Chip Kelly took quite the gamble this offseason when he swapped LeSean McCoy for DeMarco Murray and Ryan Mathews to key the Eagles' backfield. On Saturday night, it looked like his gamble paid off. That is, depending on how half a quarter in the preseason matches up to a preview of coming attractions.
Murray and Mathews both rushed for touchdowns as Philadelphia dunked Baltimore, 40-17, in each squad's second exhibition contest.
"I thought they hit it," Kelly said after the game. "You watched those guys, they hit it and came out the other side a couple times. Ryan's touchdown, J.P. [left tackle Jason Peters] and [tight end Brent] Celek did a great job on the back side, but that ball got to the secondary. He didn't get touched."
Mathews carried for a 14 yard touchdown through center field, rendered a desert for defenders after Peters, Celek, and left guard Allen Barbre held off a powerful rush to the left side. The No. 2 back was untouched has he galloped for the 7-0 lead. Philadelphia wouldn't look back.
Of the 19 plays the first-team ran, 14 of them involved one of the Eagles' three backs. Their first two drives resulted in touchdowns, begun by the Eagles' new secondary additions securing two interceptions off Joe Flacco.
"It's going to be hard for teams to focus on just one running back," DeMarco Murray said. "I think it's going to be good that we're all fresh going in and out of the game."
That was the thinking behind the signings this winter. After relying on one primary back for most of his career, Kelly said as part of his greater focus on the run game this season, he was going to built a committee of rushers. He hopes the plan will cut down on potential injuries (Murray touched the ball almost 500 times last season) and give opposing defenses a diversity of looks and formations to prepare for.
Murray is the straight-ahead pounder, Darren Sproles the wild-card who can skip and spin out of tackles on a lark, and Mathews is the in-betweener. He can do a little of both. On Saturday, they all lived up to their reputations.
"DeMarco showed a little pop today," Kelly said. "You watched him come out the other side."
He squirted through the middle on a 2-yard score on the Eagles' second drive. The success of the first-teamers ensured their early exit. That's when their running back depth showed itself.
Kenjon Barner carried four times for 15 yards, Raheem Mostert had 54 yards on 10 rushes, and Kevin Monangai, the rookie from Villanova, had 87 yards on 10 attempts. Barner added a 64 yard punt return touchdown, seven days after returning a Colts kick 93 yards to the house. Kelly spoke highly of his former recruit to Oregon, who may carved his name into the roster with his performance thus far.
Other teams might have trouble including that number of tailbacks in any capacity, or even half that many, but the high number of plays Chip Kelly wants to call every game could give more opportunities to the committee he's trying to build behind Sam Bradford.
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