Four and out: Surprises from the NFL in Week 2

Sep 21, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck (12) is sacked by New York Jets player Quinton Coples (98). Coples was called for a penalty on the play. New York Jets defeat the Indianapolis Colts 20-7. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /

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Sep 20, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles running back DeMarco Murray looks at the line judge as Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Jack Crawford tackles him in the fourth quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: James Lang-USA TODAY Sports /

Misuse of resources?

LeSean McCoy, Jeremy Maclin, and DeSean Jackson are no longer with the Eagles. They do have DeMarco Murray. Great, right? The Eagles haven’t figured out how to leverage his talent and potential.

That’s actually an understatement. The running back who ran for 1,845 yards last season with the Dallas Cowboys has only tallied 11 yards on 21 attempts in his first two games with the Eagles.

Nobody would have predicted that DeMarco Murray would have little-to-no impact on the Eagles’ offense, but that is exactly the situation the team finds itself in after its second game of the season. Is this problem a function of DeMarco Murray or Chip Kelly?

Or, perhaps, the problem is that the Eagles’ offensive line can’t match that of the Cowboys. Let’s be frank. The Cowboys’ 2014 offensive line opened up gaps that almost any NFL running back could find a way through. On the other hand, the Eagles struggle with run blocking, something that works to the extreme disadvantage of running backs like Murray. Kelly assessed the situation in saying, “I don’t think the running backs even really had time to assess if there was a hole. There was too much penetration up front.”

Regardless of the reason, Murray’s lack of productivity has been one of the biggest surprises so far this regular season.

Next: Marcus Mariota

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