Coming off a superb 2011 season in which he earned both Pro Bowl and All Pro honors, like his teammates, LeSean McCoy has very high expectations this year. In order for he and his teammates to live up to those expectations, Head Coach Andy Reid had to turn it up at training camp. At a media session on Saturday, McCoy spoke about how physical training camp has been.
“It’s been tough. A lot of guys are sore. I think Coach [Andy Reid] has tried to get kind of the mindset of just being tough and kind of fighting adversity. [These are the] dog days where it’s hot out, guys are banged up, but stick it out and work hard. Eventually, it will pay off.”
As many know, wide receiver Jeremy Maclin’s lymphoma scare last summer forced him to miss the majority of the preseason. With Desean Jackson crying about a new contract on top of the Eagles having a slew of new players with almost no time to learn the system, last year was rough for the Eagles to say the least. However, with all of that behind them and a full preseason, McCoy is happy to not only have Maclin fully participating in training camp, but to see everyone finally coming together as a team.
“Everybody’s here working together, so just having Maclin and all the other guys; it’s big for us. We want to reach the goals that we shot for at the beginning of the year. This is the time to do it and I think that having everybody together is the first step.”
Although the running back is happy to see the team coming together, he and his teammates must be happy to know that the grueling days of training camp are nearing an end.
“This is by far the hardest camp since I’ve been an Eagle. All we can do is keep working and get better and maybe eventually we’ll get to that period where you finally go over it. In the meantime, you’ve just got to keep working.”
Despite the plethora of injuries being the biggest story of training camp, there have been some players making their presence felt this preseason. According to McCoy, fellow running back Dion Lewis is one of them.
“A lot of people don’t know how good he really is except the guys here. He’s jumped out and has had an amazing camp so far; I think the first guy who can really show everybody what he can do.”
I’m happy to hear that Andy Reid has been pushing his players in camp, because as the old adage goes, “no pain no gain.” However, I have to wonder if the intensity of training camp is causing the various injuries to the team? And subsequently, will the wear and tear on the player’s bodies result in another subpar season? Only time will tell.
