PHILADELPHIA -- LeGarrette Blount says he's not concerned about his preseason stats. He's not concerned about his weight. And he agrees with Philadelphia Eagles coach Doug Pederson that he's going to be a big part of the offense, regardless of whatever questions have been raised by his performance in the preseason slate.
Blount finally got loose for 16 yards on one of his four carries during a productive first quarter for the Eagles' starters in Thursday's 38-31 preseason win over the Miami Dolphins. His other three carries went for 3 yards, bringing his total to 36 yards on 13 preseason carries (a 2.8-yard average).
Does this stuff -- the preseason for, in Blount's case, a 30-year-old running back entering his eighth NFL season and coming off a Super Bowl win with the New England Patriots -- really matter?
"It matters because everybody has to get on the same page," Blount told me on his way out of the locker room after Thursday's game. "This is when you get on the same page. This is when, as a running back, you can figure out how your linemen work together, how they block things together, how they work as a unit. So, this is when you figure that out, so it is important.
"But the numbers? Nah."
Blount's nine carries for 17 yards in the Eagles' first two preseason games fueled speculation this week that his spot on the roster might not be safe, three months after ending a protracted stay on the free-agent market by signing an incentive-laden one-year contract that included $400,000 guaranteed. But nobody's really game-planning ...
"We're not game-planning. We're not any of that," Blount said. "So, you've just got to wipe away the noise, don't pay attention to what you guys say. It's not all of you guys, but you don't pay attention to [critics].
"I just put it like this: Go tell them to go out there and run a couple of the runs I run and see how many yards they get."
What is Blount weighing these days?
"I'm weighing enough," said Blount, who's listed at 6-foot, 250 pounds.
A weight he feels good at?
"I'm good," Blount said, smiling. "I feel great."
Pederson did his part to quell talk about Blount falling out of favor Tuesday, telling reporters: "The guy's a beast of a runner. I don't know what else to tell you. Eighteen touchdowns, 15 in the red zone last year. That's the production that you saw yesterday (in practice), the style of running, that he can do.
"The other thing is, listen, we're not game-planning these games. So, it's really hard to go into a game, saying, 'This is best against this team.' We're trying to execute our plays. As coaches, we may be doing our players injustice by putting them in bad situations. You've seen what he's done here the last couple of days. I'm happy he's here. He's going to be a big part of our offense."
Blount said he hadn't seen Pederson's comments. "Unless there's a football game on, I don't really pay attention to [TV]," Blount said, "because if you do, eventually something's going to come across that's probably going to have your name on it. And it's not always good."
But does Blount agree? Does he feel he's a big part of the Eagles' plans?
"Oh yeah. Without a doubt," Blount said. "And like I said, I'm excited and I love the opportunity that I've been presented here. Everybody's been nothing but great towards me this whole entire time. And that's a big thing for me, because you want to be comfortable with the guys you're going to be working with every day."
Follow Tom Pelissero on Twitter @TomPelissero.
