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Eagles expected to give Sproles 6-8 touches per game
Eagles coach Chip Kelly has made it clear he wants to create pass-coverage matchup problems with running back Darren Sproles, whose receiving ability and 5-6, 190-pound frame call to mind former Eagles star Brian Westbrook, Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News reports.
"Pretty much it's just reps," Sproles said, when asked how a running back makes himself into a receiving threat who can move outside if needed. "The more you do it, the more coverages you see, then you start knowing stuff."
Sproles said yesterday he hasn't been told anything about his role with the Eagles, everyone assumes a limited workload - maybe six or eight touches a game from scrimmage. It seems reasonable to expect a 31-year-old to be productive used that way.
At the NFL meetings, when Kelly spoke with reporters about the addition of Sproles, he seemed to feel Sproles would make it harder for opponents to play the man-press coverage the Eagles struggled against in 2013.
"The addition of Sproles, are you gonna play us in man?" Kelly asked then. "Now you have to have a linebacker cover him if he's the back. That's kind of a huge addition, when we thought about bringing him in."
Sproles said he hasn't worked in the slot yet, as the Eagles continue organized team activities that were driven into the indoor facility yesterday by rain, but "they say it's coming."
He feels he's picking up Kelly's offense quickly, he said, but the toughest stuff isn't in the playbook.
"This is really not that complex. The main thing is the tempo," Sproles said. "Once you [finish] a play, you've got to hurry and get back to the line. Then pretty much it's finding the guy who's signaling [from the sideline]."
Eagles coach Chip Kelly has made it clear he wants to create pass-coverage matchup problems with running back Darren Sproles, whose receiving ability and 5-6, 190-pound frame call to mind former Eagles star Brian Westbrook, Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News reports.
"Pretty much it's just reps," Sproles said, when asked how a running back makes himself into a receiving threat who can move outside if needed. "The more you do it, the more coverages you see, then you start knowing stuff."
Sproles said yesterday he hasn't been told anything about his role with the Eagles, everyone assumes a limited workload - maybe six or eight touches a game from scrimmage. It seems reasonable to expect a 31-year-old to be productive used that way.
At the NFL meetings, when Kelly spoke with reporters about the addition of Sproles, he seemed to feel Sproles would make it harder for opponents to play the man-press coverage the Eagles struggled against in 2013.
"The addition of Sproles, are you gonna play us in man?" Kelly asked then. "Now you have to have a linebacker cover him if he's the back. That's kind of a huge addition, when we thought about bringing him in."
Sproles said he hasn't worked in the slot yet, as the Eagles continue organized team activities that were driven into the indoor facility yesterday by rain, but "they say it's coming."
He feels he's picking up Kelly's offense quickly, he said, but the toughest stuff isn't in the playbook.
"This is really not that complex. The main thing is the tempo," Sproles said. "Once you [finish] a play, you've got to hurry and get back to the line. Then pretty much it's finding the guy who's signaling [from the sideline]."