As you look at the following table, which you can get on NFL.com under rushing stats, here are the things to take away:

1)  We average 4.1 yards per carry on the ground as a team, tied for 16th in the league and better than the Chicago Bears, San Francisco (with Frank Gore), San Diego Chargers (with LT), Baltimore Ravens (who lead the league in rush attempts), and the Pittsburgh steelers (known for their smash mouth power running game and unending willingness to run though in fact averaging 0.4 yards per carry less on the ground than Philadelphia).

2) The top 7 teams with the most rushing attempts per game: Baltimore, Atlanta, Tennessee, New York Giants, Minnesota, New England, Carolina are a combined 51-20.

3)  The bottom 7 teams with the least rushing attempts per game:  Detroit, Indianapolis, Arizona, Cincinnati, St. Louis, San Diego, San Francisco are a combined 26-57. I admit the fact these teams get behind early and have to resort to throwing probably skews these numbers to some extent, but I'm sure you get my drift.

4)  The Eagles are 21st in the league out of 32 teams at 25 rushing attempts per game. The teams that average less attempts than we do are as follows: Denver Broncos, New Orleans Saints, Kansas City, San Diego, San Francisco, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Arizona, Indianapolis and Detroit. You get the picture.

4a) The Colts who are the only exception in the above group can rely heavily on the pass because they have a guy named Peyton Manning and guys named Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, and Anthony Gonzalez

5) The teams with rookie QBs (Baltimore and Atlanta) who are both doing quite well at 8-4 run the ball 37.7 and 35.2 times a game respectively, this stands at no. 1 and 2 in the league.

In conclusion, its pretty easy to see with the aid of the above stats (included for the benefit of my stat loving friends on this blog), that the run game is very important for success in the NFL and we can in fact run the football. Andy Reid just chooses not to.

Running the football is about much more than how many yards you average per carry on your first few runs (This is for Andrew B.) All teams that run predominantly in fact expect the other team to come prepared to stop the run first, hence their first few runs are the ones on which they average the least, however as the game goes on and they continue to plug away, suddenly the run lanes begin to open up.

Running the football:

a) gets your team in a rhythm and allows you to hold on to the football, prolonging drives and allowing your defense to rest on the sidelines, rewarding them for getting the other team off the field.

b) allows you to play on first and second down to get third and short if you need to, with the confidence that you  can convert on the ground (this helps your playcalling immensely)

c) balances out your playcalling so the opposing D-line isn't pinning their ears back and rushing/blitzing your QB on every play. It keeps the other team guessing, in otherwords.

d)allows you to chew up the clock when you have a lead

e) gives you a reliable option to go to in bad weather conditions when you can't be chucking it down the field 60 times.

f) allows you to establish the offensive line of scrimmage, instills more of a smashmouth pound-the-ball down their throats attitude in your offense that really makes a big difference (case in point the Giants).

g) allows you to establish the play action pass, which will always be there if you run effectively. No matter what type of a day your QB or receivers are having, if your run game sucks up line backers and safeties, there will be receivers wide open.

h) lastly and most importantly, for those who are fans of boxing, the running game in football is analogous to body blows in boxing, with the passing game ala Andy Reid being analogous to the boxer playing with finesse and looking for single knockout  punches. A team committed to running in the NFL wears down the other team over the course of the game. By the fourth quarter, their o-line men are gassed, they're not rushing your QB as enthusiastically, and are just plain worn out if you've done a good job of ramming it down their throats.

For those who say last game was a flash in the pan because we were playing the Cardinals, I leave you with this: Lorenzo Booker, who has hardly seen the field, and Kyle Eckel, a FB, both came in to average more than 6 yards per carry. We can run, ,when Andy decides he wants to.