renesauz
IBL Representative
I've been touting the Philly recievers as under-rated for a couple of months now, and despite a common desire to write them off, I've found nothing but good reports from camps and those who've watched these guys up close. This is a long quote from Sheldon Brown, Philly's highly touted cornerback who faces these guys every day:
There is no question the Eagles have a defense that is deep, talented and experienced. What a lot of fans and media want to know, now that training camp is over, is how the Eagles will fare with young receivers stepping to the front of the depth chart. Sheldon Brown talks about that in his exclusive Brown's Blog here ...
"I've gone up against our receivers every day since our post-draft mini-camp, so I think I know something about them. I like this group. Reggie Brown is the kind of receiver who never gives you a second of rest. He's always working to get open and he's strong and runs good routes.
"I think Reggie is ready to come into his own. He contributed last year and learned his lessons well. He's fast in and out of his cuts and he's deceptive getting down the field. You can't relax on him. He will be very difficult for a single defender to cover, so I would expect him to be the kind of receiver that defenses will have to have a safety over the top against.
"He's a mature kid and he works extremely hard.
"Our other young receivers, Hank Baskett and Jason Avant, have followed Reggie's lead. They see what made him successful as a rookie and they know the kind of responsibility Reggie has this season. Both of those young guys want to be great players and they work at it.
"What I like most about our receivers is the way they compete. They're physical and they get after a cornerback. They don't back down. They're hard to jam at the line of scrimmage because they are so strong.
"What Hank has done is pretty amazing, because he wasn't even drafted. But I think everything you've seen from him is real. It's not a mirage. He has a lot to learn and he has a long way to go, but Hank made plays every day in training camp and he's done it in the games.
"Hank will go through some growing pains, because every young receiver is going to have to go through some, but he's the kind of kid who is going to work and get through it.
"Jason is the same way. He's extremely physical and he has great hands. You can tell he had a lot of time at Michigan. He caught a lot of passes.
"I think this group is going to be fine. Todd Pinkston is working his way back and hopefully he's going to be ready for the regular season. Darnerien McCants is making a lot of plays. Jabar Gaffney has really come on and Greg Lewis is an experienced guy who gets open and catches the ball.
"All I know is that if the offensive line gives Donovan time, we'll be fine. I think the offense is very explosive.
Although I'm not personally sold on Lewis, and think Pinkston is too limited, the Philly recievers as A GROUP seem to be more then a little under-rated to me.
There is no question the Eagles have a defense that is deep, talented and experienced. What a lot of fans and media want to know, now that training camp is over, is how the Eagles will fare with young receivers stepping to the front of the depth chart. Sheldon Brown talks about that in his exclusive Brown's Blog here ...
"I've gone up against our receivers every day since our post-draft mini-camp, so I think I know something about them. I like this group. Reggie Brown is the kind of receiver who never gives you a second of rest. He's always working to get open and he's strong and runs good routes.
"I think Reggie is ready to come into his own. He contributed last year and learned his lessons well. He's fast in and out of his cuts and he's deceptive getting down the field. You can't relax on him. He will be very difficult for a single defender to cover, so I would expect him to be the kind of receiver that defenses will have to have a safety over the top against.
"He's a mature kid and he works extremely hard.
"Our other young receivers, Hank Baskett and Jason Avant, have followed Reggie's lead. They see what made him successful as a rookie and they know the kind of responsibility Reggie has this season. Both of those young guys want to be great players and they work at it.
"What I like most about our receivers is the way they compete. They're physical and they get after a cornerback. They don't back down. They're hard to jam at the line of scrimmage because they are so strong.
"What Hank has done is pretty amazing, because he wasn't even drafted. But I think everything you've seen from him is real. It's not a mirage. He has a lot to learn and he has a long way to go, but Hank made plays every day in training camp and he's done it in the games.
"Hank will go through some growing pains, because every young receiver is going to have to go through some, but he's the kind of kid who is going to work and get through it.
"Jason is the same way. He's extremely physical and he has great hands. You can tell he had a lot of time at Michigan. He caught a lot of passes.
"I think this group is going to be fine. Todd Pinkston is working his way back and hopefully he's going to be ready for the regular season. Darnerien McCants is making a lot of plays. Jabar Gaffney has really come on and Greg Lewis is an experienced guy who gets open and catches the ball.
"All I know is that if the offensive line gives Donovan time, we'll be fine. I think the offense is very explosive.
Although I'm not personally sold on Lewis, and think Pinkston is too limited, the Philly recievers as A GROUP seem to be more then a little under-rated to me.
