It never stops. Once a big name wide receiver starts making trade demands, it becomes a topic of conversation among media and fans alike. Until an Eagle receiver rolls up a 1500 yard, 10 touchdown season, the debate over whether or not a true number one pass catcher exists in Philly will continue.
The latest malcontent wideout to ache from his belly is Brandon Marshall. Of course, he’s late to the whining wide receiver party. Boldin, Ocho and Braylon have been in attendance for months. Welcome aboard, Mr. Marshall. Hope you can find space among all those inflated egos. It won’t be easy.
Do the Birds really need a receiver with Marshall’s unquestioned talent to get them over the proverbial top? Are DeSean and Curtis and Maclin and Avant really enough for the present and future? More importantly, is a legit number one receiver key to capturing that elusive Lombardi Trophy? There’s only one way to find out. Open up the history books and check the numbers.
I could go back to through all the past 43 Super Bowl winners, but I don’t think it’s necessary. Pro Football has changed over the decades. Obviously, the great dynasties of the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s featured prolific pass catchers like Swann, Stallworth, Rice and Irvin, but the current dynasty sitting in New England has proven that championships can be won without fielding top-notch receiving talent. And that team from western Pennsylvania is right alongside.
Let’s take a look at this decade’s champions to see how they stacked up in the wideout department.
| Year/Team | Leading Receiver | Numbers |
| 2000 Ravens | Shannon Sharpe | 67/810/4 |
| 2001 Patriots | Troy Brown | 101/1199/5 |
| 2002 Bucs | Keyshawn Johnson | 76/1088/5 |
| 2003 Patriots | Deion Branch | 57/803/3 |
| 2004 Patriots | David Givens | 56/874/3 |
| David Patten | 44/800/7 | |
| 2005 Steelers | Hines Ward | 69/975/11 |
| 2006 Colts | Marvin Harrison | 95/1366/12 |
| Reggie Wayne | 86/1310/9 | |
| 2007 Giants | Plaxico Burress | 70/1025/12 |
| 2008 Steelers | Hines Ward | 81/1043/7 |
If you throw out Petyon Manning’s Colts from 2006, you have a group of average to good receivers, but none that I would – based on their regular season statistics – place in the elite category. There are four players who eclipsed 1000 yards, but none more than Troy Brown’s 1199 in 2001. The other two Patriots’ title teams were led by receivers with less than 900 yards.
Now, you can argue Tom Brady’s greatness, and the dominant defenses of the Ravens and Bucs as the main reasons for winning their respective Super Bowls, but the point is, a true number one receiver like Larry Fitzgerald, Randy Moss or Terrell Owens isn’t the key to winning. None of the above players led the league in receiving the year they won it all. Harrison in 2006 was the closest; he finished second.
Brown was ranked 10th overall in 2001; Keyshawn 16th in 2002; Ward 29th in 2005; Burress 29th in 2007 (Curtis finished 23rd); Ward was 14th last season. You don’t need a top 5 guy to win a championship. All you need are one or two guys who can make plays consistently. DeSean Jackson totaled 912 yards as a rookie; Curtis 1110 in 2007. I think it reasonable to assume both are capable of surpassing a 1000 yards in 2009. If either (both) accomplish this feat, it will be right in line with the numbers recorded by past Super Bowl winning receivers.
The only receivers ranked in the top 10 in 2008 to make the playoffs were Fitzgerald, Boldin and Roddy White. Randy Moss and Wel Welker set the record books ablaze in 2007, only to lose in the Super Bowl. The truth is, big name wideouts like Moss and Fitzgerald are a luxury. In a fantasy football addicted environment, 1500 yards and 15 touchdowns looks a helluva lot sexier than 1050 yards and 7 touchdowns. But more often than not, it’s the latter statline that ends up with the ring.
Do the Eagles need a Brandon Marshall type receiver to win a championship? No. Would one help their cause? Yes. But even if they had one, there is no guarantee it would result in them playing in February. So, if you are among the local and national media clamoring for a “number one receiver,” or just an average fan who enjoys the view from the bandwagon, it’s time to end your pointless crusade.
The Eagles aren’t interested in the big name receivers. For the simple fact that they don’t need one.
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Sir, in the same way a fish needs a bicycle, it is simply true that the Eagles need a #1 WR. You internet nerds blogging from your mother’s basement with your “facts” and “research” just don’t understand football.
You’re right Tracer. I need to go back to drinking instead of ruining the notion the Birds need Marshall, Boldin and Ocho. My silly numbers are a complete waste of time!
Eagles fans remember the team with T.O. and how dominant we were that year. You look at our roster this year and it looks stacked, but with all the cap space and the fact that we play in the NFC BEAST, I feel like we would be shooting ourselves in the foot by not making another move. Because of the year with T.O. most fans make the easy jump, and just look at all these ultra talented receivers who want new teams. But I hope the Eagles use the cap space to get another Pass Rusher, D-line or Line Backer. That year we brought in T.O. we also brought in Jevon Kearse. He was an unsung hero of that Superbowl run team(mainly because he was a huge disappointment following that first season).
Tracer… What’s wrong with stating the facts, as opposed to OPINIONS that most bloggers use as if it were fact. I can’t believe Eagles fans are still crying about a “true # 1 WR”. Get over it! They have a great WR core. Who in the NFC East has a better WR core? Think about it. Do you really want a high priced diva to join the Eagles. Yea, we did great with T.O., but we went through the playoffs that year without him, and still made it to the Superbowl. We don’t need an Egoquan Boldin, Bandit Marshall, Butterhands Edwards, or Pistolero Burress. DJax and JMac are playmakers who are young, will grow together in this offense, and become studs. I agree with elmarbyzack, that we should have made maybe another defensive “depth” move, like shore up the LBs or another DE. Other than that, how can any Eagles fan not like what they’ve done this offseason? Have faith my brothers!
midnitemud
Seems like someone needs to look up sarcasm.
Midnite – Not to “speak” for Tracer, but since he comments here often, I think he was being sarcastic. If he wasn’t, I’m sure he’ll set me straight
Well, ask yourself: Exactly how much does a fish need a bicycle?
Also, it’s “corps” in this context, not “core” unless you’re commenting on the abdominal muscles and lower backs of the team’s receivers. In which case, the Redskins routinely go through a grueling set of Pilates exercises to strengthen their core, as I understand it.
Very nice, Tracer. As always.
I haven’t been here in a while. Still writing crappy articles and making uninformed, wild statements like you don’t need a dominant receiver. Keep up the crappy work, guys!
“Uninformed” you say? I guess using the NFL record books was careless on my part. Next time I’ll just make up some false stats. Something like, the Cowboys haven’t won a playoff game since 1996. Oh wait, that’s true. My bad.
Actually, MBIII you should know full well how those #1 wide receivers work out. You know, like the one you kicked out of Dallas a few months ago because he helped you win exactly ZERO playoff games. If I were you, I’d hope my “crappy” article is right because Roy Williams ain’t exactly lighting it up these days, now is he?
At any rate, I’ve missed Cowboys fans coming over here and dropping pearls of wisdom. You’re welcome any time. We always enjoy a good laugh at your expense
i agree scott, i think the running games are far more important to winning that championship. if they say that D wins championships, then the best friend to that D is a great ground game. when the weather dictates, you need to grind out the clock, or you need to let your D catch some air, you better have a ground game. philly knows it and got mccoy this year with westbrook. we’ve got 3 backs that we can rely on, and i hope we do. i think this was the main focus if why we let owens go. in the heat of the battle late last season we saw how important that ground game became to us. now it will be of the utmost importance if we are to let this young D we have mature this year. donovan’s best friend this year will not be that #1 wr, but how well westbrook, and the kid run that ball for him. that will open up his passing lanes to these young kids, and one WILL emerge as a #1 wr?
Dave – For what’s it worth, I think the Dallas offense will be pretty potent with those three running backs. Especially, Felix Jones. If he can stay healthy, look out. He’s a major threat every time he gets the ball in his hands.
Of course, I hope I’m wrong.
yes i think the health factor will come into play this year? guys like westbrook, felix, they give it their all and sometimes the body fails. this is what i see to be far more important to focus on. air games do NOT win championships? they can get you there, they can help you come from behind. they can get you out to a big lead. when the money is on the line, every coach, defensive player, and RB, (i’m leaving out the qb and wrs for obvilious reasons) knows that this is the backbone of a championship.
ask any offensive lineman what style of O he’d rather play in?
tunstall, although i somewhat agree that the eagles might not need a legit #1 receiver, i think your argument is seriously flawed.
“If you throw out Petyon Manning’s Colts from 2006, you have a group of average to good receivers, but none that I would – based on their regular season statistics – place in the elite category.”
you can’t “throw out” 1/9th of the statistics that you based your argument on and have it hold up. if you were to look at all of the receivers, 6 out of the 11 you listed are over 1,000 yards. more importantly, 8 out of the 11 receivers have 5 or more td receptions. djax and curtis combined for 4 tds last year.
the eagles might not need a legitimate #1, but it would definitely help if they had a receiver who was a threat in the EZ.
tk – Your points are all valid, but my argument about needing and “elite” receiver is still sound.
Wayne and Harrison play on the same team and have Manning as their quarterback. They are clearly in the elite category, but the Colts represent 1 out of 9 Super Bowl Champs, or 11% of Champs this decade. So, 89% of Super Bowl winners fielded average to great receivers, but no one I would compare to either Wayne or Harrison.
Plax was/is a legit red zone threat, but I think he’s a notch below. Keyshawn’s numbers in 2002 are well within reach by either Jackson or Curtis. Curtis had 1110 and 6 in 2007, when he was healthy.
Hines Ward is a solid player who does everything well, but I still wouldn’t place him in a group with Harrison in his prime, Fitzy, Moss and Owens.
DeSean and Curtis’ TD numbers in ‘08 are irrelevant this season. DJax was a rookie still learning the offense and Curtis missed 7 games and was never fully healthy in the games he played. You can’t use last season’s stats as a fair barometer to measure what they will do this season.
Perhaps it’s wishful thinking on my part, but I believe DeSean can post an 1100-1200, 5-7 TD season, which if you look at the majority of Super Bowl winners this decade is more than enough to fill the No. 1 role.
If DeSean and Curtis both tank this season, and Maclin looks like a bust, then the argument about needing an elite receiver is appropriate to table. But let’s see what these kids can do before we start recruiting Edwards or Marshall.
By the way, Marshall, for all his skill, has 15 TDs in three seasons. Not exactly a big time red zone threat, in my opinion.
And when did you make your farthest run in the playoffs? When you had Terrell Owens. That’s blatant error by omission and one reason why this article is crappy. Also, where do you get off calling all those receivers “average to good?” Plaxico is average to good? Keyshawn in ‘02 was average to good? They’re still guys that require double teams. That helps. I’m not disputing the fact that you need a strong run game and a tough defense to make a deep run in the winter as the weather gets worse. But having that tall, strong receiver certainly helps your run game and your short passing game. It’s simple. That’s why I’m calling your article crappy and uninformed. You fail to delve into the upside of having a number one receiver in the post season.
That being said, I think you have the number 1 type receiver in Maclin. He’ll demand doubles in the postseason. He might not be that 1500 yard, 10 touchdown guy (the last guy to do that was Steve Smith in 2005 btw, turn those no. 1 receiver numbers down), but he’ll cause enough problems just by being on the field late in the year where you SOB’s might have a chance to get you a ring.
TO wasn’t on the field in those two playoff games that got the Birds to the Super Bowl. He was on the field vs the Pats, and they still lost.
If tall receivers are so important, how do explain the Pats and Steelers winning 5 Super Bowls with guys 6′0″ and under?
If you want me to write an article about the upside of having a #1 receiver in the playoffs, maybe I will. But the point of this article was to reveal it’s not necessary to have an elite #1 to win a Super Bowl. I think that’s pretty clear, if you put aside your preconceived notions and read what I wrote. And again, how can it be uninformed if I used the NFL record book to support my argument?
You can disagree with me. I have no problem with that. But to call me uninformed is not accurate. If it was uninformed as you suggest, I would have stated that an elite No. 1 receiver is not important without backing it up with solid evidence. If I was uninformed, I wouldn’t have proven that 8 of 9 Champs this decade have won it all without one of those super-stud guys like Moss and TO.
As far as Plax and Keyshawn go, I’ll pose this question to you. Do you really think either one of them belongs in the same category as Moss, TO and Harrison? They don’t have the career numbers or consistency to be among the very best.
We can agree on Maclin. He has the makings of being a Reggie Wayne type player. It will take a couple years, but he and Jackson will cause some serious problems for years to come. Provided McNabb still has something left in the tank
i seriously think that one of the major reasons that owens and mcnabb had the problems were the same that caused his departure in dallas. he wanted the ball…..all the time. this is not the way you win games. you run first, play good D. that gives you strength and time to dictate the rest of your game plan on the football field. that’s not me just blowin smoke out my ass, that is the coaching philosophy of some of the greatest coaches in the history of the league. that is the one aspect of this historic game that has’nt changed? yeah, it’s been tweaked, but that run game never goes away. owens, as great as he is, can’t win games himself. mcnabb loves to spread it around. this caused un-contentment on owens’ part leading to a complete selfish tantrum that lead to his demise in philly. we all know that. alot of so called #1 wrs can develop this attitude. owens just on such a higher level. this is why basically he was let go in dallas as well. he was a great weapon in the offense, but he was also in the same sentence, a distraction to the rest of the talent we have on this team. and now with an emerging dominant running game, who needs a #1 wr screaming for the ball constantly. if your O goes in that direction, fine. dallas is not. we did’nt win that way, so it’s time for a change. nyg won with a run based/D team. pitt did it too. so there you go stats don’t lie. good points scott. mbIII, i see your points as well, but we can win with what we have now, and philly will be a better team without that #1 wr for D’s to focus on. this is THE POINT. if you give a good D-coordinator one thing to take away, he will, leaving your offense one dementional. if you spread it out, they can’t focus on one thing, thus making all your weapons more potent. (ala…jason witten). he’s not a #1 wr type, he’s not even a wr, but look at what he means to our O. see the picture?
Well said, dave. Balance is the key. Big time receivers will help you score points, but a solid run game keeps defenses honest. This has been Philly’s problem under Reid. The offenses have always been high scoring, but the run/pass ratio often gets out of whack. So, when the pass game falters, they have nothing to fall back on. Hopefully, the additions of Peters, S. Andrews and Weaver will make them more physical in the run game.
a comment i made on the landryhat, our cowboy blog was that speaking of a # 1 wr; if your ground game can flourish with westbrook and mccoy, mcnabb can throw 25 tds, does anyone really care who he throws them too? that formula spells victory, who cares if it produces a #1 wr? i’m a huge fantasy footballer and that is the only place i’ve ever seen that a #1 wr matters. you can win a nfl championship withouit one.