DeMarco Murray reportedly complains to Eagles owner, has bad timing
Strange things afoot in the NFC East. Pick any of the four teams, really, and you’ll be prone to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.
But let’s start at the top. There’s a certain hilarious irony that the following report from ESPN’s Ed Werder comes out the morning after — by default — the Philadelphia Eagles found themselves in first place after the Washington Redskins lost, creating a three-team 5-7 rift.
The last line is hilarious. Unless the story was leaked by ownership (unlikely), we likely know the source was someone in Murray’s camp. Kelly isn’t such a political animal that he or his minions would let this get out, unless we are underrated his strategic savvy here.
So the point is this: Murray, who essentially was benched in Sunday’s big win over the New England Patriots, wants to play and supposed doesn’t want to cause a stir … but why now? It’s not like Murray hasn’t been misused/miscast/underused all season in Kelly’s system. His eight carries on Sunday were the same total he got in Weeks 1 and 4, after which the Eagles started 1-4.
Doesn’t Murray know how this talk-with-the-owner thing works?! It’s generally accepted when (a) your team is losing unexpectedly; (b) it’s the offseason; or (c) the coach is firmly on the hot seat. So his timing is insane. With the slew of reports that Kelly is coming back in 2016, Murray violated all three Unofficial Rules of the Disgruntled Football Employee.
Kelly has said the team will use a gameplan-specific, week-by-week approach to the running back position. It makes sense given the adjustment against New England; what works in that game likely won’t work against this weekend’s opponent, the Buffalo Bills, and is an underrated element of coaching.
Will this derail the Eagles’ hot streak, winners of one in a row (and two of their past six!)? Likely not. And maybe Murray is traded to a team that will use him and use him properly in the offseason. But that’s farther on up the road. Right now, postseason fever is sweeping the greater Philadelphia area. Feel it.
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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Eric_Edholm
