Eagles RB Miles Sanders has a case of fumble-itis and Duce Staley has the cure

Miles Sanders and Darren Sproles didn’t want to talk about fumbling.

Sanders fumbled twice, losing one, in a span of three carries in the Eagles’ 27-24 loss to the Lions Sunday, and the rookie running back didn’t want to dwell on his mistakes two days later.

“We got a game in two days, so if the questions aren’t about Green Bay,” Sanders said, “then I’m not going to answer.”

Sproles, on the other hand, has fumbled only seven times in his six seasons in Philadelphia. But while he wouldn’t have had to relive those turnovers so soon after, the veteran running back’s reason for shying away from the subject Tuesday was similar to Sanders’ reticence.

“Don’t even talk to me about it,” Sproles said with a smile.

He spoke in a manner and with a look that made his response clear. Sproles didn’t want to give the cardinal sin for ballcarriers any unnecessary life or allow the thought to even enter his mind space.

"I don’t even like thinking about it,” he said.

Blocking out the topic might be difficult with Duce Staley as your positional coach. Fumbling is something the running backs coach harps on repetitively with the Eagles. Terms such as points of pressure, eagle claw and air space are drilled into Staley’s players, from the start of spring workouts through the season.

“When you fumble, that’s pretty much when ball security is talked about,” Staley said in June. “Well, I don’t believe that. I think it’s something that has to be taught every day. … You got to start that conversation now instead of vs. ‘All right, you lost a fumble and now I’m going down on you.’ ”

Staley had the conversation with his running backs this week, according to Sproles and Jordan Howard, but the message was no different than the one he’s delivered since April. Eagles coaches haven’t felt the need to overstate what is obvious, and with their public support of Sanders, they have also hoped to table the issue.

“He’s not the first guy to fumble and probably won’t be the last, and so we’ve got a lot of confidence in Miles,” offensive coordinator Mike Groh said. “He’s made a lot of good plays for us in the first three weeks, and he knows that he’s got to take care of the ball. We all know that.

“So we’re not going to bury the guy on the bench.”

Sanders, though, had ball-security problems in college at Penn State and fumbled 10 times, losing seven, in three seasons. As a freshman, he lost the ball four times despite limited touches and Nittany Lions coaches would often bench him.

It took three seasons until Sanders became a starter – mostly because Saquon Barkley was ahead of him – but the fumbling didn’t exactly cease. While it’s unclear how Penn State coached ball security, Sanders fumbled five times in his junior year, although most weren’t costly.

“A lot of times when it comes to colleges – and nothing against them, of course – a lot of those things are not being taught as far as ball security,” Staley said. “So you got to kind of destroy and rebuild and it’s OK sometimes if you destroy their way of thinking of how to hold the ball.”

Groh said the Eagles made some changes to how Sanders carried the ball. He said he didn’t have to change to Staley’s preferred points of pressure. Many coaches teach three points – the elbow pocket, the eagle claw and the rib cage – but Staley said he likes four.

“One of the things they don’t tell you about is locking the wrist,” Staley said. “If you don’t lock the wrist none of that matters.”

Staley fumbled only 22 times and lost only 11 over his nine-year NFL career. It was former Eagles running backs coach Ted Williams, he said, who taught him the four points of pressure. Some coaches believe there should be five -- fingertips, palms, forearms, biceps, and chest – and even a sixth for the off-hand to cover the ball.

The objective is to keep it as tight to the body as possible. But there will inevitably be moments during a run when the arm extends, creating air space that often allows defenders to either pop or rip the ball loose.

“Sometimes you’re not really thinking about it,” said Howard, who has fumbled only five times and lost three over his four-year career. “You’re just moving around and sometimes it gets away from your body. Just got to be aware as you finish your run.”

Staley said there was only one player he coached who could get away with having air space.

“LeSean McCoy,” he said, “I swear to this day, he still has eyes in the back of his head.”

Staley has constructed various practice drills to prepare for moments when ballcarriers might be at their most vulnerable. It could be powering through traffic, breaking loose from a scrum, or making a move in the open field. Running backs are often most susceptible to defenders hitting them from behind.

Staley has a drill where a player will carry a football with a rope attached as another player pulls from behind. Howard said he had never done the drill before coming to the Eagles this offseason. Sproles was ambivalent.

“It’s why we do them, I guess,” he said. “I don’t know.”

There’s a mental piece to ball security, and for a tailback like Sproles, who has fumbled only 23 times and lost only 12 over his 14 seasons and nearly 2,000 touches, some things are better left unsaid. Out of mind, out of sight.

Former Giants running back Tiki Barber was a fumbling machine until his last few seasons in the NFL. But he changed the way he held the ball – higher and with his elbow down – and had more success. Staley isn’t sure if the physical alterations are what cured him of fumble-itis.

“You go back to the Tiki Barber days, you used to hold it up high under the chin,” Staley said. “Well, it worked for him or … was it something more mental?”

Staley preaches to his students that “the ball is the most important thing,” per Howard.

“In this league, everybody knows how to get the ball out,” Sanders said two weeks ago. “You just have it in the back of your mind the whole time you’re running. Keep it high, keep it tight and protect it.”

But Sanders has gotten off to a rough start. He bobbled exchanges with quarterback Carson Wentz in each of the first two games, but he didn’t fumble until ninth touch against Detroit.

As he cut to his left upfield, a defender stuck his hand out, grazed the top of the ball, and it slipped out. It took a fortunate carom to Eagles guard Isaac Seumalo. Two rushes later, on the same drive, Sanders ran up the middle. As he stretched forward, a defender poked the ball out from the top just before his elbow touched the ground.

This time, the Lions recovered. Sanders returned kicks at the start of the Eagles’ next two drives, but he didn’t get an offensive touch again until the fourth quarter when he caught the second of two long passes on the day. He then had three carries for 20 yards.

“Other than the fumbles, I think I played pretty well,” Sanders said Tuesday. “I was leading in rushing yards and receiving, so I affected the game pretty well.”

Coach Doug Pederson said the Eagles are willing to endure some “growing pains” because of his obvious ability. Sanders said that his coaches’ support had kept him from “beating myself up mentally.”

Fumble-itis can strike any player at any time, but it’s often a rookie problem.

“Everybody’s rookie season is rough … but you just got to get through it,” Sanders said. “You’re here for a reason. You got to realize that, that you’re in the NFL. … Just be professional and just keep working because it’s all going to get better for me.”