Philadelphia — Terrell Owens has thrived in the Philadelphia Eagles' offense, but other receivers have virtually disappeared.
Over the past two games, Owens has 15 catches -- while the rest of the squad has 18. Wide receivers Todd Pinkston (two catches) and Freddie Mitchell (none) have been completely overshadowed by Owens.
In the Eagles' last four games, Owens has 23 catches. Pinkston, Mitchell and tight ends Chad Lewis and L.J. Smith have 28 receptions combined during that stretch.
"It's not by design that it all goes to T.O.," offensive coordinator Brad Childress said Friday. "There are times when we are looking at him first. There are times when we are looking at him last. It goes in cycles. Early on, we were spreading the ball to many receivers."
In last week's 27-3 loss to Pittsburgh, Owens caught seven passes. The rest of the team had eight receptions, but the Eagles ran just 33 offensive plays.
"When you're running only (33) plays in a game, there's not too many opportunities to make plays," quarterback Donovan McNabb said.
So far, only Mitchell has complained about his lack of production. A former first-round pick, the outspoken Mitchell has nine catches for 159 yards as the team's slot receiver.
"Fred is doing fine. The ball will come to Fred as we go on," Eagles coach Andy Reid said.
Childress pointed to a specific play two weeks ago against Baltimore in which Mitchell was wide open downfield, but McNabb elected to throw to fullback Josh Parry for a 22-yard gain.
"It's based on who he finds open first," Childress said of the four-time Pro Bowl quarterback.
Smith, a second-year pro who was expected to flourish this season, has been bothered by shoulder and hamstring injuries.
He had 12 catches in the first four games, but has been largely ignored since dropping a long touchdown pass against Chicago.
"He's getting looked at," Childress said. "It has to be the right coverage, right situation, him being open."
Overall, Owens has 49 catches for 750 yards and a league-high nine TDs. Pinkston has 19 catches for 271 yards, Lewis has 24 catches for 218 yards and one TD and Smith has 15 catches for 194 yards and three TDs. Running back Brian Westbrook is second to Owens with 34 catches.
"If you can't stop the first read in the progression, then you have to keep going back to them," McNabb said. "You may see T.O. coming out with seven or eight catches. You may see the rest of those guys come out with four, five or six catches. Every game is not going to be the same.
"There are going to be games where T.O. might have more catches than the rest of them. We'll continue to spread this thing around and make sure everybody gets involved and makes big plays for us, but nothing really matters more than winning."
Even Mitchell is finding it hard to continue griping with the Eagles at 7-1.
"My time will come," Mitchell said. "I'm going to do whatever my team needs me to do to keep winning."
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