Yes, he made a big mistake by going down short of the first down marker. I understand that he was lucky to have teammate Todd Herremans recover his fumble.
Having said that, no one can discount how valuable 2nd year running back LeSean McCoy is to the Eagles. If he stays consistent, No. 25 could very well find himself in Hawaii in January.
McCoy is tied for 4th overall in the NFL in touchdowns. He’s 5th among NFL running backs in both total yards from scrimmage and yards per carry.
It’s not even his stats that stand out the most to me. The toughness he displayed by playing with a cracked rib let the Eagles know they have a go to running back they can truly depend on.
With the Eagles schedule taking a difficult turn, they could ill-afford to lose to the winless San Francisco 49ers.
Philadelphia was already heading to California without starting QB Michael Vick and Pro Bowl cornerback Asante Samuel. With Kevin Kolb starting behind a suspect offensive line, going to the Bay with the disappointing Mike Bell was not an option.
By adding some extra padding under his jersey, LeSean McCoy’s presence gave the Eagles a chance. Not only is he productive, the threat of him taking delayed handoffs and making would be tacklers miss is part of why opponents seem to be reluctant to blitz.
Andy Reid and Co. aren’t always correct when it comes to replacing long time starters. Brian Dawkins, Tra Thomas, Jeremiah Trotter (the first time he left) come to mind.
The transition from Brian Westbrook to McCoy was a relief.
There’s no real QB controversy in Philly. Vick is by far the better option. There is one thing he and Kolb have in common, McCoy makes both of their jobs easier.
Other Eagle Thoughts
- It’s been said before, but I’ll say it again. Brent Celek has to make those catches in traffic more consistently.
- I don’t wish injuries on any player, but did anyone notice the Eagles penalties on offense decreased when Jason Peters left the game?
- Why did special team stud Kelly Washington get released again?
- With Peters hurt and King Dunlap unable to handle a bull rush, do we get to see what Austin Howard can do this week?
PS- While writing this, the Eagles front office admitted signing Mike Bell was a mistake by trading him to the Cleveland Browns for RB Jerome Harrison. It sure helps to be friends with other teams GMs.
Going past that he played with a cracked rib, is HOW he played with a cracked rib. He played like a seasoned pro.
mccoy will make plays for years
peters is solid but has way too many penalties obviously
dunlap should not have a jersey, why not give howard a shot
we can put nick cole or wells at lg if herremans is our best bet at LT
Haran, yes they did get it right but this wasn’t them replacing a player who still could play at a high level. This was them replacing a player who was/is done. The other long time starters they replaced with junk could still play at a level significantly higher than the guy replacing them. That’s a big difference.
Scorp
Good point.
Starting a rookie free agent at left tackle with a right handed QB (at least for a week) – one has to question again… why the OL was not addressed either in the draft or free agency.
Eagles hit a home run with McCoy. Question, Is McCoy a better pure runner than Westbrook ever was? As a reciever I dont think its a stretch, given the “system”, McCoy should end up with 55-70 catches this year. Westbrook numbers. Staying healthy its not out of the question that McCoy rushes for 1100 yards and has 750 yards and 13 tds this year. I thought Westbrook was elusive but McCoy takes that to another level. Its one thing to be elusive in open space but its another to be elusive in the hole. I must admit I never knew how good this kid was. He is special. Wait until Vick returns. This offense is high powered.
daggolden
That’s an astute observation about McCoy’s elusiveness in the hole. Westbrook would duck and slide. He made is look effortless, but McCoy is a scat back with some relative size.
Beijingjake
Yeah, we only had 13 picks, right?
Living in ACC country for over 10 years I learned to love ex Redskin Doc Walker when he did the college games. No one. I mean no one uses more football cliches than Doc Walker. My son told me he is now doing the Redskin games and sent me this quote from their most recent games.
“McNabbs gotta be able to hit more than a pinyata in this game”
I’m still laughing.
Mike Bell…I think Andy Greed could take him in a foot race. (If there was a hoagie at the finish line.)
To BSM,
How long and where in ACC Country do you live..
I live in Boone,NC up in the Mountains off the Blue Ridge Parkway.. The leaf colors are at the prime
and just beautiful around here this time of year….
Drumman – yea… but for whatever reason, Big Red does not dig drafting offensive lineman. Guess that Peters looks good on paper, but obviously he has issues.
Easy on the credit here G, even a blind squirrel finds a nut. Not to mention the talent pool was thick, but I still maintain that the Eagles got EXTREMELY lucky him, Desean, and Allen fell to them in the 2nd round. Regardless we could’ve signed westbrook. In my educated opinion they blew it by not signing Westbrook as a backup. If anything this was the one thing they got wrong.
BTW we no longer have mike bell
One more thing… why don’t the eagles look into seeing if Kenny Watson is in playing shape? That dude was so underrated it’s ridiculous. He’s 32 but still that guy was lightly used he might still have tread on the tires. Better than the garbage these idiots keep collecting.
I used to live in Hampton Roads, Tidewater, Hampton VA. My son attends UVA and played in the Peninsula District that Produced Iverson and Vick.
Over 20 Years.
haran, Tra Thomas hasnt done anything since leaving Philadelphia and I would disagree with your comment in its entirety. Look at how many players have been cut loose and havent done anything elsewhere, off the top of my head, duce staley, corey simon, michael lewis, lito, sheldon, and i hate to say this one but westbrook as well… The list could go on but they do cut people loose when they are not at the peak of their game. We lost on Dawkins but then again, Trotter was not close to as good down in DC as he was up here in JJ’s defense.
I thought McCoy looked good last year and it was just a case of getting him the ball enough to give him NFL experience
Tra Thomas was not playing at a high level his last year or 2 with the Eagles let alone since he moved on, He lost that explosiveness that is required to play tackle as he got older and starting having injuries which is what happen when you play for 10 years along the line of scrimmage
Westbrook also was in decline his last 1 1/2 here in Philadephia, The Eagles make the right moves
To Runtheball
The Eagles released Westbrook from a pretty good contract, why would Westbroko then want to re-sign for less $$ to stay here, makes no sense.. For loyalty or old times sake.. Once A team determines that a player is not in their future plans and releases them, they are not going to re-sign the same palyer just as that player isn’t going to stay and play for less…It happens every year with every team.. players get released and try to hook on with other teams
I am under the impression that Westbrook offered to play for a reduced number and the Eagles said “no thanks”. He is just finished, stellar player in his day, he just doesn’t have anything left to give.
As far as Austin Howard, we need an insiders update on his back injury. Someone at GCobb has to have a number..give someone a call, is he still hurt? Is he practicing? Is he getting his Michael Phelps on??? What’s the deal?
All I know about A Howards back injury is that he is seeing the same Doctor that initially Shawn Andrews went to, So I have written Howard off to be able do much until next season…
P – That’s lazy thinking. Doctor treats one patient, doesn’t help. Then the doctor sucks? Come on… and if you’re joking, well, it’s getting old buddy, real old.