EaglesBleedGreen: Has Offense Improved Enough?

They've retained tight end L.J. Smith. They have added competition at fullback (Dan Klecko) and tight end (Kris Wilson). Otherwise, the Eagles have left well enough alone offensively, taking the approach that what they have is better than the players who were available in free agency.

Fine. I agree with the principle. Going out and adding wide receivers in free agency or ripping apart the offensive line or trading away quarterback Donovan McNabb just wasn't the right philosophy. The Eagles were frustrating to gauge last year, largely dinking and dunking from one 20-yard line to the other and then struggling mightily for consistency in the red zone. They didn't score enough points. They didn't put the ball in the end zone as many times as they needed. They lacked explosive plays.

And they have kept things pretty much the same for 2008.

Why? Why not tear it all apart and blow things up and start from the ground up? Clearly, the Eagles believe they underperformed last season. As they conducted post-year meetings and prepared for this free agency, there was the option to target specific players in free agency and make significant changes. They could have taken a flier on a wide receiver, for example, and used a sizable amount of their salary-cap space overhauling that position. They could have been players in the sweepstakes for one or two of the big-name offensive linemen on the market.

They could have jumped right in and made a splash in the free-agent pool on the offensive side of the ball.

The Eagles didn't do that, instead focusing on defense in the early stages of free agency. Clearly, then, the conclusion is that Andy Reid and Co. have faith that the offense, which played so much better down the stretch of 2007, will improve enough internally to make a difference in 2008.

We obviously won't know the answer to the question that you ask for many months: Was it the right thing to do?

I know there will be players added in the draft, and the trade route is always a possibility. I'm not naive to think that the Eagles are going to go into the season with this exact roster offensively. There will be some changes. But I'm also prepared to venture into the season with the group right here -- the offensive line as we know it, with the competition expected at left guard; the wide receivers named Kevin Curtis and Reggie Brown starting; with Brian Westbrook as the go-to piece in the attack; with McNabb calling the signals, with Smith healthy and a big part of things at tight end.

That is the reality. Most Eagles fans still expect, I sense, even if it's in the back of their minds, something dramatic to happen to this football team from a personnel standpoint. I hear some people say, "The Eagles have to go out and get a No. 1 receiver." As if by willing it so loudly will make it happen.

Well, what happens if it doesn't happen? What happens if the Eagles begin the season with this nearly-exact group offensively? Are they good enough?

The answer, if you ask a coach in this league, comes back the same: We have to be good enough.

Now, that may not be convincing to some people. And, yeah, I believe, deep down in my heart, that the Eagles are going to be aggressive addressing the offense, as they have been in every phase of the offseason. I still think there are plenty of moves coming between now and late July or even late August. A No. 1 receiver? I'm not going to guess there and I'm not going to get my hopes up. I think the Eagles are going to consider every option to upgrade across the board.

But yeah, I think the offense has improved. I think Smith's return is huge. Tight end is a position of strength, whereas a few months ago I would have suggested it was a position to question. Smith was a pending free agent. Most speculated that he would leave in free agency. Had that happened, the Eagles would have had to turn to second-year man Brent Celek and would have had to fill a hole created by Smith's absence. I think Celek can start and play well in this league at some point, but it feels a whole lot better with Smith as the starter and with Celek as the second tight end right now. I like that 1-2 combination.

I think fullback will be a stronger position this season. Thomas Tapeh clearly did not impress the Eagles enough -- the evidence is the lack of effort the team made to sign him back once his contract expired -- and now the Eagles have a really interesting situation heading into the draft. They have a player who has been in the system for a couple of years, Jason Davis. He is ready to blossom. They have competition in Klecko, who is a physical, aggressive guy who adds a bruiser dimension to the picture. They have some versatility for both tight end and fullback in Wilson, who I see as someone who has some packages created for his many talents. He can line up in a lot of different positions and, yes, maybe there is some H-back in the immediate future for this offense.

The offense in the red zone is better with Smith on the field and with McNabb healthy from day one. Where the Eagles haven't necessarily improved is in the big-play, explosive passing-game department, and that is something to discuss. Are the Eagles good enough to get the ball down the field in big chunks of yardage?

I can't tell you yes or no on that one. If the offensive line blocks well -- and I'm of the belief that this is a group that needs to be better than it was last season -- then McNabb has time and the receivers will find openings. Then it's just pitch and catch. Certainly, defenses had too much success blitzing the Eagles last year, reaching the quarterback and shutting down the big plays and the easy scores in the passing game.

Guys and gals, this is just food for thought on this day that is one step closer to the April 26-27 NFL draft. How much have the Eagles improved the offense already? And how much more do they have to go to get where they want to be?

If the efforts to improve the defense work, the offense should be better. If the blueprint comes true, the Eagles will have more takeaways and will set up the offense in better field position and should even score here and there, unlike last year. That's an improvement.

I know I'm rambling on, but I'm taking a perspective here, pausing to consider what the Eagles have done, what they could have done, what they might do in the weeks ahead. The choices were to do what the Eagles did and continue on with the core of the offense, or to make drastic changes and maybe rip it all up and start again.

I like the approach so far. Going out adding a Bernard Berrian or a D.J. Hackett or a Bryant Johnson ... would that have helped the offense? Would those moves have been positive for McNabb and for the passing game? Time is the king here.

I think the Eagles can find help in the draft for their offense -- whether it is a young lineman to challenge for playing time right away, or a player who can be a threat in the return game, or a receiver who can come in and boost a personnel package and create a good matchup at a key point in the game. There are more ways to improve than by adding the "star" receiver that so many are fixated on adding. The Eagles are exploring every option and asking themselves the same question every day: Is what we have on the roster right now enough to win the Super Bowl?