Pages

Friday, March 13, 2015

Does DeMarco Murray Signing with Eagles Shift Balance of Power in the NFC East?

     This is the question in a post at NFL.com and I thought I'd answer it myself. Judging by the 5 analysts, most people seem to think it helps the Eagles and harms Dallas. I agree it harms Dallas-and I don't get why you let Murray go and then sign Adrian Petterson, though I don't get why Kelly got rid of McCoy and then took Murray so like Kelly says I guess you should never be surprised- but I'm still not sure that the Eagles are better than before all these moves.

   "It's too soon to suggest that Murray signing with the Eagles alters the balance of power in the NFC East, but the move definitely diffuses the potency of the Dallas Cowboys' offense. Murray set the table for the unit one season ago as the premier workhorse runner in football; his success altered how opponents defended Tony Romo and Co. Instead of playing coverage-first schemes, defensive coordinators used more eight-man fronts to slow down the run. This opened up the field for Dez BryantTerrance Williams and Jason Witten on play-action throws. In addition, the steady production from Murray protected the Cowboys' defense because the team could rely on a ball-control approach to play keep away from their opponents. With fewer overall possessions, the Cowboys' defense was able to compete and win battles against the heavyweights in the NFC. With Murray no longer in the fold, the Cowboys could be exposed as an average squad in 2015."

    "For the Eagles, the signing gives Chip Kelly another talented runner in the stable. He can creatively adjust his lineups to take advantage of favorable matchups on the ground or in the passing game. With an efficient pocket passer in the fold to complement a dynamic running game -- also bolstered by the addition of Ryan Mathews -- the Eagles' offense can rely on an RB-centric attack to make a run at the NFC East crown."


     http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000478665/article/does-demarco-murray-joining-eagles-shift-nfc-east-balance-of-powert

     One of the strange aspects of this move is brining in Ryan Mathews and DeMarco. This has lots of pundits scractching their heads. I guess at the least, when you throw in Darren Sproles-who's all purpose and can catch some passes as well-the Eagles have depth. You'd think that both Mathews and DeMarco can't get enough snaps to make them both happy but what it might do is prolong DeMarco's career. 

    There are so many moving parts of what Kelly has done it's hard to assess it all. You might question why make a trade of McCoy for DeMarco-isn't this at best a sideways move? Yet, one feature is that it weakens the Cowboys. 

    As a Giants fan I'm grateful for this myself. However, what I really don't get is why Foles for Bradford? Based on their respective NFL bodies of work, Foles is the better QB and he's also much cheaper-he costs just $1.5 million against the cap vs. $13 million for Bradford. Kelly does concede that Foles is a great QB who should have a great career in St. Louis, just that somehow Bradford is a better fit for his Oregon system. 

    It's certainly going to be fascinating to see how this all works out in the NFC East next year. I think things look better for the Giants too-who have been the polar opposite of the Eagles or Jets so far, just trying to fill in holes with small pickups here and there which could provide real dividends as well. 

    The Giants pickup of another Cowboy, Dwayne Harris, doesnt seem nearly as exciting as the Eagles getting Murray, but it could be just as beneficial if it finally gives the Giants a real return man-field position is a very important factor in who wins the football game. 

   http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/giants/post/_/id/41939/giants-beef-up-more-than-special-teams-with-jonathan-casillas-dwayne-harris

No comments:

Post a Comment