Spadaro At His Best

No one, I mean no one, circles the wagons quite like Dave Spadaro when it comes to protecting the moves by Eagles management that become questioned by the masses. In the past, he's talked up Matt McCoy, Nate Wayne, Dhani Jones, and Todd Pinkston as big time players. Needless to say, he's had a ton of practice of defending bizarre moves.

Anyhow, here's his latest foray into the propaganda market:

They are quick and they are fast and they have size and they have experience and they are young and they are ... well, they are the Eagles wide receivers and they are always a topic of conversation.
Are they good enough, collectively, to beat any defense in the land? Are they good enough to make the big catch when the Eagles need it?

Are they ... what are they?

Instead of offering you a paper-thin theory, I went to the experts. The Eagles' cornerbacks have a unique look on things here.

It makes sense, doesn't it? The wide receivers work against the cornerbacks and the safeties every day. The d-backs get to know every move Reggie Brown makes, and they understand how far Jason Avant has come in a year's time and they know better than anyone out there how Kevin Curtis looks in the Eagles offensive system.

So?

"They don't have Pro Bowl names or anything like that and that is a fact, and I truly hope people overlook our wide receivers," said cornerback Lito Sheppard. "They're going to make plays. We are not going to lose any productivity.

WR Kevin Curtis has his sights set on a big season in the offense
"We have some speed out there, we have some big guys and we have some combinations that are going to be difficult to match up against."

Said fellow starting cornerback Sheldon Brown: "I think they are an underrated group with a lot of ability and talent. I think it is a group that may never get the respect they deserve, but the only think that matters is that we win, and we will win with these receivers."

Reggie Brown and Kevin Curtis are the starters, but there are other receivers who are going to get plenty of time and, in theory, there are jobs open. There are five players atop the rotation that seem fairly certain to be around in September: The two starters plus Jason Avant and Greg Lewis and Hank Baskett, in no particular order. There are others to consider strongly, including Jeremy Bloom, who is having a very good spring, and Bill Sampy, a young second-year player ready to make a real push.

But for the purposes of this analysis, let's stick to to the first five players.

And the cornerbacks are impressed.

"First of all, Reggie Brown moves like Marvin Harrison (Colts receiver), to be honest," said Brown. "He looks like Harrison does when I study him on tape. The only thing he needs is to get more balls thrown his way. He will put up the numbers. Reggie is very quick, has good hands. Reggie can get down the field on you, too. You saw him do that last year, so that isn't a question to me."

Said cornerback Joselio Hanson: "I think they've got everything over there. They have a lot of speed, they have size, they run good routes and they have big guys."

Curtis is a mystery to most Eagles fans. He was the third receiver in St. Louis, playing behind stars Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce. Is Curtis ready to be a full-time starter and deliver full-time starter numbers?

The cornerbacks all agreed that Curtis has what it takes. This is what they said:

"I think he's faster than he is quick, but he's quick, though. He can get up the field on you." said Hanson. "He's smart, too. He can get a good release on you, then stack you and try to get you on his back. He's crafty, a veteran."

Said Brown of Curtis: "He's fast and quick. Don't get me wrong, I thought Donte' (Stallworth) was good, too. I think Kevin is a legit wide receiver."

"I know the situation in St. Louis," said Sheppard of Curtis. "He played behind great players there and he put up some numbers. The guy is going to get a lot of chances here, too. He runs good routes, had good hands and he will get by you, too."

It's going to be interesting to see how the Eagles use the personnel. You can expect a lot of different combinations and that is going to help the offense, The Eagles like to mix and match their personnel and create favorable matchups.

You will also see Brian Westbrook out wide, in the slot, everywhere in the formation.

"We have every kind of receiver," said cornerback Will James. "We have small, quick ones. We have tall, fast ones. We have strong ones. So it's like anything we need at any time versus any system, we can implement that.

"What's the word I'm looking for? Diversity. That's it. That's what we have."

There are some who talk about a "true No. 1 receiver" and wonder if the Eagles have that kind of player. Certainly, they had that player a few years ago in Terrell Owens. None of these receivers is as talented, and none of them needs the ball as much as Owens needed it.

The Eagles believe, though, that they have plenty of capable weapons and that the offense is going to move the ball in a variety of ways this season.

"I disagree that we don't have a No. 1 receiver," said Brown. "When you have Brian Westbrook on the field, you have a player you have to cover. A No. 1 receiver is someone who has a very good No. 2 receiver, and we have that. We have players out there, a lot of firepower."

Did Dave make you feel any better about the current state of our WR's? Didn't think so.