The supercruiser was more the sort of innovative product you'd expect from Boeing given the current economic climate, and it's a bit telling that its been dropped and replaced with an 'updated' version of the status quo.
The concensus here on pprune seemed to be that the supercruiser wouldn't work and wouldn't be economical. It offered just a bit more speed, at a time when airlines are losing big money. If the 7E7 meets its hype (a big if), it will significantly lower operating costs (both fuel burn and maintenance costs). Yes, that may be just an incremental improvement. But if it truly does cost 20% less to run than the equivalent Airbus, wouldn't that bring a lot of sales to Boeing?