For the first time in a long time, there is no backfield hero on the horizon. Mathews, once a Pro Bowl player in San Diego, was released Tuesday when he finally got healthy enough to cut. That left an eclectic group of runners, three of whom seem limited: aptly named bludgeon back LeGarrette Blount, who, at 30, is a well-worn, one-year Band-Aid; Darren Sproles, 34, a Mighty Mouse of a man likely riding in his last rodeo; and fourth-round rookie Donnel Pumphrey, Sproles' understudy, who lately is afflicted with a case of dropsy. Then there is Wendell Smallwood, a Wilmington, Del., native and an Eagles fan who comes with no qualifiers. He is the only one among them whose measurements and talents really fit the job description.