan Boldin or Braylon Edwards, they may not need them as much as people think.

As crazy as this may sound, the Eagles enter the 2009 season with loads of talent at the wide receiver spot. They may not be near the top of the list as far as best receivers in the league, but there are a number of players with a level of talent that McNabb has always wanted.

Some players have the potential to be a No. 1 wide receiver. Some players have the potential for playing a smaller role. Either way, these next couple months should be interesting for the Eagles as a handful of wide receivers will be competing for spots in the team’s lineup.

 

DeSean Jackson

Last year, the Eagles selected DeSean Jackson out of California with the 45th overall pick in the draft. Even though he only caught two touchdown passes, he led the team in receiving yards with 962.

His explosiveness is a perfect fit for the team’s West Coast offense. Not only does he make a great fit at wide receiver, but he’s a punt returner too. After last season, it’s not even a question whether Jackson will make the Eagles’ roster this season.

The only question is whether he has what it takes to be the team’s No. 1 wide receiver in only his second season with the team.

 

Jeremy Maclin

In this year’s draft, the Eagles were hoping to draft running back Knowshon Moreno. The former Georgia star would be a perfect fit to play behind Brian Westbrook, with the possibility of becoming the main back in the future. Instead, Moreno was selected by the Broncos with the 12th overall pick.

At first, fans were disappointed after all the hype was built up about Moreno. However, little did they know the availability of a certain player that would come later in the first round.

One of the biggest surprises in this year’s draft was the first wide receiver selected. For months, former Texas Tech wide receiver Michael Crabtree was seen as the player in the draft at his position. When the Raiders selected Darrius Heyward-Bey out of Maryland as the first wide receiver taken in the draft, it threw everyone off.

With the 21st pick in the draft, the Eagles found themselves with an opportunity to draft a standout wide receiver from Missouri in Maclin. Not taking any chances, the Eagles decided to trade-up with the Cleveland Browns and select Maclin at No. 19.

Maclin appears to be a mirror image of Jackson and has the potential to be one of the biggest offensive threats for the Eagles. In just two seasons at Missouri, he caught 182 passes for 2,315 yards and 22 touchdowns. He may not be considered a No.1 wide receiver at the beginning of the season, but the potential is there.

Don’t forget, not many people expected Jackson to have the type of impact he had at wide receiver last season.

 

Kevin Curtis

In 2007, the Eagles struck gold in free agency by signing former St. Louis Ram Kevin Curtis to a six-year, $32 million deal. At the time, the city of Philadelphia was excited since Curtis was the biggest named receiver on the team since the departure of Terrell Owens.

With the acquisition of Curtis, many questioned whether he was capable of being a No. 1 receiver. In his first four seasons with the Rams, he was always considered a No. 3 receiver playing behind Tory Holt and Issac Bruce. He would put up solid numbers from time to time, but never really had the experience as the top receiver.

In his first full season with the Eagles, Curtis reached all expectations. He started more games that season (16) than he did in his entire career to that point. His 1,110 receiving yards and six touchdowns gave hope that the team had finally found the No. 1 receiver they had always been looking for.

Once again, Curtis has the potential to be the team’s No. 1 receiver coming into the season. However, a sports hernia injury at the beginning of last season not only caused him to sit out the first couple of games, but it allowed Jackson to emerge as a rookie.

Curtis played in just nine games last season. His numbers were disappointing, as he only caught 33 balls for 390 yards and two touchdowns.

As long as he stays healthy, Curtis should have a major impact for the Eagles’ offense. However, whether he will be considered a No. 1 or No. 2 wide receiver should be determined over the next couple of months. If Jackson follows up with a successful sophomore campaign and Maclin has a successful rookie season, Curtis may see himself in a similar situation from his days with the Rams as a No. 3 wide receiver.

 

Reggie Brown

After his first two seasons with the Eagles, there were high expectations for Brown. Two years later, those expectations have declined, and Brown appears to be on the verge of trying to find playing time.

From 2005 to 2006, Brown caught 89 receptions for 1,387 yards and 12 touchdowns. Last season, Brown had his worst season in his career.

In the 10 games he played in last season, he only had 18 receptions for 252 yards and a touchdown. The main statistic that sticks out is of the 10 games he played, he only started in three of them. In the three seasons prior to 2008, he started 40 of 48 games he played in.

Brown struggled to find playing time last season. After the Eagles’ drafting of Maclin in this year’s draft, he could be struggling to find playing time once again. Not only will he be fighting for playing time, but he may be battling for a roster spot.

 

Hank Baskett

Out of all of the players on the Eagles’ roster, nobody may have more of an interesting story than Hank Basket.

After attending the University of New Mexico, he signed with the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent. Not too long after, he was traded to the Eagles for wide receiver Billy McMullen.

Baskett has never been the dominant receiver in the NFL we have seen in Terrell Owens or Larry Fitzgerald. Instead, he has always been known for having that big game once every blue moon.

Baskett’s rookie campaign will always be remembered for his miraculous game against the Dallas Cowboys. Week Five of the 2006 season was the first time Terrell Owens returned to the City of Brotherly Love since his so called “divorce” with the Eagles. He wanted nothing more than to march into Philadelphia and beat his former team on its home turf. The city of Philadelphia wanted to defeat the Cowboys more than anything in the world.

While trailing 21-17 in the third quarter, the Eagles found themselves deep in their own territory at the 13-yard line. On the first play of the drive, McNabb dropped back and threw a bomb down the field to Baskett. A broken tackle and 87 yards later, Baskett had his first career touchdown. The Eagles eventually won the game 38-24.

In his three-year career, Baskett has caught 71 passes for 1,046 yards and six touchdowns. He finds himself in a similar situation to Brown. Since the Eagles have drafted two wide receivers early on the last two seasons, there may be fewer spots on the roster for wide receivers such as Brown, Baskett, and Jason Avant.

The advantage for Baskettt is that his numbers were better than Brown’s last season. Of the 15 games he played in last season, he started six of them. He made 33 receptions for 440 yards and three touchdowns.

 

Jason Avant

Baskett and Avant are more similar than most people realize. Both wide receivers joined the Eagles in 2006 as rookies and have seen a decent amount of playing time each season.

Avant will be entering his fourth season as a Philadelphia Eagle. The former Michigan Wolverine was selected in the fourth round after finishing his college career with 120 receptions, 1,470 receiving yards, and 11 touchdowns.

Avant didn’t have that much of an impact with the Eagles in his rookie campaign. In the eight games he played in, he caught just seven passes, which resulted in 68 yards and a touchdown.

Over the course of the next two seasons, he played in 30 games. He started 11 of them and made 55 receptions for 644 yards and four touchdowns.

Donovan McNabb enjoyed the presence of Avant during the 2008 season, when Avant converted 13 of 15 catches for first downs on third-down plays. Whether this statistic will be good enough to keep him on the team this season will be determined in the next couple of months.

After playing most of his career without a star wide receiver, Donovan McNabb all of a sudden has a ton of weapons to throw to. If Jackson, Maclin, and Curtis can stay healthy, McNabb may have one of the best triple-threats at wide receiver in the league. Not to mention he also has Brian Westbrook, who at times is considered another wide receiver for the team.

The wide receiver position will be very competitive for the Eagles over the next couple of weeks. Jackson, Maclin, and Curtis should be a lock. As far as Brown, Baskett, and Avant go, it appears the three of these guys will have a lot of competing to do for playing time, if not a roster spot.

“Dan Parzych covers the Eagles for NFLTouchdown.com. You can view his work here“

Ocho Cinco Will Wear “Ochocinco” Instead: Is the League Out to Get Chad?

Chad Ochocinco will get his desired wish of his new legal name on the back of his jersey. However, it won’t be the way he actually wanted it.

The NFL announced Thursday that the Bengals wide receiver will be allowed to wear his new name on the back of his jersey this season, but it will read “Ochocinco” instead of Ocho Cinco. Since he wrote Ochocinco on his name-change form, the league claims he must wear his jersey that way since it’s his real name.

Once again, Ocho Cinco appears to be a popular topic in the media. He will most likely voice his opinion within the next couple of days about how he is unhappy with the way his new jersey name looks. Does he have the right to speak up?

It’s hard not to assume the league did this to Ochocinco on purpose. Last season, the league was against calling him by his new name because of their large inventory of Johnson jerseys that Reebok already printed for the 2008 season. If he wanted to go by his new name, he would have to pay around $4 million for the jerseys that had already been printed.

Ever since Chad legally changed his name, he has always spelled it as Ocho Cinco. The media has always spelled is as Ocho Cinco. The league knew that he always spelled it Ocho Cinco. So how can we not assume they are making him spell it as Ochocinco to get under his skin?

No matter what happens with this situation, the league will always use the defense that players’ real names appear on jerseys and he made his legal name Ochocinco on the name-change form.

Then again, the league was aware of how he liked to spell his new name. If they knew this was going to be an issue, why did they wait until now to bring up the issue? Is it because they had no reason to deny Ochocinco the rights to wear his new last name?

With everything that happened last year with the name-change debate, it’s hard to not to imagine the league did this to make Ochocinco upset

Chad Ocho Cinco: Is He Only As Good As His Quarterback?

There was once a popular phrase around the NFL that asked how do you stop 85? This phrase was about Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson, who now goes by the name Chad Ocho Cinco.

Throughout his career, Ocho Cinco has been nothing but a headache to opposing defenses. Other than his rookie season, he had never recorded less than 1,100 yards receiving. That was until last season.

2008 was a season to forget, not only for the 4-11-1 Cincinnati Bengals, but for Ocho Cinco himself. For the first time since his rookie campaign in 2001, he failed to reach the 1,000 yard mark for receiving. In fact, he didn’t even reach the 600 yard mark.

Last season, Ocho Cinco had 53 receptions for 540 yards and four touchdowns. Johnson played in 13 games but started just 10 of them. How does a player with the talent level of Ocho Cinco have such a disappointing season?

Many blame Carson Palmer’s absense for Ocho Cinco’s horrendous 2008 season. Palmer only played in four of the first five regular season games last season due to an elbow injury. While he sat on the bench, quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick ran the offense.

It’s easy to assume that Ocho Cinco’s decline in statistics during 2008 was because of the quarterback situation.

Palmer is a former Heisman Trophy winner out of Southern California, which is well known as one of the best programs in all of college football. Fitzpatrick comes from Harvard University, which is well known for having one of the best academic programs in the country, but is not exactly a football production line.

Long story short—the two levels of competition each school faces on the football field is nowhere even close to each other. Southern California plays schools such as UCLA and Oregon, while Harvard plays schools such as Princeton and Yale.

Basically, Carson Palmer’s experience is at a completely different level to Fitzpatrick’s. If Fitzpatrick is the reason for Ocho Cinco’s 2008 season, does this mean he is only as good as the quarterback running the offense?

It’s obvious Ryan Fitzpatrick is no Carson Palmer. In 13 games last season, he threw for just 1,905 yards, eight touchdowns, and nine interceptions. During the 16 games he played in the 2007 regular season, Palmer threw for 4,131 yards, 26 touchdowns, and 20 interceptions.

In other words, Palmer’s average passing yards each game surpassed Fitzpatrick’s by more than 100. Not to mention he averaged a whole touchdown more per game.

Prior to last season, Ocho Cinco has been Palmer’s main target at the wide receiver position for the previous four seasons. In those four seasons, they had hooked up for over 5,000 yards and 31 touchdowns.

Unfortunately, Ocho Cinco failed to find that special connection when Fitzpatrick took over at quarterback. In the nine games the two played together in, they hooked up for just 470 yards and four touchdowns.

Besides Palmer, Ocho Cinco has had just three other quarterbacks throw to him during his eight year career; Jon Kitna (46 games), Gus Frerotte (three games), and Akili Smith (two games).

It’s hard to make comparisons between Ocho Cinco during his time with Frerotte and Smith as his quarterback considering they played a combined five games together. However, Kitna is a quarterback that makes a strong case for Ocho Cinco only being good as his quarterback.

In his first three seasons with the Bengals, Kitna threw for 9,985 yards, 54 touchdowns, and 53 interceptions. These may not be Peyton Manning-esque numbers, but they were still decent for an average quarterback.

It wasn’t until his second season with the Bengals that Ocho Cinco became a full-time starter at wide receiver. In his first two seasons as a starter with Kitna as his quarterback, he had 159 receptions for 2,521 yards and 15 touchdowns.

There have been numerous wide receivers throughout history who have improved their game because of the quarterback they played with. Some argue that Tom Brady has made Wes Welker a better wide receiver in New England. Others say Marvin Harrison’s career would not have been the same if he had never played with Peyton Manning.

Kitna and Palmer did an excellent job at getting Ocho Cinco the ball from 2002-2007. The fact that he was not able to put up the same type of numbers with Fitzpatrick at quarterback can’t help but make one wonder whether or not he is as only as good as his play caller.

There are other receivers whose numbers have decreased when the team’s starting quarterback has gone down. However, there are a number of wide receivers whose numbers are still impressive, no matter which quarterback is leading the way. Look at what Calvin Johnson did in Detroit last season.

Last season was a season to forget for the Detroit Lions, as they became the first season in NFL history to go winless and finish with a 0-16 record. The Lions found themselves with three different quarterbacks playing throughout the season with Daunte Culpepper, Dan Orlovsky, and Drew Stanton.

Despite the variety of quarterbacks, Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson still managed to put up superb numbers as he finished with 1,331 yards received and 12 touchdowns. He proved that no matter who was playing quarterback for Detroit, he was still capable of putting up solid numbers.

For the last couple of seasons, Chad Ocho Cinco has complained about how the Bengals will not grant his wish of a trade to a different team. Unfortunately for him, his disappointing 2008 season, in which he recorded just 540 yards receiving and four touchdowns, did not help his trade value.

It’s easy to sit here and blame Ocho Cinco’s statistics last season on the fact that the Bengals played the majority of the season without their star quarterback. However, if a wide receiver in the NFL is as good as he seems to be, he should have no problem putting up the numbers he is used to, no matter who is quarterback is.

With a healthy Carson Palmer and a fresh start to the 2009 season, Ocho Cinco will have a chance to recover from his horrendous campaign last year.

If the statement that he is only as good as his quarterback is true, Ocho Cinco should have no problem returning to his usual form, putting up big numbers, as long as Palmer is calling the shots at quarterback.

Eagles Make All the Right Moves in 2009 Draft

The last weekend of April is one of the best times of the year for die hard football fans.

Two straight days of Mel Kiper and the rest of ESPN’s NFL crew hosting the NFL Draft.

Thirty-two teams selecting players in hope that they will lead their team to the promised land in the near future.

Last weekend’s draft left fans full of surprises.

Former Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford cashed in with the first overall pick ($41.7 million in guaranteed money) in hopes of helping the Detroit Lions turn around a disastrous season as they became the first team in history to go 0-16.

Mark Sanchez ended up replacing Brett Favre in New York after the Jets traded up to acquire the former Southern California quarterback with the fifth overall pick.

Everybody was interested to see what moves the Philadelphia Eagles would make in the upcoming draft.

After the Arizona Cardinals lowered their trade demands for wide receiver Anquan Boldin, the Eagles were one of several teams expressing interest in a possible trade.  The acquisition of Boldin would make Donovan McNabb happy, who told the organization in the offseason, he wanted to see what the team did before he signed a new deal.

The Eagles may have fell short in acquiring the big name wide receiver they wanted in Boldin. However, the team made enough moves this weekend to improve a team that fell a few big plays short of the Super Bowl last season.

When looking ahead to 2009 after this weekend, this team looks as if they could give any of the 31 other teams a run for their money.

A little over a week ago, the Eagles originally had two first round draft picks before trading the 28th overall pick to the Buffalo Bills to acquire left tackle, Jason Peters—hoping to improve their offensive line.

All week, it appeared that the Eagles were going to go after running back Knowshon Moreno out of Georgia.

Moreno seemed like the perfect fit for an Eagles’ offense in which he could work together with Brian Westbrook.

He could run.

He could catch.

Unfortunately, dreams of Moreno in Eagles’ green were shattered when the Denver Broncos selected him with the 12th overall pick.

The Eagles may have fell short in acquiring the running back they really wanted in Moreno. However, they still managed to have an excellent weekend between the selections and trades they made.

After this weekend, a few new names join the Eagles’ roster that could have an immediate impact in 2009.

 

First round 19th overall: Jeremy Maclin, WR Missouri

The Eagles were disappointed that Moreno didn’t fall late enough in the first round for them to select him with the 21st overall saying.

A good friend once told me that when one door closes, another one opens. This popular saying worked out perfectly for the Eagles in the first round.

In most mock drafts, Jeremy Maclin was expected to be selected within the first fifteen picks. When the Eagles saw team after team pass on him, they knew they had to make a move by trading up to acquire the talented wide receiver.

Lucky for the Eagles, the Cleveland Browns were willing to swap their 19th pick with the Eagles for their 21st overall pick and a sixth round pick so they could draft Maclin.

Some fans were confused with the selection of Maclin, considering he seemed like another DeSean Jackson, who the team selected in last year’s draft.

If this is the case, why are people complaining?

Maclin finished his two-year career at Missouri with 2,315 yards receiving and 22 touchdowns.

He should fit in well with the Eagles West Coast offense with similar speed to Jackson (he ran a  4.46 40-time).

Look for Maclin to have an immediate impact for an Eagles’ offense that has apparently never had that big name wide receiver (minus Terrell Owens).

All of a sudden, Donovan McNabb has another wide receiver with blazing speed to play alongside Jackon and Kevin Curtis.

The Eagles may not have drafted their running back for “life after Westbrook” with Moreno, however, they were smart enough to trade up for a talented wide receiver that may have a bright future ahead of him in the city of brotherly love.

 

Second round 53rd overall: LeSean McCoy, RB Pittsburgh

In the 2007 draft, the Eagles selected Kevin Kolb out of the University of Houson as their quarterback of the future once McNabb decided to call it a career.

In the 2009 draft, they were looking into selecting a running back to fill in the shoes of Brian Westbrook when he was ready to call it a career.

With the 53rd pick in the second round, the team selected LeSean McCoy out of the University of Pittsburgh.

The Eagles may have been disappointed they missed out on their chance for Moreno.

However, McCoy has enough talent to carry their backfield in the future while playing alongside one of the most dangerous backs in the league during the process in Brian Westbrook.

Like Maclin, McCoy decided to enter the draft early after a superb two year career playing Division I football.

Last season alone, the 5′11”, 210 lb running back rushed for 1,488 yards and 21 touchdowns for the Panthers.

Over the last couple of years, teams with two star running backs have emerged as one of the most popular trends in the league.

McCoy will be seen as the replacement for Correll Buckhalter and most likely considered as the Eagles No. 2 running back behind Westbrook, giving the team a solid one two punch in the backfield.

Buckhalter signed a four year deal with the Broncos after spending his entire career playing in Philadelphia.

 

Fifth round 153rd overall, Cornelius Ingram, TE Florida

The 2009 NFC Championship game against the Arizona Cardinals left the Eagles in disappointment after overcoming a 21 point deficit to only lose 32-25.

However, the performance of tight end Brent Celek, who finished with 10 receptions for 83 yards and two touchdowns, gave the team high expectations for what he could bring in the future.

After the departure of L.J. Smith to the Baltimore Ravens, the Eagles had a gap to fill in at the tight end position.

With the 153rd pick in the fifth round, the team selected tight end Cornelius Ingram out of Florida.

Despite the fact that that he missed the entire 2008 season due to an ACL injury, Ingram has shown in the past he has what it takes to be an impact player for a team.

In 2007, he recorded 34 receptions, with seven of them being touchdowns.

Not bad for a player whose main position is known for blocking.

If Celek can play as well as he did in the playoffs last season, there is no doubt that he can be considered the Eagles main option at tight end in 2009. 

Look for Ingram to compete for playing time next season with tight end Matt Schobel. He has similar speed to Smith and is capable of spreading the field to give McNabb another option to throw to.

 

Two fifth round picks dealt to New England for CB Ellis Hobbs

Sheldon Brown recently expressed how unhappy he was with his contract situation with the Eagles and requested a trade (it’s understandable for anyone making $3 million in one season to be upset).

Last weekend’s trade with the New England Patriots may be a sign of what’s to come for Brown in the future.

The Eagles traded the No. 137 and 141 overall picks to the New England Patriots in exchange for corner back Ellis Hobbs.

Hobbs spent his first four seasons in the NFL with the Patriots and was on the team in 2005 when they defeated the Eagles in Super Bowl XXXIX.

Whether or not this trade was made because of Brown has yet to be determined. Whether or not they decide to grant Brown’s request for a trade, the Eagles still managed to acquire another solid defender at the corner back position.

In four seasons with the Patriots, Hobbs recorded 198 total tackles and 9 interceptions.

Not only does he defend, but he gives the Eagles another option when it comes to returning kickoffs.

Hobbs will reunite with former Patriot corner back Asante Samuel, who signed with the Eagles through free agency last season. If Brown ends up being traded, look for Hobbs to compete with Joselio Hanson and Jack Ikegwuonu for the other starting position at corner back.

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