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Originally Posted by That Guy
they have mcnabb though to make up for it.
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True, but the Eagles didn't have a Clinton Portis, either. They had the three-headed monster of Staley, Westbrook and Buckhalter-- but none of those guys inspired defenses to put 8 men in the box with any regularity. Staley and Buckhalter had one or two good rushing games a year, and Westbrook has been more or less a wide receiver out of the backfield. It's not like the Eagles were loaded on offense prior to acquiring Terrell Owens last season. Pre-T.O., McNabb was the only player on that offense that really made defensive coordinators wake up in cold sweats.
The Skins may not have Coles and Gardner, but look at how splendid this offense was with those two players as the top wideouts. People have been crying for the Skins to get rid of Gardner for years-- with good reason, and Coles is certainly not the weapon he used to be. The fact is, this offense couldn't get much worse than it was last season. Patten, while unheralded, is a reliable receiver who will actually catch passes that hit him in the hands, and Moss, while not the tough-guy that Coles was, will provide the deep threat that Coles can no longer claim to be. This offense, believe it or not, tried to go deep last season. The reason there weren't many long completions is that the receivers struggled to get open deep, and the quarterbacks were forced to go to their shorter options.
With Moss and Patten, that may change. With Coles and Gardner, I doubt it would have improved.