Most rushing yards. Most rushing yards per game. Most rushing touchdowns. Most first downs. Second most yards per carry. Seventh most rushing attempts per game. Despite have six running backs with more carries per game, LeSean McCoy is tops in the league in all the major rushing categories.
McCoy was second in rushing yards on the season heading into Sunday’s game. The only player in front of him, Adrian Peterson, had a bye week and Shady took his opportunity to make up ground. With only 71 yards, number 25 took over the first spot (825 yards) with Matt Forte (805) and Fred Jackson (803) at second and third, respectively.
With his 33-yard touchdown in the third quarter of Monday night’s game, McCoy tied Calvin Johnson for first on the touchdowns leader board with 11. Johnson has eleven receiving touchdowns; McCoy has nine rushing touchdowns and two receiving touchdowns.
Over 34 percent of Shady’s carries go for a first down. With 52 rushing first downs, and 64 total, he is leading the league by a wide margin. Think about that for a second; hand the ball to McCoy three times, he’s going to turn one of those runs into a first down. More impressively, 12 of his 28 catches this season have turned into first downs. That’s 43 percent. It may not be a huge sampling only half way through the season, but McCoy clearly has a nose and a sense of where the first down marker is.
Out of the running backs that have had at least 100 carries this season, the Eagles running back is 0.2 yards behind the Texans Ben Tate, who is averaging 5.7 yards on 109 carries. With five less carries per game than McCoy, Tate doesn’t carry anything near the load that Shady does. Of the top five rushing yardage leaders on the season, only Matt Forte and Fred Jackson have over 5 yards per carry along with McCoy.
He is putting together his career-year with more weapons on his offense than possibly any other offense in the league. With Michael 
Vick (57 rushes), Jeremy Maclin (44 receptions), DeSean Jackson (29 receptions), and newly-re-introduced to the offense Brent Celek (27 receptions), McCoy is splitting touches with perhaps the most potent offense in the league.
Let’s look at how this star-studded offense matches up with McCoy’s running back peers. The Bears, with Matt Forte leading the offense, have Jay Cutler at quarterback. While the Eagles may have made him look like a superstar, Cutler is hardly above average. Their biggest weapon at receiver is Johnny Knox or Devin Hester, who both have under 23 receptions on the season. Forte leads their offense with 23.6 touches per game.
Fred Jackson is the running back of a team of misfits in Buffalo. Ryan Fitzpatrick is playing on a level he has never played before. After Stevie Johnson (42) and David Nelson (35) the Bills don’t have many targets to throw the ball to. Jackson is carrying the load with 22.5 touches per game.
Adrian Peterson’s Vikings are under the leadership of a new rookie quarterback. With only one receiver having more than 30 receptions, AP gets 22.8 touches each game.
Shady’s 22.4 touches per game with the likes of Maclin, Jackson, Avant, and Celek is not a majority of the offense. With a head coach who just recently decided to start running the ball, McCoy has become more of a focal point in this offense. He is finding ways to lead the league in major categories with less touches than many of his fellow league leaders.
With his 825 yards on the season, McCoy now has the most yards through eight games by any Philadelphia Eagle in history. He is on pace to run for 1,650 yards, breaking a record held by Wilbert Montgomery by 138 yards. His 9 rushing touchdowns is also on pace to break the record of 15 in a single season, held by Steve van Buren. LeSean McCoy is among some elite company of Eagles running backs. Currently sitting at 13th on the Eagles all-time rushing list, McCoy could move to 9th on the list by the end of the season, one spot ahead of Donovan McNabb.
The Eagles running back is putting together a season many fans will remember. With the season playing out differently than many fans, and experts, expected, McCoy is giving Eagles fans something to look forward to on Sundays besides the frequent heartbreak given to them from the rest of the team.
No. 3 in offense and No. 12 in defense, which suggests that we have loads of talent but terrible coaching.
Here is an example:
The Eagles aren’t planning a change at nickel, but Joselio Hanson said he could help if given a chance at the position he has long manned.
“There’s a couple of plays out there [this season] I feel like I could have made,” Hanson said. “A couple of those plays I’ve seen a number of times.”
But the Eagles appear to be sticking with Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, who is taller and faster than Hanson but inexperienced as a nickel back. He was torched by the Bears on Monday night.
“I’m not the boss here. I’m just a worker,” Hanson said. “They tell me to go in, I’ll go in.”
Rodgers-Cromartie said he is still thinking too much in his new job.
“Any time as a player you go into the game and you’re always thinking, you tend to push slower,” he said, adding that he is “a little confused” by some calls.
In some instances, on-field checks have come too slow, Rodgers-Cromartie said.
“We’ve just got to work on that and talk a little. That’s all,” he said.
As for playing nickel, Rodgers-Cromartie said: “That’s the job they want me to play. I’m trying to learn it to the best of my ability and go out there and play it.”
Imagine what their record would be if they were not getting a pro bowl year from their running back.
I dont want to hear SH@T about mccoy thats why the eagles suck teams load up against are pass have are routes figured out the eagles never do anything new.. when the see the out getting cover its time for a double move.. if there no time for vick for a double move roll him out.. you cant just keep doing the same old things and the new things they try are ridiculous
Drummer, we all know you’re angle, and that you’re angry, but do you realize that your post just implied that coaches should listen to players about who should be put in the game? By that logic, everytime a player says he thinks he should be in for a starter, the coach should make that move.
Look, I personally DO think that Hanson plays the slot better than DRC (think anyone disagrees? I don’t)….but to say that the coaches are morons because the player said he thinks he could’ve made plays that weren’t made is ASININE
Unfortuantely, most of his accomplishments during this his special s eason will go for naught, since the team is floundering at 3-5 and will not be a factor for the Playoffs over the final month of the Season.. Maybe the Eagles can knock other teams down the stretch as their motivation..
I’ve stated that without McCoy, the Eagles probably lose to the Rams and possibly even the Cowboys and be sitting at 1-7 or 2-6.. This team has so many issues right now that I don’t want to read about any individuals players accomplishments right now.. Maybe After the Season, and I do congratualte McCoy for stepping up and continuing to work hard to improve his game which is obviious that he did that over the Off-Season.. PLayers like Vick,D-Jac and MAclin, have all taken a step back in my opinion which is a big reason why this team is where it is.. KNowing all the Changes on the Defense with 4-5 new Starters, new Coaches & schemes headed up by a New DC in his first year, there was no doubt that the Offense and the Veterans like Vick & D-JAx were going to have to carry this team for the 1st half of teh Season and the reality is, that they weren’t able,focused,dedicated or mature enough to handle it … and now here they are at 3-5 and on the outside looking in to try to make the Playoffs.. It’s been a while that the Eagles (with half a Season to go) were basically out of it.. but it is what it is..
Wait, Paul, the Eagles have a losing record and might not have so great of a season? Are you sure? ….I don’t know…hmm….
Dude the point about McCoy being ridiculous this year will NOT go for naught – he will be recognized as an elite RB and most likely financially compensated for it. It won’t necessarily translate to team success, but it’s an individualist market/sports world.