Mike when you emerge from facing the fact we LOST i leave this article that supports we MUST get a killer wide receiver---if you remember i was SCREAMING this last year also(aaargh:).
The eagles will NOT see any SuperBowl until they do.
Reid's commitment to Thrash and Pinkston is his one single BlindSpot---he MUST face it, they must go(or accept being number 3 and 4 receivers)
<<John Smallwood | TOP WR NEEDED
By John Smallwood
smallwj@phillynews
IT'S CLEAR Andy Reid wanted it this way.
For some reason, and heaven knows nobody besides him understands why, Reid has refused to address the Eagles' vibrantly glowing weakness at wide receiver.
But now, on the third consecutive "Black Monday" this franchise has endured, it would be hard to believe that Reid - even in all of his stubbornness - could again ignore the fact that this offense will never be Super Bowl-caliber until he brings in some playmaking wide receivers.
Yesterday's depressing, 14-3 NFC Championship Game loss to the Carolina Panthers at Lincoln Financial Field was another scathing indictment on starting receivers James Thrash and Todd Pinkston. They don't frighten defenses, they get little respect, and most critically are too easily locked down.
When the carnage was done and the Eagles had lost for the third straight time with a Super Bowl on the line and quarterback Donovan McNabb was laid up with separated rib cartilage, Thrash and Pinkston could look at the statistic sheet and see that they combined for one catch, 9 yards.(edit-- 2 of McNabb interceptions were because Pinkston ran the wrong rout or Manning could move the skinny guy out of the way with a finger nudge--gd)
"We didn't make enough plays when the ball was in the air," said Pinkston, who had no catches but a few drops.
Let's be completely honest: Pinkston and Thrash never have been in the game when things counted the most.
In three NFC Championship Games, Pinkston and Thrash have totaled 12 catches for 141 yards and a single touchdown.
That's an average of four catches, 47 yards and two points in three games with a Super Bowl bid as the reward.
That's simply not good enough, and something has to change.
It's so old to hear Reid again say: "I've got to find a way to help get them open. They're busting their tails out there to try and make things happen." (edit: Andy, they don't have the talent--hard NFL fact-- it does NOT matter how hard they work.--gd)
That's not the issue. From all accounts, both Pinkston and Thrash are hard workers who try their best.
The point is, their best just can't get it done.
This time it wasn't the St. Louis Rams and future Hall of Fame defensive back Aeneas Williams locking down the Eagles' wideouts. And it wasn't the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a Pro Bowl corner in Ronde Barber.
Nope, the Carolina corners who made Thrash and Pinkston virtually invisible were Terry Cousin, a free agent from the Dolphins, Reggie Howard, who was picked up on waivers from New Orleans in 2000, and Ricky Manning Jr., a rookie third-round draft pick.
Manning, who earlier in the week pretty much laughed at the Eagles' receivers, backed up his brashness with three interceptions.
"I wasn't surprised," Manning said of his performance. "It was something I welcomed because, like I said, I felt that their receiver on the outside really wasn't that strong, really couldn't get off.
"It was a weakness for them. So it didn't matter if I was left alone or in double coverage. It didn't matter."
The inept performance against the Panthers just accented a disappointing season in which Thrash had 49 catches for 558 yards and Pinkston had 36 catches for 575 yards. Together they had three touchdown catches.
"I wouldn't be here if I couldn't make plays," Thrash said. "I just go out and continue to make things happen as best I can."
Not to be repetitive, but we don't need any more evidence that their best hasn't been good enough.
I'm not saying they shouldn't be in the league. If the Eagles had a big-time receiver capable of pulling in 100 catches, then Thrash or Pinkston might be good as a complement on the opposite side.
But as first- and second-option receivers, they are basically at the bottom of the NFL.
For 5 seasons now, Reid has consistently said he is happy with his starting wide receivers - that despite the fact that the Birds have never had a wide receiver catch more than 63 passes or total more than 833 yards.
For the first two seasons it was the easily forgettable Charles Johnson and Torrance Small. The last three it's been Pinkston and Trash.
I can't see how Reid could possibly say that again today, not after reviewing that game film, not after one catch for 9 yards.
Right now, the only one who looks worth keeping is third-year slot receiver Freddie Mitchell, who had four catches for 38 yards.
Somehow, by trade, free agency, the draft, hook or by crook, the Eagles have to get some receivers in here who can catch the football and make a big plays.
!!!Otherwise, we've seen the Eagles go about as far as they are going to go.!!!!! (edit--that is truth--gd
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