Terrell Owens mishandles a pass at Eagles training camp practice. Jim McIsaac/Getty Images
	Super Bowl Champions' Top WRs Year Team Top WR Catches Yards TDs 2004 Patriots David Givens 56 874 3 2003 Patriots Deion Branch 57 803 3 2002 Bucs Keyshawn Johnson 76 1,088 5 2001 Patriots Troy Brown 91 1,199 5 2000 Ravens Qadry Ismail 49 655 5 1999 Rams Isaac Bruce 77 1,165 12 1998 Broncos Rod Smith 86 1,222 6 1997 Broncos Rod Smith 70 1,180 12 1996 Packers Antonio Freeman 56 933 9 1995 Cowboys Michael Irvin 111 1,603 10 1994 49ers Jerry Rice 93 1,499 13
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This summer Disney is filming Invincible, the true story of Vince Papale, a Philadelphia bartender who made the Eagles roster as a backup receiver by impressing Dick Vermeil at an open tryout in 1976. The tale of Papale, who will be played by Mark Wahlberg (Greg Kinnear plays Vermeil), may seem far-fetched in this day and age, but the way the Eagles' offseason has gone, don't be surprised if they start pulling guys off the street again in 2005.

The defending NFC champs lost Todd Pinkston (injury) and Freddie Mitchell (released) and have a very unhappy Terrell Owens on their hands. T.O. has been sitting out practices with a groin injury and it's hard to imagine he won't find a way to miss at least part of this season. The fearsome trio of Greg Lewis, Billy McMullen and rookie Reggie Brown sit behind Owens on the depth chart.

Coach Andy Reid, who would be played by John Goodman in the film version of the 2005 Eagles, doesn't appear to be bothered by the lack of proven receivers. Listening to Reid, you get the impression his team would be fine with or without T.O.

Based on recent NFL history, Reid is probably right. The three-time champion Patriots have been noticeably devoid of big-time receivers. In fact, only one of the last six Super Bowl winners has had a player in the top 10 in receiving yards (New England's Brown ranked 10th in '01).

If something happens to Owens and he doesn't play a full schedule, the Eagles will be an interesting experiment. Is a franchise receiver integral to winning in today's NFL and are they worth the investment?

In most cases, spending money on WRs has not been a good idea, and outstanding individual talent at the position does not translate into wins. Because the NFL is a league of trends, let's examine the recent history of franchise wide receivers.

• Signing big-name free agent wide receivers hasn't worked out for most teams the last few years. Peerless Price has been a flop in Atlanta, Laveranues Coles' stay in Washington was a disaster and David Boston did nothing for the Chargers when they gave him big money in '03 (to be fair, Boston was hurt.)

The one recent exception is Owens. The Eagles acquired T.O. in a trade, but was basically a free agent after he demanded his way out of San Francisco. Owens immediately delivered in Philadelphia; he had 77 catches for 1,200 yards and 14 TDs in 14 games and helped quarterback Donovan McNabb have his best year as a pro.

Owens' acquisition, however, was far from typical. There's no reason a player that good should have been available at that price in '04. Owens' overall market value was kept down because of his attitude problems. If his contract has been exorbitantly expensive over the long term, he never would have been an Eagle in the first place. And if T.O. didn't have personality issues, he would have stayed with the cap-strapped 49ers and be the biggest star on a bad team. Or he would have gobbled up a huge chunk of a decent team's cap and make it hard for them to build a balanced team.