Wake-Up Call: McCoy Among the Elite
Dec 22, 2013; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles running back LeSean McCoy (25) celebrates scoring a touchdown during the third quarter against the Chicago Bears at Lincoln Financial Field. Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports
LeSean McCoy may not have taken the crown away from Adrian Peterson, but he got a lot of love from his peers and finished fifth in the NFL Network’s rankings of the top 100 players in the NFL.
“His vision. His moves. He’s a nightmare,” said Cardinals defensive back Tyrann Mathieu. “The first guy is going to miss, the second guy is going to miss and possibly the third guy is going to miss so all 11 guys have to run to the football. Sometimes all 11 guys are going to miss.”
“Modern day Barry Sanders,” added Bucs defensive tackle Gerald McCoy on the NFL Network broadcast. “I haven’t seen a guy like that probably since him…You’ve seen your Marshall Faulk‘s and all those guys, these Hall-of-Famers, that’s who he is on his way to being.”
The NFL Network revealed their top 10 on Wednesday night, as voted by the players. It went:
10. Jimmy Graham
9. A.J. Green
8. Jamaal Charles
7. Richard Sherman
6. Drew Brees
5. LeSean McCoy
4. Adrian Peterson
3. Tom Brady
2. Calvin Johnson
1. Peyton Manning
McCoy has argued that he is the best back in the league over Peterson. For this exercise, AP edged him out. It really doesn’t matter. The fact that he is even in the conversation with one of the greatest of all time reminds you that the Eagles are currently blessed with a rare talent in his prime. And a running back’s prime can come and go in a flash.
McCoy, who will turn 26 on Saturday, led the league with 1,607 rushing yards in 2013 , a team record. He needs just 1,066 yards to pass Wilbert Montgomery as the franchise’s all-time leading rusher. He already holds the top mark for most rushing yards in a single game (217 in the snow against Detroit) and most rushing TDs in a single season (17 in 2011). Only Steve Van Buren and Montgomery have more career rushing touchdowns in Eagles history.
“The things he does on the field is just ridiculous,” said Jeremy Maclin. “He can turn a five-yard loss into a 60-yard touchdown. He can catch the ball out of the backfield. He showed this year that he could stick his head down there and get the rough yards. And he’s emerging as a leader. I think that’s the type of guy that you want on your team.”
Three other Eagles appeared in the top 100. Jason Peters came in at 67, Nick Foles at 70 and Evan Mathis at 88.
WHAT YOU MISSED
We put together a photo gallery of many of the Eagles’ rookies, courtesy of Jeff Fusco.
Jordan Matthews is training with the NFL’s best receivers until he reports back for training camp.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
Eliot Shorr-Parks of NJ.com does an All-22 film review of the Eagles’ win over the Giants in Week 5 last year:
This game against the Giants really highlighted the lack of respect around the league for the Eagles’ safeties.
On back-to-back plays in the first quarter, the Giants sent their receivers deep, and both times they were able to get behind the Eagles’ safeties.
On this first one, the Eagles had decent coverage, but a bad throw by Manning helped.
On the second, the Eagles weren’t so lucky, as Hakeem Nicks hauled in the catch.
When you think about the speed the Eagles will face next season — DeSean Jackson with the Washington Redskins, Odell Beckham Jr. with the New York Giants — they better hope they got it right by adding Malcolm Jenkins and keeping Nate Allen.
After Germany’s dominance over Brazil in the World Cup, Brandon Gowton of BGN takes a look at several of the most lopsided games in Philadelphia history:
The Monday Night Massacre. You know, it’s funny looking at that score. Despite it being a 31 point difference, it honestly doesn’t feel like the game was that close. Michael Vick’s tenure in Philadelphia was far from perfect but my goodness, when he was at his best… he was playing at a different level. Starship 7 scored six touchdowns in that game. One of those came on the very first play on an absolute beauty of a deep pass to former Eagles WR DeSean Jackson. A first quarter score of 28-0 was just ridiculous to look at.
COMING UP
We’ll put together a Twitter Mailbag. Fifteen days until training camp.
Josh Paunil contributed to this post.