Kelly essentially swapped McCoy for Murray and Alonso

Unless Chip Kelly’s plan at tailback after trading LeSean McCoy consisted of agreeing to terms with Frank Gore and not consummating and then agreeing to terms with Ryan Mathews and not consummating and then surprising everyone by chasing DeMarco Murray, Kelly’s plan changed on the fly.
And the end result could be that Kelly has a new workhorse tailback who is cheaper than his last workhorse tailback and who has 656 fewer career touches than the guy who was shipped to Buffalo.
Before his trade, McCoy was on the books for cap numbers of $11.95 million, $8.85 million, and $7.85 million.  Murray’s new deal pays out $42 million over five years.  While the cap numbers for 2015 through 2017 aren’t yet known, Murray surely will count for far less than $11.95 million in 2015.
(McCoy, meanwhile, has gotten a five-year, $40 million deal from Buffalo; it’ll be very interesting to compare the details of the two contracts.)
So Kelly essentially traded McCoy for Murray and linebacker Kiko Alonso.  Assuming Murray can be highly effective a year after a career-high 442-touch season in 2014, it ultimately could be a good deal for the Eagles — assuming Murray is indeed used as the workhorse.
The only thing odd about the outcome is the path Kelly took to get from McCoy to Murray.  But that’s what makes Kelly unique.  He’s always on his own path, whether it’s the path he intended or the one he just happened to stumble over.

Source: PFT.com
Author: Mike Florio
Photo: UPI, Jim Bryant

Maurice Jones-Drew announces retirement

Maurice Jones-Drew is calling it a career.
Jones-Drew, a nine-year NFL veteran and a long-time Jaguars standout running back, announced his retirement Thursday on Twitter.
“Football has been a central part of my life for the past 24 years,” Jones-Drew wrote. “But, now I’m excited about and looking forward to the next chapter of my life.”
One of the most unique backs of any era, the 5-foot-7, 210-pound Jones-Drew amassed 11,111 rushing-receiving yards and 91 touchdowns. A second-round pick of Jacksonville in 2006, Jones-Drew burst on the scene as a rookie, scoring 15 touchdowns, which endeared him to Jaguars fans and fantasy-football enthusiasts alike.
And Jones-Drew’s tenacity made a mark, too. Look no further than his clean, de-cleating block of the Chargers’ Shawne Merriman early in his career.
After eight seasons with Jacksonville, Jones-Drew joined the Raiders for the 2014 season, but he mustered just 96 yards on 43 carries.
Now, the 29-year-old Jones-Drew’s career is at a close, by his choice, and there will forever be a place for him in the game’s lore as a back who, for many years, played bigger than his program weight and height.

Source:  PFT.com
Author:  Mike Wilkening
Photo: UPI, Jim Bryant

Week 12 Football ERA Cumulative Results

Weekly 2014 Cumulative Football ERA Formula results are published below with the usual cautionary disclaimer that these are NOT Power Rankings. To analyze these results, we primarily have to look at how teams change within the Rankings rather than looking at the Rankings as raw stand-alone data. Position is neither the best nor the sole criteria of analyzing the list as much as is observing change in the list (first derivative). In other words, how teams rise and fall from week to week during the long season is more of a primary criteria for evaluating performance.
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Sea	…	19476
Ind	…	19390
Bal	…	19153
Den	…	18214
Dall	…	16953
Pitt	…	16250
Mia	…	16213
KC	…	16151
SF	…	16142
NO	…	15866
Phi	…	15167
NE	…	14641
NYJ	…	13195
Det	…	13089
Chi	…	12729
Hou	…	12035
Was	…	11980
Cleve	…	11812
Buff	…	10663
Arz	…	10633
Cinn	…	9689
GB	…	9439
SD	…	8652
NYG	…	7333
Minn	…	7322
Car	…	6148
StL	…	5193
Jax	…	5184
Atl	…	4803
TB	…	294
Tenn	…	-847
Oak	…	-4237

Photo: UPI, Jim Bryant

Week Nine Football ERA Composite Scores

The Football ERA Formula outputs a result that runs on a scale from approximately 4000 points to -4000 with losing teams that are dominated getting pushed into the negative numbers by their victors.  Defensive Elements of the Formula contribute to this negative score in games constituting blowouts.  A few years back, RealFootballAnalysis.com developed a formula that translates the Final Game Results of The Football ERA into Composite Scores that resemble football scores as much as possible.  Here are this week's Composite Scores:
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Mia	…	37
SD	…	6
Phi	…	35
Hou	…	14
NO	…	31
Car	…	15
Sea	…	30
Oak	…	15
Cinn	…	29
Jax	…	17
Pitt	…	27
Bal	…	19
Ind	…	25
NYG	…	21
TB	…	25
Cleve	…	20
Minn	…	24
Was	…	22
Arz	…	24
Dall	…	19
SF	…	23
StL	…	23
NE	…	22
Den	…	21
KC	…	22
NYJ	…	21

Photo:  UPI, Jim Bryant