Eagles weekly mailbag: What is Pederson going to do at running back?

The Eagles are two days away from a shootout at the Linc against Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts. Before we get to the nitty gritty, it’s time to answer your Eagles questions! I took to Twitter to hear what was on your mind ahead of the week 3 matchup. If you want to submit questions for next week’s mailbag, simply follow @LiamJenkins21 on twitter.

https://twitter.com/MarvinDorfler5/status/1043065937811988481

Thanks for your question, Marvin!

It’s certainly a possibility, especially with Carson Wentz returning with a depleted receiving corps. The Eagles will want to punish the Colts on the ground, taking the weight off their franchise quarterback and directing a heavy spotlight toward the middle of the field. The Birds have run the majority of their offense out of 11-personnel for some reason, which is a huge contrast to what we saw last season. If the Eagles run a double tight end set, they’re going to have to rely on Goedert or Perkins to make key blocks, which could prove to be problematic. The Birds clearly have a script for now and it’s unlikely they waiver from it too much.

The wildcard here is Jordan Matthews, who is actually a very strong run blocker and prove himself as such during his first stint with the Eagles. Don’t be surprised to see Matthews and Ertz doubling up as a ‘blocking’ duo throughout Sunday’s fixture.

Why is Josh Adams, more talented than anyone in the backfield, not playing?

— PSN || Tim Sullivan (@TimSullivanPSN) September 21, 2018

Ooft, the big guns are coming out and I’d expect nothing less from a PSN writer! I don’t think there’s any questioning the talent of Josh Adams, but there’s plenty of questioning his durability, which is the last thing this backfield needs right now. Adams has battled a flurry of knee injuries throughout his collegiate and now professional career and if he were to go down on Sunday, the Eagles have very few options available.

He has been promoted and why he wasn’t sooner, or even picked over Wendell Smallwood, still puzzles me, because he did flash plenty of talent during a 90-yard preseason campaign. We will likely get to see Adams in action this weekend due to the sheer lack of depth in the backfield so this may be his time to shine.

I've read that @goedert33 can block like a champ – but film doesn't lie, what did you see during your All-22 reviews?

— Bill Hack (@BHackThePlanet) September 20, 2018

Thanks for the question, Bill! I don’t think he’s a million years away, but tight end is one of the hardest spots to transition into when it comes to the jump from college to the pro’s. It’s likely that against bigger, more athletic and experienced talent (bearing in mind his opposition at SDSU), that this flaw has been highlighted further, keeping him out of games.

We haven’t seen too much of him blocking at the professional level and this would probably explain why.

And finally…