June 04, 2015
Matt Rourke/AP
DeMarco Murray and Ryan Mathews could wear down opposing defenses late in games.
Much of the focus on the additions of DeMarco Murray and Ryan Mathews was on how their running styles differed from LeSean McCoy. Murray and Mathews are considered downhill, one-cut runners, while McCoy was more of a shifty, make-you-miss guy. However, Murray and Mathews also fit the "height-weight-speed" parameters that quasi-GM Ed Marynowitz laid out prior to the draft.
"I didn't realize (Mathews) was that big and strong and fast," said running back coach Duce Staley. "When you go back and look at him, I looked back at some of the Combine numbers. Ryan Mathews was a little bit bigger (than Murray) by about six or seven pounds, ran a 4.37. So you look at DeMarco. A little bit (lighter), a little taller, ran a 4.37."
He's right. Here are the spider graphs from Murray and Mathews at the Combine:
Only 19 of 467 running backs who have competed at the Combine since 1999 have had faster 40 times than DeMarco Murray and Ryan Mathews. Only three of those 19 backs weighed more than Mathews, and none by more than two pounds.
Mathews was so highly thought of when he entered the NFL that he was the 12th overall pick in the 2010 draft. When healthy, Mathews is a talented back. In 2013, the year he stayed healthy, Mathews carried the ball 285 times for 1255 yards and 6 TDs. In 2014, Murray led the NFL in rushing yards by a margin of almost 500 yards.
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"These are downhill runners," said Staley. "They are going to bring exactly what we want to the table, getting three or four yards and a cloud of dust. That's what we want and that's what these guys bring to the table."
The NFL will forever be a quarterback's league. That will never change for as long as it 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. If the Eagles' pair of big, bruising backs with speed can stay healthy, the Eagles can hammer the run and potentially mask potential deficiencies at quarterback.
In the Eagles' up-tempo offense, tired opposing defenses could be wearing down in the fourth quarter of games against the Eagles' running back duo.
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