Kevin Curtis: Let The Phasing-Out Begin

If the Eagles had won the Super Bowl, would this still be happening?

Would the Eagles still have felt the pressure from Donovan McNabb and the fans to draft an "elite" receiver?

Probably.

If Curtis would have caught that fourth-down pass on their final drive against the Arizona Cardinals, would this article have a point?

Oddly enough, that last statement might work against this article. But, I digress.

This has been happening to Kevin Curtis for his entire career.

He was drafted in the third round due to his small school and age, despite possessing elite speed, soft hands, and exceptional route-running.

He's the Marvin Harrison of running crisp routes, the equivalent of a young Torry Holt in speed, and has the hands of a Wes Welker.

At least, usually he does. (Insert Curtis' apology to team for dropping "a" pass here)

Still, after he showed progression and displayed his talent in St. Louis, they still held onto Isaac Bruce for as long as they could, only finally letting him go once Curtis jumped ship and headed for Philadelphia.

Then, from day one, experts and analysts everywhere had a knock on him for every minute there was in a day.

If he dropped a pass, again, "a" pass-you heard about it. A bad route? Yeah, he should have gotten cut.

Truth be told, though, the world was against Curtis. Fantasy and NFL experts viewed him as a number two option, at best, while most said he was "ideal" for a career in the slot.

That's probably true. But you could say that for anyone. Any player with his speed and skills would be fantastic as a third option.

Anyone with any NFL knowledge, let alone any sense, would give an emphatic "duh" to that assumption.

Regardless, despite all the concerns or knocks, Curtis defied the minimal odds against him, catching over 70 passes for over 1,100 yards and six scores in his first season as a full-time starter.

What did he get for it?

Maybe a high-five or two from his teammates, but from the rest of the football world-almost nothing.

All you heard about was how 50 percent of his touchdowns came in one game, or how 51% of his yardage came in a combined three games.

Of course, these stats are only reserved for Curtis. It'd be a shame to actually shelve out this kind of information on every player. You know, with time restraints and all.

So, with Curtis being such a liability as a No. 1 option, the Eagles gave in to the demands last year, drafting DeSean Jackson out of California.

So far, so good. But wait, despite Jackson blowing everyone away with nearly 1,000 yards receiving in his rookie season, Donovan McNabb and the Philly fans still wanted, still needed, another play-maker.

Curtis and Jackson weren't good enough. Or, as many would hate to admit, only Curtis wasn't good enough.

Curtis, the same guy who fought to come back from surgery on a sports hernia, received constant scrutiny for his mediocre stats upon his return.

Oh, because you're supposed to be able to play at an elite level immediately back from injury, right? And the chemistry with your quarterback-that's automatically restored.

Either way, Andy Reid found it fitting to add his own mixture of deja-vu to this tale, in drafting Missouri's Jeremy Maclin in the first round of the 2009 draft.

So, let's do a recap. Two seasons of Curtis doing his best, yet somehow not living up to the expectations that Terrell Owens left behind when he left.

All the James Thrash's, Todd Pinkston's, and Freddie Mitchell's (and let's not forget Reggie Brown) from year's past-they're excused.

No, only when Curtis arrives in town, do we truly panic. Now that he isn't getting it done (supposedly) as a number one receiver, this receiving corps suddenly needs help.

This position-not safety or defensive end-needs addressing, pronto.

I just would like to know, in the name of Mike Furrey, why is this happening?

Before we know it, Curtis will be demoted to the slot, eventually off the team, and inevitably out of the league.

But what the world needs to know, is that it will be for all the wrong reasons.

It won't be because he's not fast (he is), can't catch (he can), or runs poor routes (he doesn't).

The truth is, I have no idea why it will happen.