Ryan Matthews

[Deano]

so what's his status now?

 

[iceman42]

I think for now he'll head into TC as #1a and Smallwood as #1b.

 

[ill]

Mathews

the way he spells his last name is annoying.

 

[eaglesnut]

He's a great RB when healthy. We had our best game of the year and pummeled the NFC Champs with him toting it.

 

[ill]

I like Mathews and I think he and Smallwood will be a good 1-2 punch. We have Sproles for one more season and Pumphrey will likely be his shadow for a season before we see if he is worth it. i wish we used him more

 

[iceman42]

I think they should wrap him in bubble wrap in TC and preseason and save him for the regular season and limit him to +/- 15 carries and then hopefully by the end of the season he is still ready to go.

 

[old duke]

After he recovers, I think he gets cut, to save cap room.

 

[eaglesnut]

I like Mathews and I think he and Smallwood will be a good 1-2 punch. We have Sproles for one more season and Pumphrey will likely be his shadow for a season before we see if he is worth it. i wish we used him more

We were forced to overuse Sproles last year since the rest of the offense was so putrid. It was the most rushes in his career and it was his second most touches in any season. And he was 33 years old.

 

[ill]

We were forced to overuse Sproles last year since the rest of the offense was so putrid. It was the most rushes in his career and it was his second most touches in any season. And he was 33 years old.

I wish we had held onto Murray. He killed it in Tennessee.

 

[eaglesnut]

I wish we had held onto Murray. He killed it in Tennessee.

We used that pick in the trade up for Wentz and Murray will cost 7 million against the cap this year. Probably couldn't have Jeffery. And he hit the cap 6 million last year. Probably couldn't have had McLeod. Murray did have a great year though.

 

[old duke]

I wish we had held onto Murray. He killed it in Tennessee.

Salary cap was the reason Howie traded him. We didn't gt much for him- merely switched places in the 4th round for him. The other factor was that he became very disgruntled, and thus, a discontent in the locker room.

 

[ill]

We used that pick in the trade up for Wentz and Murray will cost 7 million against the cap this year. Probably couldn't have Jeffery. And he hit the cap 6 million last year. Probably couldn't have had McLeod. Murray did have a great year though.

that is a much bigger picture than I was going with. Plus, I am sure the people in charge weren't putting a team together last season to compete. They wanted something to give Wentz a trial season before we start ramping up for title run.

 

[ill]

Salary cap was the reason Howie traded him. We didn't gt much for him- merely switched places in the 4th round for him. The other factor was that he became very disgruntled, and thus, a discontent in the locker room.

yea, but how much of that was Chip Kelly's fault?

 

[Northern Eagle]

Based on what they did in the draft, it looks like they might Keep Mathews around. He's been cleared medically and would make good use as our short yardage/2 down back with what we have. Until he gets hurt again and then we're left scrambling like last year.

 

[eaglesnut]

Based on what they did in the draft, it looks like they might Keep Mathews around. He's been cleared medically and would make good use as our short yardage/2 down back with what we have. Until he gets hurt again and then we're left scrambling like last year.

Last year we didn't have Pumphrey in the fold. This year we do. Smallwood isn't a rookie anymore either. Bringing Mathews back and getting 150 carries out of him would be fine.

 

[Birds4life81]

Don't underestimate this o-line either -- they should really help us create nice running lanes for whoever has the ball this year. We invested a lot into both sides of the lines this off-season, that's an extremely important element to a dangerous football team. On Offense protect Wentz, and allow our runners to make more of an impact. We improved this team a lot at a few different positions, we'll still need a workhorse runner next year, but we can definitely get by with the committee and o-line we have. This team is going to be a perennial contender in a few years, and we should be plenty competitive this year.

 

[Northern Eagle]

Last year we didn't have Pumphrey in the fold. This year we do. Smallwood isn't a rookie anymore either. Bringing Mathews back and getting 150 carries out of him would be fine.

I'm with you E-Nut, but Mathews' lack of durability usually never has anything to do with being overused. He just seems to be one one of these guys who gets hurt all the time, on any given play. There's no question that the offense is different when he's in there, he can still run effectively. Whatever we can get out of him this year will only be a plus, and if he's healthy, I honestly don't think there are any other better options available that brings what he can bring to the offense this year. Doug showed in KC he can get by with a committee and still have production at that spot, so I'm not really worried.

I also think it's the continuity that's important, Mathews is already familiar w/ the pass protections and the offense. And it is all about the development of Wentz after all, so gotta look at the big picture.

 

[Iron Eagle]

After he recovers, I think he gets cut, to save cap room.

Correct. I'd take a 1 year flyer on one of the available vets. Blount, D. Williams etc...

 

[TheSnowdog]

Mathews

the way he spells his last name is annoying.

He fumbled the other "t"

 

[Iggloo]

I think his status is that he had neck fusion surgery and has yet to be cleared to return to action. He is likely to be cut from what all the reporters say, and it isn't clear if he will play again.