HapHaszard Posted August 23, 2010 Share Posted August 23, 2010 http://nfl.fanhouse.com/2010/08/23/running-on-empty/ The NFC East, long considered the rugged NFC East, hasn't been so rugged this preseason, that is if rugged means running the ball effectively. The division that used to feature Hall of Famers Emmitt Smith, Tony Dorsett and John Riggins and Pro Bowl backs Tiki Barber, Brian Westbrook, Larry Brown has been mostly running on empty this month. Philadelphia is averaging a robust 5.3 yards per carry and is leading the NFL with 168 rushing yards a game. But Dallas (68.3 yards), Washington (82.5) and the New York Giants (96.0) are all easily in the bottom of the league on the ground. True, it's only preseason and the starters have played less than half the minutes so far, but that's true for every NFL team. Admittedly, the Cowboys are missing left guard Kyle Kosier and right tackle Marc Colombo, the Eagles have been minus center Jamaal Jackson and guards Todd Herremans and Nick Cole, Giants guards Rich Seubert and Chris Snee have been banged-up and the Redskins have three new starters up front, but it's not as if the struggle to run the ball is a newfound phenomenon. While the Cowboys finished seventh in the league in rushing en route to winning the NFC East in 2009, the Giants ranked 17th, the Eagles 22nd and the Redskins 27th. Somewhere Stephen Davis, Wilbert Montgomery, Joe Morris and Herschel Walker were crying about the downturn on the ground in the division in which they used to reel off 1,000-yard seasons. Marion Barber and Felix Jones, who teamed for 1,617 yards for Dallas last season, have 40 yards on 14 carries in three games this month. New York bruiser Brandon Jacobs sat out two nights ago with a sore neck and Ahmad Bradshaw played after third-stringer D.J. Ware. LeSean McCoy, who has replaced Westbrook as Philadelphia's No. 1 back, is averaging 3.6 a carry. click on the link above for the rest of the article Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HapHaszard Posted August 23, 2010 Author Share Posted August 23, 2010 For those who don't know David Elfin, he was one of the Washington Times sports reporters that was let go when the Times stopped having a sports section. So this isn't a bleacher report type blog entry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigMike21 Posted August 23, 2010 Share Posted August 23, 2010 It's true. I think the 4 guys in the division are going to be Felix Jones, Ahmad Bradshaw, LeSean McCoy and an older Clinton Portis. Jones and Bradshaw are going to share a ton of carries. One would think Portis will too as long as someone steps up and earns some carries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldskool Posted August 23, 2010 Share Posted August 23, 2010 I don't think the Skins have shown their hand completely with regards to how they will run their ZBS and honestly haven't shown a ton of different looks in the preseason. I have a feeling that come week 1 the team will surprise the league with how effective the running game will be. Dallas and NYG have lineman issues that could stymie their running game and everyone knows that Reid in Philly is loathed to run the ball more than 10 times a game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HapHaszard Posted August 23, 2010 Author Share Posted August 23, 2010 I don't think the Skins have shown their hand completely with regards to how they will run their ZBS and honestly haven't shown a ton of different looks in the preseason. I have a feeling that come week 1 the team will surprise the league with how effective the running game will be. I hope your right, in order for that to happen the O line is going to have to play a whole lot better than they showed against Baltimore. Still 2 more weeks to work on that though. Dallas' line may be a problem for them down the road as injuries mount, but for the beginning of the season I suspect they will be ok. I don't have a handle on the Giants, I always have a feeling they are holding something back. Its probably just that team always makes me gun shy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom [Giants fan] Posted August 24, 2010 Share Posted August 24, 2010 The OLine issues for the Giants got a lot better today. Snee and Seubert returned to practice and Andrews started practicing as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrifNick21 Posted August 24, 2010 Share Posted August 24, 2010 Hell, the Redskins first team has rarely ran the ball. Portis got what, 6 carries against Buffalo and 2 against Baltimore? LJ had 8 carries against Baltimore. That's 16 carries for the top two backs in two games. I'm not worried. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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