Eagles WR coach Bob Bicknell says he'll coach to players' strengths

Bob Bicknell, the new Eagles wide receivers coach, raised his left hand and lifted each finger individually as he rattled off the members of his team's receiving corps.

DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin, Jason Avant, Riley Cooper.

"You've got some players," Bicknell said Monday at the NovaCare Complex. "It's important to say 'OK, what do they do well and how can we highlight that?' "

And before the team holds organized team activities in April, that's what Bicknell will set out to learn. He said he hasn't seen much video of those players and will only be able to bring success if he coaches to his players' strengths.

The 43-year-old spent the last three seasons with Buffalo and was the Bills receivers coach last season. He spent the 2006 season with Temple as the offensive line coach under Al Golden and coached for eight seasons in NFL Europe.

Last season was his first as a receivers coach. He played tight end at Boston College and said his versatility is an advantage. He's been able to learn how an entire unit functions, not just one position.

Bicknell met Eagles coach Chip Kelly in 1993 at a coaching conference and said he has looked at Kelly as a "mentor" since. After being released in December by Buffalo, Bicknell said, he hoped to hear from his old friend once Kelly accepted the Eagles position.

"When I had a problem, anything to do with our offense, he was the guy I called," said Bicknell. "He's been a guy that I have had complete trust in."

Bicknell inherits an Eagles unit that finished seventh in the NFC in receiving yards (4,075), next to last in touchdowns (18), and 14th of 16 teams in average yards per catch (11.1).

All three statistics are down from 2011, and the touchdown mark is down 36 percent from two seasons ago. Each of the four wideouts saw a decrease in their yardage last season, and only Maclin caught more than three touchdowns.

"The funny thing about offense, if you really look at it, there's not that much [different] that everybody does," said Bicknell. "How you do it, in what way you do it, and to who you do it to is where it changes."

Any success the Eagles found through the air last season often halted once the team reached the red zone. The team scored on just 44 percent of its trips inside the 20-yard line, 28th in the NFL.

In Buffalo, Bicknell was responsible for the red-zone packages and helped the Bills finish 11th in scoring percentage in 2011.

Although just one of the Eagles four wideouts is taller than 6 feet, Bicknell said, height does not guarantee red-zone success. Riley Cooper, who is 6-3, is the Eagles' tallest wide receiver.

Instead, Bicknell said, he focuses on how a player separates from coverage. Then the coach adjusts routes to maximize that.

"I honestly don't know if it is that much different than any other place on the field," said Bicknell.