Various media sources are reporting that the San Diego Chargers have sent a second-round pick to the Miami Dolphins for WR Chris Chambers. I would love to know where the Eagles stood on Chambers and what their level of interest was in acquiring him.
Now, I’m not one that thinks you need two Jerry Rice’s in his prime at both starting wide receiver positions to win a Super Bowl. I’m kind of the opposite. I don’t believe elite wide receivers win championships. With that said, the Eagles are deficient at the position to the point where it’s really hurting the offense. Even when they were starting James Thrash and Todd Pinkston they found ways to win and get them involved.
So far, with the exception of two games against utterly macabre defenses, these wide receivers have been moribund. Kevin Curtis is undersized and too easy to scheme against. Reggie Brown seems disinterested. Jason Avant has great hands and runs nice routes, but he is too slow and hasn’t done anything since the first game. Hank Baskett does some things, but he’s too young and overall not starting caliber (please prove me wrong, Hank). Greg Lewis has been stifled by the fact that he’s Greg Lewis.
So, I want to know Andy Reid’s take on this. Did his staff not know that Chambers was available? If not, why? Were they not willing to part with a second-rounder? I tend to believe that they wouldn’t give up their second pick since they’ve had so much success in that round. Barry Gardner was a stud. Pinkston is probably bound for the Hall of Fame. They are in the process of building a statue of Quinton Caver outside the Linc. The address for the Linc has officially been renamed Bobby Williams Ave. We got a sneak peak at William Justice’s supreme talents two weeks ago.
Chambers was drafted in 2001, when the Eagles did the smart thing and took Freddie Mitchell over him in the first round. They took him over Chad Johnson too. And Reggie Wayne. Mad yet? My original point there was that Chambers isn’t ancient, he’s 29 (but I couldn’t help mentioning the Fredex bust in the process. I just couldn’t stop myself).
Sure, Chambers can be inconsistent. I’ve heard critics question his effort at times. But aside from that, he is better than what the Eagles have now. He’s never played with a decent quarterback, yet still had two double-digit touchdown seasons.
I might be reading too much into this, but I wonder what Reid really thinks of this team. Does he honestly think they are playoff-caliber? Does he really think they will turn it around with the personnel they have? Either that, or maybe he thinks they are sunk so why waste a draft pick acquiring talent that can help now.
This trade bothers me with reference to the Eagles. Adding Chambers would allow the Birds to slide Curtis into the slot where he would be more effective. He’d also require more attention and that would make Brown more dangerous. While I think idiots like myself too often think they can play general manager, this decision didn’t seem like a tough one.
micahw@feverpitchmedia.com
