One of the underlying tenets that
drive how the Eagles make personnel decisions is the value that they place on
each of the positions. As most Eagle fans learned when J Trotter was
allowed to leave as a free agent, a good LB is not worth as much a good
DT. The other position that the Eagles took much to the angst of its fans
was that this Offense did not require a top Wide Receiver.
To Andy Reid's credit, he is a coach
who can evolve and these positions have been modified somewhat. The
acquisition of Terrell Owens states quite clearly that the West Coast Offense
does not operate outside the law of football physics. The ball can not be
spread around if the Eagles do not have players that can get open.
The other learning opportunity was at
LB. The Eagles looked at the success of teams that deployed the smaller,
faster version of LB and witnessed Jon Gruden's
exploitation of the slow Kirkland \ Gardner combo two NFC Championship games
ago. The Eagles were fortunate that their starting LB group was virtually
injury free until the end of the season. Nevertheless, the obvious lesson
was the need for depth as this small group was worn down long before the
playoffs.
What this means for the draft is that
the Eagles will draft a LB on the first day and maybe one on the second day as
well. However, as far as WR is concerned, I have reluctantly come to the
conclusion that the Eagles may never draft a 1st Round WR again while Andy Reid
is the Coach. The lesson from Freddie Mitchell and Billy McMullen is that
this Offense takes too long for a College WR to learn before they can contribute.
If the McMullen, Pinkston, Lewis trio do not produce, the Eagles will look once
again to Free Agency.