Dion Lewis impresses early in training camp
The Philadelphia Inquirer Blog - Eagles
Dion Lewis impresses early in training camp
Zach Berman, Inquirer Staff Writer
Pads have been on for only two days, but there is one observation that is not premature to make: Dion Lewis is the Eagles’ No. 2 running back behind LeSean McCoy.
The Eagles planned for that to be the case by neither signing a veteran in the offseason nor investing a draft pick in one until taking Bryce Brown in the seventh round. They also signed Chris Polk as a rookie free agent. During the rookie portion of training camp, it became intriguing to speculate whether Brown or Polk could unseat Lewis. After two days, it is clear why Lewis is the No. 2.
"Dion has had an excellent camp up to date,” offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg said. “Sure is a fine runner. Excellent with his protections. He's probably a little bit shorter than one would think, but he's certainly bigger."
Lewis, who is listed at 5-8, is compact and draws comparisons to Brian Westbrook. At 195 pounds, though, Lewis is strong, and that helps him play at his size.
Lewis only had 23 carries for 102 yards last season, so he did not have much time to flash in front of fans. He was on display in the season finale, when he rushed 12 times for 58 yards and a score.
“That’s probably my mistake,” Mornhinweg said of Lewis’ limited carries. “Always wanted to go into a game using him a little bit more. Then you get into a game, every play’s important, and LeSean was so good last year.”
But Lewis came to camp determined to fill a bigger role this season, and it was clear over the weekend that he is more advanced in running, receiving and catching than those behind him on the depth chart. Much can change as camp progresses, but there is reason why Lewis is No. 2 on the depth chart at this point.
Lets see it in a regular season game first. Last year he looked good at camp AND preseason. Only once the regular season rolled around, he wasn't as impressive against the 1's.— xlGmanlx- I know the Eagles have blown it in the past, like having Greg Lewis slotted as the punt returner, but the coaches are probably not surprised by what they're seeing from Dion this year. They saw him in practice all last year. They know what they have, and they figured he was one of the better backups in the NFL, if he got more snaps.— armchairGM
- There still is the Fire Alarm stunt. Kinda moronic.— dmanphilly
- No there isn't. There turned out to be video which of course proved the cops were lying. — bc3030
- Little guys jsut don't make it...injury or a constant battering or they can be taken down by partial hits....They need a big stud back to get the one yard for a first down or punch it into the end zone...— nuggett
- Backup RB is a hard position to impress in with little reps during a reg season game. RBs have to get into a rhythm a lot of times and he barely had any plays to even try to impress. Brown is going to be the short yardage back. Or at least we always seem to have a player to do it until reid or marty try to be clever and outsmart themselves and fail and it leads to a punt.— peteike
- Charges were dropped,, so actually the fire alarm thing never happened.— phillyroni
- @nuggett - Maurice. Jones. Drew.— JLB
- MJD has 20 lbs on Lewis, and is built like a bowling ball. I'm not saying Lewis can't be a good player but he is a twig compared to MJD — JayOfDaJungle
- Lewis needs more touches and time. C'mon now. He barely got into games at all. Every back isn't going to come in drafted and light it up with 2,3 touches a game. Like a QB a rb needs to get into a flow and rhythm. Giving him 5 or 7 carries would seem to help. So long as McCoy can get into the 18-22 range regularly and be good to go. Obviously, I know my team, and I know my coach. It's lunacy for me to fathom Andy calling up 25 run plays per game avg. But, Lewis needs more touches to be effective and to spell McCoy.
— SeenGreen - Dion will become a very nice weapon for us..but Im telling you right now, but by the time Bryce Brown learns blitz pickup, he will be an absolute STUD! In about 2 years, we are going to be very fortunate at the running back position! I have a feeling that Dion will also be a nice player, but will be traded for like a 2nd round pick when they are ready to unleash BRYCE on the league!— johnGiam
I really want to see Bryce Brown run the ball. They might have something there.— EmanuelP- Dion is running with the second team offense against the Eagles First Team Defense, so he's showing what he's capable of against the best the Eagles can muster. Dion is all business and he doesn't appear willing during this camp to surrender any playing time to either Brown or Polk. The kid looks good. He's gashing the Eagles defense in drills of 11 on 11 live hitting. That's not to say Brown and Polk don't look good, it's just that Dion is better by miles so far.
— Dexter - Here is the thing, Dion is playing out of his mind right now and will be a nice player for us. He is GAME READY because he is good at picking up the blitz and blocking, which happens to be something that BRYCE has NEVER had to do in his life at ANY LEVEL! There is no doubt that by week 4, Bryce will be ready to come in, and stricktly RUN the ball...however its gonna take a WHILE for him to become an adequate blocker, and thats gonna keep him off the field THIS YEAR! I mean, if you insert him in the game, EVERYONE WILL KNOW THAT HE IS RUNNING THE BALL. Andy values blocking from his backs, and there is no way in hell that he would trust the kid this year to pick up a block, we know it, and every D-coordinator knows it...so bryce would be seeing a stacked D front...so really, dont expect much of bryce this year, but he will become a SPECIAL back in this league by year 2 or 3. We are very fortunate to have him in the wings!— johnGiam
