Another argument that ignores the fact that Ryan Mathews’ body (above) cannot bear the burden that DeMarco Murray’s can, and that the way Eagles coach Chip Kelly is parceling out their carries works well for both and for the team.
By Martha Sullivan
There is nothing phonier than a debate about why Ryan Mathews is a better bet than DeMarco Murray to get the bulk of the Eagles totes at running back.
And, even in the face of Murray’s very successful return to Dallas last night — in which he rushed 18 times for 83 yards and caught a bushel of passes for almost as many yards — CBSSports.com continued to piss on Murray from 35,000 feet:
But through four quarters — and, frankly, much of the first half of the season — Mathews has looked like the more dynamic back. On Sunday, Murray, returning to Dallas for the first time since playing for the Cowboys, rushed 18 times for 83 yards. He looked stiff and slow for much of the evening, but the Eagles can probably overlook that given his 4.6 yards per carry.
Mathews had 67 yards on 11 carries, and looked much more comfortable bouncing runs outside — and more importantly, showing the speed to get around the corner. The obvious solution to the Eagles’ running game is to divide the carries among Murray, Mathews and Darren Sproles; the only issue is that the Eagles thought it made sense to sign Murray to a five-year, $42 million deal and may feel obligated to feed him the ball more than the others.
