What to do at TE

Brent Celek had a great game against Seattle. He caught 6 passes for 131 yards and provided multiple big plays. LJ Smith missed the game because he had suffered a concussion in the previous game. The question now is whether Celek's game should earn him another start. Andy Reid went out of his way in a recent press conference to speak highly of LJ. That would indicate that he feels Smith should still be the starter.

I have mixed feelings on the subject. Smith has never lived up to his full potential. He has the ability to be a very good TE. He'll make some big plays, but will also drop the occasional pass. His blocking is sloppy at times. He disappears from the offense on occasion, but in his defense it is hard to say how much of that is him and how much is simply Donovan throwing the ball to other guys.

I hoped coming into the season that Brent would play well and show the potential to be a starter in the future. He was very quiet for the first 6 games. That all changed on Sunday. His 131 yards top what Smith has done all year long (12 catches for 106 yards). LJ's long play is only 21 yards. Celek had gains of 27, 39, and 44 yards against Seattle.

Andy pointed out that teams focus more on LJ than the Seahawks did Celek. That is a valid statement. Brent was mostly an afterthought coming into the game. Now that he's shown some big play ability teams will have to pay him more attention.

The biggest reason that I'm hesitant to push Celek into the starting role is what happens in the Red Zone. Brent has 30 career catches and only 1 TD. LJ has a couple of TDs this year.

I was highly encouraged by Brent's game last week. He needs to build off that. I do think Reid and Marty need to play him more and call some plays for him. Let's see if Brent can have another good game. If he starts to consistently make plays, then he should be the starter. It is pretty clear that LJ is only hear until the season is over. Brent is playing for his future, as well as the present. Sunday was a good sign, but we have to be careful about making too much of it. One game is nice, but we need to see more.
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New PE.com article is posted.

http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/news/Story.asp?story_id=16601

Some early thoughts on the Giants/Eagles game.
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