I’m always amazed at the difference in a rookie player and that same player in his second-year in the NFL.¬† Players normally make their biggest jump from their rookie year to their second year.
It’s very obvious, especially when you’re talking about young players like Jeremy Maclin and LeSean McCoy who came in the league at the age of 21.¬† You can tell by their posture alone that they have a new-found confidence in what they’re doing.
This is definitely the case with Eagles second-year running back LeSean McCoy.¬† He’s been spending a lot of time in the weight room, so he feels stronger, plus more importantly he has a much better grasp of the playbook.
The kid can come out of the huddle and walk directly to where he’s supposed to line up, rather than asking the quarterback what exactly is it, that he supposed to do.
Eagles offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg said he learned a lot about McCoy after he made a couple of costly mistakes a year ago.
Mornhinweg said he saw McCoy intensify his focus and commit himself to never let the mistakes happen again.  The Birds offensive coordinator was impressed by the way McCoy reacted to the costly mistakes.
The former Lions head coach said that McCoy won’t be used in the same way that he utilized the skills of former Eagles star running back Brian Westbrook.¬† Although McCoy is a good receiver, who I could see during the mini camp is getting better, the Eagles don’t see him ever becoming the receiver that Westbrook was.
McCoy will be employed on screens and come out of the backfield for receptions but you won’t see him spread out as much as Westbrook was.¬† Mornhinweg intimated that he will probably bring in another receiver rather than split McCoy outside.
Mornhinweg raved about Westbrook’s ability to mentally grasp the offense and his feel for the passing game.
Back to McCoy, don’t take his role in the passing offense for granted because Kevin Kolb will be coming to him a lot of times when he sees nothing downfield.¬† McCoy must be where he’s supposed to be to the point where Kolb can develop confidence in him.
He’s got to learn to be patient and not rush the screens.¬† He and Kolb must be on the same clock when it comes to screens.
McCoy will the key to the Eagles ground game, so it’ll be extremely important that he runs hard and smart, as well as avoiding fumbles.
I could tell you from the way Mornhinweg was talking about him the other night, that he expects a big year out of his young second year running back.
I’m looking forward to seeing him as well. I’m a little disappointed he change his number. I got his jersey toward the end of last season. Stitched lettering and all. But I’m still going to wear it LOL.
Scorp…can we consider that a “throwback” jersey? Haha…
I think this kid is capable of opening a lot of eyes around the NFL. Watching him in college, he has the ability to become a legit NFL runner. I wouldn’t be surprised at all to eventually see him become one of the top 5 backs in the league, I think he posses that type of talent. Andy and Marty, please hand him the ball.
For all you fantasy guys out there….McCoy is gonna surprise.
McCoy’s contribution needs to be solid for Da Iggles to be successful. I can see the potential, but just hope it comes to fruition. He has to stop carrying the ball like a loaf of bread, b/c defenders who see the footage from last year are gonna be focused on making him cough it up.
EB, yeah I guess it will have to be a throwback LOLOL. But I don’t care now, I’m wearing my McCoy number 29 jersey to a couple of the games. And I don’t care who calls it a violation.
@scorp I wish Avant would change his #. I would love to get his jersey but its #81 and we all know who we think about when we see that #.
Ya gotta start somewhere in this world..What more could McCoy ask for in his rookie season than to get sooo much playing time at real speed..A great pre-cursor to an incredible sophmore season hopefully..