Ryan Mathews

Posted: June 20th, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 149 Comments »

Chip Kelly said a lot of glowing things about Ryan Mathews at a recent PC. With all the attention going to DeMarco Murray, it is easy to forget about Mathews and what a good signing he could prove to be.

The Eagles want to be a running team in 2015. Murray is here to be the primary runner and the key to the offense. Mathews is here for a couple of reasons. He will spell Murray during games so that there isn’t one RB getting 350 touches. Mathews is also here in case Murray does get hurt and miss a game or games.

LeSean McCoy proved to be amazingly durable in the last 2 years. He played in all 32 games and had almost 700 total touches. You can’t count on that, especially with a player like Murray who has dealt with some injuries. If Murray is out for a couple of weeks, you still have Mathews and Darren Sproles.

Remember the end of the Giants game? Trey Burton was put in at RB to eat up some carries. This year you would just hand the ball to Mathews. That rests Murray and allows you to use Sproles the way you want.

Mathews could thrive as a role player. He was a good starting RB for the Chargers. His main issue was durability. If you use him less, the lack of wear and tear could bring out the best in him. Check out these highlights.

There are a couple of things that jump out to me. First, Mathews is one physical runner. He doesn’t go down on first contact. Mathews can break multiple tackles on a single run.

The other thing that stands out is how square Mathews stays to the line of scrimmage. This term refers to when a RB keeps his shoulder pads parallel to the LOS. You want this because it means the RB is running north-south. That helps the runner to break tackles and also leads to more big plays. If there is a gap to hit, the RB gets to it and through it quickly. RBs that run parallel to the LOS (going E-W) are much easier to tackle. You can hit them in the side of the legs, where they have less power and balance.

Mathews isn’t just a power runner. He has enough speed to get out wide and turn the corner. That speed is one of the reasons that Kelly also wants to use him as a KOR.

You can see similarities in Ryan Mathews and Chris Polk. Mathews is more naturally gifted, which is why he has been an NFL starter and Polk has been a #3 RB. Polk also had trouble staying healthy. Mathews wasn’t able to be a consistent 20-carry a game RB for San Diego, but that’s very different from Polk, who had nagging injuries that seemed to slow him each summer and affected him during the season.

Murray and Mathews could prove to be a dynamic duo for the Eagles. They won’t have the spectacular “How did he do that?” highlights that Shady made seem so common, but the M&M boys will run downhill. That’s exactly what Kelly wants and he thinks it can help the offense to be even better in 2015.

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149 Comments on “Ryan Mathews”

  1. 1 76mustang said at 2:07 PM on June 20th, 2015:

    The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential… these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence.

    Confucius

  2. 2 A_T_G said at 2:28 PM on June 20th, 2015:

    If the will to win wins over the will to whine, you will win and wine, you will.

    -Confuseus

  3. 3 bentheimmigrant said at 3:41 PM on June 20th, 2015:

    When you can balance a tack hammer on your head, you will head off your foes with a balanced attack.

    -The Sphinx

  4. 4 birdman T said at 6:27 AM on June 25th, 2015:

    Leon or Michael?

  5. 5 PerfectTrader777 said at 11:17 AM on June 21st, 2015:

    U sure that’s not Aristotle?

  6. 6 Greg Richards said at 2:08 PM on June 20th, 2015:

    I was about to say at least one highlight video where I don’t have to listen to some crap rap….

  7. 7 Insomniac said at 12:25 AM on June 21st, 2015:

    Yea. I’d imagine if Djax grew up wanting to be a pianist instead of a rapper then he’d still be on the team.

  8. 8 Michael Winter Cho said at 11:10 AM on June 21st, 2015:

    Pianists are not team players. Maybe a violist. Viola-ist? Violeer?

  9. 9 Insomniac said at 12:37 AM on June 22nd, 2015:

    How about a tuba player instead?

  10. 10 Cafone said at 2:12 PM on June 20th, 2015:

    Since I have the first pick in my fantasy draft, I see Matthews as a threat to my DeMarco Murray numbers.

  11. 11 A_T_G said at 2:21 PM on June 20th, 2015:

    As I was reading, I was wondering if Shady will be picked higher than Murray.

  12. 12 SteveH said at 3:07 PM on June 20th, 2015:

    Probably not, Buffalo doesn’t have a great OL do they? I don’t know but I would guess the concensus is that Murray is going to have a better year in Chip’s system than Lesean over in Buffalo. Rex Ryan has never been known as one to improve a teams offense after all.

  13. 13 Javi Echie said at 5:02 PM on June 20th, 2015:

    Shady will absolutely go higher then Murray and is a lock top 5 pick based on the terrible QBs in Buffalo and the Bills already stated they plan on giving McCoy over 350 touches.
    ….
    Fantasy top 5 to me are 1 – Jamal Charles, 2 – Leveon Bell (even if suspended), 3 – Shady, 4 – Peterson, 5 – Arian Foster

  14. 14 EAGLES said at 6:07 PM on June 20th, 2015:

    You do know Buffalo has a terrible oline right? I think McCoy, like us, doesn’t exactly fit Greg romans system. And again, horrible oline. I think they were the worst blocking line last year. Lots of rookies and questionable talent too. Great defense though… But I don’t see McCoy exactly lighting it up. Passing game might be better than the run game sadly if Roman can get their talented receivers going. You are def underrating Murray there lol…

  15. 15 Javi Echie said at 6:42 PM on June 20th, 2015:

    I guess you just totally ignore the offseason correct?. Glenn is a solid tackle and they also upgraded at both interior line spots so the line should be much improved, and Wood is a more then solid center.

    In no way am I underrating Murray but he isn’t going to put up the numbers he did last year especially with Mathews here.

  16. 16 PerfectTrader777 said at 11:16 AM on June 21st, 2015:

    RBs generally need a good QB/passing game to be good fantasy options. There are exceptions. Shady maaay be one of them.

  17. 17 TypicalDouche said at 11:22 AM on June 21st, 2015:

    Well if you’re speaking from a truly fantasy perspective RBs don’t need a good QB or passing game, it’s usually the opposite. Jamal Charles and Adrian Peterson didn’t have good QBS for most of there respective careers so it made them fantasy studs being that they would get more touches then your average RB because of non existent passing games. Don’t get me wrong having a strong passing game and good QB helps. I’ve been doing fantasy for over 20 years and in your logic as compared to mine would mean for example Eddie Lacy should be more valuable then Jamal Charles but that isn’t the case. Volume runners are the most valuable assets.

  18. 18 Javi Echie said at 11:27 AM on June 21st, 2015:

    Well said douche I fully agree with your assessment. I go by the same fantasy strategies except I’ve only done fantasy for about years.

  19. 19 PerfectTrader777 said at 11:41 AM on June 21st, 2015:

    Those 2 are arguably 2 of the most talented 5 RBs in the league and are the exception. The reason Eddie Lacy produces as well as he does is because of Aaron Rodgers. The main reason for this is because when you have a good passing game, the defense is forced to play more nickel/dime packages and are not able to stack the box. That’s a huge help to the running back.

    If you don’t have a good passing game the RB may get more volume but his yds/carry is significantly less on average.

    https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2015/04/23/impact-of-defensive-packages-on-yards-per-carry-2015/

    You can argue that volume is more important than yds/carry but I tend to disagree. TDs are probably the most important and you get more of them with a thriving pass offense.

  20. 20 TypicalDouche said at 5:44 AM on June 22nd, 2015:

    That is true but in fantasy you don’t receive or lose points for ypc so that is irrelevant in fantasy I don’t care if the back average 2 ypc as long as they get you over 100 yards and a td. Like I said this must all be looked at from a fantasy perspective.

  21. 21 PerfectTrader777 said at 11:22 AM on June 22nd, 2015:

    Volume will decrease if efficiency isn’t there. You can be Emmitt Smith but if you avg 3.0 yds/carry, you’ll start to get fewer touches. Even Rex Ryan is smart enough (I think) to figure out that 3×3 does not equal 10.

    I’m not saying McCoy can’t be an exception. But in theory I definitely believe efficiency is a better predictor of fantasy points.

  22. 22 Gary Barnes said at 10:34 AM on June 21st, 2015:

    Again, how did McCoy not fit our system when he led the NFL in rushing one season (1,600+ yards) and got a 1300+ yards the next?

    Believe me, if he gains 1,300+ yards for Buffalo the coaches and his teammates will be doing cart wheels

  23. 23 ACViking said at 2:21 PM on June 20th, 2015:

    Saturday NFL Trivia:

    Since the NFL draft began in 1934, only two RBs named “Mathews” (or spelled “Matthews”) have been 1st Rd picks.

    Bo Matthews in 1974: UColorado – 6’4″ 230lbs
    http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/M/MattBo00.htm

    Ryan Mathews in 2010: Fresno St – 6’0″ 220lbs
    http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/M/MathRy00.htm

    Both — oddly enough — were selected by the San Diego Chargers.
    _____________

    The things you can learn here to share over an ice cold bottle of Schmidt’s Beer on Father’s Day . . . .

  24. 24 A Roy said at 4:48 PM on June 20th, 2015:

    That’s one beautiful beer…

  25. 25 Media Mike said at 5:14 PM on June 20th, 2015:

    And I like how they diversified their offerings over the years.

    http://edge.liveleak.com/80281E/u/u/thumbs/2012/Sep/8/74a813285894_sf_15.jpg

  26. 26 A_T_G said at 2:24 PM on June 20th, 2015:

    I think we may see Burton eating up carries in the Giants game again this year. Chip will relish the challenge of getting four runners over 100 yards in a single game.

  27. 27 Media Mike said at 5:13 PM on June 20th, 2015:

    We’ll a lot of garbage time carries in both Giants games considering we should beat them by a combined 108-6.

  28. 28 A_T_G said at 2:31 PM on June 20th, 2015:

    When you add Sproles into your “M&M” moniker, you get Peanut M&M.

  29. 29 TommyLawlor said at 4:04 PM on June 20th, 2015:

    And I do prefer Peanut M&Ms.

  30. 30 ian_no_2 said at 2:39 PM on June 20th, 2015:

    What I liked about Polk was that he promised a low fumbling rate. Matthews had a key fumble at the goal line which gave him a bad rap a few years ago and then focused on ball control after that, so he has fumbled less than the average during that time. I like the idea of setting a guy up for smashmouth when you have a lead of nine points or more. Murray fumbles a little more than average, but it’s his running that gives you fits when you’re on the other team.

  31. 31 ian_no_2 said at 2:41 PM on June 20th, 2015:

    also (posted by keyboard mistake) you want the guys taking turns when the clock is stopped, so that they both stay fresh. The trend in defense may move towards fewer substitutions because of Seattle. Kelly usually gives a primary RB three fourths of the snaps so I don’t know what he has in mind.

  32. 32 D3FB said at 5:09 PM on June 20th, 2015:

    Sample size issues, with regards to Polk’s fumbling rate.

  33. 33 ian_no_2 said at 5:36 PM on June 20th, 2015:

    Polk had a very low fumble rate in college over a lot of carries.. which is what I had in mind. One fumble his senior year. (“promised”) Shady had of course many in college and improved, regressing a bit recently.

  34. 34 Gary said at 2:45 PM on June 20th, 2015:

    Interesting note from Matthew Berry’s 100 Facts column (http://espn.go.com/fantasy/football/story/_/id/13101710/100-facts-2015-season-fantasy-football):

    53. Last season, the Dallas offensive line averaged 2.8 yards before contact per rush. That was 10th best in the league.

    54. Last season, the Eagles, with a constantly changing offensive line, averaged 2.9 yards before contact per rush. That was seventh-best in the NFL.

  35. 35 Media Mike said at 5:12 PM on June 20th, 2015:

    But shoplifting underwear boy said meat on the bone.

  36. 36 GEAGLE said at 6:15 PM on June 20th, 2015:

    What’s funny is if we hit every cowboy player with a needle of truth Syrum, how many of them would say they would rather have Demarco, Ryan or Sproles instead of the underwear Theif?

    No Dallas OLineman choose Doug Free over Lane Johnson, THATS for sure..

  37. 37 GEAGLE said at 6:11 PM on June 20th, 2015:

    PFF also would back up your post..
    ..
    They had the Eagles as the #1 run blocking OL in the NFL, and Dallas OL was ranked #2… This is a crazy stat considering the good health and continuity the celebrated Dallas OL got last year, while we were playing musical Chairs with our starting OL for most of the season.. And even when Kelce and Mathis came back, they rushed back from Injury, they weren’t in game shape… crazy that there are a lot of people who graded our run blocking better then Dallas… Murray had a monster year, and we had like 3 or 4 games where shady couldn’t get anything going.. I guess early in the season when Shady was struggling to get 50yards, Sproles would come in and break a big run or two to help our rushiñg yard average…
    ..
    At full strength, we should easily have a better pass blocking OL then Dallas. The strength of their OL is run blocking, but they have some guys like Doug Free who are really good at run blocking, but average at best(to be kind) at pass blocking.. We should have the better pass blocking line, especially if you believe the Nartive that While Mathis strength was run blocking, Barbre/Peters will be a better pass blocking Tandem then Peters/Mathis….Kelce is a smart center who should diagnose most of the blitzes and know which Guard needs his help..
    ..
    With a better pass blocking OL, if we can have a more potent run game then Dallas, I hope our OL gets the credit they will have earned. if all the National Blowhards are going to Gawk and rave over the Dallas OL, when our Front 7 makes the Dallas OL OUR BITCH, THEY better start giving our elite front 7 the credit this young group deserves from all their heard work. These are young kids who are on the fringe of elite status… It’s fine if you want to drool and rave over the Dallas OL all year, but when we shut them down, I want our respect! And when our OL leads us to much bigger rushiñg numbers then Dallas, this OL better get its respect to, starting with the Guards who have been ripped during the Mathis mess…you are welcome to rave about our OL, just make sure we get our respect when we prove to be better!

  38. 38 Jernst said at 2:49 PM on June 20th, 2015:

    I’m going out on a limb here…I honestly think Matthews is going to be the more impactful signing, not Murray.

    PS: I love Evan Mathis. “You’re source is completely misinformed. I did not ask for a $3mil raise, I just asked for an extra $3mil to be added to my salary if I made the Pro-Bowl. So not a raise at all, ’cause I’d have to earn it.”

  39. 39 SteveH said at 3:47 PM on June 20th, 2015:

    This Mathis thing just keeps going round and round…

  40. 40 Jernst said at 4:58 PM on June 20th, 2015:

    Seems like every time a new piece of information comes out he vehemently denies it and then restates the same piece of information about what happened slightly differently.

    Chip comes out and says Evan asked for his release and then Mathis goes, “I did no such thing! I asked for my release in late March early April, but it was more of a question like, if you’re not gonna give him more money WHY don’t you release him. See totally different.”

  41. 41 GEAGLE said at 5:22 PM on June 20th, 2015:

    When Mathis makes a bullshit statement like that, I’m waiting for a media member to bring up what a fraudulent statement that is by Mathis because he is at the stage of his career, where he gets voted to the ProBowl on His NAME alone… He could play 5 games next year and struggle and he will still get voted to ProBowl or at least an alternate..
    ..
    So basically this clown is saying that he just wants to STEAL 3million LOL… He was a ProBowler last year and no shot in hell, he deserved it!

  42. 42 GEAGLE said at 5:44 PM on June 20th, 2015:

    The only way that can happen is if Demarco misses Tons of game to injury..
    ..
    Without assuming an injury mess from Demarco, I would think that the very best case scenario for Ryan would be reaching a much closer to 50/50 split with Murray then most people think is possible.
    ..
    if Murray stays healthy he will have a big impact on this team. that’s inevitabe..
    Ryan may be a slightly more talented runner, but murray has over achieved where as Ryan has had nice success, but I don’t think he realized his full potential yet as a pro.. If he hasn’t yet, we can’t assume he will… right now he is penciled in for a role of 8-13 snaps per game, more times then not he should be good for around 50yards…. While we assume it will be an 8-12 role, this man is so talented to where,if he does reach his ceiling, we could see a much closer to 50/50 split with Murray then we thing…
    ..
    I WOULDNT bet on it, but he has the talemt to earn more snaps, but he will have to finally put it all together, stay healthy and stop fumbling when games get gritty…… Demarco is a very talented back, who is known for his elite football intelligence and work ethic at the position. If he stays healthy, he will have his impact, so without factoring injuries into the equation I don’t see how Ryan can have a Bigger impact then Demarco, but I do think he has the talent to make it much closer to a 50/50 split then the current assumption
    ..
    What’s interesting is we have to worry about the same things with both backs..
    Need them both to stay healthy and eliminate the fumbles. Both were Franchise backs, first round talent, probowlers, who their teams used as Bellcows often running them into the ground. hopefully they can use each other to stay fresh and healthy….if Ryan can elevate his game to catch Murray status, it would be awesome if they could alternate serkes so we can keep throwing Fresh Battering Ram Backs at defenses who are already sucking wind from our tempo.. The only concern with that, is can they get into and stay in a Rythem if they alternate series?

    I recognize Ryans talent, but I have an irrational hatred for him before he got to Philly. He is this Offseasons Mark Sanchez for me (I don’t take TEBOW serious enough to hate him). like Mark Sanchez, I hope our training, and the role we have for him in this scheme can make me a believer and a fan like Mak Sanchez did..
    ..
    But assuming good Health, I think Ryans ceiling is to make as much as an impact as Murray, I don’t see him having MORE of an impact simply because Demarco will get his opportunities, smart guy, works hard, I see no reason why he wouldn’t produce…. But if Ryan can reach 50/50 status with Murray, I think that would be a Huge, BIGTIME accomplishment for Ryan that shouldn’t be scoffed at, because that is overachieving what the expectations are for him…

    Ryans talent worries me about Fantasy football. how can you draft Demarco Murray if he has a 230lb franchise Talemt behind him? I don’t know where to draft demarco because of Ryan… Even worse is where to draft Ryan, and is Sproles even draftable this year? Will he catch 5 passes per game?.. So many weapons, I think Eagles will have good fantasy seasons, but the ball will Probabky be spread around too much for anyone to put up elite number

  43. 43 Jernst said at 1:49 PM on June 21st, 2015:

    I agree. I expect Murray to be our #1 RB, starter and not to miss significant time due to injury. But, like Sproles showed us in limited time last year, 10-15 touches a game can offer tremendous impact. Even at a 50/50 split, or hell a 60-65/40-35 split (which I think is more likely), I see Matthews having a huge impact on the overall production of our offense.

  44. 44 Greg Richards said at 7:30 PM on June 20th, 2015:

    LOL. Like making the Pro Bowl means jack.

  45. 45 Jernst said at 1:46 PM on June 21st, 2015:

    Especially for an OG on a team with a prolific rushing attack. He made it last year despite only playing in 8 games. All name recognition and his silly PFF rating giving him good press to casual fans.

  46. 46 PerfectTrader777 said at 1:49 PM on June 21st, 2015:

    True.

  47. 47 GEAGLE said at 8:03 PM on June 20th, 2015:

    Dude was making 11mil, he wanted 14mil? Lol.. Now he will be lucky to get a 2 yr deal that pays him 6mil…. He is going to lose 5-8million these next two years taking the genius advice of his slimey agent…. This has to be one of the dumbest attempted money grabs ever…
    ..
    mathis wife must despise Rosenhause..

  48. 48 Jernst said at 1:40 PM on June 21st, 2015:

    Re-read the article, man…the dude wanted an extra $3mil in incentives for EACH of the last two years on his deal. He was set to make $12mil over the next two years ($5.5 this year and $6.5 next year) and he wanted to bump it up to $18mil over the next two years. But, don’t call it a raise, because it totally wasn’t. Because…he had to earn it…by getting voted to the Pro-bowl…which OGs make based solely on name recognition, which he gets plenty of by making the last 2 pro-bowls and being PFFs golden child in their rating system.

    He was asking for the OPPORTUNITY to be the highest paid OG in the league, if he just made the pro-bowl. That’s laughable and there’s zero percent chance he even touches $12mil over the next two years, now. Which, if he had just stayed here and played nice, he probably would have seen since there was no real threat to his job security on the roster and we had plenty of cap space to pay his contract the next two years until we drafted someone that could take it away from him.

  49. 49 GEAGLE said at 5:40 PM on June 21st, 2015:

    He wanted 6 mil more? Is he really nuts? Someone Cat scan his brain to check for concussion damage… This dude had 12 mil for two years(34, and 35yrs old), and this dude thought he should get 18mil? As in 9mil a year at the age of 34? oh hell no….Rosenhause must have brainwashed this poor fool… This fool will be lucky to end up signing a 2yr deal worth 6mil total, costing him what half of what he could have made in philly… What a moron, he got played by his agent

  50. 50 Nicodemus_09 said at 3:27 PM on June 20th, 2015:

    As long as our O-Line holds up their end, M&M could sure lead to some deliciously demoralized defenses. Are we there yet?!?!

  51. 51 SteveH said at 4:16 PM on June 20th, 2015:

    Tommy… What do you think about Chip bringing in guys who have had serious injury problems in the past, considering his stance that “durability is the best ability”? Do you think this represents a shift in his overall philosophy, or is this a calculated risk versus reward scenario?

  52. 52 A_T_G said at 4:35 PM on June 20th, 2015:

    I think the latter. Chip said the only good QBs available in FA have other issues. QBs are the most extreme example, but I am sure the same applies to other positions as well.

    I also wonder if they have identified certain kinds of injuries that are lower risk of repeating. Contact injuries versus non-contact, something the doctors see, some kind of hint about recovery and reoccurance potential.

  53. 53 D3FB said at 5:06 PM on June 20th, 2015:

    Ryan Matthews signed essentially the same contract as Toby Gerhart.

  54. 54 SteveH said at 5:14 PM on June 20th, 2015:

    Yes, that’s what I’m wondering. Chip evidently greatly values durability but it would appear that he’s flexible when there is value to be had.

    However, he’s also mentioned in the past that it’s a slippery slope when it comes measurables, because if you start making exceptions then pretty soon you have a team of exceptions.

    This makes me think that either he the attitude towards exceptions is different depending on what you’re measuring. Perhaps he is more rigid in his thinking when it comes to H-W-S or character, but more flexible when it comes to something like durability.

    Or perhaps he has the same standards when it comes to all the various metrics, but to his mind players like Mathews and Bradford offered such potential value for the investment that these were the exceptions that he was willing to make, even if it runs contrary to his general guiding principles.

    All in all, as Chip says, we probably spend more time thinking about what Chip thinks than Chip does himself :p.

  55. 55 D3FB said at 5:26 PM on June 20th, 2015:

    I think Chip saw few players who he felt were undervalued due to injuries, a market inefficiency if you will.

    Demarco is the only acquisition with durability questions that is long term.

    Bradford we’ve all been over the pros and cons of that situatiion.

    Matthews deal was a bargain, and it’s easy to get out of if he under performs.

    Thurmond falls into a similar category.

    Hicks was a third round pick. He has starter ceiling upside.

    Some teams try to exploit inneffecencies with smaller players. Others with players who have character red flags. Chip is pretty steadfast in his beliefs about HWS, and character so if he’s going to get superior talent below what that talent would typically cost it’s going to be by trying to exploit players with a history of injury. Don’t put all your eggs in that basket (which he hasn’t) use your uncapped resources (sports science) and try to wring that extra bit of talent out of a fixed budget.

  56. 56 Media Mike said at 5:29 PM on June 20th, 2015:

    The thing with Murray is that the really scary stretches of missed time are now 3 years ago. I’m hoping he’s one of those guys who grew out of a stretch of bad luck.

  57. 57 D3FB said at 5:30 PM on June 20th, 2015:

    Additionally it’s the first time, maybe ever, that he’s been part of a true stable of backs.

    He’s not going to be asked to carry the ball 350 times.

  58. 58 Media Mike said at 5:42 PM on June 20th, 2015:

    That’s only OK if he’s not on my fantasy team. If I do have him for fantasy, below 350 carries is fine; but I’ll need appx 30 touch games for week 14, 15, and 16.

  59. 59 SteveH said at 5:41 PM on June 20th, 2015:

    Makes sense. I guess where my confusion comes in is when he says that the best ability is durability. Maybe I’m reading too much into what is more or less a cute soundbite.

    Hopefully the moves work out. Even if for instance Ryan Mathews and Walter Thurmond get hurt, it was still probably the right move to bring them in considering the risk ($$) versus reward.

  60. 60 xmbk said at 6:59 PM on June 20th, 2015:

    Coaching sound bite. Refers to the Wolffs of the world. The injury thing has been blown out of proportion by the human need to see patterns. Murray pretty much put that to rest last year. Bradford is a QB with franchise potential, so you take your chances. Everything else was solid risk to reward.

  61. 61 GEAGLE said at 6:47 PM on June 20th, 2015:

    Durability is relative, I’m No Ryan Mathews fan. And if we signed him to be our feature back and ask him to play the role he played in San Diego I would hate the signing because he proved to not be durable in that role… But not being durable as the 30 times per game “Bellcow back” doesn’t Neccessarily mean he can’t be durable if you put him in a 10 carries per game role

  62. 62 MagsMama said at 11:58 PM on June 20th, 2015:

    Chip mentioned, at least about Murray, that the team did due diligence with his (Murray’s) medical people. No reason why they wouldn’t do the same with everybody. Also, nearly everybody in the NFL gets injured at some point.

  63. 63 Jernst said at 1:36 PM on June 21st, 2015:

    I think, when it comes to injuries, Chip is very forgiving when it comes to season ending injuries like ACL tears and Achilles ruptures. There’s nothing a player can do. You can’t play when your Achilles Tendon is in 2 different pieces. However, he seems to have no sympathy for the “walking wounded” as they’re referred to. Players who take longer than expected to come back from soft tissue injuries seem to end up in Chip’s dog house pretty quickly. See his comments on Kendricks and Wolff.

  64. 64 GEAGLE said at 5:16 PM on June 20th, 2015:

    I like that chip has Sproles training a lot with the WRs this year. working on his route running, Sproles said the coaches want him working at both positions this offseason, WR and RB..
    ..
    When we talk about the passing game, most of the talk centers around the WRs and Ertz, but I think Sproles is going to be a major part of the passing game this year then he was last year,,, an accurate guy like Bradford is going to love ERTZ and Sproles this year who are as important to our passing game as any WR we have

    Sproles will still get two, three carries per game to keep defenses honest, since usually defenses will assume we are passing when he is in the game, especially this year when he will be used predominantly in the passing game..
    ..
    Sproles talked about how last year Defenses would play us totally different when Sproles was in the game, and the coverage would drastically change when Shady was in the game (I’ll post his direct quotes when I see them again in)
    ..
    With Sproles moving to a Predominrntly pass catcher Role, Ryan Mathews is going to get his 8-12 carries per game. hopefully he makes a believer out of me and erases the soft image I have of the kid… physical bruising, very talented runner, hoping he shows that he can get tough, hold on to the ball, at the most gritty moments of games…
    ..
    It’s crazy to say that a pro bowler who has had so much success hasn’t realized his full potential yet, but I think Ryan is much more capable of what he has shown, which is partly why I don’t like the kid.. Hoping that in this offense, with our sports science, he can stay healthy and go on to play the best ball of his career…. if Demarco ever has to miss a game or two, I expect Ryan to get Jacked up, step up and have a Monster game for us..
    ..
    if he stays healthy and eliminates the fumbles, I will be apologizing to him at the end of the year… for me to be so hard on a 1st round Franchise back, who has gone to a Probowl comes from just how talented I think he is… He may be a more talemted runner then Demarco.. Waiting for him to really put it all together and reach new heights… No matter how successful he has been, he has the talent to demand MORE from the kid…

  65. 65 Ben said at 10:05 PM on June 20th, 2015:

    I have to give credit where it is due. Eagles ownership and the current powers that be have really impressed me as a fan.
    They let go arguably the best RB who ever played for the Eagles and turned around and got two, perhaps three quality starters.
    I don’t know how you can trade away such a great player and improve upon the position in the same off season, but it appears that’s exactly what the Eagles have done.
    We now posses arguably the greatest backfield in the NFL, let alone the best RB tandem the Eagles ever had.
    IMO, that is a huge upgrade.
    The same goes for the QB, but time will tell if I am right.
    Although unproven, I think our WR’s will become a strength as the season moves forward.
    Our defense may be the most “under the radar” defense in all the NFL, as is the WR’s, as they are also unproven, with the exception of the D line, which has proven to be formidable at the very least.
    I think Cox, Logan and Thrornton, having another year in the system could be even better, and that will incite fear into the hearts of our NFC East Divisional Rivals, as it should.
    This team IMO could be special, and I am just glad we can all enjoy the ride.

  66. 66 Norweagle said at 6:56 AM on June 21st, 2015:

    I really agree. The arrow is pointing in the right direction. And the defense should be much more fun watching this season.

  67. 67 Media Mike said at 7:14 AM on June 21st, 2015:

    To me the 3 questions are;
    1) What do we have at QB with Bradford?
    2) Did all of the shuffling with the D-bags work to make that position group better?
    3) Will the guards suck at life or be functional?

    If those questions all return positive answers, the general softness of this year’s schedule should return some very nice win totals.

  68. 68 A_T_G said at 8:16 AM on June 21st, 2015:

    “…shuffling with the D-bags…”

    Is that one of those country line dancing songs?

  69. 69 Media Mike said at 8:19 AM on June 21st, 2015:

    Whoops. I’d edit it, but it’s funnier with the error.

  70. 70 A_T_G said at 9:41 AM on June 21st, 2015:

    Agreed, and your description isn’t entirely inaccurate for last year’s group.

  71. 71 xmbk said at 10:49 AM on June 21st, 2015:

    All comes down to injuries for questions 1 and 3. Guards will be functional, DB will be better, and Bradford is solid.

  72. 72 Media Mike said at 11:11 AM on June 21st, 2015:

    I see #3 being the hardest sell in my mind. Barbre has no visible extended body of work in an Eagles uniform and I have a very low opinion of Tobin from what I saw on the field last year.

  73. 73 xmbk said at 1:38 PM on June 21st, 2015:

    If you turn out to be right, then the coaches involved suck. I don’t think they do, but we’ll see soon enough.

  74. 74 Media Mike said at 5:24 PM on June 21st, 2015:

    I don’t think those coaches suck either, but you know how things go with chefs and ingredients.

  75. 75 GEAGLE said at 11:45 AM on June 21st, 2015:

    Assuming good health, I don’t see how our secondary can possibly not be an improvement from recent Eagle secondaries…it’s not like last years group set the bar high…
    .
    We are better everywhere,, the only real question is Thurmond vs. nate Allen.. Again, Allen didn’t set the bar very high…. Even if Thurmond ISNT better then nate, we improved enough around him that this secondary should still prove to be an obvious upgrade.
    ..
    Maybe you personally don’t believe in Nolan Carrol, that’s fine, although I would watch the kid actually play outside CB before coming to the conclusion that he can’t play(but that’s a different story)..even if Nolan doesn’t excite you, he is just babysitting that spot for Eric ROWE… Rowe sounds like he is a sharp kid, who is developing nicely and has a chance of not needing an entire year before he is ready to handle the transition to the NFL game.. ROWE Probabky won’t beat out Nolan to start in Atlanta, but at some point this season, ROWE could make it hard to justify keeping him on the bench… I have no clue how an eagle fan who has sat thru the shit we had to deal with these last 5 years ISNT extremely excited about Maxwell, ROWE and Boykin as our 3 CB? malcolm is a quality player.. safety is the only question really…

    While we have to wait and see before we can get a few questions answered like Thurmond at safety, how long can Nolan hold off Eric ROWE from being ready to start?, I still can’t say that I would rather have the Secondaries of the Giants, Cowboys, and Skins instead of what we have…Cowboys are probably our main competition for top secondary in the division, but a few cowboy DBs play DOESNT match the hype that comes with their name…
    ..
    Would you trade our entire secondary for any of the secondaries in our division? Of course, we have to admit it’s one of the weaknesses of our division in recent NFC East history

  76. 76 Media Mike said at 11:57 AM on June 21st, 2015:

    One would hope.

  77. 77 Anders said at 8:01 AM on June 21st, 2015:

    “They let go arguably the best RB”

    Steve Van Buren is that one.

  78. 78 Jernst said at 1:32 PM on June 21st, 2015:

    I love me some Steve Van Buren, but he also played in a time when the NFL essentially had no black players. Much like Babe Ruth, who I’d love to see if he could hit nearly as many home runs on a steady diet of hotdogs, cigars, alcohol and unclean women, if he was up against CC Sabathia throwing 85 mile per hour sliders and wicked curve balls, I wonder how much Van Buren would have been effective if he was running against a defense of Ray Lewis and Brian Dawkins.

    As for taking their stats at face value, Van Buren averaged 70.7 yards per game rushing and 6.3 yards per game receiving, for a total of 5860 yards and 72 TDs in 8 seasons (83 games). McCoy had 75.5 yards per game and 25.4 yards per game receiving, for a total of 6792 yards and 54 TDs in 6 seasons (90 games). Where Van Buren really shows his superiority though is in the playoffs. They both only averaged 3.9 yards per carry, but Van Buren had 91.3 yards per game and McCoy had only 49 yards per game.

    I think that still puts McCoy as “Arguably” the best. And, definitely the best of the modern era.

  79. 79 Anders said at 2:18 AM on June 22nd, 2015:

    You cant compare eras at all and when Van Buren played, Dawkins and Lewis would have played different positions (Lewis would have been a DL)

  80. 80 MagsMama said at 11:53 PM on June 20th, 2015:

    Doesn’t matter how hard I work, I’ll never be a cute 20-year-old blonde with big bo..er…assets.

  81. 81 HawaiianEagle said at 2:11 AM on June 21st, 2015:

    Don’t tease us…

  82. 82 Norweagle said at 6:51 AM on June 21st, 2015:

    Not with that attitude, you won’t!

  83. 83 A_T_G said at 8:13 AM on June 21st, 2015:

    Tell me more about this cute 20-year old blonde…

  84. 84 MagsMama said at 6:47 PM on June 21st, 2015:

    Can’t exist.

  85. 85 Media Mike said at 7:22 AM on June 21st, 2015:

    In trying to figure out where I like the Eagles to finish this year, I’m really starting to zero in on the #3 seed in the NFC. I hate to go with the chalk up top, but I look at the schedules that Seattle and Green Bay have to play, and I see those teams as the top 2 again. In fact, I don’t see myself picking anybody but Seattle to win the title this year.

    What I like in the NFC is;

    Seattle – Arizona – Rams – San Fran
    Eagles – Cowboys – Washington – Giants
    Green Bay – Minnesota – Detroit – Chicago
    Falcons / Saints (filp coin for 8-8 or 9-7 division winner) – Carolina – Tampa

    I’ll go the seeds as
    Seattle, Green Bay, Eagles, Falcons/Saints “winner”, Vikings, Cardinals

    Playoff results
    Eagles over Arizona, Vikings over NFC South “winner”

    Seattle over Vikings, Green Bay over Eagles

    Seattle over Green Bay

  86. 86 xmbk said at 10:47 AM on June 21st, 2015:

    I like it a lot, considering June. If the Eagles do get momentum, they could be extremely dangerous. Considering that a playoff win likely means Bradford is playing well, that’s got a pretty high ceiling.

  87. 87 Media Mike said at 10:48 AM on June 21st, 2015:

    As much as losing Foles bummed me out, I’m looking forward to seeing what Bradford can do.

  88. 88 Media Mike said at 7:28 AM on June 21st, 2015:

    The AFC should be fun to figure out this year. At first glace I’ll go

    Denver – KC – San Diego – Oakland
    New England – Buffalo – Dolphins – Jets (but NE is the only team in the division with a winning record)
    Indy – Houston – Jacksonville – Tennessee
    Cincy – Baltimore – Pittsburgh – Cleveland

    Seed wise I’ll go

    Denver, Indy, New England (Goodell is soooo mean), Cincy, Baltimore, Houston.

    New England over Houston, Cincy (finally!) over Baltimore

    Denver over Cincy, New England over Indy

    Denver over New England.

  89. 89 RobNE said at 7:41 AM on June 21st, 2015:

    Manning is too old. I think Denver is done. New England is tier 1 and everyone else is below them.

  90. 90 Media Mike said at 7:50 AM on June 21st, 2015:

    You could be right, but here is where I like Denver.

    John Fox / Jack DelRio <<<<<< Gary Kubiak and Wade Phillips.

    John Fox chokes playoff games like it's his job and Jack DelRio is a "B" level DC.

    Kubiak, while folks can question his HC chops, is a STUD OC. Denver is going to be able to attack people through formation and play design in a way that combines Kubiak's run-first mentality, CJ Anderson's stills, and Manning's brains/ passing talent. Denver is going to be more run heavy then they've been in a while and I think it'll force teams to commit more guys to defend the run and allow Manning to really pick his spots.

    Wade Phillips simply makes every D he coaches flat out better. It happens every time Phillips takes over as the DC. Von Miller at the one OLB and the combo of Ware / Ray at the other OLB is going to flat out murder QBs all day. The rest of the D has young talent at every spot. I'll go out on a limb and say Denver does no worse than 5th in the NFL in D this year.

    I think New England loses a game or two due to Brady being out and another game or two due to being worse on D due to departures. Not 9-7 bad, but 12-4 or 11-5 and having to be the #3 seed.

    But all in all, I think Denver has a run or two in them still with a bigger focus on the run and an improved D.

    We'll see how it shakes out.

  91. 91 Kelce's Beard said at 8:38 AM on June 21st, 2015:

    no. there is no way NE is still “tier 1”, head and shoulders above everyone else.
    worse at G (Connoly), worse at RB (Vereen), worse at DT (Wilfork), better at LB (lost Ayers but Mayo back), so much worse in secondary (lost almost everyone)
    http://www.ourlads.com/nfldepthcharts/depthchart/NE

    I’d take Baltimore today over them. And Indy.

  92. 92 RobNE said at 12:19 PM on June 21st, 2015:

    I think that every year and every year they get a bye. They never seen to regress.

  93. 93 Kelce's Beard said at 12:25 PM on June 21st, 2015:

    … touché

  94. 94 Jernst said at 1:12 PM on June 21st, 2015:

    This…the easy reply is…Tom Brady. The other easy reply is Bill Belichick. That team will be tier one until either of those two move on. Shane Vereen and Connoly did not make that offense go.

    Their Dbacks are definitely worse, but this a team that won a Super Bowl with a 33 year old Troy Brown filling in at CB.

  95. 95 PerfectTrader777 said at 1:36 PM on June 21st, 2015:

    Ya I think it’s mostly BB. Every year they seem to change their offensive and defensive strategies like an amoeba and it usually seems to work out well. This year I believe they’ll be using a bunch of 2 TE sets with Gronk and Chandler, much like they did with Gronk and Hernandez. Unlike Hernandez though, Chandler is 6’7″. I’d be scared if I was a nickle CB in the AFC East…

  96. 96 Jernst said at 1:52 PM on June 21st, 2015:

    Belichick is the main cog in the wheel, especially for their defense. But, don’t underestimate the effect of Brady. Without Brady, Belichick would be great, but I doubt he’d play in basically every other super bowl for a decade. Brady makes that offense go just as much as Belichick.

  97. 97 Gary Barnes said at 10:29 AM on June 21st, 2015:

    Sure, but Matthews also has an extensive injury track record and fumbling history as well…not only was McCoy very reliable health-wise, but he did not fumble often.

    Again, it may all work out, but Kelly has placed his bets on more injured players that I can ever remember on one team. If it backfires, hopefully he will not try to spin his way out of it and take accountability for something…so far it has been everyone else’s fault when something bad happened. No more excuses, Chipper, you’re in full control.

  98. 98 xmbk said at 10:42 AM on June 21st, 2015:

    lol, what bad things have happened that he hasn’t taken accountability for?

  99. 99 soundbonz said at 11:06 AM on June 21st, 2015:

    I think he’s referring to much of the fan base giving Kelly a flyer for pretty much everything. Lot of people drinking sugary beverages in this town.

  100. 100 xmbk said at 1:37 PM on June 21st, 2015:

    Also quite a few not drinking anything cause they think the glass is already half full, apparently. 😉

  101. 101 Gary Barnes said at 12:24 PM on June 21st, 2015:

    Most of the blame shifting has been around draft picks and contracts. The Smith and Barkley picks that have not panned out yet were deflected by Kelly onto Roseman i.e. “That was Howie’s pick” and “I was not in charge of the draft” when we all know Kelly had major input and had told Roseman what types of guys they were looking for.

    The release of Mathis and trade of McCoy were, according to Kelly, tied to their contracts/cap hits (put into place by Roseman). Releasing Mathis was blamed on Rosenhaus as if Kelly was forced to let the pro bowl OG go for no return.

    Releasing Jackson was blamed on not having any trade partners as if again Kelly was forced to let this talented player go for no return. What was ignored of course was the smear campaign against Jackson alledgedly leaked by the Eagles that killed any trade value Jackson had.

    The play calling issues were blamed on OL injuries, the young OL depth and McCoy’s “dancing” when we had multiple defenses calling out plays before they happened and stating after the game they knew exactly what was coming and that Kelly never adjusted. Plus we had multiple games where Kelly had his QB throw the ball way too much and other games where his defensive secondary gave up big play after big play with no personnel changes until very late in the season. And, no, do not tell me Bill Davis has full control of the defense and Kelly has zero input, its BS.

    But Kelly has also stated he did not go to Lurie and demand any new power, but that Lurie came to him and gave it to him without any prompting and that he gets along with Roseman just fine…LMAO!! Yea Right. So he seems reluctant to take any responsibility there too.

  102. 102 Media Mike said at 12:28 PM on June 21st, 2015:

    The claim by Chip that those were “Howie’s picks” is flagrant bullshit. There is zero chance any of the picks in the last 3 drafts were anybody’s selections other than Chip’s; just this year’s weren’t vetted by Howie at all.

  103. 103 Jernst said at 1:05 PM on June 21st, 2015:

    I think the issue was more the available players that Howie and the scouting staff supplied Chip to pick from. The scouting departments job is to narrow down a couple thousand applicants to 100 or so draftable players. If the scouting department is not truly “integrated” with the coaching staff’s desires the 100 players on the draft board end up not being exactly what you’re looking for. And, ultimately, Chip is left with suboptimal players to choose from. Even if it is ultimately his choice.

    The other part Howie contributed to was where players were drafted. If Howie has a big enough say to convince Chip to take MSII in the first when he really wants to take Matthews, and convinces Chip they can get Matthews in the second that has a ripple effect. It’s more than saying, “well we still got Matthews in the second so Howie was right.” Because, it’s not MSII in the first and Matthews in the 2nd vs Matthews in the first and MSII in the 2nd, it’s Matthews in the first, plus whoever we would have gotten in the 2nd had we stayed put and our 4th used to move up for Matthews vs MSII and Matthews.

    Immediately available at our original 2nd round pick were Davante Adams, Bishop Sankey, Jeremy Hill, Cody Latimore, Carlos Hyde, Stanley Jean-Baptiste, Jack Mewhort, Kony Ealy, Allen Robinson, Jarvis Landry, Justin Britt, Tre Mason, Louis Nix, Chris Borland, Spencer Long, Gabe Jackson.

    Available in the 4th round at our original pick were Marquestin Huff, Kevin Norwood, DAT, Pierre Desir, Tre Boston.

    If we still made the trade up in round two, available were, Cyrus Kouandijo, Stephon Tuitt, Trent Murphy, Timmy Jernigan, Jace Amaro, Jeremiah Attaochu, Ego Furgeson.

    Not saying any of those guys are world beaters. But, to properly evaluate the trade you have to look at the ripple effects of taking MSII vs what we could have gotten if we just took Matthews in round one. Or even better yet, moved back again, picked up even more picks and took Matthews in round 2 as our top pick.

    Would getting Matthews and Trent Murphy or Attaochu been better than MSII and Matthews? Would getting Mattews, Davante Adams and Pierre Desir and then taking Chris Watt or Tre Turner over Huff been better?

    Just food for though. It’s very possible that MSII turns it on and the move was a huge success as there doesn’t appear to many sure fire successes in any of those spots so far.

  104. 104 Media Mike said at 1:08 PM on June 21st, 2015:

    That’s all quite fair, but I still think Smith II could have been had in the 2nd round along with Matthews. I’d attribute picking Smith II at 26 rather than trading down again to Chip rather than Howie.

  105. 105 Jernst said at 1:58 PM on June 21st, 2015:

    That’s fine, but it does go against what both Howie and Chip have said. It’s not like this information is coming only from one side. After the draft Howie, gloated publicly, that he had to convince Chip to take MSII in the first instead of trading down because he was fairly certain that MSII would be taken if they risked another trade down and they really wanted to take an OLB and MSII was the last one they had on their board with starting potential, whereas they had 2 WRs (Lee and Matthews) that they felt had that type of upside and that were still available. He then went on to back up his draft day acumen by telling everyone that he had to talk Chip out of taking Taylor Hart in the 3rd round, because he convinced Chip he’d still be there in the 5th. He was dead right on Hart, and was probably correct about MSII as well. But, being right and maximizing those picks are two different things, although only subtly. And, I’m sure Chip didn’t appreciate the public power play by Howie dissing him in the media about how he wanted to take all these players earlier than he had to and had to be saved from himself by Howie.

  106. 106 PerfectTrader777 said at 1:43 PM on June 21st, 2015:

    Well said.

  107. 107 xmbk said at 1:58 PM on June 21st, 2015:

    Too many are assuming that there is a need to take blame for Smith. Way too early to be passing judgment on that.

  108. 108 Jernst said at 1:59 PM on June 21st, 2015:

    That I agree completely with. I’m actually in the minority that thinks MSII is going to surprise a lot of people in the next two years. I think he has all the tools to be very successful as an OLB in this system.

  109. 109 xmbk said at 1:44 PM on June 21st, 2015:

    Wow, that’s some serious reading between the lines and innuendo to look for something to not like about the man. Think you’re pretty much wrong in every example, but it’s all opinion so we’re all entitled.

    Seen a lot of very encouraging stuff the first 2 years, and this roster is better prepared for a successful season than any in a long time. Hopefully you don’t get too mad at Kelly for not taking responsibility for that, too.

  110. 110 PerfectTrader777 said at 1:46 PM on June 21st, 2015:

    Both Jackson and Mathis were not dropped for no reason. They were dropped to save mucho dollars to spend on other talented players. We’ve spent that DeSean money now and the Mathis money we have left over we’ll use next year or in following years. The salary cap plays a giganto monstrosity role in the NFL.

  111. 111 MattE said at 11:06 AM on June 21st, 2015:

    who’s the new guy?

  112. 112 MattE said at 11:08 AM on June 21st, 2015:

    we got a MLB/RB1/RB2 in place of McCoy… what’s the issue?

  113. 113 Gary Barnes said at 12:28 PM on June 21st, 2015:

    All 3 have major injury issues which could backfire. As stated in my comment, Kelly is taking on injury risk at many different positions and banking that all of them pan out ok

  114. 114 PerfectTrader777 said at 1:37 PM on June 21st, 2015:

    It’s the type of injury that’s significant. Certain injuries are a lot less likely to reoccur.

  115. 115 xmbk said at 1:53 PM on June 21st, 2015:

    No. You are certainly correct that anything can backfire. But all 3 most certainly do not have major injury issues. Murray just had a record number of touches. And if Alonso is a major injury risk then I guess it was also foolish to keep Maclin last offseason.

    And no, they don’t all have to pan out for this to have been a very solid offseason. Players get injured, it’s the NFL. But this team has talent and depth.

  116. 116 Gary Barnes said at 2:25 PM on June 21st, 2015:

    Last year was the first time Murray stayed healthy all season. He has had a myriad of knee, wrist, ankle and foot issues over the years so it is more than just a record # of touches. However, that record # of touches does cause concern since usually that can mean an injury is more likely,

    To trade one of the best RB in the NFL for Alonso who has a great pedigree and had a very good rookie season, but is coming off an ACL injury is risky…if you want to ignore it, that si fine, but Kelly keeping Ryans along with Kendricks tells me he does not.

    Matthews injury record is well established. Again, its not “this is the NFL, deal with it”. Kelly has willingly taken on injury risks at a whole slew of positions across the roster, more than any normal NFL team would in one year. Hopefully it works out, but to say it definitely will is wishful thinking.

  117. 117 xmbk said at 5:44 PM on June 21st, 2015:

    So for Murray, missing time is a concern, and not missing time is also a concern? Nice.

    McCoy wasn’t worth his cap hit. Getting Alonso in returns all gravy and upside.

    Mathews is the only one I agree has an injury history that is a meaningful concern..

    Agree that it will hopefully work out, and that saying it definitely will would be foolish.

  118. 118 MattE said at 1:56 PM on June 22nd, 2015:

    as far as I am concerned we haven’t had depth like this on our roster in some time and you know just as well as I do that football is a war of attrition.

  119. 119 xmbk said at 1:49 PM on June 21st, 2015:

    It’s Philly.

  120. 120 Jernst said at 12:35 PM on June 21st, 2015:

    Last 3 years McCoy had 9 fumbles in 44 games and Matthews had 5 fumbles in 34 games. That’s 0.2 fumbles per game for McCoy and 0.15 fumbles per game for Matthews. Most of Matthews fumble issues were from his first two years where he had 5 fumbles each in a total of 26 games (0.38 fumbles per game). For their careers McCoy is 14/76 games and Matthews is 15/60 (0.18 and 0.25 respectively). The differences aren’t as big as they’re made out to be.

  121. 121 ACViking said at 12:48 PM on June 21st, 2015:

    Respectfully, must disagree.

    Since 2010, when Mathews came into the NFL, here’s how he compares to McCoy regarding fumbles-per touches (rushing att + receptions):

    Mathews: 15 fumbles / 1069 touches = 1 fumble / 71.2 touches

    McCoy: 12 fumbles / 1566 touches = 1 fumble / 130 touches

  122. 122 Jernst said at 2:17 PM on June 21st, 2015:

    Those numbers are almost accurate. McCoy has 14 fumbles and 1761 touches (Rush Att plus Rec). Matthews’ numbers are correct. http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/M/McCoLe01.htm

    However, they do ignore the fact that Matthews fumbles occurred mostly in his first 2 years and it has appeared that he has fixed a lot of those problems. 10 of his 15 fumbles happened in his first two years while playing in only 26 games. Only 5 fumbles in the last 3 years in 34 games.

    10 Fumbles/452 touches = 1 fumble/45.2 touches

    5 Fumbles/617 touches = 1 fumble/123.4 touches

    McCoy for his career is:

    14 fumbles/1761 touches = 1 fumble/125.7

    Even after taking out Matthews abysmal fumble numbers from his first two years where he clearly had a problem, he still fumbles at a higher rate than McCoy, but the numbers are much less drastic. If we assume that with 3 straight years, where he cut his fumble rate by almost a third, that he actually fixed something, I think it’s more accurate to look at the last 3 years for Matthews when trying to predict his rate going forward. Those numbers look a whole lot better than the career numbers that are skewed by the high fumble totals in his rookie and 2nd seasons. Which is all I was trying to convey.

  123. 123 ACViking said at 2:18 PM on June 21st, 2015:

    J:

    I limited the sample — as I noted in the comment — to the period 2010 forward.

    Because that’s when BOTH of the players were in the NFL.

    McCoy – Y2; Mathews – Y1.

    So, yes, my numbers for McCoy leave OUT his 2009 figures.

  124. 124 Jernst said at 2:24 PM on June 21st, 2015:

    Oh, sorry. I missed that in your opening line. Still, statistically speaking, it seems arbitrary to remove McCoy’s first year, even it doesn’t significantly effect his data (1/130 touches vs 1/125.7 touches), when removing Matthews’ first two years, at least has some statistical merit, since there’s a clear delineation and improvement seen in the three years that follow.

    I also, didn’t see you’re edit and was initially responding to your initial comment that started with, “I respectfully disagree…” and then went on to show just the 2010 numbers on, and didn’t include the second part about how much better Matthews has been in the last 3 years.

  125. 125 cshav10 said at 10:51 AM on June 21st, 2015:

    Matthews is a beast. Looking forward to seeing him on the field!

  126. 126 soundbonz said at 11:03 AM on June 21st, 2015:

    It’s not a mystery that RB’s who are bruisers suffer the most injuries. Maybe counterintuitive but not a surprise. They tend to fumble more, too. Also not a surprise considering that running style is more violent.

    Kelly is likely going to need both Murray and Matthews before the season is over. But the one who will make the most memorable plays will be Sproles.

  127. 127 Jernst said at 12:28 PM on June 21st, 2015:

    Yea it’s obvious watching the highlights why someone like Matthews gets injured and someone like McCoy doesn’t. McCoy never took on collisions like that in his career. He had an uncanny ability to always duck the hit at the last minute and only take a glancing blow. Whereas, Matthews puts his shoulder down and seeks out huge collisions. The only miracle with McCoy is that his knees and ankles didn’t simply explode under the forces and stress he put his joints under when he made some of those ridiculous cuts. The big thing with McCoy though, is that his otherworldly cutting ability seemed to disappear last year. He made some decent runs, but no more spectacular moves. With him, if he loses his ability to juke the crap out of people, he has no other top end skills. He’s not the biggest, he’s not very fast, he just has insane acceleration. If his body GPS last year was showing a decline in that acceleration ability it was definitely a shrewd move by Chip to sell high a year early than to stick with him for another 2 years watching him continue to try to make those insane moves only to get tackled since he’s no longer able to make those drastic cuts at such a high level. He’s much like DeSean in that sense. Once DeSean loses a step, what’s left?

  128. 128 A_T_G said at 12:50 PM on June 21st, 2015:

    “Once DeSean loses a step, what’s left?”

    Well, he will always have his music to fall back on.

  129. 129 Jernst said at 2:19 PM on June 21st, 2015:

    I want “Diamonds ‘Round My Neck, Hanging with my Peoples” to be my wedding song.

  130. 130 soundbonz said at 1:44 PM on June 21st, 2015:

    It’s incredibly disingenuous for fans to diminish the talents of great players who are no longer on the team. It’s classless too. McCoy holds just about every record for running backs in the 82 year history of the team. What more do you people want?

    I don’t care about what a player might not be able to do after ten bleeping seasons of giving it their all. But McCoy has been doing great things for SIX seasons now!!! How many more can he possibly have? Three, four or so? Same with Jackson. He’s already been great for Seven years now!

    Both have proven track records of real, actual production and league stardom! Still waiting for both of them to fall off. Hasn’t happened yet. It inevitably will just like all athletes. But you people talk as if they are and were average players. It’s dumb.

  131. 131 Jernst said at 2:50 PM on June 21st, 2015:

    I don’t diminish his ability at all. I think he’s clearly the best RB to ever play for the Eagles and has been one of the best RBs in the league for 5 straight years. I’m not talking about the past though. I’m talking about the future.

    McCoy has been all those great things I listed above. That’s true. The question about why he’s been those things is what is important. To me that is an otherworldly ability to change direction and accelerate like no one I’ve seen since Barry Sanders. That’s his one unbelievable skill that has been so unbelievable that it’s allowed him to be a top 3 back for 5 straight seasons.

    However, if he didn’t have that ability, does he have other skills that would allow him to continue to be a top 3 back? I think the answer is equivocal. If he loses his insane acceleration, he’s still talented enough to be a good starter for a few more years, but he’s very suddenly incapable of being a star above all stars, because he relies so heavily on that one skill. Lose that and he’s above average. And, above average is not worth elite money. Same with DeSean. He’s still got his speed and thus is still a terror for defenses. Once he loses a step or two, though, he goes from being the best deep threat in the league to a liability. Other players can lose a step or two or see their acceleration decline and still be great players. Some rely on one insane skill to be great. That’s all I’m saying.

    If you look at McCoy’s film from 2013 you’ll see multiple times a game that he does something jaw dropping that no other player could ever dream to do. When you look at 2014, not so much. I looked through all his 2013 highlights and could count about 20-25 times that he did something draw dropping. Then I looked at all of 2014, and I counted precisely zero times (1 if I was being generous where he made a decent move that juked a defender.) Otherwise, the majority of his yards were on plays when the line opened up a huge hole and any RB could have hit the huge opening and picked up 10-15 yards.

    All, I’m saying, is that if Chip, who has all his players wear GPS units that track and measure their precise acceleration and speeds on every play of games and practices, saw that his acceleration was starting to slip, it would be a shrewd move to unload $12mil in salary and sell high a year or two early rather than a year or two too late.

  132. 132 soundbonz said at 3:42 PM on June 21st, 2015:

    Sorry. That doesn’t make any sense to me. You’re essentially saying a player is talented until he isn’t anymore. That applies to all of them. McCoy does all three things a running back needs to do at a high level. He runs well. He pass protects well. He’s a great receiver. Odds are he’ll have a 10 year career doing it the same as Sanders did. Four more to go. I would suggest that McCoy is still in the NFL and playing at a high level longer than Murray and Matthews. Murray’s style is the one that lends itself to a short career, not Shady’s.

    I get it. We drink the sugary beverages around here and the new guys are always better in every way than the old guys. Bills fans are thrilled right now as they should be. If that team ever gets a QB they will be scary.

  133. 133 Jernst said at 6:16 PM on June 21st, 2015:

    Not really. Many players are talented. Some are talented because they do the little things well and great attention to detail, some succeed because of freakish height or strength, some because they are freakishly fast or accelerate faster than the competition, some because they’re smarter than the average player. Some players succeed because they do a lot of those things well or have a lot of those attributes and others succeed because they are freakishly good at one single thing or have one freakish attribute.

    Some of these attributes stand the test of time better than others. Kelvin Benjamin is able to succeed at his game because he’s freakishly tall and he is not suddenly going to get shorter any time soon. However, it’d be a fair assessment to say that he doesn’t demonstrate the WR skills that he’d need to succeed if he suddenly became 5’10”. But, something like speed will definitely decline and usually does so fairly early around 29-30 years of age for most players. If you rely heavily on your speed your career ends sooner than players who have other skills they can fall back on. In addition, if you have multiple skills that let you succeed you can also withstand the inevitable decline in one or more physical traits better than someone that relies heavily on one freakish athletic trait.

    Take DeSean Jackson for instance. Hes an extreme example of this. He’s unquestionably the best deep threat in the league. That’s not up for debate. But, why he’s the best deep threat in the league is the more relevant question. He’s not very big in height or weight and he’s not very strong either. This puts him at a natural disadvantage against most CBs that someone like Anquan Boldin or Kelvin Benjamin will never have to deal with no matter how old they get. He can’t go over the middle with any regularity, he’s not exceptionally skilled at making contested catches when he’s covered. He can’t break tackles all that well. He doesn’t block extremely well. His hands are average. He’s a liability in the red zone. The number of patterns he can run are limited by the limits his size puts on him. That’s why you rarely see him catching slants or fade patterns. And he has a lot of issues getting off the jam when CBs get their hands on him. He makes up for all those deficiencies with ONE freakish skill. He’s insanely fast and unbelievably quick. Once his speed goes and he can’t run past everyone he doesn’t have anything else to fall back on. His routes are lazy, his hands are average, his blocking is so so, he’s not a wily vet that can exploit zones over the middle like an Avant. He’s just insanely fast. There’s a lot of WRs who were able to play into their 30s as they lost a step in speed. DeSean won’t be one of those.

    McCoy in my eyes is the same way. Saying he does everything well and then trying to prove that point by saying he runs well and catches well is just lazy. Why does he run well? He’s not super fast. He ran a 4.55 forty coming out of college. He’s not very strong. He doesn’t run people over and gain tough yards. He has above average vision, but nothing that any other back doesn’t have. Then what is it? When I see him do what he does he’s able to overcome these deficiencies with otherworldly acceleration. Once that deteriorates, which starts around age 27 for RBs, what else is he going to rely on to “run well” as you put it. What I see happening is over the next few years you’ll see McCoy continue to try and make the insane cuts he used to make in his prime but the acceleration will be just a hair too slow and instead of pulling it off the defenders will start to tackle him instead of seeing him create highlight runs. Players like Murray and Matthews rely on vision and power which will have more longevity and their speed (both ran 4.37 forties at the combine) has plenty of space to decline before it becomes an issue, where’s McCoy at 4.55 just doesn’t have that natural leeway.

  134. 134 Jernst said at 6:35 PM on June 21st, 2015:

    Also, I think it’s really sad that of all I said all you took away was “players are talented until they aren’t anymore.” The thing is though…as you stated yourself, that is a true statement that applies to all players. So it also applies to McCoy. So the question is, “what makes LeSean so talented and how long can he do those things that allow him to be great.” If your skill is picking up short yardage because you’re huge like Jerome Bettis itd be reasonable to not expect a sharp decline in ability or that specific talent, since neither hugeness or power falls off a cliff as one ages. But, what’s LeSean’s skill? I’d say it’s his other worldly acceleration that allows him to destroy defenders ankles. That’s a talent that DOES fall off a cliff. And, I fail to see what would ever make him continue to be SPECIAL (not good or adequate…but special enough to have a $12mil cap hit) if and when his acceleration deteriorates. So, IF it’s objectively deteriorating, which if you watched his 2014 year then you saw that for yourself, then it would be prudent to sell high. No?

  135. 135 PerfectTrader777 said at 11:18 AM on June 21st, 2015:

    The guy eats up yards in a hurry, doesn’t he.

  136. 136 Jernst said at 12:23 PM on June 21st, 2015:

    4.37 speed at 225-230 pounds is insane.

  137. 137 GEAGLE said at 12:25 PM on June 21st, 2015:

    You know a kid is explosive when he is 230lbs and our coach is giving him looks as a kick Returner…
    ..
    I would NOT want to have to run down field on kickoff and try to tackle a 230lb RB running with a full head of steam… We should see some crazy collisions

  138. 138 Jernst said at 12:28 PM on June 21st, 2015:

    giving that huge man a 20 yard head start is just unfair. He’s going to murder people.

  139. 139 GEAGLE said at 12:34 PM on June 21st, 2015:

    We should def see an insane collision or two this year..
    ….
    Our RB position will be drastically more physical than it has been since DUCE and Buck.. And improving your physicality at any position is always an Upgrade…

  140. 140 mksp said at 12:39 AM on June 22nd, 2015:

    LOL, you called Ryan Matthews “soft”, and whined for weeks after he was signed.

    Like him now, huh?

  141. 141 PerfectTrader777 said at 1:38 PM on June 21st, 2015:

    Luckily you don’t have to

  142. 142 PerfectTrader777 said at 11:55 AM on June 21st, 2015:

    Random thought. Would you trade our DL for the Cowboy’s OL and their DL for our OL?

  143. 143 Media Mike said at 11:57 AM on June 21st, 2015:

    No

  144. 144 Jernst said at 12:22 PM on June 21st, 2015:

    Wouldn’t entertain it for a second. Our dline is quite possibly in the top few units in the entire league and are all young and just entering their primes. At oline we have one future hall of famer that could conceivably play for another 2-3 years, Kelce and Johnson who are both pro-bowl level players and two holes at the least important positions of right and left guard. Over the next 2 seasons I see no reason why we can’t get good play out of the guys already on the roster at those positions and will undoubtedly spend valuable resources on filling out the Oline.

    Just looking at starters, and assuming both teams units stay completely healthy, we have a top 10 dline and top 10 oline. Cowboys have a top 3 oline and an atrocious dline. I’d take our situation any day of the week.

  145. 145 GEAGLE said at 12:22 PM on June 21st, 2015:

    Hell to the Nah!!!
    ..
    I’d bet on our Offensive line doing a better Job against the Dallas DL, then the Cowboy OL does against our DL….
    ..
    the Dallas Defensive line does not boast the caliber of players like Kelce, Lane and Peters who they will have to battle against… 2nd year Demarcus Lawrence is going to have to go up against Lane Johnson in what will be his true coming out party, this is the year Lane becomes Nationally recognized as the top RT in the game…..and Rookie Randy Gregor will fined Jason Peters lined up across from him in his second NFL GAME! Lol that should be fun. Peters will throw that kid around in the run game like a Ragdoll..
    ..
    Dallas OL is LEGIT! But so is our DL… No one did what our DL did to that cowboy OL on Thanksgiving Night. We dominated the dallas OL!.. Doubt the Dalls DL can do THAT to our OL, especially if they play us without Greg Hardy

  146. 146 GEAGLE said at 12:37 PM on June 21st, 2015:

    Elliot Shorr Parks: predicting “TEBOW makes the 53’man roster, because he doesn’t turn the ball over and he makes plays with his legs… While also claiming “Barkley ISNT Built to be a back up”…………… Sigh

  147. 147 Media Mike said at 12:37 PM on June 21st, 2015:

    Double F that.

  148. 148 GEAGLE said at 12:46 PM on June 21st, 2015:

    Lol you don’t trust the evaluation skills of the great QB Guru Elliot PARKER, who should win a Nobel Prize for his Incredible investigative reporting uncovering the Desean Gang story….Can’t believe he has been promoted to TV now often appearing on CSN..amazing

  149. 149 Jernst said at 3:05 PM on June 21st, 2015:

    On a side not…If Odell Beckham is still upset about being made fun of by his evil NY Giants teammates. And, I’m sure he’s less than pleased about having Eli Manning of all people tell him to be a man and grow up. I’d like to let him know that there will always be a place just down I-95 where we have a great culture, everyone has your back and our Coach thinks you were the best player in the entire 2014 NFL draft. After the 2018 season when your rookie contract is up, ditch the losers, Odell, and come join a winning organization.