No Means No

Four weeks after losing Duce Staley, the Philadelphia Eagles still haven`t found a running game.

Natrone Means` best days are behind him. The Eagles must find a solution to their running back woes.

The Eagles got just 15 yards on seven carries from their running backs in a 24-7 loss to the New York Giants on Sunday.

"They virtually nullify two-back offenses, so we spread them out early and did some of our one-back runs," coach Andy Reid said. "At a 2.8 yard-per-carry average, we weren`t getting the efficiency we needed."

Darnell Autry, the starter since Staley went down on Sept. 30, didn`t get an opportunity to run the ball against the Giants. He had one pass thrown his way, and dropped it.

Fullback Stanley Pritchett ran six times for 17 yards, and Brian Mitchell lost two yards on his only carry. Charles Johnson had 15 yards on a reverse, and Donovan McNabb scrambled three times for 42 yards.

"We need to get better at that," Reid said. Autry, who was deactivated the first month of the season, has 116 yards on 41 carries for a 2.8 average. He gained 64 yards against Arizona two weeks ago, but fumbled twice against Chicago last Sunday.

"I don`t have any expectations," Autry said. "I run the plays that are called." Reid said Autry will remain a starter in a two-back set.

Amp Lee, who signed with the Eagles after Staley was placed on injured reserve, is healthy. But he hasn`t been a factor so far.

Lee`s only touch in three games came on a 20-yard reception against New York.

"I definitely expected to be used a little bit more," Lee said. "I`m not sure what`s going on. Am I comfortable with the offense? I think so. I know enough that I won`t be hesitant out there."

The Eagles got off to a surprising 5-3 start before losing to the Giants. With a favorable schedule ahead, Philadelphia has a legitimate shot at a playoff run.

But the Eagles won`t survive in the NFC East without an effective running game. Washington has Stephen Davis and New York has Ron Dayne and Tiki Barber.

Playoff contenders outside the division have solid running games too.

"Anytime you narrow it down to one thing, the things you think you don`t have to work on begin to hurt you," McNabb said. "It`s all phases. We have to throw the ball better too."

McNabb was 10-of-31 for 129 yards against the Giants. He didn`t get much help from his receivers, who dropped at least seven passes.

But McNabb wouldn`t blame the ineffectiveness of the passing game on the team`s inability to run.

"As a quarterback, you want to throw the ball," he said. "When you want to throw, you have to be very effective. You want to even it out to keep defenses honest, but the things we did in the passing game just was not us."

(Copyright 2000 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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Author: AP