Murphy: Muddled RB mix among Eagles' personnel concerns

AN IMPORTANT thing to keep in mind is that the Eagles spent Sunday afternoon running an offense that featured a 33-year-old, 181-pound running back as its primary component. In fact, they've spent much of this season running such an offense. A week ago, in a 29-23 loss to the Cowboys, Darren Sproles carried the ball 15 times, a number he'd reached just three other times in his career. In Sunday's 28-23 loss to the Giants, he finished with 13 carries, the first time in his career that he recorded more than 10 in back-to-back games. Along with his 16 targets, Sproles has had his number called on 44 of the Eagles last 139 offensive snaps, just under 32 percent. That's not an outrageous percentage for a lot of NFL running backs, but Sproles has never been your typical NFL back, which is the kind of running back that the Eagles are currently asking him to be.

That's not a criticism of Sproles, nor is it a criticism of the man who keeps calling his number. It's just a reality the Eagles face right now, and you have to factor it in to the assignment of blame in the wake of losses like the one the Eagles took at MetLife Stadium on Sunday. Sometimes, the only difference between a good playcall and a bad playcall is the level of talent of the players called upon to execute it.

Take, for instance, the two fourth-and-short situations that the Eagles failed to convert against the Giants in the first half, both of which came when they were well within field-goal range. While the second of them was entirely defensible - the Eagles were at the Giants' 6-yard line and ended up driving back into field-goal range after forcing a three-and-out (the kick was blocked) - Doug Pederson's earlier decision to go for it on 4th-and-2 from the Giants' 23-yard-line had neither game score nor field position working in its favor. There's a reason NFL coaches take the points 99 percent of the time in that situation: at the end of a game, it can be the difference between a desperation 4th-and-10 attempt and a long field-goal attempt to win the game.

But none of that negates the fact that the Eagles are in Year 1 of the post-Chip Kelly era and thus are at the very beginning of their attempt to build a roster that fits Pederson's coaching style. On both of the 4th-and-short calls, the coach tried to attack the Giants at the edge, using Sproles on a stretch play that the Giants stuffed at the 6-yard line and using Wentz on a quarterback keeper that resulted in a loss of 4 yards at the Giants' 27. Think back to the strange-looking designed swing pass to Sproles that lost 6 crucial yards and squandered a chance to kick a game-winning field goal at the end of the loss to the Cowboys. Maybe these really will prove to be blind spots for Pederson, but at this point you have to at least acknowledge the possibility that such playcalls are the result of a coach feeling as if he must outsmart the opposing defense rather than beat it man vs. man. Maybe that 4th-and-2 call looks a lot better when Wentz is handing the ball off to a legitimate between-the-tackles runner, or, at least, the defense is respecting the fact that he might. Same goes for 4th-and-1 from the 6.

Granted, one can argue that the Eagles' lack of such short-yardage personnel makes Pederson's decisions to go for it all the more suspect. But let's limit our focus to the fact that the Eagles could very well be 7-1 if not for a couple of interceptions and a couple of fumbles, and that they've done it with a roster with some glaring deficiencies. Sunday's loss merely reinforced what we have long known. Does a defense with a legit No. 1 cornerback give up all four of those touchdowns? Does a legit No. 1 wide receiver take advantage of the one-on-one matchups and slot fades that sailed incomplete to Jordan Matthews and Dorial Green-Beckham? Does a legit three-down back keep Pederson from calling almost twice as many passes as runs? Does he convert on 4th-and-short? Does his success on first second and third downs eliminate the need for such conversions?

Whether all of this is daunting or encouraging depends on your perspective. At times, rookie running back Wendell Smallwood has looked like an answer to some of these questions. His 19-yard burst on first down was one of the Eagles' biggest plays of the day. But, much like previous weeks, he was barely heard from the rest of the game.

"We just have to continue to put him in the game," Pederson said when asked what Smallwood needs to do to get more carries.

Kenjon Barner scored a on a 3-yard touchdown run, while Ryan Mathews scored on an 8-yarder. Sproles finished with 57 yards on 13 carries. Running back is relatively low on the list of personnel priorities for the team moving forward - cornerback, wide receiver and tackle should all take precedence - but on Sunday it offered a good reminder of where this team is at in its process. Pederson deserves criticism for these losses as much as he deserved props for the success he's managed to cobble together. But make no mistake, he is still very much a cobbler.

@ByDavidMurphy

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