"The end of the Eagles' 2011 season has the makings of great sports debate.

The cynics might observe that Michael Vick had his worst two games in his last two starts, that the offensive line buckled against Green Bay's pressure in the playoffs and that another Super Bowl run ended short of a parade down Broad Street.

The pragmatics might see Vick's potential with another year under the same coaching staff, a rash of injuries that couldn't possibly be duplicated and a five-point loss to the Super Bowl champs that ultimately came down a botched pair of makeable field goals.

Neither side would be wrong. It just depends on whether you're a glass-half-full or half-empty type.

There's no doubt which viewpoint Reid takes.

As he approaches his 13th draft as Eagles head coach, a lockout and delayed free agency threatens to change his standard business practice of taking the best available prospect.

But the most successful coach in franchise history isn't messing with his tried-and-true recipe.

In fact, during an exclusive interview with The Courier-Post, Reid said his team didn't need the draft -- or free agency -- to win next year's Super Bowl.

"I think the one thing we could do today is we could line up and put a team out there that can go compete for a championship," Reid said.

"And so does that rookie have to step in and start (off) and have little time to learn if the (missed camps) go on too long? Well, yeah, but you've got some veterans here that have played at most positions."

Reid's admission throws a curveball to the draftniks who have the Eagles locked into an offensive lineman tonight in the first round.

Sure, it's their most glaring need. But at this point, any position -- yes,even defensive lineman for the umpteenth time -- is fair game.

In this rare case where free agency succeeds the draft, some teams may use this weekend's selections as their primary means for roster improvement."