Miles Sanders Needs Help in Running Game
Maybe the Eagles should consider adding a running back from the practice squad for Sunday night’s game against the San Francisco 49ers, especially after hearing Doug Pederson talk on Monday about one of the reasons the team moved away from the running game a bit in Sunday’s tie was because Miles Sanders was tired.
Sanders missed all of training camp and the season opener while healing a hamstring, so that is to probably be expected to a point. He is, after all, the one carrying a big load of snaps, 71 of them against the Bengals on Sunday, which was 77 percent of the plays.
And the game required overtime so there were more snaps to go around.
Against Los Angeles, he played 55 snaps, which was also 77 percent of the game’s total offensive plays, though he had two more carries against the Rams in Week 2 than he did in the 23-23 tie against Cincinnati. He had the same number of rushing yards in both games, 95.
“It just so happened that in Miles' case, you go back the week before, and not to make excuses or whatever, but there was a little fatigue that set in,” said the Eagles coach. “Miles alluded to that. He was battling through some things (Sunday) during the game, and we had to be cautious late in the game.
“And there's times where you make the decision to maybe shift gears and go a little different direction, and that's what we did (Sunday). But Miles, moving forward Miles is obviously a big part of what we do, and I actually thought he not only ran the ball, but blocked well in pass protection as well.”
The Bengals were the second-worst rushing defense in the NFL entering the game and gave up 175 yards to the Eagles. Still, they left some yards on the field in the run game.
The other two running backs on the Eagles’ roster, Boston Scott and Corey Clement, combined for just 19 snaps, many of which were ineffective, with Scott getting three carries for five yards and Clement three for eight.
A case could be made that the play calling isn’t taking advantage of each players’ strengths, especially in Scott’s case, where his runs seemed to go between the tackles when the strength of his game is getting him outside in space.
Either way, the Eagles need to help out Sanders, and in turn help the team find a way to win, because had the Eagles been able to run better with somebody other than Sanders, maybe they could have posted their first win of 2020.
The Eagles had a chance to add running back depth in the draft but opted not take one.
There were some available on the free-agent market, and really wanted Carlos Hyde, but didn’t want to pay him the money he eventually got from the Seahawks.
There are three running backs on the practice squad that could be given a chance to be Sanders’ complement back.
Elijah Holyfield at a strong training camp and should merit a look. The other two are Michael Warren and Adrian Killins.
There is also Jason Huntley on the 53-man roster, but he has been inactive the past two weeks. He had one carry for one yard in the opener against Washington.
Whoever it is, it needs to be somebody because even when/if fatigue is no longer an issue, the question will become, is playing close to 80 percent of the snaps every week sustainable for Sanders?
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