It seems so simple. A team that likes to pass the ball more than it runs should have top players who can catch those passes on a consistent basis.

Apparently, a thought like that doesn’t get you a job as a head coach in Philadelphia. In fact, just the opposite gets you into your tenth year as the coach of our beloved Philadelphia Eagles. But maybe, just this year, Andy Reid is right.

Now, I have always been a defender of Andy Reid. I accept that he isn’t a great second-half coach because he usually comes prepared with a fine game plan out of the shoot, which is evidenced by the 88-56 record he has compiled in his first nine seasons with the Birds. His eight playoff wins are the most in Eagles history, and his 13-5 record against the Cowboys doesn’t seem too shabby either, but at some point, I will admit, you would have to really question his stubbornness when it comes to the wide receiver position.

But not this season.

Any other season of Andy Reid’s tenure as head coach of the Eagles, I would be screaming for another wide receiver, because despite published timeframes, I honestly don’t expect to see Kevin Curtis on the field until the Thanksgiving game against Arizona. Except this season, I feel relatively calm about the Eagles’ wide receiver situation.

Of course I would love to see them trade some combination of Lito Sheppard and draft picks to Arizona for Anquan Boldin, but he’s not available because the Cardinals’ front office is more messed up than any group in the NFL.

So now the Eagles are probably going into the season with Reggie Brown, DeSean Jackson, Hank Baskett, and Jason Avant at wide receiver. But that isn’t where the story ends. The Eagles still have Brian Westbrook catching passes out of the backfield, along with L.J. Smith and Brent Celek spreading the field at tight end.

Not to invoke a Passover reference into a sports column, but why is this season different from all other seasons?

First, L.J. Smith is healthy and coming up on free agency, which means that we can expect to see the 2005/2006 L.J. Smith, who compiled nearly 1,300 yards in the two seasons. A healthy L.J. should open things up for Brown and Jackson on the outside because it is much tougher to double cover wide receivers when the safety has to worry about the tight end blowing by the linebacker. I still don’t like that he doesn’t tuck the ball away when he is running, but he should be quite effective in the passing game this season.

Looking at the receivers, the Eagles are finally going to utilize Hank Baskett’s size for something other than run blocking. Last year, when the Eagles couldn’t find the end zone with a GPS system, I was screaming for them to throw the fade pass to Baskett, and let the 6-4 high jumper go up and get the ball over a 5-9 cornerback. During training camp, Donovan McNabb and Baskett worked on the play numerous times, and it appears to be in the playbook. Also DeSean Jackson, with his speed, looks like a player born to thrive in the West Coast offense. He worked out Jerry Rice in the offseason, and when the best receiver in NFL history, who also thrived in the West Coast offense, has only good things to say about a player, I’m inclined to believe that he might just be the real deal.

Taking a look at the numbers, in McNabb’s most production season, 2004, he completed exactly 300 passes. Using that figure as the goal, and giving Westbrook his 80 catches, and the tight ends their 80 catches, the Eagles would only need 140 receptions from the receiving corps to reach that figure. Considering that Reggie Brown caught 61 passes in a down year last season, does anyone honestly believe that those four receivers can’t combine to reach 140 catches? Then add in Jackson, who looks like a steal in the middle of the second round of the draft, and McNabb could realistically approach his career high of 330 completions, which he set in 2000.
So why is everyone worried?

According to the majority of Eagles fans, or at least the most vocal, Kevin Curtis, and his 1,110 receiving yards last year, wasn’t a number one receiver anyway, so why would we miss him?