Eagles fans all have a strong opinion on Terrell Owens. AP
	MAILBAG Submit a comment or question for Andrew. Your name: Your e-mail address: Your home town: Enter your question:

Last week I wrote that Terrell Owens' loss would not doom the Eagles' season. I was subsequently criticized on the sports-radio station in Philadelphia and ripped to shreds by a large number of e-mailers. The predictable criticism only strengthens my belief that if the Eagles' record takes a downturn this season, it won't be because Terrell Owens didn't end up playing for them.

My basic argument was that teams don't need star wide receivers to win a Super Bowl in today's NFL, and allocating too much money toward the position can cause unnecessary salary-cap problems. The Eagles have reached three straight NFC Championship Games because like the Patriots, they have maintained salary-cap flexibility and they have a strong system in place that can overcome the loss any one individual aside from the quarterback.

From a football perspective, Owens' possible departure has been overblown. This notion that the defending conference champions will suddenly forget how to play the game because they lost their No. 1 receiver is ridiculous. Before last season, the Eagles hadn't had a No. 1 receiver since Mike Quick (no offense to "Arkansas" Fred Barnett) and they've been pretty good anyway. Eagles fans are like little kids who get a present they love, lose it and can't remember how they ever got along without it.

This isn't the first time the sky has fallen for Philly fans, who feel more comfortable when their team is doomed. Less than nine months ago, the Iggles were dead in the water when T.O. broke his ankle against the Cowboys in Week 14, but they still managed to advance to the Super Bowl.

I'm not saying the Eagles will go as far this year with or without Owens. Several teams that have lost Super Bowls have run into terrible luck the following year and Philly could be decimated by injuries as easily as the Panthers were last year. But so many e-mailers have said the team will simply fall apart if Owens isn't there and that I'm crazy to underrate the wide-receiver position.

Let's take a closer look at the main points people raised about why the Eagles so desperately need Owens and why teams should pay big money for receivers.

1. The Eagles' current wide-receiver situation is a disaster.

So was the running back situation after Correll Buckhalter got injured. And the second time Buckhalter went down. And the third. So was the defense after linebacker Jeremiah Trotter left for Washington. Or when the Eagles let cornerbacks Troy Vincent and Bobby Taylor go. Ever since Andy Reid took over this team it has withstood a series of supposed crises and maintained a high level of excellence.

The ultimate irony is how Philly now laments the loss of wide receiver Todd Pinkston, who tore his Achilles tendon and is out for the season. Pinkston's name used to be synonymous with failure in the Town of Brotherly Love. In the past, news of Pinkston's injury would have been cause for celebration. The city might have even brought out the Mummers and had a parade. Now it's just another tragedy that is sure to sink its beloved Eagles.

As I said last week, Greg Lewis, Billy McMullen and Reggie Brown won't keep defensive coordinators awake at night. But teams like the Eagles and Patriots seem to get just enough production from guys you've never heard of to win games. And Philly has had some success picking up older veterans to help out in recent years (see Antonio Freeman and Dorsey Levens). If these young kids don't work out, Reid will plug someone else in.