CATCHING EVERYTHING

The topic of the day at the NovaCare Complex was wide receivers.

An oft-maligned contingent, the Eagles' wide receivers have played particularly well during the team's three-game winning streak that has thrust them into contention for an NFC wildcard playoff spot.

An anonymous Eagles source questioned the play of the wide receivers following quarterback Donovan McNabb's benching at halftime of the team's lopsided loss in Baltimore. At that time, the Eagles had a league-leading 25 drops. In the three games since then, they have had just three drops while contributing 44 catches for 524 yards and three touchdowns.

"You go from leading the league in drops to catching everything, that sure helps," Eagles coach Andy Reid said at his noon news conference.

Jason Avant played the leading role in Monday night's rout of the Cleveland Browns, catching five passes for 101 yards. It was his first career 100-yard receiving day.

"He has great change of direction and phenomenal hands," coach Andy Reid said when asked about Avant. "Donovan has a lot of trust in him. Last night, he went against a lot of man coverage and I thought he did a great job of shaking the man coverage."

The Eagles, however, may have to make a change in their wide receiver corps for Sunday's game against the Washington Redskins because Hank Baskett has a sprained knee ligament. Reid said Baskett would not have been able to practice today and it could be difficult for him to be ready for the Redskins' game.

"He's sore today," Reid said. "We'll see how he does this week."

If Baskett cannot play, that could be Reggie Brown's ticket back to the playing field. Brown, the Eagles' No. 1 receiver two seasons ago, has been a healthy scratch in the last two games.