March 13, 2015
The NFL will forever be a quarterback's league. That will never change for as long as the NFL exists. It's arguably the most important position in team sports, and if you don't have a good one, you don't have much of a chance to succeed. However, there's a new trend developing in the NFL -- Successful playoff teams are employing bigger running backs.
The Eagles of course officially added a pair of 220-ish pound running backs yesterday in 217 pound bruiser DeMarco Murray and the 220 pound Ryan Mathews. Clearly, the running game is going to be featured heavily by the Eagles' offense in 2015.
"You have to run the football in this league and that's what we believe in," said Chip Kelly. "That's what we've always believed in. We lost a very talented running back and in making that decision, in losing LeSean (McCoy), how do you replace a player of that caliber? And that's what we did."
McCoy has had tremendous success during the regular season, but in three playoff games with the Eagles, opposing defenses have done a good job bottling him up:
| LeSean McCoy in the playoffs | Carries | Yards | YPC | TD |
| 2009 vs Dallas | 5 | 24 | 4.8 | 0 |
| 2010 vs Packers | 12 | 46 | 3.8 | 0 |
| 2013 vs Saints | 21 | 77 | 3.7 | 1 |
In 2010 Packers were the NFL's 18th ranked run D. The 2013 Saints were the 19th ranked run D.
If you look at the teams that have won playoff games over the last two years, the majority of them had bigger, talented #NorthSouth running backs, as opposed to shiftier backs like McCoy. Let's look at them:
Seahawks (5 playoff wins): While Marshawn Lynch "only" goes 215 pounds, Beastmode is the NFL poster child of hard running. In the last two seasons, the Seahawks have played in six playoff games. In those six games, Marshawn Lynch has 128 carries for 606 yards (4.7 YPC) and 6 TDs. That's an average of 21-101-1.
Patriots (4 playoff wins): In their last two playoff runs, the Patriots used 250 pound LeGarrette Blount to single-handedly bludgeon the Colts. Blount's performances in those two games:
| LeGarrette Blount vs Colts in playoffs | Carries | Yards | YPC | TD |
| 2013 | 24 | 166 | 6.9 | 4 |
| 2014 | 30 | 148 | 4.9 | 3 |
Colts (3 playoff wins): The Colts are an exception here. They have had some playoff success, but their run game hasn't helped them much at all. In five playoff appearances, the Colts' single-game best individual rushing performance is 63 yards. It is noteworthy that the Colts seem to recognize this, as they've made some moves to try to improve their rushing attack. In 2013, they (stupidly) traded a first round pick for 5'9, 225 RB Trent Richardson. During the 2015 offseason, they signed sledgehammer back Frank Gore.
49ers (2 playoff wins): Like Marshawn Lynch, Frank Gore is lighter than you might think at 217 pounds, but he too is one of the first names that comes to mind when you think of a sledgehammer running back. In 2012, when the 49ers went to the Super Bowl, Gore had himself a very good playoff run:
| Frank Gore 2012 playoffs | Carries | Yards | YPC | TD |
| Packers | 23 | 119 | 5.2 | 1 |
| Falcons | 21 | 90 | 4.3 | 2 |
| Ravens | 19 | 110 | 5.8 | 1 |
Packers (2 playoff wins): The Packers of course employ Aaron Rodgers, but they also have a complimentary sledgehammer in Eddie Lacy, who goes 5'11, 230. In Lacy's first three career playoff games, two of which came against elite defenses like Seattle and San Francisco, Lacy has 255 rushing yards.
Panthers (1 playoff win): In 2013, the 12-4 Panthers went into the postseason sans 235 pound RB Jonathan Stewart. Their leading rusher among their running backs managed to run for 20 yards. In 2014, they 7-8-1 Panthers went into the postseason with Stewart, and here's what he did:
| Jonathan Stewart in 2014 playoffs | Carries | Yards | YPC | TD |
| Seahawks | 24 | 123 | 5.1 | 1 |
| Cardinals | 13 | 70 | 5.4 | 0 |
Cowboys (1 playoff win): After leading the NFL in rushing yards during the regular season, new Eagles RB DeMarco Murray had a pair of good playoff games against the Packers and Lions, who were the #1 rushing D in the NFL last season:
| DeMarco Murray 2014 playoffs | Carries | Yards | YPC | TD |
| Lions | 19 | 75 | 3.9 | 1 |
| Packers | 25 | 123 | 4.9 | 0 |
Saints (1 playoff win): During the 2013 playoffs, the Saints gashed the Eagles with a pair of stout #NorthSouth running backs in 215 pound Mark Ingram and 220 pound Khiry Robinson to the tune of 26-142-1. That duo also had good games (23-106-1, combined) against a great Seahawks defense in their playoff exit the following week
Chargers (1 playoff win): Like the Saints, a pair of bigger backs in 230 pound Ronnie Brown and new Eagles 220 pound RB Ryan Mathews helped dispatch of the Bengals in 2013. Their combined stat line -- 21-129-1. The Chargers only gave the ball to those guys six times the following week in Denver, and the Chargers were bounced.
Ravens (1 playoff win): And finally, another exception. The Ravens' RB is 5'8, 197 pound Justin Forsett. Before Forsett, when the Ravens won the Super Bowl in 2012, 5'8, 206 pound Ray Rice was the feature back. However, it is worth noting that 6'0, 230 pound Bernard Pierce took on a bigger role during the playoffs that season, running 39 times for 202 yards (5.2 YPC).
Will the Eagles have more playoff success with a pair of bigger backs instead of LeSean McCoy? Obviously, they'll have to get back there first before we'll find out.
Follow Jimmy on Twitter: @JimmyKempski
