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Corey Clement blames his struggles on a lack of carries

By Justin Grasso

PHILADELPHIA, PA - AUGUST 09: Corey Clement #30 of the Philadelphia Eagles runs with the ball in the first quarter of the preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Lincoln Financial Field on August 9, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Steelers defeated the Eagles 31-14. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - AUGUST 09: Corey Clement #30 of the Philadelphia Eagles runs with the ball in the first quarter of the preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Lincoln Financial Field on August 9, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Steelers defeated the Eagles 31-14. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /
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Philadelphia Eagles running back Corey Clement wants everybody to know that he doesn’t control how many carries he gets, in case you didn’t know.

This season has been quite strange for the Philadelphia Eagles. I mean, who would’ve really thought that Wendell Smallwood would lead the team in carries by the time the bye week rolled around? Jay Ajayi is out for the season, Darren Sproles can’t get on the field, Josh Adams is finally trending upwards, and Corey Clement is almost useless at this point.

What in the world happened to Clement? Just last February he was in the running for Super Bowl MVP, after he destroyed the New England Patriots defense. Throughout the season last year, he was hungry and creating plays no matter what. This year, he looks like a completely different running back. Despite his numbers though, Clement wants everybody to know that it’s not his fault that he’s barely productive.

According to NJ Advanced Media’s Zack Rosenblatt, Clement seems a bit unhappy with his lack of carries. He’s gotten 12 carries over the last two games. Can you really blame the Eagles coaching staff for that though? Look at his average yards-per-carry. 0.8 one week, and 1.5 the next. He’s averaging a total of 3.3 yards-per-carry on 50 attempts this year. It’s bad.

Where do we go from here?

"“I’m not worried about that one bit, stats,” Clement told NJ Advance Media on Thursday at NovaCare Complex. “I’m worried about winning. To be honest, I can’t control my carries. Some people just don’t understand that.”"

Nobody ever viewed Clement as a selfish player, did they? We know that statistics are the last thing on his mind. But what I don’t think many understand is that there’s a reason Clement is not receiving a fair share of carries. He’s simply not getting the job done. If Josh Adams and Wendell Smallwood can find holes with this offensive line, and break off nice carries, then why can’t Clement? He doesn’t have the same burst. He’s showing a lack of vision. It’s unfortunate.

Next. Jason Kelce on Dallas, A Darren Sproles update. dark

Eagles running backs coach, Duce Staley is in charge of the rotation on Sunday’s. Before, he’s merely explained his method as picking whoever the hot hand is. That hasn’t changed one bit this year. Although Staley has taken the blame for Clement’s lack of carries, it just goes to show that he understands that Clement hasn’t run with the same purpose this year.

That’s not to say that Staley is blackballing Clement, as he still views him as a star. But it just tells everybody that Clement isn’t exactly performing at his own highest level.

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