The Philadelphia Eagles were the big winners in the offseason when they landed DeMarco Murray in free agency. After being the workhorse of the Dallas Cowboys offense in 2014, many expected him to pick up right where he left off with the Philadelphia Eagles. However, on Monday night in the loss to the Falcons, Murray might have scored twice but he was barely used like he was in Dallas. Instead it was Darren Sproles racking up the yards which could continue.
Murray's five-year, $42 million contract resulted in eight carries on Monday night. That frustrated fans, but made Sproles happy as he was the star of the show. The running back totaled 130 yards between 50 yards rushing and another 76 yards in passing. The Falcons could simply not tackle the dynamic rusher as got the Eagles' offense their biggest gains of the night. That should be expected throughout much of the season.
"You always want more balls, you know what I'm saying?" Sproles said, via the Philadelphia Inquirer. "That's the kind of person I am. Some of the time it had to do with the coverage (last season). I'd come in on third down. They kind of would have a sense of what we were trying to do. They would have the linebacker, he'd be inside of me. And they'd bring the safety down to the outside. Made it tough to get me the ball. They're working me a little more in the slot. We'll have to wait and see (whether it carries over into the regular season)."
Last season, Sproles was the secret weapon for the Eagles. He was simply too versatile to stop. This year could be much of the same as Bradford constantly found ways to get him the ball in the second half of the game against the Atlanta Falcons. Fantasy owners should not sound the alarm on Murray just yet. The running back will be heavily used, but it is clear after one game that head coach Chip Kelly will stick to his word about a proper rotation.
The same can be said about the receiving group. Zach Ertz was a star with three catches for 46 yards while Josh Huff only managed 19 yards and rookie Nelson Agholor had just one catch for five yards. Jordan Matthews is the clear favorite target as it will be hard to predict who steps up to help him. Right now that is Sproles while Ertz could emerge as a favorite as well.
