A little perspective (wide receivers)...

[panthers55]

I would say Jason Avant was a good pickup. He plays a nice role in Philly as their #3 and was picked above 3.

Rae Carruth

Funny how Rae Carruth just passed right through as a 1st round draft pick. After he went to prison he was "dead to me" and obviously out of my consciousness. LOL

Avant looks to be having a good year with 7 catches already so he might be ready to have a good year. He started 9 games last year and both games this year so he is getting plenty of playing time.

[Mr. Scot]

Part of the point here is that it's not like the Eagles weren't trying to get good receivers. They definitely were. They just generally didn't succeed.

Likewise, the Panthers have picked guys they believed could succeed. Heck, that's true of pretty much any draft pick.

It just hasn't worked out

If current trends continue though, we could wind up with a pretty high pick next season, and there'd be some pretty compelling logic behind getting a receiver even if one of the current guys steps up.

(Steve Smith isn't getting any younger)

[hepcat]

What the Eagles do show is that teams with a franchise quarterback do well because of the quarterback who can get the most out of what they have. Receivers don't make the difference that the quarterback does. If you look at us, our best success was between 2003-2005 when Jake had his best years. Obviously 2004 was injury riddled but we still went 29-19 during this span. Jakes misses 3 games in 2006 and 13 games in 2007 and we find no decent replacement and we start down a slippery slope. In 2008 Jake rebounds and we have a 12-4 year. He implodes in the playoffs and so do we. Last year we are terrible and so is Jake. Moore salvages last year but stinks this year and we are back to 0-2 and on our second quarterback.

Rather than look at wide receiver as the issue, it seems to me that quarterback is the bigger concern. Find a Drew Brees and anybody looks good at wide receiver. Find a David Carr and the opposite is true.

Totally agree. Great QB's make any group of WR's look great. This is a FACT of the NFL that has and always will be true. Tom Brady had mediocre receivers in his early years (David Givens, Deion Branch <--SUPERBOWL MVP??, David Patten, etc). Dare you to put Greg Jennings or Donald Driver on the Panthers and they'll end up looking like Dwayne Jarrett and Keary Colbert.

Bottom line is, John Fox can't develop a QB.

[panthers55]

Part of the point here is that it's not like the Eagles weren't trying to get good receivers. They definitely were. They just generally didn't succeed.

Likewise, the Panthers have picked guys they believed could succeed. Heck, that's true of pretty much any draft pick.

It just hasn't worked out

If current trends continue though, we could wind up with a pretty high pick next season, and there'd be some pretty compelling logic behind getting a receiver even if one of the current guys steps up.

(Steve Smith isn't getting any younger)

The other more sure way to get what you want is simply trade the pick away for a proven guy or go after a free agent wide receiver who just played out his rookie contract. You don't get them as cheap as you would a draft pick if you essentially buy them in free agency or you spend the draft pick and the money in the case for example of Brandon Marshall but you get a proven commodity that instantly elevates your team.

The case you make would actually support free agency instead of the draft. As for the logic in pursuing one in the first round, your post actually would suggest we shouldn't go for one. We have had much better success finding a defensive guy who contributes right away versus a receiver who may or may not develop.

[CRA]

comparing the Eagles offense to the Panthers is like comparing an apple and a grapefruit. Nothing alike. It would be like running Westbrook like Stephen Davis and then saying Westbrook sucks b/c he didn't produce a few years ago.

[bleys]

If Fox's philosophy has typically been to acquire QBs through FA because developing is hit or miss, and WR is just as hit or miss.. (based on the original point made)

wouldn't it make sense for us to go through FA to find 1 receiver, so then we have 2 top receivers and then can play the hit or miss game with 3rd and 4th receivers through the draft?

[Khyber53]

How many teams in the league really have two top end starting wide receivers? Colts, Pats, Bengals, maybe the Cowboys, Saints and Steelers. Many of these also have an outstanding slot receiver/TE to compliment.

How many, like us, float the year with one star receiver? Most of the teams. A few have got basically no one.

What do each of the top flight receiver corps have in common? A veteran quarterback with enough clout to have some say in who he wants to play with. Don't you think Brady or Peyton have a say in draft choices and free agent picks, at least from an advisory role?

I tend to believe that we brought Moose back greatly because Jake wanted him here, but I think that's about all the input our QBs are given. Now, without Moose or Jake, the team's left with trying to throw ingredients together in the hopes of making some magic. It might work, it might not, but we're pretty much in the same boat as the majority of the league.

And on the note of free agent WR acquisitions this year, let's really understand that the vast majority of those on the market had ego problems of one sort or another -- real ME FIRST kinda guys that had already poisoned their prior teams. Coach Fox was smart enough to look at a stable full of rookie QBs that could get roughed up by the FA problem children and he also had to look at finding someone that Steve Smith wouldn't be killing in the film room.

Once again, let's hope they find some magic, soon.

[monstercat]

I swear, people are always complaining that Fox won't play rookies, which is a myth anyway, yet he's also considered an idiot because he won't forsake his rookie WR's this year for an expensive FA. You can't have it both ways. Do we want the Panthers to develop WR's or not? He sure as hell can't do that by bringing in a FA, which means he will have to cut or bench one of those rookies, not to mention that this team has already given up too many draft picks lately.

BTW, it's hard for a WR to thrive when he's only going to get 2-3 chances a game. These guys are just like O-linemen, RB's and QB's...they need to get into the flow of the game and feel like they're part of the offense. That's awful hard to do when you're running the ball 35 times a game.

[AceMan]

I swear, people are always complaining that Fox won't play rookies, which is a myth anyway, yet he's also considered an idiot because he won't forsake his rookie WR's this year for an expensive FA.

It's out of Fox's hands this year anyway. But, I do agree we need to stop worrying about expensive FAs because we're not getting one.

[micnificent28]

I would say Jason Avant was a good pickup. He plays a nice role in Philly as their #3 and was picked above 3.

Rae Carruth

horrible acts aside carruth, seems 2 slip my mind do u think he still be with the team? was he headed down the bust path or was he decent?

[trucpfan]

horrible acts aside carruth, seems 2 slip my mind do u think he still be with the team? was he headed down the bust path or was he decent?

the sad part of that was he was a monster a smitty type do it all

RIP S. Adams she was cool with my brother we still have pics of them together in high school wack ass Carruth makes me sick to think of it

[Mr. Scot]

The ultimate poetic justice would be a forced marriage between Rae Carruth and Diedre Lane.

[trucpfan]

The ultimate poetic justice would be a forced marriage between Rae Carruth and Diedre Lane.

hahahahahahahahahahaha ya dammmmm right

[bleys]

so other franchises have below average WR corps, so we have to? great logic..

and WR usually takes time to adapt to in the NFL.. throwing them in with live bullets their rookie year doesn't make you a genius or help the team any quicker..

Fox starts plenty of rookies, so when saying other people get on Fox about that.. all you should be saying is those people are fools and not compare this to Fox's genius when he does it with WR...

Bringing in a true #1 would not have hampered anyone.. you can have it both ways, and you HAVE to have it both ways since it's clearly been pointed out that WR is hit or miss..

matter of fact, all those reasons are just horrible excuses for Fox/Hurney/whoever is guilty for having a horrible WR corp since '04..

it all comes down to execution, they have failed at that, and just because we have 3 rookies WRs doesn't mean anything at this point...