As head coach Doug Pederson, offensive coordinator Frank Reich and the rest of the Eagles’ offensive minds meet early in the week to formulate a game plan, Reich said they start with one question.
“How are we going to get Darren the ball this week?”
Through three games, the Eagles have given 33-year-old Darren Sproles, who at times was unhappy with his workload in 2015, plenty of work.
Reich said finding ways to use Sproles each week is “a blast.”
“When you've got a guy like that, that's what we want to do,” Reich said. “He's that kind of player, so we're going to design plays that are going to go to him, and then we figure he's going to get three or four in his normal rotation as well. But you want to look for opportunities. He's a playmaker, and yeah, we're thinking about that every week.”
Sproles on Thursday said he’s been pleased about his workload in 2016 and is happy the staff has made a concerted effort to get him involved in the offense and into a rhythm.
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“Yeah,” Sproles said. “And they’re trying to get me in more space too.”
With the Eagles sitting at 3-0 heading into Detroit, Sproles leads the Eagles in touches with 36, which puts him on pace for 192 in 2016. He hasn’t had that many since 2011, when he piled up 242.
Here’s a look at Sproles’ touches dating back to 2007:
2016: 36 (three games)
2015: 177
2014: 137
2013: 165
2012: 164
2011: 242
2010: 184
2009: 218
2008: 165
2007: 108
But even in 2011, his 242 touches were 19th in the NFL. Sproles has never been and will never be a workhorse running back. And as a runner in 2016, he hasn’t been very affective, with a yards per attempt average of just 2.7.
But he does have 10 catches, including that big 73-yard touchdown play. And he can create matchup problems, which is what the Eagles want.
When Pederson, Reich and the offensive coaches sit down each week to figure out how to get Sproles involved, they first look at what worked for Pederson as the offensive coordinator in Kansas City. With the Chiefs, Pederson had a dynamic playmaker in Jamaal Charles.
While Sproles said he and Charles are two different players, they still share some of the same skillset, as running backs who can create mismatches because of their pass-catching ability and shiftiness.
“Boom, let's start there, because this is kind of already built into the system,” Reich said. “And then you sometimes see something on tape or maybe somebody else on the staff — there's an idea or two that comes into it, and you look for matchups, you look how you can get them when they're in man coverage, who is he going to be matched up on, what routes does Darren run best versus man coverage from the backfield, from closer to the line of scrimmage, and then just try to pick one or two or three of those each week.
“You don't want to overdo it. You just don't want to overdo it, you want to take a couple and create a couple big moments there and then spread the ball around from there to the other guys, as well.”
As training camp kicked off this summer, the Eagles signed Sproles to a one-year extension, giving him this year and next under contract. At the time he signed the deal, he said he had two good years remaining.
Against the Steelers, Sproles pretty quietly passed Herschel Walker to move into 10th place all-time in career all-purpose yards. He now has 18,208 and will pass Barry Sanders and LaDainian Tomlinson next.
At 33 years old, Sproles is still playing well by creating problems for opposing defenses. It's just up to the coaching staff to put him in those situations.
“[Defenses are] going to prepare for me being in the slot, prepare for me being out wide or in the backfield,” Sproles said. “They just have to be on their toes.”
