Pre-Game Round-Up: On McCoy And Murray

Some news and nuggets (mostly of the running back variety) heading into Eagles-Bills. The latest:

— Albert Breer reports that  DeMarco Murray is likely to have a limited role again this week, while Ian Rapoport says Murray  is expected to be the “fourth string” back today.

Eagles don’t see enough burst or ability to make guys miss from Murray. Sproles will get run. Mathews’ snaps will be based on conditioning.

— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) December 13, 2015

On Murray: Call to move away from him was based on merit. Sense is Mathews would take his role, they just need to see him after 3 weeks off. — Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) December 13, 2015

As it pertains to the Murray-Jeffrey Lurie sitdown, Rapoport says that Murray does not view Chip Kelly as approachable, adding that Murray “questioned Kelly and Duce Staley to the owner.”

It does not appear that the tactic worked.

— On the McCoy front, Jeff McLane writes that Kelly tried to call the back this week, but the McCoy had no interest in speaking to his former coach.

McCoy didn’t recognize the number and answered. When Kelly identified himself, McCoy hung up.

Tyler Dunne of the Buffalo News wrote a good piece on the different sides of McCoy, which touched on his relationship with Kelly.

Kelly covets the “machine.” He outfits players in heart monitors, GPS devices and tracks their hydration by having them pee in a cup. He’s had players wear sleep-monitoring bracelets, saying athletes need 10-12 hours of rest a night for optimal performance. He wants players to wear white socks … McCoy initially wore black socks and taped them white. As an ESPN The Magazine story detailed before the 2014 season, McCoy bought into many methods behind Kelly’s madness.

Yet multiple sources say their personalities were not compatible for the long haul – that the two bickered throughout last season.

According to one source, Kelly was unhappy with McCoy when he threw away his personalized post-practice smoothie and at DeSean Jackson another time when he wouldn’t wear his sleep monitor. And when Kelly had a problem with McCoy – be it a comment in the media or a touchdown celebration – another source indicated he’d often have somebody else close to McCoy tell him to knock it off rather than address the back directly.

Even though they’d pass each other in the hall daily.

Said a source, “It’s a dictatorship there.”

Should be a fun one today.