Jay Ajayi has fit in nicely with a rotation of running backs on the Philadelphia Eagles since his arrival from Miami at the trade deadline.
The playoffs could turn him into a workhorse.
Ajayi was the only regular on offense who sat out the final game because the Eagles (13-3) had already secured the NFC’s No. 1 seed. That was an indication of his value and coach Doug Pederson’s plans to use him more in the postseason. Plus Jack Doyle Jersey , Ajayi has a quirky knee.
”I think that’s a possibility with what he’s shown us down the stretch here and giving him rest last week, and we’ll see where he is this week health-wise,” Pederson said. ”I think he’s one of the guys that we can rely on. Again, I don’t want to get away from the things that got us to this point, too. That’s the other thing is you don’t want to just abandon ship on everybody else. I do think there could be a little more role for him down the stretch.”
Ajayi had 408 yards rushing , one touchdown and an average of 5.8 yards per carry in seven games for Philadelphia. He had 465 yards rushing and averaged 3.4 yards per carry with no touchdowns in Miami. Last year, Ajayi went to the Pro Bowl after running for 1,272 yards, including three 200-yard games.
LeGarrette Blount led the Eagles with 766 yards rushing. He had four rushing TDs and averaged 4.4 yards. Undrafted rookie Corey Clement chipped in with 321 yards, four TDs and an average of 4.3 yards.
Blount, a two-time Super Bowl champion with New England Youth Isaac Yiadom Jersey , has accepted his diminished role and put the team first since Ajayi’s arrival.
”LeGarrette has embraced his role,” Pederson said. ”He’s been a pleasant surprise, particularly with the younger guys. He understands his role. He’s going to be a big part of the success, and has been a big part of the successes this year already. He has been to the pinnacle. He’s been there and understands it, what it takes. Those are the things I’m going to lean on him with our team and with the guys that haven’t been there, how to practice, how to prepare. So he’s really done a nice job in his role.”
The Eagles finished the season with the NFL’s third-ranked running offense. But they struggled down the stretch, especially after Carson Wentz tore his ACL in Week 14. They averaged 147.5 yards rushing in the first 11 games and only 98.6 in the last five.
Opponents focused more on stopping Philadelphia’s run when Nick Foles replaced Wentz, and the team averaged just 61.3 rushing yards in the last three games. Foles and the starters only played one quarter in the 6-0 loss to Dallas last Sunday, and Ajayi watched from the sideline.
”We have to get better in the run game,” Pederson said. ”That helps any quarterback Montravius Adams Jersey , obviously, so we have to get better there. We have to make sure we’re doing our due diligence as a staff to put our guys in successful positions.”
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The Winnipeg Jets only got a few hours to celebrate the biggest victory in franchise history.
The Jets finished off the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Nashville Predators 5-1 in Game 7 of their second-round series Thursday night, then quickly headed home to prepare for the opener of their first ever Western Conference final Saturday night.
”It’s too bad one of us had to be knocked off here,” Jets captain Blake Wheeler said. ”But night’s like tonight, you try to really soak it in and enjoy it. And then, wake up and get ready for a big game on Saturday.”
The Jets will be hosting the upstart Vegas Golden Knights in a conference final nobody predicted.
Upstart Winnipeg was swept in its only previous playoff appearance since leaving Atlanta for Canada in 2011. The Golden Knights, meanwhile, are dragging their debut season deep into the NHL calendar.
”We know what they bring, we know that they’re good, that they maybe surprised a few teams, but not really Phillip Danault Jersey ,” Jets center Paul Stastny said. ”They had 109 points. In a sense they play like us, they have a lot of depth, and they can roll four lines, and they have good, puck-moving D. So we’re going to have our hands full for sure.”
Stastny had one of two Winnipeg goals 2:06 apart in the first period to chase Vezina Trophy finalist Pekka Rinne for the third and final time in their series. Stastny finished with two goals and an assist, and Mark Scheifele finished with two goals, giving him a postseason record seven road goals in a single series .
Tyler Myers also scored. Wheeler and rookie Kyle Connor each added two assists, and Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck, who improved to 4-0 coming off a loss this postseason, made 36 saves to outduel Rinne in the showdown between Vezina Trophy finalists.
”A year in a goalie’s life makes such a big difference,” Jets coach Paul Maurice said of his 24-year-old goalie. ”In the third period Youth Joe Flacco Jersey , I think had one bobbled puck that got away from him, but everything else after that he was knocking it to the corner, he was clearing the front. He looked calm.”
This was the first Game 7 for the Winnipeg/Atlanta franchise, and the Jets dominated the Predators to win in Nashville for the third time in the series. They outskated the Predators and kept the puck on their sticks much of the game, even as Nashville outshot them 21-7 in the third period.
By the time Scheifele scored his record-setting goal into an empty net with 2:33 left, the Jets had left no doubt this was their series.
Now they head back to Winnipeg, where the Jets posted the NHL’s best home record in the regular season. They have a good idea how much this next series means as Canada’s last team still standing and even more special for Winnipeg after the town lost its first NHL team to Arizona.
Wheeler said they’re thrilled their fans get to have a celebration.
”Our fans have been with us filling up our building for seven years and we haven’t always had the most success, but they’ve always been supportive all over the city,” Wheeler said. ”I don’t think I’ve heard a negative comment in seven years. So now, we’re just happy to keep playing for them.”
Toonstruck 2 - The Fan Project
Thema drucken
11.10.2018 03:51
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