Dale Zanine – USA Today
LeSean McCoy recently described the Philadelphia Eagles offense as a “track meet”. No team has better resources to run a high-speed offense than Philadelphia and its unknown whether opposing defenses will be able to keep up. This newly implemented style of offense gives McCoy the potential to be the number one fantasy football running back.
Unconventional approaches on offense have been flourishing in the NFL lately. Chip Kelly will look to be the next head coach to revolutionize professional football with his accelerated offense that thrived at the University of Oregon.
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Philadelphia has the ideal personnel to run this style of offense. Quarterback Michael Vick is back at the helm and his 32-year-old legs are still some of the fastest in the league. Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota doesn’t possess game-breaking speed but still managed to average 7.1 yards per carry on 106 attempts in 2012. Vick has the versatility to take this system to the next level. Fantasy owners and Vick have not been on good terms after the fragile quarterback missed a chunk of time in each of the past three seasons. According to ESPN.com, Vick is the 13th ranked fantasy quarterback for 2013 which makes him one of the top overall sleepers.
McCoy is likely the man that will steal the show in this style of offense. He possesses the best combination of speed and agility at the running back position. If this offense reaches their aspired fitness level and can outlast their opponents then McCoy and Bryce Brown should have plenty of open space to run.
The Philadelphia offensive line was a poor run-blocking unit in 2013, getting stuffed at the line more frequently than every team except the Arizona Cardinals. A high-speed offense could be conducive to this line as they excelled at getting their backs to the second level.
Getting Vick, McCoy and DeSean Jackson into open space will be the key to success for this offense. Expect a ton of no-huddle with Philadelphia doing everything possible to use their speed and fitness level to their advantage. If this offense succeeds then Vick has top-five quarterback potential while McCoy could top the charts at running back.
