Everyone knows that Andy Reid is a “descendant” of Bill Walsh – football philosophically anyway. Bill Walsh's West Coast offense relies primarily on good timing between a Quarterback and his receivers. It lateral passing to open the field from sideline to sideline rather than a running game that compresses the field from end zone to end zone. I don't really want to go into depth on the West Coast offense since there are a ton of articles available from Google, but the common thread in all of these articles is succinctly summed up by Len Pasquarelli:

Despite being groomed by Davis in a vertical passing game, Walsh decided to stretch secondaries horizontally as well, forcing slower linebackers and safeties into coverages. He believed in throwing on any down, with the simple four-yard pass replacing many of the rushing plays, and he understood that if bigger receivers were able to break just one tackle, one of those four-yard passes could become a 20-yard gain.

Precision timing, with receivers running hard into and out of their cuts, was a key. From multiple formations, there were myriad possibilities, multiplied even more by motioning players before the snap.

So, how does this relate to the Eagles? Several weeks ago I made some observations about the Eagles Wide Receivers and how they may or may not compare to years past. Trailing that post was a poll asking how this years crop of wide receivers compare. The poll results surprised me quite a bit especially when one considers the persistent outcry for more playmakers at the Wide receiver position on offense. With over 240 votes, this crop of receivers compared -not surprisingly- most favorably to the '06 group, but what was blew me away was that the second highest vote getter was “the best set of receivers” the birds have had with Reid at the helm of the team. I could be convinced, but I'm with the group that feels the '06 receivers and this group are quite comparable. An offense is certainly more than just it's wide outs so, with the west coast offense in mind let's look at each group of skill position players to see how they stack up.

Positional breakdown after the break.

Wide Recievers

Let's first consider the wideouts briefly. The only differences between '06, '07 and today are the additions of Kevin Curtis and DeSean Jackson and the subtraction of Dante Stallworth. It is pretty easy to argue though perhaps somewhat controversial to say that Curtis was a significant upgrade over Stallworth. Curtis is almost as fast, runs much better routes - vital to the West Coast Offense, and he stayed healthy. He disappeared in a couple of games and had that sick one against Detroit, but I like Curtis. 

Regarding DeSean, it's easy to be optimistic about Jackson, but he's small and couldn't even make it through the OTAs without pulling a hammy. Not terribly inspirational. I think DeSean will be the 4th WR on the depth chart behind the combination of Avant and Baskett (ie. In 3 wide it'll be either Avant or Basket and in four WO sets Avant/Baskett will be one WO and DJ will be the other). DeSean's speed and agility are tantalizing, I hope he's the next Steve Smith, but I'd be stoked with the next Brian Mitchell.

Reggie Brown I still consider an unknown quantity. He was improved last year. His TD numbers were off, but he improved in every other category. Had he not had a couple of TD's called back, we might be praising him rather than vilifying him. Whatever, Reggie is an upgrade over Todd Pinkston and he knows Andy's version of the WCO.

Running Backs

This group has the potential to be interesting. In recent years there has been only 1 option, one we all know. This year, the addition of Lorenzo Booker provides the birds with the ability to cause significant match up problems with opposing defenses. We've all likely thought about the potential to put Booker and Westbrook split behind McNabb with Avant, Baskett or Smith in the slot. How do you defend that? Does Booker command a corner or a linebacker? An extra safety? Is that lineup worth a Dime or Dollar?  We could run from this look or pass with Booker and Westy flaring out wide - stretching the D side to side, Smith work the seam and Reggie and Kevin run intermediate/deep routes.  Reggie is a tremendous downfield blocker as is Hank...

What about a Westbrook/Hunt backfield with Tony as FB. This is a short yardage nightmare – again you can run and pass. Tony might lead block for Westbrook in a run, or take the ball himself. Unless Tony has learned to be more aware in blitz pickup I wouldn't keep him in to block though...

What about Buck? Seriously this group has the feel of the 3 headed monster – except there are 4. How many footballs are there anyway?

Tight Ends

I feel like this group is perfect for the WCO, with a healthy LJ, and Brent Celek with a year under his belt they could be ideal. Celek really looked good for a rookie, particularly in the last part of the season. Take a look at his player page on NFL.com and compare it to Greg Olsen's. Celek actually outplayed Olsen at the end of last year. Granted Greg struggled with injuries, but could Brent be another Chad Lewis? In the Dallas win, he sure seemed to be channeling the ghost of Chad.  While 16 catches isn't alot, 8 of them came in the final 3 games 2 of which he started - that projects out to 42 catches for the year - not bad at all.

After them, there's another athletic tight end in Kris Wilson and the knowledgeable Matt Schobel, I think only 1 of these guys make the 53 man roster – I expect it's Wilson because he's taken lots of snaps at FB.

Whatever the case this group looks decent. A big seam splitting type of TE in Celek, and a athletic matchup problem in LJ really seem to fit well with the goal of getting Linebackers into coverage professed by the WCO.

Quarterbacks

This part of the roster is almost disturbing to me. In thinking about the responsibilities of the quarterback in the WCO, I almost got sad. A quarterback needs to be accurate, and make quick decisions. Quarterbacks in the WCO are supposed to throw to spots rather than players...

Um. I hate to say it, but I'm afraid that Donovan might not be that guy. He's struggled with accuracy throughout his career. He holds on to the ball to long looking for the big play - there aren't too many days where you can run around in the pocket for 14 seconds. I really hope he stays healthy this year and proves me wrong, but I'm glad that Kevin Kolb got as many reps with the first team in OTAs as he did. I look forward to seeing him run the offense in the preseason.

Remember 2006 when Jeff Garcia came in? After Indy, it sure seemed that the offense worked better than it did during weeks 6-10. I felt Donovan became enamored of the big play in the first 5 games and didn't adjust when teams started playing more Cover 3. Garcia didn't have that problem, he checked down and got the ball out quickly.  We need to see more of that from McNabb.  He needs to make his reads and get the ball out.

I sure hope the season doesn't find both Kolb and McNabb on the sidelines at the same time.  AJ is an interception waiting to happen.  He is more than willing to throw the ball, but watching him last year I sure don't want to see him on the field unless it's in week 17 and the Eagles have an insurmountable lead and homefield throughout.

Fullbacks?

We know nothing about these guys - Jason Davis, Luke Lawton?  What about Kris Wilson?  He's probably the most appropriate player for what the Eagles want to do offensively.  Good luck to them all.  This is really the only hole in the roster.

For whatever it's worth, I like this squad top to bottom.  It really feels like it is built to run a West Coast attack.  Work the ball to the open guy, build a lead in the first half and the run the clock down in the second.  I hope the QB's study Garcia's game tapes and look at how he took a dynamic leadership role when he was on the field.  If they learn from him, there is a real good chance this offense will put up points this year.  We'll see.