Pederson not buying dire forecasts for Eagles

During the offseason, Eagles coach Doug Pederson repeatedly insisted that there were no similarities between this year's Eagles team and Andy Reid's first Eagles team in 1999 that lost 11 games.

He has said this team is far more talented than that '99 team, for which he played and made nine starts at quarterback.

He stood by that stance Wednesday, even as he and his staff prepared rookie quarterback Carson Wentz for his first NFL start against Cleveland in the wake of the weekend trade of Sam Bradford.

"My expectations for the team are [still] extremely high,'' Pederson said. "We need to win football games. Maybe the perception outside the building is a little different. But I don't believe that.

"The [thought], 'Hey, young rookie quarterback. Don't expect much this season' - that's not my expectation at all. My expectation is to get him ready to play.

"We still have a veteran football team. We have a great offensive line. We have a great defensive line. That's where it starts obviously, and we just keep building [from there]. It's my job to get the guys ready to play, along with Carson.

"But my expectation is, hey, we want to win every game. That's everybody's expectation. To play at a high level each and every week.''

Pederson said he hasn't scaled back the game plan for Sunday even though Wentz missed three of the team's four preseason games with two broken ribs.

"You want to go in with the plays that you've been repping all offseason and training camp,'' he said. "There's no need to reinvent the wheel now.

"Carson has been exposed to everything in our game plan that we put in today and what we'll put in tomorrow and Friday. This game plan, utilizing Carson's strengths – obviously his ability to run; it may open up a run or two here and there, that we can utilize. But we need to be smart with that.

"And just protect him early. I know from personal experience that when quarterbacks get hit early, it can affect them the rest of the game.''

Pederson was asked about the decision to trade cornerback Eric Rowe, the team's 2015 second-round pick, to New England for a 2018 fourth-round selection.

"It was a good opportunity for our organization to make some moves and further his career,'' he said. "For us, he was possibly the fourth or fifth corner going into the season. This gives him the opportunity to play.''

Pederson said undrafted rookie C.J. Smith, who was signed to the practice squad, wouldn't be replacing Rowe on the 53-man roster, at least not right away. Unless they change their mind on Smith, that means the Eagles will go into Sunday's game against the Browns with four corners on their roster – starters Leodis McKelvin and Nolan Carroll, slot corner Ron Brooks and seventh-round rookie Jalen Mills.

"In [Rowe's] case, Jalen Mills was having a good camp,'' Pederson said. "You bring in Leo [McKelvin]. You bring in Ron Brooks. Nolan's back healthy. There's a lot of competition at that position. It's what we wanted in the spring.

"He did put himself in a position to compete and be a part of the Eagles. We just felt that at this time, not only was it a good opportunity for him, but also for some of our young players who played well in camp to make this roster.''