Uh-Oh
Sep 30, 2008 Eagles Rumors
You might have read the post two weeks ago where I laid out a pretty chart of which wide receivers McNabb was targeting the most frequently, and wondered how the chart would change once Reggie Brown came back.
In that post I made the comment that all of the Eagles wide receivers had a fantastic catch rate — everyone over 60%. And I made note that Reggie Brown’s career numbers (54%, 50%, 55% in his three years) were pretty pedestrian.
Well, this year hasn’t started off so great — he’s at 46%. Now, that number may very well climb as he gets healthier and McNabb finds some rhythm with him. But it’s worth noting that right now the other four guys are still flying high:
Baskett: Targetted 17 times with a 76% catch rate.
Avant: Targetted 17 times with a 65% catch rate.
Jackson: Targetted 35 times with a 63% catch rate.
Lewis: Targetted 16 times with a 63% catch rate.
Brown: Targetted 13 times with a 46% catch rate.
Unless Reggie makes considerable strides before the bye week, I see no reason why he should even be considered a “starter.” Curtis will come back, and a Curtis/Jackson two wide receiver set is our best situation. Brown should rotate in with Baskett and Avant in some various three and four wide receiver packages. Greg Lewis can be relegated to spot duty.
And for those of you who like charts, here’s the targeting chart for weeks three and four (since Brown came back):
As you can see, Greg Lewis’ role has thankfully been reduced. If I had my way, he wouldn’t even be showing up on the chart. DeSean Jackson was targetted 18 times in the weeks 1 and 2, and 17 times in weeks 3 and 4. McNabb clearly has faith in the little guy, and you can expect that number to remain steady.
Tags: Reggie Brown catch rate
