Eagles receivers: '04 vs. '09
Moving the Chains: How did the performance of Eagles receivers and tight ends last season compare to the 2004 season when the Birds went to the Super Bowl?
Eagles receivers: '04 vs. '09
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
The argument can be made pretty easily that the current group of Eagles receivers/tight ends is the strongest of the Andy Reid era.
The only other group that even enters the discussion is the 2004-05 Terrell Owens team that reached the Super Bowl.
Here are a few charts comparing the receivers and tight ends during the two seasons:
| Receptions | Yards | TDs | YPC | |
| Terrell Owens | 77 | 1,200 | 14 | 15.6 |
| DeSean Jackson | 63 | 1,167 | 9 | 18.5 |
It's worth noting that T.O. played in 14 regular-season games, and Jackson played in 15. Obviously, they are two completely different receivers, but that's how the numbers stack up.
| Receptions | Yards | TDs | YPC | |
| Todd Pinkston | 36 | 676 | 1 | 18.8 |
| Jeremy Maclin | 55 | 762 | 4 | 13.9 |
Hard to believe that Pinkston averaged more yards per catch in '04 than Jackson last season, but it's true.
| Receptions | Yards | TDs | YPC | |
| Freddie Mitchell | 22 | 377 | 2 | 17.1 |
| Jason Avant | 41 | 587 | 3 | 14.3 |
And for the tight ends, I combined numbers for L.J. Smith and Chad Lewis from '04.
| Receptions | Yards | TDs | YPC | |
| Lewis and Smith | 63 | 644 | 8 | 10.2 |
| Brent Celek | 76 | 971 | 8 | 12.8 |
Statistically and otherwise speaking, the T.O. performance in '04 was superior to the Jackson performance in '09. I'm not sure many would argue otherwise.
Other than that, though, the '09 performances were better.
An obvious question to ask is: How much did the Eagles pass in '09, compared to '04? Naturally, more attempts and completions would lead to better numbers for the receivers and tight ends.
It's pretty amazing how similar the team passing numbers were in the two years. Take a look:
| Comp. | Att. | Yards | Comp. % | Y/A | |
| 2004 | 336 | 547 | 4,208 | 61.4 | 7.7 |
| 2009 | 335 | 553 | 4,380 | 60.6 | 7.9 |
The other striking difference is the age of the players discussed. Owens was 31; Jackson 23. Pinkston 27; Maclin 21. Mitchell and Avant were both 26. Smith was 24; Lewis 33; and Celek 24.
The data above focuses on the receivers and tight ends. What goes unmentioned are the contributions to the passing game from the running backs. Brian Westbrook of course lined up all over the place in '04 and was the team's second-leading receiver with 73 catches for 703 yards. LeSean McCoy last season had 40 catches for 308 yards.
And, of course, there's Donovan McNabb's performance. He was on a different level in 2004.
Believe it or not, I actually had a reason for checking these things out. Yahoo Sports' Jason Cole ranks the league's receiving corps, defined as wide receivers and tight ends. The Eagles come in at No. 9.
Quarterback play and receiver/tight end play is obviously directly related. Of the eight teams Cole has ahead of the Eagles, all but two had a guy among the top eight in QB rating.
What do you think? Are the Eagles too low? Too high? The teams ranked above them, starting at the top are: the Colts, Saints, Chargers, Vikings, Packers, Cardinals, Texans, Falcons.
Become a fan of Moving the Chains on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter.
incredible article, Sheil, my head's spinning.
Good analysis, straight forward stats in a visually pleasing format, some of the writers jam way too much info together in one chart or add irrelative info to make it 'seem better'....The two receiving corps were statistically close, but last years group was better and really, I'd say the skys the limit but truthfully, KK is the limit...the young gunz will go as high as he can take them. And the Falcons, Vikings and Packers are questionable as teams with better WR's, close but questionable....— Bleue- One thing everyone needs to remember is that this group has yet to peak, The Mac has a ton of remaining upside and One Yard will keep getting better. Our depth will prove to be valuable as well.— The Reddgie
- Way too low, but they'll have a higher rank after this season.— Raggamonkey
- Cole also mentioned in his article that may change by season end.— btgrant
- Vikings and Packers - no way. Colts, Saints, Chargers, and Cardinals - sure. Falcons and Texans - it's a push.
- Eagles should be at 6 or 7.— MattKnife
- Good job, Sheil. I still think the receivers we have now are much better than what AR has put together since his time with the EAGLES. TO was productive but if we were to project, you'd see that DeSean could have easily surpassed him in yards and TDs. DJack had 14 less catches than what TO had in 2004. That could easily taken him past the 1500yds. Maclin was a rookie and performed the way he did...Stinkston was almost at his 4th yr in '04. I still believe this crop of receivers are better suited to take the EAGLES to superbowl as long as the QB plays better and the Defense limits the scores of opposing teams to a minimum. Our O-Line gotta play better as well to allow option plays that will get RBs open or open lanes for the RBs to run with the ball.....Things are looking good. Hopefully KK doesn't throw to the ground or overthrow his receivers like his predecessor did consistently.....— Nzenaozo
The class of 09 receivers are way better. DeSean Jackson has been a star since he came out of college and Jeremy Maclin Fell right into the Eagles hands after Al Davis picked speed in Heyward bey than talent and NFL ready in Jeremy Maclin.— briandawkins20- Very cool comparison, especially because this group has nowhere to go but up. The key to focus on in comparing the stats to me are the yards per catch. T.O. was able to open up lots of deep ins and crosses that Donovan learned that year he could throw very well. In my opinion, T.O. gave McNabb confidence going downfield that was missing before--probably because he didn't trust his guys to go up and make a play for him the way great QBs must. With the Pinkston debacle vs Carolina in mind, it's amazing Donovan ever gave him looks, lol. Kolb will complete the short ball, which will open up other routes. The key is can he use his fastball to hit on those downfield opportunities the way Donovan did in that record performance in '04. He's got better talent to work with, so we'll see.— KNuff
Comment removed.- Comment removed.
- Comment removed.
- I think they are in the right spot for the moment, since none of us really know how playing with Kolb will affect their development. I think they have the potential to be top 5 or even 3, but they aren't there yet. This young offense should be fun to watch, and in a year or two we may have the best starting duo in the league. Hopefully the D isn't too far behind and we can be serious contenders again very soon.— troke
- In '04 the Eagles had Runyan and Thomas, both healthy, on the line. That's huge.— p-diddy
Follow
Sheil on Twitter. And become
a fan of Moving the Chains on Facebook.
Download our NEW iPhone/Android app for even more Birds
coverage, including app-exclusive videos and analysis. Download it here.
