By Julie Glass
The Eagles are 4-3 and should be 6-1.
Their coach is a numb-nuts whose play-calling has been worthy of Pop Warner, and their wide receivers are abysmal.
And unless the Eagles front office knows something that coach Doug Pederson does not, the Giants won’t have to worry about defending an explosive receiving corps next Sunday.
Fresh off a 29-23 overtime loss to the Cowboys in which his woeful receivers were a prime culprit, Pederson said the Eagles will stand pat at the NFL trading deadline this afternoon.
Forget about those rumors of Philly trading for the Jets’ Brandon Marshall or Torrey Smith of the 49ers in time to face the Giants in a big NFC East matchup for both 4-3 teams this weekend at MetLife Stadium.
“As far as I know, we’re not making any moves,” said Pederson, who is in his first season with the Eagles. “The guys we have [at wide receiver] are the guys we have. We’re going to continue to work and get better at that position.”
Philadelphia has been hamstrung at receiver since Pederson predecessor Chip Kelly cut 1,300-yard wideout DeSean Jackson — enabling him to sign with the rival Redskins — and allowed another 1,300-yard receiver, Jeremy Maclin, to bolt for the Chiefs in free agency.
The current group of Jordan Matthews, Nelson Agholor, Josh Huff and recent acquisition Dorial Green-Beckham has trouble getting off the line, and Agholor — a first-round pick last year — continues to be plagued by drops and already looks like a bust.
As a result, rookie quarterback Carson Wentz rarely looks downfield and has thrown for more than 278 yards just once in seven starts.
Sunday’s loss was a prime example of how the Birds’ poor receivers limit Wentz as he completed 32 of 43 passes, but totaled a mere 202 yards. Wentz is averaging just 173 yards passing the past three games, two of them NFC East losses to Washington and Dallas.
The Eagles are a woeful 28th in the NFL in total yards, but 10th in scoring, although the latter figure has been boosted by two kickoff returns for a touchdown and an interception return for a score.
“Were there some drops in the game last night that were crucial? Yeah,” Pederson said. “That’s part of it. We’ve just got to continue to work and get better and keep putting our players in those situations to make those plays.”
