Adrian Fedkiw
Last week when asked about Darren Sproles’ increased workload, Philadelphia Eagles head coach Doug Pederson stated that it was because he was riding the “hot hand.”
Turns out that might’ve been coaches talk.
Pederson said during his Monday press conference that Sproles is the “No. 1 back” right now and not Ryan Mathews.
“Right now, by stats, yeah, and what you’re seeing, I would say Darren is the No. 1 back right now. Ryan is still a big part, you saw the touchdown run he had yesterday, and Kenjon had a nice run, Wendell had a nice run, so it’s still a little bit of the running back by committee. Obviously we haven’t hung our hat on one guy, but we tend to lean a little more towards Darren Sproles,” he said.
Is Pederson concerned about the diminutive 33-year-old Sproles’ increased usage?
“It’s a lot. We talked about it coming out of the Dallas game. Just got to make sure we’re doing the right thing with Darren, just keeping him available, especially as the season wears on. Keep him healthy and keep him going,” he said.
Sproles has seen 123 snaps the last two weeks compared to 16 for Mathews, who has seen the field less since fumbling for a second time late in the fourth quarter during the Eagles’ Week 7 win over the Minnesota Vikings. Mathews has run for 287 yards and five touchdowns so far this season, with his yards per carry dipping from 5.1 last year to 3.8.
Sproles, meanwhile, has posted 285 yards on the ground to go with 241 receiving yards on 25 catches. He’s averaging 4.8 yards per carry this season. He has 28 carries in the past two games after toting the rock just 31 times in the previous six.