Much of the game of football is mental. Yes you must have a certain level of athletic ability but you also have to be smart enough to grasp the concepts.
There have been many players who have turned out to be busts, despite having Pro Bowl athletic ability.
This is part of the point made in Rich Hofmann's article about Jeremy Maclin and LeSean McCoy on Philly.com.
Hofmann says the key for them to contribute to the Eagles this year will be much more about their intelligence rather than their attitudes. I think he makes a very good point.
You can't get out there and flow in the offense unless you have grasped it mentally.
One of the big reasons DeSean Jackson was able to succeed in this offense was the fact that he played in a similar offense in college and he worked with the best receiver to ever play in the west coast offense before coming to training camp.
Maclin is a smart kid but he's got a lot more to learn than Jackson because they played the spread offense at Missouri and the concepts are completely different in the spread as compared to the west coast. I think he's done well, but his learning isn't finished.
I still feel good about Jeremy.
My concern is with LeSean. Remember how long it took Brian Westbrook to decipher this offense. I would have liked to see McCoy be tutored by another Harrisburg native, Ricky Watters, who was one of the best running backs ever in the west coast offense.
Many times being taught by somebody who has done it, makes the learning process easier.
