Written by Neil Greenberg at WashingtonPost.com
The Philadelphia Eagles, who appear to be unhappy with the way former coach and general manager Chip Kelly constructed the team, are reportedly sending DeMarco Murray to the Tennessee Titans in a deal which won’t become official until Wednesday.
Murray earned NFL offensive player of the year honors with the Dallas Cowboys in 2014 after leading the league with 1,845 yards and 13 touchdowns but was underwhelming in Philadelphia — producing 702 yards on 193 attempts. However, it appears Titans Coach Mike Mularkey thinks Murray would be a better fit in his system, a system that will mirror what he ran from 2001 to 2003 as the offensive coordinator with the Steelers.
Some detractors will point to the performances of the offensive lines as evidence it will take more than a change of scenery for Murray to get back on track, but the numbers argue the Titans were slightly superior to the Eagles last season in this regard.
According to Football Outsiders’ adjusted line yards, a process that assigns responsibility to the offensive line for all running back carries before adjusting for down, distance, situation, opponent, and the difference in rushing average between shotgun compared with standard formations, Tennessee had the better overall run blockers among the two.
The Titans will get the biggest boost from Murray in short-yardage situations. Last season, they ranked dead last in power success (37 percent), the percentage of runs on third or fourth down, two yards or less to go, that achieved a first down or touchdown. The average team converted these situations 65 percent of the time while the Eagles led the league with an 84 percent success rate. Murray converted all 15 of his short-yardage opportunities, producing 5.67 yards per carry when only 1.13 were needed, on average. As a team, the Titans mustered just 0.81 yards per attempt, nearly a half-yard fewer than the Steelers, who were the second worst.
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