In 2012, Ryan Mathews prepared for his third NFL season by trying to determine how to stay healthy. He was a former first-round pick who topped 1,000 rushing yards and earned a Pro Bowl appearance in 2011, but the blemish to begin Mathews' career was his injury history.
So he tried fixing it for his third NFL season. The result? Mathews suffered two broken collarbones that season and played only 12 games.
"Sometimes it's luck of draw," Mathews said. "I think I've done a good job this year of maintaining myself, and stuff happens. It's football. It's going to happen."
Mathews, 28, could be the Eagles' leading rusher _ if he stays healthy. That qualifier has been uttered often. In six NFL seasons, Mathews has played 16 games only once. In the two seasons in which he played at least 14 games, he topped 1,000 yards. The talent has not been the question; the health has been the issue.
Mathews practiced for the second time this summer on Saturday after missing the first week of training camp with an ankle injury. He said he was hurt going through running back drills preparing for training camp, which was both bad timing and all too familiar for a player who must prove he can endure the toll of a No. 1 running back.
"I'm not one to shy away from contact," Mathews said. "I like to be physical and try to impose my will. That's one of the things they like about me _ my physicality. I'm going to keep doing what I do. I'm not going to change myself."
Although it was a non-contact practice on Saturday, Mathews mixed in with the first-team offense and received positive reviews from the coaching staff. He impressed offensive coordinator Frank Reich, who was in San Diego in 2014 when Mathews was limited to a career-low six games and in 2013 when Mathews rushed for a career-high 1,255 yards.
"He looked explosive, he looked quick, he was seeing things," Reich said. "And I know it was a toned-down practice with no pads, but we're still playing fast. He looks good. He's an explosive, physical runner. So we've got a good array of backs. You want to mix it in and Ryan, certainly, is going to be prominent in that mix. You want to get a guy like that, with the track record he has and the way he's run the ball over the last few years, we want to get him as many touches as we can."
Mathews is encouraged by the West Coast offense concepts in this system. He likes the one-cut running with the quarterback under center that this offense uses, which is a departure from the shotgun approach that the Eagles mostly used last season.
But Mathews will only be productive if he can avoid injury. The Eagles were encouraged to see him on Saturday; they need him to stay on the field for Sundays this fall, too.
"It (stinks) being in the training room watching guys work," Matthews said. "I was happy to be back out there."
