Can Barkley and Shipley Be Philly’s Next Great Running Back Duo?
Friday evening marked the dawn of yet another Eagles season, a pre-season opportunity to showcase the talent of the Eagles’ rookie class and newly added free agents.
From the game’s opening drive — with All-Pro Saquon Barkley providing support from the sideline — it was Clemson rookie Will Shipley who would dazzle. With less than a minute left in the opening quarter — he caught a pass out of the backfield and found the end zone.
For all of his life, Will Shipley has heard numbers—measurements of his height and weight—as the rationale for his failure.
Only one problem existed. He never would fail.
Ranked as the #15 overall Lacrosse player in the state of North Carolina, Shipley considered playing at the NCAA level. But football was always his calling. He was a game wrecker in high school, playing both running back and defensive back. With his high school career cut short due to an abbreviated COVID season, he would finish his career at Weddington High School with 4,173 rushing yards, 1,411 receiving yards, and 80 touchdowns. He would leave Weddington ranked as the second-best running back in the country by ESPN.
At Clemson, he would rush for nearly 2,800 yards and scored 31 touchdowns.
Seventy-five years ago, in a blizzard at Shibe Park on Lehigh Ave., the Eagles faced a team that they despised for the NFL Championship—the Chicago Cardinals. With visibility during the game making passing almost impossible, the Eagles gashed the Chicago defense for 225 yards on the ground. The combination of All-Pro Steve Van Buren and Boss Pritchard spearheaded a ground attack that included the game’s only touchdown in a 7–0 win and the franchise’s first championship.
Fifty years later — in 1997 — a bad Eagles team featured the dynamic rushing attack of Charlie Garner and Ricky Watters. That season, Watters rushed for 1,110 yards, and Garner added 547. The duo was given the title Thunder and Lightening. Another Rookie on that team was Duce Staley.
A top rushing attack is key to the Eagles offense in 2024. It not only opens up the passing attack but also keeps much of the pressure off of Jalen Hurts.
It also opens up more options for the dynamic Eagles passing game.
The first person waiting for Jalen Hurts on the sideline was Saquon Barkley.
PHOTO: Philadelphia Eagles/Facebook
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