Eagles solve WR problems

[JoeRedskin]

Originally Posted by Monksdown

im trying to find one receiver in that mix better than our top 3

Well, since Darnarien is a "Big" WR - he automatically qualifies as better than anything we got since (Per Peter King) he would be a better match up against Roy Williams. And don't forget, according to Lenny P., Gaffney (6'1" 205) "bring[s] some size to an Eagles wide receiver contingent that collectively lacks that commodity." Six foot, one inch and two hundred five pounds!!! That is just monsterous!!

Look out Sean Taylor, Jabar is gonna rock your world.

[warriorzpath]

They've had wide receiver issues ever since Reid has been head coach, except of course Owens' first year with the eagles. Since it's been such a problem for this long, wouldn't you think they would hire someone to just specialize in evaluating the wr talent (their own wr, in fa, and in the draft)? Nothing they've been doing is helping, it's just making it worse.

[JoeRedskin]

Originally Posted by saden1

Jabar Gaffney is a lot better than people give him credit. You got to keep in mind that the Texans were a bad team through and through. Gaffney will certainly do better with the Eagles. Of course he is no replacement for T.O. but I can see him collecting 60 balls and 800 yards.

The Eagles Pre- TO years: (REC, YDS, YD/REC, TD)

2003
Freddie Mitchell: 35, 498, 14.2, 2
Todd Pinkston: 36, 575, 16.0, 2
James Thrash: 49, 558 11.4, 1

2002
Antonio Freeman: 46, 600, 13.0, 4
Freddie Mitchell: 12, 105, 8.8, 0
Todd Pinkston: 60, 798, 13.3, 7
James Thrash: 52, 635 12.2 6

Sorry, I just don't think Gaffney gets 60 balls in this system. 40-50 for 500 yards. If he gets 60, he is their number one receiving option and I can live with that!

Westbrook's numbers were inflated b/c teams had to take Owens into account. W/ Owens in 2004, Westbrook had 71 receptions. W/o Owens in 2003, Westbrook had 37 receptions.

Much as I hate the guy, I can't deny his talent - Owens created real offensive match-up problems for teams opposing the eagles. They have no such alternate option now. Teams will focus on Westbrook and matchup on the WR's and not one of them is going to require double coverage.

Archuletta and Marcus take out Westbrook, Our corners match-up one on one leaving Taylor to inflict incredible amounts of pain on the Eagle's "hey, send me over the middle" WR's.

Where's the picture of Todd "please don't hurt me" Pinkston? Just label it "Eagle Highligts - 2006".

[Monksdown]

2004 regular season. Brian Westbrook had 73 receptions for 703 yards in just 13 games. He had 6 receiving td's. 7 receptions of 20+ yds. and 3 receptions of 40+ yards. Any wide receiver in their scheme compliments Brian, not the other way around.

Dont forget about Brian.

[shallyshal]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

Eagles sign Jabar Gaffney

they went down this road before. without a true number 1 receiver mcnabb seems to have trouble getting the ball to them against tougher defensive teams. gaffney is a nice player, but is clearly not going to threaten anyones defense. unless brown steps up bigtime, they have all complementary receivers

[MTK]

Originally Posted by saden1

Jabar Gaffney is a lot better than people give him credit. You got to keep in mind that the Texans were a bad team through and through. Gaffney will certainly do better with the Eagles. Of course he is no replacement for T.O. but I can see him collecting 60 balls and 800 yards.

That would easily be a career year for him.

Either way he's not someone to be too overly concerned about, that was the point of the thread.

[shallyshal]

Originally Posted by Warpath

Yea they're problem is solved alright...
Jabar Gaffney's totals from 2002-2005 (4 seasons) with the Texans:
171 for 2009 yards 11.7 avg 7 TDs
Santana Moss totals from 2002-2005 with Jets/Redskins:
235 for 3899 yards 16.6 avg 28 TDs
Brandon Lloyd totals from 2003-2005 (3 seasons) with 49ers:
105 for 1510 yards 14.4 avg 13 TDs
Greg Lewis totals from 2003-2005 with Philly:
71 for 839 yards 11.8 avg 1 TD

heres a current list of Philly's WR core from nfl.com:
Reggie Brown 2 yrs exp
Carl Ford 2 yrs exp
Michael Gasperson 1 yr exp
Jabar Gaffney 4 yrs exp
Greg Lewis 4 yrs exp
Darnerian McCants 5 yrs exp
Billy McMullen 4 yrs exp
Todd Pinkston 6 yrs exp

again, a group of 3 and 4 type receivers except for brown. nobody knows what pinkston is going to have this year either

[shallyshal]

Originally Posted by saden1

Jabar Gaffney is a lot better than people give him credit. You got to keep in mind that the Texans were a bad team through and through. Gaffney will certainly do better with the Eagles. Of course he is no replacement for T.O. but I can see him collecting 60 balls and 800 yards.

i think that is highly optimistic. more likely 20-30 receptions unless they really try to force the ball in to him

[PSUSkinsFan21]

I just hope I get a high enough pick in this year's Warpath Fantasy Football league to get Gaffney in the first round before someone else snatches him up.

[shallyshal]

Originally Posted by Monksdown

2004 regular season. Brian Westbrook had 73 receptions for 703 yards in just 13 games. He had 6 receiving td's. 7 receptions of 20+ yds. and 3 receptions of 40+ yards. Any wide receiver in their scheme compliments Brian, not the other way around.

Dont forget about Brian.

yup.. but they cannot count onhim taking a whole season of pounding the ball and being their primary receiving threat. he keeps breaking down. he needs to be a constant threat, but a decoy sometimes to spare him.
problem is that without TO he is the only real threat all the time. brown could step up, but needs to prove he cando it consistently or it is all on westbrook

[taylor21dakila]

Lol

[JoeRedskin]

Originally Posted by Monksdown

2004 regular season. Brian Westbrook had 73 receptions for 703 yards in just 13 games. He had 6 receiving td's. 7 receptions of 20+ yds. and 3 receptions of 40+ yards. Any wide receiver in their scheme compliments Brian, not the other way around.

Dont forget about Brian.

I disagree - In 2004, Westbrook and Owens fed off each other in the Eagles offense. In the Eagles scheme, Owens and Westbrook presented two very distinct/different ways to attack a defense. They were each a gamebreaker. In the Eagles offense, each was a top weapon and benefitted greatly from the fact that focusing a defense on a great pass catching RB created very exploitable openings for a top WR and vice/versa. Take away one and the other would burn you.

Now, w/ the WR "threats" so limited, defenses can focus on Westbrook. He will still get some receptions and yards. W/o a WR focusing the attention outside and deep, however, he won't find as many holes in the coverage and won't be stuck one on one w/ LB's. Instead, D's will now be able to bracket him. Their TE's are good but not gamebreakers. Good, disciplined defense will keep this team from racking up points.

And Sean Taylor keep their WR's arms shorter than an Eagles fan's penis.

[Sheriff Gonna Getcha]

I agree with Matty that Gaffney isn't a great wideout and doesn't solve the Eagles problems.

But, keep in mind two things that have been alluded to already: (1) Gaffney averaged about 40 catches a year with David Carr under center (which is pretty good); and (2) Philadelphia had a decent offense before T.O.

As to the second point, I think a lot of people are underestimating the Eagles. Prior to T.O.'s arrival, the Eagles had a good offense. The Eagles were decent when they had Freddie Mitchell, Todd Pinkston, and James Thrash at wideout - that says a lot. They spread out the ball between those awful wideouts, Brian Westbrook, Chad Lewis, and L.J. Smith and did just fine. Were they a high powered offense? No. Were they an explosive offense? No. But they were good enough to propel them to the playoffs for several consecutive seasons.

Don't think the Eagles' offense is going to be a cakewalk. Remember, we barely beat them when McNabb was coming off an injury, Todd Pinkston was on IR, their #1 wideout was a rookie, and their offensive line was mangled. While our offense and defense are improved and I'm not terribly worried about the Eagles, I wouldn't assume that we will have an easy time beating them.

[warriorzpath]

Originally Posted by Sheriff Gonna Getcha

As to the second point, I think a lot of people are underestimating the Eagles.

That's what I was kind of worrying about, too. But I don't think gibbs lets anything get him overconfident over any opposing team, especially any in the nfc east.

... but I was also more worried in the idea that they're so bad that they can't be as bad as they seem. I don't actually believe that they are good at all. The question is: how bad off are they ?

[Sheriff Gonna Getcha]

Originally Posted by warriorzpath

That's what I was kind of worrying about, too. But I don't think gibbs lets anything get him overconfident over any opposing team, especially any in the nfc east.

... but I was also more worried in the idea that they're so bad that they can't be as bad as they seem. I don't actually believe that they are good at all. The question is: how bad off are they ?

I doubt Gibbs underestimates anyone. I think he has a lot of respect for the Eagles.

I don't think they're bad off at all. With a lot of people returning from IR and the acquisitions of Darren Howard and Shawn Barber, I would say they're better off than they were before they got T.O. There will be a drop off from their 2004 offensive producion, but they're still a force to be reckoned with. They worry me more than the Giants or Cowboys.