Adrian Fedkiw
After just nine carries and two preseason games, some are already looking to cut the cord with LeGarrette Blount. The memories of Chip Kelly and DeMarco Murray have been too much to take.
No, it hasn’t been pretty so far. Blount has totaled just 17 yards on those nine rushes, averaging a paltry 1.9 yards per carry, but let’s dig a little deeper. Four of those totes have gone up the middle for 18 yards, while the other five have gone along the edges for -1 yard. We know that he’s a downhill, physical back and so does Doug Pederson. All of the sweeps the Eagles are running are for evaluation and to get the offensive line reps running a play that has a lot of moving parts and needs precise timing to be executed properly. And the offensive line hasn’t exactly been living up to Pro Football Focus’ top-rated unit.
NFL Insider Adam Caplan was on 97.5 The Fanatic Sunday and stated that Blount wasn’t a “lock” to make the roster. Here’s some of what he had to say via Bleeding Green Nation.
I think, in the end here, Wendell Smallwood, I’ll give you another statement, he’s that important to what they do this season. I mean, I didn’t think it would be this big if you asked me a week ago, but the more information I gather on Blount, the more I understand that he’s no lock to make the football team. Again, if you were to ask me a week ago, I’d probably say ‘Ah, he’s going to make it. I don’t see it being an issue.’ But … bad preseason game, just, weight not great, I’ve just been checking in to some things.
So Caplan is the one who started this mess. Let’s get into this video, topics include:
- Discussing Blount’s preseason struggles so far.
- Differences between preseason and regular season playcalling.
- Blount’s history of preseason woes.
- The ineptness of the offensive line so far.
- Why Pederson won’t misuse Blount like Chip did Murray.