The chair. The chair became a thing for writers and some fans and especially radio hosts, who definitely had a good time with the material.
DeMarco Murray hasn’t been very active during this training camp. When he’s been on the field, he’s taken it easy. On Thursday, he sat out entirely. That prompted Malcolm Jenkins to have some fun at his expense. The safety grabbed a white folding chair after practice and jokingly offered it to Murray. Take a load off – again. That kind of thing. No big deal – except everything is a big deal in this town when it pertains to the Eagles in general and their new, high-priced and often-injured running back in specific. Naturally, Chip Kelly was asked about it prior to practice at the NovaCare Complex on Friday.
“Malcolm Jenkins was busting people’s chops,” Kelly said. “And I was laughing because he asked me before he did it, ‘can we get those guys some mojitos and maybe some fans because they got a day off?’”
Kelly said every player is different and every player is dealt with according to their needs. Murray returned to practice on Friday, but for the most part he seems to need more time off than his teammates.
Sick. Dehydrated. Resting. Since training camp opened, there have been all sorts of things said about why Murray hasn’t appeared on the practice field every day. So what exactly is the holdup?
“Me,” Kelly quipped.
It’s been a point of some debate and concern among some fans and the media. That’s understandable. The Eagles bundled LeSean McCoy off to Buffalo and then replaced the franchise’s all-time leading rusher with the NFL’s leading rusher from a year ago. It’s natural enough to want to see Murray play/practice, if only as a reassurance that the money was well spent and everything will be copacetic when the real hitting starts and the games count.
But you know what? Kelly’s cautious approach with regard to Murray is fine. It really is. It’s a smart play for the Eagles to hold him back.
Maybe that’s frustrating to some people, but the full-speed, mash-the-Murray-gas-pedal people probably need to pump the breaks. And then find a calendar. It’s August. The preseason hasn’t even begun. (Kelly was noncommittal about whether Murray will play on Sunday against the Colts.) The regular season is almost a month away. And the (whisper this next part to yourself as you read it) postseason is a mere abstraction at this point. What’s the big deal if Murray doesn’t practice right now? Or play on Sunday? Or even play at all this preseason?
Oh, now I’ve done it. Now I’ve gone too far. Why would I even mention sitting him the entire preseason? That’s an unacceptable hypothetical for the faction of fans/media that might desperately want to kick Murray’s tires sooner than later. Except that overeager crew sometimes forgets how many miles Murray has already put on himself. The man ran and ran and ran some more last year. He ran 392 times during the regular season, the most since 2006 and the seventh-most in NFL history. He ran 44 more times in the playoffs. He ran a lot, maybe too much. If he doesn’t run this preseason, that’s fine. Get him a pillow and a cool spot to nap and wake him when September rolls around and it’s time to take on the Falcons. The guy could use a little (more) rest. He’s earned it.
Wherever you stand on the curse of 370 – and there are good counterarguments – and even if you think it’s merely a fantasy football dork distraction, it’s undeniable that anything north of 300 carries is an awful lot. Only two players – Murray and McCoy (who had 312 carries) – rushed the ball that many times a year ago. Six other guys – Le’Veon Bell, Marshawn Lynch, Matt Forte, Alfred Morris, Arian Foster and Frank Gore – had between 255 and 290 carries. No one else went over 250. And when you factor in Murray’s passing game participation, his total touches in the regular/postseason last year ballooned to 497.
That’s a massive workload. It’s difficult to recover from that kind of brutal body bashing and be productive again the next season. So why not give Murray a little extra rest just to be safe? Why not let him stand on the sidelines and watch and not tax himself? He might as well kick back and relax until the regular season. Someone go grab that white folding chair for him. The mojitos wouldn’t hurt either.