REGGIE BROWN did not practice yesterday, a miserably hot day. Brown continues to nurse a hamstring that has been balky for weeks. That the Eagles' wide receiver was able to do a little bit on Wednesday but nothing yesterday afternoon is reasonably disconcerting, as trends go. It is fair now to wonder about the opener on Sunday against St. Louis.

No Kevin Curtis (sports hernia surgery), now maybe/likely no Reggie Brown. That this was not exactly in the Eagles' game plan goes without saying. But, by doing nothing to seek a replacement when Curtis was first injured, and while Brown was already limping, the Eagles insisted they would be all right. Well, here goes.

That all eyes will be on rookie wide receiver DeSean Jackson, now a starter, also pretty much goes without saying. But it misses the mark by just a hair, as Eagles coach Andy Reid might say. Jackson is going to be decent even if there is a danger for over-exposure (remember, he has to catch punts, too). Out of the backfield, Brian Westbrook is going to carry a significant burden — but that has been true for a while. And there are other doodads, too: maybe Lorenzo Booker with a real role; maybe, finally, a couple of fade routes to the acrobatic Hank Baskett.

Instead of that, though, this should be the focus:

Donovan McNabb.

And, L.J. Smith.

The more you look at it, the more you see the absolute necessity that the connection between these two be strong and fruitful. This year's circumstances demand it. Last year's history necessitates it.

The only way you can pick the Eagles to win 10 games and make the playoffs is if McNabb returns to his preinjury form — and stays healthy. The only way the Eagles can score the points they are going to need to score is if McNabb finds a red-zone target whom he trusts — and all signs now point to Smith.

It could be a huge year for the star-crossed tight end. There is every reason to believe he will become McNabb's uber-security blanket, especially down near the goal line. It just seems right — a longstanding relationship, a big target so necessary down near the end zone, injuries maybe to both starting wideouts. Logic points inescapably in this direction.

Asked about improvement in the red zone yesterday, where the Eagles struggled in 2007 (especially early in the season), offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg said, "We'll see. We have to prove it. We've been used to having a high rate of success in the red zone and I would expect that this year. Last year, we didn't. We did it in spurts, so I would expect a high level of production there.

"And, again, we're a little bit healthier and we'll play a little bit better down there. L.J. will help. Some of our speed and quickness will help. Donovan looks like he's healthy, so there are several things that may end up helping us down there."

But it is McNabb and Smith that matter most. Last season, between the quarterback's recovery from knee surgery and the tight end's ongoing problem with a sports hernia, there really was no connection. And as the season wore on, it became clear that McNabb wasn't moving as well as he had, and it became even more clear that he wouldn't throw the ball into tight spots — that he just didn't trust his wideouts would come up with the ball in the small spaces. The lack of a tight end lifeline was apparent.

This summer, both McNabb and Smith look like themselves again physically. That is a significant part of the battle. The rest of it, the almost telepathic connection between a quarterback scrambling hard to his right and a tight end maneuvering himself into a soft spot in the defense, has yet to be re-established.

But it must. Given the wide-receiver injuries, given everything, it might just be the key to the Eagles' season. *

Send e-mail to hofmanr@phillynews.com, or read his blog, The Idle Rich, at http://go.philly.com/theidlerich. For recent columns go to http://go.philly.com/hofmann.