Professor

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/sports/14820247.htm

Eagles' Smith ready to step up
The tight end figures to make an impact after the departure of Terrell Owens.
By Bob Brookover
Inquirer Staff Writer

L.J. Smith knows the skeptics will be out in force after the Eagles' 2005 descent to the bottom of the NFC East standings.

"Oh, yeah," the Eagles tight end said after a minicamp workout this week. "They figure you're taking away somebody who took up a lot of chunks of the stats on offense. Who's going to replace him?"

So who will replace the dearly departed Terrell Owens?

"The answer is everybody," Smith said. "We work best when everybody is touching the ball. You look at our games when we're blowing people out and everybody is touching the ball. It's not one person."

It's a valid point.

The Eagles won a lot of games before T.O. arrived, and quarterback Donovan McNabb did not exactly have a who's who of NFL targets.

"Who did they have when I came here?" asked Smith, a second-round draft pick in 2003. "When I first got here, they were talking about James Thrash and how they needed a top-echelon receiver. But they got it done even before I got here because it was a balanced attack. I think that's the best way to get where we need to be."

There's little doubt that the Eagles' passing attack will be more spread out with the departure of Owens. There's also a strong feeling that for the Eagles' offense to be successful, Smith will have to play a prominent role.

"That's nothing but a compliment," Smith said. "Every tight end isn't mentioned in every offense. There are only about 10 tight ends in the league who you might say are a big part of a team's offense."

There were only eight tight ends in the NFL last season who had more catches than Smith. Unfortunately for him, three of the eight - Dallas' Jason Witten, Washington's Chris Cooley, and the New York Giants' Jeremy Shockey - played in his team's division.

Smith, however, was one of only five tight ends who led his team in receptions. He tied running back Brian Westbrook for the team lead. Smith believes he can improve on his 61 catches for 682 yards and three touchdowns, which weren't bad numbers for a guy in his first season as a starter.

"I think you saw signs of what I can do as a starter, but it's definitely different than coming off the bench," Smith said. "As a starter, you get more opportunities, and that's all I ask for."

Smith averaged nearly five catches per game through the first 10 games of the season but caught just 12 passes in the Eagles' final six games.

"To me, it didn't seem like I was getting as many opportunities in the second half of the season," Smith said. "With all the stuff going on and with us trying to balance the offense out, I didn't see as many opportunities coming my way."

It's possible that Smith could see the ball less in 2006 because the Eagles feel as though they added a viable second option at tight end in free agent Matt Schobel.

"I think we're going to complement each other," Smith said. "There are a lot of formations in this offense where you line up two tight ends, and you can do a lot with that. We're definitely going to help each other, especially in the red zone. They can't just key on me because he's a threat also. You have to respect both of us."

And Smith thinks people will eventually respect the Eagles' offense, too, even if it is missing its most lethal weapon from the last two seasons.

"We have a mix of young guys and veterans who are ready to do the job," Smith said. "Reggie [Brown] is a young guy, but he got a lot of experience last year. Whether or not people pick us last, that doesn't really concern us. If anything, it's going to motivate us."

Professor

http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/ne...06-670254.html

Eagles strive for a balanced offense

By ROB MAADDI
The Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA - The Philadelphia Eagles are so intent on establishing a balanced offense that they stressed their run game during passing-heavy minicamps.

Partly because they were often behind but mainly because coach Andy Reid has always preferred passing the ball, the Eagles relied heavily on their air attack last season.

Philadelphia ran the ball just 37 percent of its plays (365 of 985), a percentage that falls to 30.5 if you subtract 64 rushing attempts on quarterback scrambles and reverses to wide receivers.

Defenses routinely ignored play-action fakes and focused on going after the quarterbacks and shutting down the receivers instead of worrying about stopping the run.

Reid and the rest of the offensive coaches realize that they need a better mix to have more success this season after a 6-10 finish. So, the Eagles have worked on running the ball more during minicamps that usually center on passing.

"We have emphasized the run game as much as possible within the rules," offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg said.

"Everything starts up front, and I'm talking about the offensive line." Mornhinweg said. Tight ends and fullbacks "make a good run game a great one," he said. "But, the most important position in the run game is the ball carrier, the halfback spot. He has to have the ability to make people miss, has to get the extra two or three yards in a physical manner."

The Eagles are counting on Brian Westbrook to be their primary back once again. Westbrook, who went to the Pro Bowl after the 2004 season, had 617 yards rushing in 12 games last year. Second-year pro Ryan Moats showed promise after Westbrook went down with a season-ending injury. He rushed for 278 yards, including two touchdowns longer than 40 yards.

Westbrook, Moats and third-year pro Bruce Perry are speedy and elusive, but each lacks size. Unless Correll Buckhalter returns after sitting out with a knee injury for the third time in four years, the Eagles won't have an experienced bigger back.

"I feel very comfortable with our running backs," Reid said. "If Buck comes back and you add him into the mix, that makes it even better. I had a chance to look at the two young guys last year (Moats and Perry), and I thought they played very well down the stretch there and gave us some quality downs. Then you add Brian into the mix as the No. 1 back and I think the sky is the limit for that group there."

A solid running game is important now that Terrell Owens is no longer catching passes from Donovan McNabb, and a healthy Westbrook could make that happen. Westbrook has never played all 16 games in the regular season and only twice had 20 or more runs in a game, but he's eager to prove he can carry the load.

"With the departure of T.O., hopefully, we'll run the ball," he said. "All the running backs have their fingers crossed about us running the ball a little more. I want to be a more important part of the offense this year."

Manster

That could be more of a knock on the WR instead of a sign of a god TE. Who lead the eagles WR in catches and yards then?

Manster

You have a small RB that wore down while the team was passing most of the time and two clones of him as the back up and they are expected to handle more of the offensive load. Even with a good OL and some depth at RB I think it would be a mistake to think that all of them will stay healthy most of the year then you are in the same boat as last time. With the Wr core you will be seeing more 8 men in the box than you did when you had TO.

lionsfan06

no one can replace to... LJ smith will not get 14 tds and reggie brown the best recevier on the team migh get lucky and get 8 tds this year they cant replace to

Professor

the point is to create a balanced offense, the Pats won 3 SB's with no TO type reciever. balance and teamwork win games.

juggalo6772

Yeah no one on that team can ruin another season like he did.

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Professor

good one jugg. LOL

Manster

True but the Pats had a better QB, WRs and TEs than you do. While Andy is a good coach Bill is better and he had a better OC and DC. The Pats had a lot of good but not great weapons that gave them balance. While the Eagles get balance by lacking a weapon.

jarhead20

you also forgot to add that the Patriots also had a better o-line, a better d-line, better LBs and better DBs..and better RBs and a better K

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