It was only 7 1/2 months ago that Eagles head coach Andy Reid insisted Brent Celek's huge performance against the Seahawks - six catches for 131 yards, a franchise record for tight ends - was essentially a fluke.
"There were times they didn't do a great job covering him," Reid said with a straight face.
So why, we all wondered, doesn't anybody ever do a lousy job covering starter L.J. Smith?
"L.J. attracts so much attention," Reid said that day in early November. "L.J. is one of those guys that the other team is always aware of."
Now, the charade is over. Reid can stop pretending that Smith is better than Celek. He can stop pretending that Celek isn't the big-play tight end the Eagles expected Smith to become.