Since Chip Kelly took over in 2013, the Eagles' running game has been one of the best in the NFL. With the departure of LeSean McCoy and the additions of DeMarco Murray and Ryan Mathews, the team now has a committee of backs to run the ball.
Under Kelly's system, McCoy carried the ball more times than any other running back in the NFL the last two seasons (626). The second-highest total belongs to Marshawn Lynch with 581.
Murray is coming off a season in Dallas where he had far-and-away the most carries among running backs with 392. He was a work horse last season, but another season where he's expected to carry that much of a workload could ultimately take its toll on the 27-year-old's body and career.
With the addition of Mathews—who missed the majority of last season due to injury—Kelly's goal is to spread the wealth in regards to carries over the course of the season in order to keep his running backs fresh.
In an article published by Philly.com's Zach Berman, Kelly discussed how the wealth of running back talent the Eagles acquired over the off season will be utilized, and how he believes that their similar style of running will make for a seamless transition during in-game substitutions.
“If you have multiple backs you don’t lose anything when you take one out, and I think we probably relied on one too much in the last couple of years,” Kelly said. “But I have great confidence in those other guys that when they go into the game you don’t have to change what you’re doing. Ryan and DeMarco are very similar in terms of how they run and what they’re doing so it’s almost like you think you catch your breath when you take DeMarco out of the game but then here comes Ryan, that’s going to be a real difficult task for people, I think.”
When Kelly initially made the call to trade McCoy—the franchise's all-time leading rusher—to the Buffalo Bills for linebacker Kiko Alonso, many were skeptical. Alonso, while young and very talented, was coming off an ACL injury that caused him to miss the entire 2014 season. It was speculated that McCoy's style of running left much to be desired in the eyes of Kelly, which is why the coach decided to part ways.
Those notions were cemented after NJ.com's Matt Lombardo uncovered a quote in early June from a lecture Kelly gave at USC in 2008.
"We tell the running back to read the first down lineman to the play side. If he expands in the gap, the running back hits the gap. The philosophy of the play is a tough running play. If the line can get up two yards on the defense, the back can, too. We want him to jam the ball into the hole and be a tough runner. We do not want a jingle-footed back trying to hit a home run. We want him to hit the ball into the line and get the tough yards. We are a blue-collar guy going to work. The line will have a hat on the five defenders in the box. The unblocked defenders on the perimeter are following the ballcarrier. If he gets downhill and runs hard, it is hard for them to make the tackle. However, if he jiggles in the hole, they will make the tackle.
When we talk to the back, we tell him it is speed through the hole, not speed to the hole. When the running back receives the ball, he is at 85-percent speed. As he gets the handoff and makes a decision to take the ball frontside or cut it back, he makes one cut. When he makes his cut to the line, he changes speeds and runs through the hole."
Murray and Mathews represent the style of running back Kelly desires. They're both tough, bruising backs that will hit the hole hard and earn the tough yards. They aren't "jingle-footed," as Kelly mentioned above.
The last couple of seasons, the Eagles featured a yin-yang-type of ensemble at running back, with McCoy being more of a "finesse" back and Chris Polk being more of a "power" back. Polk's resilient style of running is what made him the better option in goal-line situations last season.
Polk is no longer on the team, and neither is McCoy. Instead, the Eagles have two "Polk -type" runners in Murray and Mathews. Both are tackle-breaking machines that will allow the Eagles to maintain any momentum they build in the running game when one is substituted for the other.
When the 2015 season comes to a close and the final stats are tallied up, the Eagles will likely finish near the top in number of carries for a third-straight season. Unlike the last two seasons with McCoy, however, the carries will be divided fairly among the talented group Kelly has assembled.
