Is Freddie Mitchell the answer to the never-ending question posed by Philadelphia Eagles fans? You know the question- (except for when T.O. was here): what are the Eagles going to do to upgrade their wide receiving corp?  Well, no, bringing back Freddie Mitchell isn’t the answer…but this picture is priceless.

The reason this topic is even blog-worthy is two-fold: 1) Reggie Brown, the Eagles #2 pass catcher, went down with a hamstring injury against the Carolina Panthers and 2) the Eagles’ faithful just won’t let the issue go.

Right now, your starting WRs look something like this (in no particular order): Kevin Curtis, Reggie Brown, DeSean Jackson, Hank Baskett, Greg Lewis.  More than likely, that is going to what your 2008-2009 Eagles will head into the season with.

Is there a bona fide #1 wide receiver in the group? Not really.  But do you need that to win the Super Bowl? Also, not really.  But don’t take it from me, let’s look at the most recent champions of the NFL.  For the sake of this argument, we’ll use the last 10 Super Bowls.  The list of “number 1 WRs” from the Lombardi Trophy winners look like this: Plaxico Burress, Marvin Harrison, Hines Ward, Terry Glenn, David Givens, Keenan McCardell, Qadry Ismail, Torry Holt, Rod Smith.  On that list, the only two that jump out to me as being superstar, number 1, difference-making wide receivers are Marvin Harrison and Torry Holt.  The others are very good wide receivers and yes, I would have taken them on the Eagles during their respective careers.  However, what happened when we had Terrell Owens?  If you remember correctly, and most fans don’t, we made it to the Super Bowl without him.  He was injured in the playoffs.  When he did return and play in the Super Bowl, he was amazing but we came in the “like kissing your sister” place.

The top twenty wide receivers of the NFL today (according to their 2007-2008 stats) have three, yes 3, Super Bowl rings total.  They belong to Burress, Holt, and the Colts number 2 wide receiver Reggie Wayne.

So what do the Eagles do?

Go get a number 1.  (Did you ever notice we say that like it is a loaf of bread? Hey, Banner and Lurie can you guys head out to ACME and get us a number 1?  And while you are there, we are low on stud special-teamers.  Can you pick up a half dozen of them while you are out?).  Don’t hold your breath fans, because it ain’t happening.

OR trade for Joe Horn or Anquan Boldin.  Hell, why not get both?  I did it on my fantasy league team last year and won first place.  Keep dreaming dreamers…

OR go into the season with what you have and hope that you don’t have to rely on a number 1 WR.  With a healthy Donovan McNabb, a happy Brian Westbrook, and the “ever-ready for a breakout year” L.J. Smith, the Eagles group of three number 2 wide receivers isn’t that bad of an option.

In Curtis, Brown, and Jackson (fingers crossed), you have guys that can do the job but won’t make the Pro Bowl. And I can live with that as long as we make the other kind of Bowl…