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Eagles run game should blossom on Sunday

Posted on 14. Oct, 2009 by Mike Burke in Eagles Related

Yesterday I wrote how the Eagles have not shown much as far as a solid run game this season. However, Sunday’s game against Oakland represents the perfect chance to establish a run game and put up big numbers.

If you saw any of Oakland’s game last week with the Giants, you saw what Ahmad Bradshaw was able to do to them running the ball. He only carried 11 times but put up 110 yards and scored two touchdowns. The team combined to put up 220 rushing yards on the day and ran the ball 41 times.

Now I’m not saying the Eagles are going to try and run the ball 40+ times on Sunday. However, they are going up against the second to last team in terms of rush defense. The Raiders are giving up an average of 161 yards per game in their first five games. I’m expected the Eagles to jump out to an early lead on Sunday. From here they really have to show they can pound the ball down the field and eat up time if they want to. Brian Westbrook and LeSean McCoy are both very capable runners and can split the duties if they are called upon often, especially in the second half.

It is very important for the Eagles to find success in the run game. When they start playing good teams who they can’t blow out, they are going to need to run the ball to eat up clock and sustain drives. This team cannot rely solely on the pass.

Tags: brian westbrook, lesean mccoy