Frankly, I'm a bit bored talking about the Phils and their predictable struggles, all the while searching for anything else involving other Philly related sports that may interest you, my loyal reader(s). So in that vane (or is vein/vain), I decided we should start tackling the various question marks facing the Birds as they head towards 2007. I think you guys will like this new feature. Feel free to disagree with me in the comments section. I want to know what you guys think.
Our first question mark is:
WILL THE OFFENSE SUFFER WITH KEVIN CURTIS REPLACING DONTE' STALLWORTH AT WIDE RECEIVER?
If you ask Dave Spadaro, Kevin Curtis is the second coming of Lance Alworth. However, I'm not 100% sold on this move. In my mind, the decision to let Donte' walk in favor of Curtis has created two questions: (1) can the offense still run at high octane with Curtis in the starting lineup; and (2) is Reggie Brown ready to be a #1 receiver?
With Stallworth in the lineup last year, all the receivers were properly slotted. Stallworth was the #1 target and legit home run hitter; Reggie Brown was a very good #2 receiver that could feast on a team's second best cover guy; Hank Baskett could come out of the slot and over match DB's with his size and athleticism; and G Lew and Avant only had to pitch in where necessary.
With Brown being elevated to the #1 guy and Curtis stepping in at the #2, you have a couple issues to consider. Can Reggie consistently beat #1 corners to give D Mac a reliable target? I think the answer to this one is a cautiously optimistic yes. People forget that last year Stallworth missed his fair share of games, and not to get all Spadaro on you, but the stats revealed that the offense hardly skipped a beat. Therefore, Reggie has previously proven that he can be a go to guy, but now he has to show that he can do it week in and week out. I believe he will step it up and become a decent #1 guy. Is he a T.O., Randy Moss or Marvin Harrison type #1 guy? No, but he is a good enough #1 to help you win and isn't that all we ask for?
Now, as for Kevin Curtis, I am not as confident. He isn't the biggest guy in the world and he is more quick than fast. He has also been a #3 guy during his career with the Rams that was consistently matched up against #3 corners or safeties (i.e., people he should beat.) The question then becomes, can he beat starting caliber corners in the NFL? I say he can, but I don't think he'll be any where close to a dominant guy. Will he be as bad as Thrash and Pinkston? Absolutely not, but the #2 receiver spot will not be as strong as last year.
In essence, I think the Birds take a small step back at both the #1 and #2 receiver spots, but I think the year 1 to year 2 improvement of Hank Baskett will offset that deficiency. Plus, should McNabb stay healthy, it is a virtual certainty that L.J. Smith will be a bigger part of the offense (as he was prior to #5 going down in Week 11) and we all expect to see the run emphasized a bit more than it was last year pre Garcia.
Therefore, to answer my own question, I don't see the offense being affected by Kevin Curtis signing. I just don't foresee him being a game changer that we saw with Stallworth last year.
5 comments:
More quick than fast? What the hell does that mean?
You failed to mention Westbrook and what he can do to help open up the receiving corps, assuming he stays healthy. They may surpise some people. At least I hope they do.
Peacock
I don't think you need blazing speed in this offense to be effective. Good routes and sure hands will go along way. Additionally, the balance with everyone pitching in will help. ie. we made it to the SB w/ out TO because #5 and Fat Andy can spread it around w/ the best of them. I remember the days when you saw 8, 9, or 10 guys catching passes in a game. I love that balance.
No NASCAR coverage this summer?
PSP, I typically agree with a lot you post, but this one is WAAAAAY off the mark. I really hate to burst anyone's bubble, but to compare Curtis to Stallworth and conclude not much will be lost on offense is either wishful thinking or just uninformed given their respective stat's and histories.
TALE OF THE TAPE:
Curtis - age 28, 5'11", 186 lb's, 4 years in the league, college - Utah State after Snow Junior College becuase he could not make BYU's squad, middle name "Devon", picked in the middle of 3rd round of Draft.
Stallworth - age 26, 6'0", 196 lb's, 5 years in the league, college - Tennessee, middle name "Lamar", nickname at UT, "hands", 13th overall pick in Draft.
2006 STATS:
Curtis - 40 catches, 479 yds, ave/catch 12.0 yds, TD's 4, long 42 yds. (Missed 0 games)
Stallworth - 38 catches, 725 yds., ave/catch 19.1, TD's 5, long 84. (Missed 4 games)
INSIDE THE #'s:
Curtis - 19 of 40 catches were in 5 games, was third WR option, 6 games with 1 catch or less, 2 games with 7 catches (most of season) came in blow out losses, in 3 games had 1 catch for 30 yds or more, is a morman "is quick not fast", I guess meaning he can get off the line but has no breakaway/blazing speed to beat a DB deep.
Stallworth - 2 games with 1 catch, 1 game with 2, rest = 3 or more, TD catch in each playoff game, in 6 games had at least 1 catch over 30 yds, is not a morman. "is fast", meaning he can consistently beat DB's deep.
Career #'s - not even close, Stallwoth has twice the #'s as Curtis.
In conclusion, after reading all this (assuming anyone will) how on god's green earth could you possible say the O will not suffer in anyway due to the loss of Stallworth. O will lose production and the ability to stretch a D, meaning that the DB and Backers can play closer to the line, meaning Westbrook (who now apparently is your deep threat) will likely have a tougher time getting off the line or behing a DB for those catches on the sideline in between the LB and DB's like Andy loves to run. Also, it will be less likely that a WR or TE will be able to find as much open space underneath, which means that #5 will have to be more accurate. Does this one move spell the end, no but to conclude basically that the O won't miss a beat is pie in the sky to say the least. By the way a little trivia for you regarding Koy Detmer, are you aware that at age 16 he was a delivery guy for Pizza Hut and didn't quit that job until drafted by the Eagles? Wonder if he'll go back to it now?
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?playerId=3541
Donte had 4 monster games as a bird, but the others were normal #2 stuff. 3 catches 50 yds. We were 2-2 w/ him out of the lineup and really struggled on 0 vs. the Bucs in that god awful loss last Oct. He did find the endzone twice in the playoffs and that may be hard to replace.
I woulda liked to keep him around for what the Pats stole him for. time will tell.
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