It Turns Out Shady McCoy is Pretty Damn Good
A somewhat disappointing performance from LeSean McCoy during his rookie campaign only magnified the injuries and, in turn, departure of Brian Westbrook as a cause for concern. And why not? After all, a player with Westbrook's quickness and versatility only comes along every so often. Well, fortunately for fans, somewhere in between the last play of 2009 and week one, something happened that shaped Shady into a totally different player. As the weeks progress, it becomes more and more obvious that McCoy is an extremely dangerous and very versatile back.
He finished the Monday Night game with a "Westbrook-esque" 92 yards rushing, a touchdown, and 46 yards receiving. And he looks to be every bit the home run threat of Westbrook.
His rushing touchdown on Monday night gives him five for the season, putting him just one behind pro-bowler Chris Johnson for the league lead. Amazingly, in this pass happy offense of Andy Reid, he is ranked 12th in the league in rushing yards- averaging 5.4 yards per carry- and has gained over 100 yards of total offense from scrimmage in three of the first five contests.
Oh, did I mention he played this week's game with a broken rib and still touched the ball more than any other player on the field not named Kevin Kolb?
It's evident that Mccoy is a tough young back with plenty of quickness and enough long range speed to break a big play at any moment. It is amazing to see the improvement he has made from last year, when he seemed to run sideline to sideline far too often. He has also improved his pass block abilities tremendously, which is something he seemed to struggle with at times last season.
Overall, he has been the Eagles most consistent offensive threat and, in a season full of injuries and errors, he has definitely been the most pleasant surprise. It looks like the Birds are set for years to come at the half back position as long as the quick youngster stays healthy. Now, if someone would only tell Andy that the rules allow you to run the ball more than 20 times a game, we are in business!
Oh yeah, his ribs were broken too.
