If there's any opportunity for Corey Clement to prove his value to the Philadelphia Eagles, Thursday's preseason opener against the Green Bay Packers is that chance.
Clement is expected to receive the majority of the carries for the Eagles. Besides that being the norm for running backs buried on the depth chart, Philadelphia's running back situation is different than other NFL teams heading into the opener.
LeGarrette Blount and Darren Sproles are both over 30 years old. Their snaps are limited in the early part of the preseason anyway.
Wendell Smallwood and Donnel Pumphrey are battling minor hamstring injuries. While Pumphrey has practiced this week, Smallwood has not. That leaves plenty of snaps available for Clement.
“Just leading up to it, I feel so prepared,” Clement said. “But at the end of the day, you can’t be prepared enough. So I’m going to go back, do more film study, reviews throughout this whole week and see what I can do best to prepare myself for this game coming up.”
Training camp is here Eagles fans! Make sure to stay in the loop for all Eagles news this offseason -- take five seconds to sign up for our FREE Eagles newsletter now!
Clement has had an impressive training camp, which has gone unnoticed because of the performance of Smallwood. Playing with the ones, Smallwood has established himself as the most physical running back in practice, showing a second gear once he bursts past the initial hole.
A different back than Smallwood, Clement has displayed his power in short-yardage situations. He still needs some work in pass protection, which those results could be more telling than any numbers he puts up Thursday.
"Corey's looked good. I think he's come back a little bit lighter. He's lost some weight from when he was here. I think that's done him well," said Eagles offensive coordinator Frank Reich. "I think he looks elusive. He's smart and he knows what he's doing.
"I think he runs hard. He's into it. He just seems like he's a football player. I think he has that aggressive mind-set that you need for running back."
Based on the Eagles running back situation, Clement may make an appearance earlier than expected in the preseason opener.
Making the 53-man roster is an uphill battle for Clement, but he can get the Eagles coaching staff thinking with a strong performance.
https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/corey-clement-set-for-big-role-in-eagles-preseason-opener/
Clement is expected to receive the majority of the carries for the Eagles. Besides that being the norm for running backs buried on the depth chart, Philadelphia's running back situation is different than other NFL teams heading into the opener.
LeGarrette Blount and Darren Sproles are both over 30 years old. Their snaps are limited in the early part of the preseason anyway.
Wendell Smallwood and Donnel Pumphrey are battling minor hamstring injuries. While Pumphrey has practiced this week, Smallwood has not. That leaves plenty of snaps available for Clement.
“Just leading up to it, I feel so prepared,” Clement said. “But at the end of the day, you can’t be prepared enough. So I’m going to go back, do more film study, reviews throughout this whole week and see what I can do best to prepare myself for this game coming up.”
Training camp is here Eagles fans! Make sure to stay in the loop for all Eagles news this offseason -- take five seconds to sign up for our FREE Eagles newsletter now!
Clement has had an impressive training camp, which has gone unnoticed because of the performance of Smallwood. Playing with the ones, Smallwood has established himself as the most physical running back in practice, showing a second gear once he bursts past the initial hole.
A different back than Smallwood, Clement has displayed his power in short-yardage situations. He still needs some work in pass protection, which those results could be more telling than any numbers he puts up Thursday.
"Corey's looked good. I think he's come back a little bit lighter. He's lost some weight from when he was here. I think that's done him well," said Eagles offensive coordinator Frank Reich. "I think he looks elusive. He's smart and he knows what he's doing.
"I think he runs hard. He's into it. He just seems like he's a football player. I think he has that aggressive mind-set that you need for running back."
Based on the Eagles running back situation, Clement may make an appearance earlier than expected in the preseason opener.
Making the 53-man roster is an uphill battle for Clement, but he can get the Eagles coaching staff thinking with a strong performance.
https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/corey-clement-set-for-big-role-in-eagles-preseason-opener/
