The Young Receivers

[BigEd76]

we could have easily had Wayne but instead took Hollywood

I would've taken Chad Johnson instead....

[WEST is GOD]

and Steve Smith

[TempleOwl]

I think our receivers would be better if we ran the ball effectively.  Even if we only run the ball 15 times a game, if you chew up yards you at least make the play action more effective.

[team reggie] I think Reggie Brown will be every bit as good as TO.  By this time next year we'll be saying "T-WHO?" [/team reggie]

[SunMo]

the problem with getting a stud reciever is that you almost always have to draft and develop them.  look around the league and it's hard to find a #1 reciever that has switched teams (except TO and Moss of course) or a #2 that has gone to another team and turned into a #1. 

so, the only real way to get a stud WR is to draft well and develop well, not exactly the Eagles' strong point.

[rjs246]

the problem with getting a stud reciever is that you almost always have to draft and develop them.  look around the league and it's hard to find a #1 reciever that has switched teams (except TO and Moss of course) or a #2 that has gone to another team and turned into a #1. 

so, the only real way to get a stud WR is to draft well and develop well, not exactly the Eagles' strong point.

Goddammit! Reggie Brown looks good! He's got OK size. He's shown RAC ability. Good hands. Good speed. Is anyone listening?! He isn't a world beater yet, but I think this dude could turn into a number one. Am I completely alone on this?

[ice grillin you]

lewis is a #3 at best...im still trying to figure out when where and how he got the stretch the field label...the guy isnt and never was that fast...to me he was always a good route runner who would catch the ball if thrown to...a quicker freddie mitchell

hard to say what they got with reggie brown...lets hope for the best and that is for him to become one of the best #2's in the league...i see no #1 in him

as a whole they are right back to where they were pre TO and that is needing a clear #1 guy...i dont see that happening anytime soon...so ill be happy to have a healthy pinky back....a developed reggie brown...greg lewis and another young guy that has potential at the #4 spot

get mcmullen and mccants outta here and fill their spots with young potential ladened guys

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

Reggie is showing by far the most hope of any Eagles draft pick at WR in 20 years or so.  I think it is very important that Lewis makes a small stride or two forward and that McMullen doesn't forget where he placed his hands again.  If Reggie continues to be pushed by those two guys, he could be very, very good.

Way too early to tell, but his catch and run and his broken tackle on the WR screen on Sunday night were encouraging.

[henchmanUK]

I agree with RJS in regards to Reggie Brown. Very promising. Could be a No. 1 in the future for sure. I was impressed with Wilbur too. I just hope he gets his chance now. The FO made a mistake in cutting Brian Finneran after one bad game and I hope they don't make the same mistake with McMullen.

[mussa]

i think its hard to pass judgement yet on glewis and reggie brown.  this is really there first year, reggies first game starting.  this has really only been the first game where McNabb looked healthy.  McNabbs ability to throw the ball effects the performance of these receivers.  we havn't seen alot of deep balls period because of the injury.  im not gonna say glewis isn't a deep ball threat, because i think he can be and have seen it last year.  Reggie Brown i think can definetly be a #1 receiver with his play last week.  He burned everyone...I was shocked to see he had speed like that...i didn't think he could burn people.  McMullen I agree, has shown some confidence lately and is a TO clone.  If he can get his shtein together, hes got alot of potential, no better time than now for this.  Everyone needs to step-up.  oh and farg TO

[MURP]

the FA WR's for next year. 

Paul Domowitch | 2006 free-agent WR pickings slim

NO MATTER how the next 8 weeks shake out, no matter how well or how poorly Greg Lewis, Reggie Brown and Billy McMullen play between now and the end of the season, anyone

remotely familiar with Andy

Reidspeak knows exactly what the Eagles coach is going to say about his wide-receiving corps in his end-of-the-season eulogy.

He's going to say the same thing he said about Charles Johnson and

Torrance Small, the same thing he said about James Thrash and Todd Pinkston. He's going to say that Lewis and Brown and McMullen and Pinkston, who has missed the entire season with a ruptured Achilles' tendon, are good enough to win a Super Bowl with.

Maybe he'll mean it and maybe he won't. But that will be his

story and he'll be sticking to it. At least until the start of the

free-agency signing period on March 1.

I have some bad news, though, for those of you who are going to be expecting the Eagles to get out Jeff Lurie's checkbook and sign another wideout with the same Pro Bowl pedigree as the dearly departed Terrell Owens.

He ain't going to be there.

Because most NFL teams now make it a top priority to re-sign their own top players rather than overpay someone else's, there are precious few top-of-the-line players who make it to the open market anymore. They are either re-signed or get the franchise-player tag placed on them, which effectively prevents another team from making them an

offer.

Even at this early juncture,

the list of prospective free-agent wide receivers is not terribly impressive. While there certainly are several wideouts who could help a team like the Eagles, there isn't a single No. 1 receiver in the bunch.

If you're looking for somebody like the Panthers' Steve Smith or the Bengals' Chad Johnson or the Rams' Torry Holt or the Colts' Marvin Harrison, go play "Madden 2005'' or try to get them in your next fantasy football draft.

"There aren't any studs out there,'' an NFC pro personnel

director said of the potential '06 crop of free-agent wide receivers. "There are a few guys who can help a team. But as far as

legitimate No. 1, difference-making wideouts, I don't see any of those.''

According to several scouts, the three top prospective free-agent wide receivers next March figure to be New England's

David Givens, Indianapolis'

Reggie Wayne and Pittsburgh's Antwaan Randle El.

"All three of them are good,

solid players,'' an AFC pro scout said. "But they're not Owens or [Randy] Moss or Harrison.

They're good No. 2 guys. The problem is, somebody out there is going to overvalue them just like the Falcons did Peerless Price a few years back, give them a big, big signing bonus, and then realize too late that they didn't get what they paid for.''

The 25-year-old Givens is a former seventh-round pick who has played well as the Patriots' No. 2 receiver opposite Deion Branch. Givens, who caught 56 passes last season, had 38 going into last night's game against the Colts. But he was averaging just 10.9 yards per catch.

Wayne was the wideout the

Eagles passed on in the first round of the 2001 draft in favor of the immortal Freddie Mitchell. Wayne caught 77 passes for 1,210 yards and 12 touchdowns last year, and had 37 receptions entering last night's game. But Wayne has benefited greatly from having Peyton Manning

as his quarterback and the

aforementioned Harrison as his teammate. It's not nearly as easy to get open when opposing defenses are keying on you rather than the guy on the other side.

Randle El probably is the fastest of the three, but isn't considered a No. 1 receiver either. Playing in the Steelers' run-heavy

offense, he has just 16 receptions in eight games, though six of them have been for 20 yards or more.

After those three, the list gets even leaner. It includes recycled receivers such as Detroit's Troy Edwards, Houston's Corey Bradford, Seattle's Joe Jurevicius, Price (now with Dallas), Miami's David Boston, Minnesota's

Koren Robinson and Buffalo's Josh Reed.

One interesting name that might appeal to the Eagles is the Chargers' Reche Caldwell. The 26-year-old Caldwell played well in San Diego's 20-17 loss to the Eagles, catching four passes for 97 yards. But he has just 15

receptions this season and has been in and out of coach Marty Schottenheimer's doghouse because of fumbling problems - such as Sheldon Brown's game-clinching strip for the Eagles..

[SunMo]

i want to agree with you RJS, but your farging optimisim is making my eyes burn and my head spin.

[Cerevant]

He burned everyone...I was shocked to see he had speed like that...i didn't think he could burn people.

Let's not get too excited about that play - the corner covering him thought he was in zone when the rest of the team was in man.  No one was chasing him until after he caught the ball, and then it was too late.

[rjs246]

Get Boston!

[Wingspan]

the problem with getting a stud reciever is that you almost always have to draft and develop them.  look around the league and it's hard to find a #1 reciever that has switched teams (except TO and Moss of course) or a #2 that has gone to another team and turned into a #1. 

so, the only real way to get a stud WR is to draft well and develop well, not exactly the Eagles' strong point.

Goddammit! Reggie Brown looks good! He's got OK size. He's shown RAC ability. Good hands. Good speed. Is anyone listening?! He isn't a world beater yet, but I think this dude could turn into a number one. Am I completely alone on this?

not at all. i think they finally got it right with reggie brown. it wont be right away, but by the end of next season, i think brown will br that #1

[rjs246]

It's funny that everyone sees my attitude as optimism. My attititude is exactly the same as it was last week or last month or three months ago. The only difference is that now everyone else has jumped ship and is chicken-littling all over the place so my attitude seems positive.

I'm happy TO is gone. I'm happy with what Brown showed on Sunday and more importantly, that he is getting an opportunity to start and contribute. A few details aside, I liked the way the offense ran on sunday. I HATE the way our defense has been playing. I HATE the way special teams has looked. I HATE Reid's play calling, though he seemed to rededicate himself to the run on Sunday so maybe there's hope. I HATE the stupid decisions at the end of the first and second halfs. I think 10-6 is still possible which is a game off of the 11-5 that I thought they would be at the beginning of the season.

You're all still idiots and I will tell you that as often as possible, so don't kid yourself into thinking my miserable attitude has changed.