Eagles' depth is being put to the test

IF ANY optimists remained, perhaps yesterday's news will serve to quash even their steadfast hopes.

DeMarco Murray left the practice with a hamstring injury. That brings the number of Eagles starters likely to miss the Jets game Sunday to four. Inside linebacker Mychal Kendricks left Sunday's loss with a hamstring strain; inside linebacker Kiko Alonso left with a sprain of his reconstructed knee; and defensive end Cedric Thornton broke a hand.

Four out of 22; slightly more than 18 percent; each of them extremely significant.

The Eagles, 0-2 and bewildered as to why, will visit the undefeated Jets on Sunday without four cornerstone players. Murray carries the highest profile.

Anyone who wasn't alarmed before:

Sound the klaxons now.

The Good Ship Chippah is taking on water, and Cap'n Kelly might not be able to bail fast enough.

Before the jokes begin about how Murray's injury might actually benefit the Birds, don't forget that, no matter how much meat Murray might have left on the bone with the Cowboys last season, with 1,845 yards he still rushed for about 500 more yards than the best of the rest.

That's pretty good eating.

There is the theory that Murray's injury might be an exaggeration of a minor annoyance. After all, Murray yesterday was set to be grilled about his sideline rant captured during the loss Sunday to his former team; a tirade directed at anyone within earshot, which clearly concerned how Murray should be getting the ball more often.

However, ESPN.com reported that Murray would undergo an MRI on the muscle. In light of that, a conspiracy seems overdone.

Murray has 11 yards on 21 carries, but his value cannot be overstated.

He runs behind a reconstructed line that has been overmatched (and will be again Sunday). He is paired with an unremarkable receiving corps that jettisoned its top talent for the second consecutive season. Murray is a newcomer to the offense along with quarterback Sam Bradford; neither yet executes its finer points with intuition.

Still, Murray is the most accomplished skill player on the roster. The offense is predicated on the run; specifically, predicated on emphasizing Murray's one-cut, power-burst, yards-after-contact style that earned him the rushing title in 2014.

Meanwhile, the defense heavily relies on the versatility of Kendricks, homegrown and ascending; and Alonso, a brilliantly gifted athlete who might be too brittle for that to matter.

Finally, the best unit on the team is the defensive line. Thornton, drafted in 2012 as a 4-3 defensive end, has evolved into a 3-4 revelation the past two seasons. Since the spring, the Eagles have tired to sign him to a long-term deal to keep him from free agency next year.

In August, they locked up Kendricks through 2019 by guaranteeing him $16.4 million. In March, they traded all-time leading rusher LeSean McCoy for Alonso. Later that month, spurned by Frank Gore, the Eagles landed Murray for five years and $42 million.

"This is what separates the great teams," Hicks said, optimistically. "Truly good teams have depth."

Let's plumb that depth.

* Inside linebacker DeMeco Ryans, a 31-year-old coming off a second Achilles' tendon rupture and likely a month or two from being 100 percent. Ryans was not slated to play more than 50 percent of the plays for at least a few more weeks.

* Inside linebacker Jordan Hicks, a smart, third-round rookie who, truth be told, acquitted himself nicely when Alonso left in the second quarter Sunday. "I saw plays out there I missed," Hicks said, "but I felt good about the way I performed."

* Defensive ends Taylor Hart, who in 2014 couldn't get on the field as a fifth-round rookie that Kelly coached at Oregon; pass-rush specialist Vinny Curry, who managed to incur penalties on consecutive plays Sunday; and Brandon Bair, a special-teamer who also played in college for Kelly. "They're on the rise," said outside linebacker Brandon Graham.

* Running back Ryan Mathews, a former first-round pick whose fine career in San Diego ended after an injury-addled 2014. Between Mathews and Darren Sproles, the Eagles have sound options in Murray's possible absence.

But the defense could have serious issues, even if the upcoming schedule - at the Jets, then at Washington, then hosting the Saints and Giants - is not especially daunting.

What with the bottom line, the most relevant images for the first one-eighth of this Eagles season are the repeated victimizations of free-agent corner Byron Maxwell, the two game-altering interceptions thrown by Bradford and Murray's sideline rant juxtaposed with his on-field impotence.

In this moment, however, the most relevant images are Thornton bopping about the NovaCare facility with a huge white cast on his hand, Alonso and Kendricks chatting in shorts and sneakers during practice; and the empty dais where Murray might have explained his anger and ineffectiveness.

As the klaxons sounded, the dais spoke loudest.

Blog: ph.ly/DNL