The Real McCoy?
October 30th, 2009 | by Ted Carlson |
The Eagles haven’t ruled out Brian Westbrook for Week 8, but the overwhelming opinion is that the starting back will not play as he recovers from a scary concussion. Rookie LeSean McCoy will step into the starting lineup and presumably carry the load for the second time this season. It will be his first huge test. The Eagles host the rival Giants in a huge NFC East showdown.
What do we know about McCoy at this point? He has received a lot of hype as the Eagles’ back of the future, but does he deserve it?
McCoy rushed 20 times for 84 yards and a touchdown in his previous start. That was a home game against a bad, rebuilding Chiefs club. The rookie is averaging only 3.6 yards-per-carry over 59 rushing attempts. He has yet to manage a run of longer than 15 yards. McCoy has caught 13 passes, one of which went for 19 yards.
By comparison, rookie Donald Brown has managed four plays of longer than 20 yards over his 53 touches. Shonn Greene ripped off three rushes of 20-plus yards just in Week 7. Beanie Wells has at least one 14-yard gain in four of the Cards’ six games, despite his limited workload.
We know that pass protection isn’t a strong suit for McCoy. He needs to step up this Sunday. The Giants own one of the league’s best pass-rushing defenses. Left tackle Jason Peters has been nicked up. Right tackle Winston Justice probably still has nightmares about his first career start against the Giants. If Donovan McNabb is going to have any success this Sunday, McCoy, Leonard Weaver, and Brent Celek will need to help the offensive line.
It’s unfair to ask McCoy to be Westbrook this Sunday. The rookie isn’t a complete back yet. He has his deficiencies. But if McCoy truly is the team’s starting running back of the future, this tilt against the Giants will be a huge, huge test. He needs to run hard. He needs to block well. He needs to protect the football. He needs to catch some passes.
If I’m a fantasy football owner holding him in a keeper league (I’m not, sadly), I’ll be very interesting to see how McCoy grades out this Sunday.
Tags: NFL
