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Rookie RB Wendell Smallwood coming up large for Philadelphia Eagles

By The Sports Xchange

Wendell Smallwood wasn't selected until the fifth round of the draft by the Philadelphia Eagles this spring. The late selection, however, didn't mean that they considered the 5-foot10, 208-pound running back out of West Virginia an afterthought.

Smallwood reportedly slipped in the draft because of some character questions, but the Eagles felt he was worth the risk in the fifth round and believed he could help them right away.

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But just days into his first NFL training camp, Smallwood sustained a quad injury that kept him sidelined for the better part of three weeks.

He made it back for the Eagles' third preseason game, but suffered a concussion in the second quarter. He ended the preseason with just two carries.

Smallwood played just seven offensive snaps in the Eagles' first two regular-season games and had three carries for 17 yards.

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With Ryan Mathews slowed by an ankle injury on Sunday, Smallwood finally got an opportunity to strut his stuff. He rushed for 79 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries in the Eagles' impressive 34-3 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Smallwood, who was the Division I leader in runs of 10 or more yards last year at West Virginia, had four double-digit-yard runs against the Steelers. One of them, a 12-yard run that included a nifty second-level spin move to avoid two tacklers, set up his 1-yard third-quarter scoring run that gave Philadelphia a 27-3 lead.

"It felt good to finally get into the flow of the game and get comfortable," Smallwood said. "I had been feeling like a deer in headlights. It was good to get on a roll and finally get comfortable."

The Eagles (3-0) need to be able to run the ball effectively to take the pressure off rookie quarterback Carson Wentz.

Mathews is a talented runner, but has trouble staying healthy, and really isn't a guy who can handle a regular heavy load. He had 22 carries in the Eagles' season-opening win against Cleveland, but has had just 11 carries since.

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The Eagles' No. 2 rusher, 5-foot-6, 190-pound Darren Sproles, is more receiver than running back. Which means the Eagles need significant contributions from both Smallwood and their other running back, Kenjon Barner, if they hope to make a serious playoff run.

"(Running backs coach) Duce (Staley) told me they're going to keep working me in slowly every game," Smallwood said. "The better I do the more I'm going to play. I just want to keep getting those guys to believe in me, and believe I can go out there and make plays."

--Lane Johnson's appeal hearing on his 10-game performance-enhancing drug suspension is next Tuesday. The arbitrator is not expected to rule in his favor, which means he likely will begin his suspension Oct. 9 when the Eagles face the Lions in Detroit.

Left guard Allen Barbre will move over and replace Johnson at right tackle during his suspension. Veteran Stefen Wisniewski is expected to replace Barbre at left guard.

--Last summer, the Eagles signed linebacker Mychal Kendricks to a four-year, $29 million contract extension, nearly $12 million of which was guaranteed. Kendricks went out last year and had the worst season of his career.

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This year, he quickly fell out of favor with Eagles' new defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz.

Even though he is the team's most athletic linebacker, he was removed from their two-linebacker nickel packages. In Sunday's 34-3 win over Pittsburgh, Kendricks played just nine defensive snaps.

"Their offensive personnel basically just dictated that for us," coach Doug Pederson said.

--Carson Wentz has thrown 102 passes without an interception, which is the most by a rookie to start his career.

Wentz had a 125.9 passer rating against the Steelers, which is the highest by an Eagles rookie.

Asked how he has managed to deal so well with the speed of the NFL game, he said, "For me, I've always felt like I've played at a fast level. The coaches and the offensive line are making my job easy. The coaches are putting us in a great situation with the preparation we put in each week and the film work. So the preparation really helps the game slow down for me."

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