4 Eagles that need to step up on offense against Buccaneers in Week 2
By Dan Parzych
1. Darren Sproles
Seeing Darren Sproles return to the lineup after missing most of last year was an amazing feeling for Eagles fans to witness when looking at the impact he’s made over the years with the team, although that doesn’t mean there weren’t any frustrations in Week 1. Rightfully so, it was easy to understand why Doug Pederson was so excited to get the veteran running back heavily involved early on against the Falcons, but from an overall perspective, it was hurting the offense.
Yes, Sproles came up with some big plays in the second half to help Philadelphia pull out the tough win over Atlanta, but seeing him finish with 10 rushing yards on five carries along with a couple of costly drops shows he still has a lot of work to do before returning to his old ways. Plus, when seeing how effective Jay Ajayi and Corey Clement were when Pederson started to use them more on offense, it made the whole situation with Sproles even more frustrating to watch.
Most likely, Pederson is going to take a similar approach when facing the Buccaneers to try taking advantage of Sproles’ speed to get him involved as much as possible early on. Maybe this time around, the rushing yards will be easier to gain for Sproles while making Pederson and company feel much better about bringing him back for another season.