It's time to Reid between the lines

"You know you're going to be dealing with a different team every year, and you just move on. That's what our team has done a good job of over the last couple of years," Reid said yesterday at a media breakfast with the NFC coaches on the final day of the NFL meetings at The Breakers resort. "On the other hand, it sure doesn't hurt to have big-name guys come in there . . . Players are excited, I think they're looking forward to playing with them. "

Reid also spoke of his team having the opportunity to "develop a new personality," as he said it does every year.

Obviously, it is in the best interest of Reid and the Eagles to play down the psychological burden of those three straight championship-game losses. Reid even played down a conversation he had at the Pro Bowl with former Buffalo Bills coach Marv Levy, whose team lost those four straight Super Bowls.

"We talked about it a little bit, just the challenges of getting back there," Reid said. He said Levy mostly warned about the danger of roster turnover, which Reid feels "is part of the game now. "

Reid had to sit and answer reporters' questions for an hour yesterday, probably the most extensive such session he endures every year. With his back to the Atlantic Ocean, which glistened less than a football field away from the open doors of the banquet room where the breakfast was held, Reid was trapped before wave after wave of questioners.

The time was theirs, and they asked again and again about whether the Kearse and Owens acquisitions were a change in philosophy for the Eagles, how he intended to use his new offensive weapon, and if he really, seriously thought he and Owens could get along.

His answers boiled down to no, lots of ways, and yes.

Here are some Reid highlights:

* On whether the new crackdown on holding within the 5-yard pass route "bump" limit, and on any contact after the 5 yards, would change things: "I think it changes it quite a bit. It was an advantage to the defense to be able to put hands on and grab jerseys within the framework of the body. It takes away a little bit of the bump-and-run stuff. "

Offensively, Reid said, the change "should help the slant game a little bit . . . That corner would kind of arm-wrap you, if you worked the slant, come back across. He can't do that anymore. "

Asked if the change might help slender wide receiver Todd Pinkston, who was bumped and shoved into a total meltdown during the NFC Championship Game, Reid said: "It could."

* On the loss of veteran leadership: "Guys have to step up . . . Donovan [McNabb], obviously [Brian] Dawkins. You still have a pretty good nucleus of guys in there. Some of those young guys are pretty good leaders in there - Mike Lewis.''

* On whether the Eagles are a better team now, on balance, than they were last season: "Time will tell . . . they still have to play, that's the one thing I know."

* On going after Owens: "It was a unique situation, in a lot of ways. The guy knows the offense, he's a great player. We haven't had one of those sitting out there before like that . . . It was the thing to do at this time . . . We will use him, and work with his strengths."

* On high-profile free agent wide receivers not having a great history of boosting their new teams: "You could say that about free agency, period. Free agency hasn't had a great rate of success, with production. That's why I always say, 'We'll see.' . . . It'd be an interesting study to see how many receivers over 30 have had an impact on teams, the Jerry Rices and so on. There have been some successes. When Andre Rison came to Green Bay, he helped vault us into the Super Bowl."

* On whether Freddie Mitchell will move outside, from the slot: "I look at Freddie as a starter, and Todd likewise . . . I'm just going to play the best guys. I think Freddie's one of those. Wherever he ends up playing, he'll play."

* On adding new Giants coach Tom Coughlin and Redskins coach Joe Gibbs to the NFC East: "I think it'll make the division stronger . . . I think the change helps . . . You know you're going to be matching wits, you'd better be on top of your game."

* On Artis Hicks' role on the offensive line, with top reserve Bobbie Williams leaving through free agency to Cincinnati: "I liked what I saw of him last year. He'll compete in there . . . I think he has a chance to push all the guys except the center, because he's played 'em all."

* On that offensive line's performance last season: "There's some places they can get better and need to get better. [Sacks] aren't all their fault, but they have room for improvement."

* On losing Staley's blitz-pickup skills: "Correll [Buckhalter] got better at it, and [Brian] Westbrook was pretty good at it."

* On the possibility of second-year tight end L.J. Smith emerging as the starter ahead of Chad Lewis: "Chad goes in No. 1, so we'll see. Both of them are going to play a lot."

* On whether he saw Owens sometimes giving up on patterns when he studied film of the past two seasons: "I really didn't . . . As a matter of fact, he was pretty competitive out there. There's not a lot of people that work harder than he does."

* On whether adding Owens increases the pressure on McNabb to excel: "I don't look at it as pressure. I think it's welcomed."