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While the Philadelphia Eagles shamefully trudged through their horrific 4-12 campaign last year, there were plenty of players to blame for the team’s incredible struggles.
Eagles All-Pro RB LeSean McCoy unfortunately was not able to escape the embarrassment either, as his statistics enormously plummeted in 2012. After rushing for an incredible 17 touchdowns in 2011, McCoy was only able to generate a measly two end-zone trips in 2012. McCoy was also only able to manage 840 rushing yards in 12 games throughout 2012, after totaling 1,309 yards in 15 games a year before.
To be fair, McCoy was forced to miss four games in 2012 due to a concussion sustained in Week 11 against the Washington Redskins, which was certainly a contributing factor in the tailback’s regression. But at the same time, there is absolutely no excuse for scoring 15 less touchdowns than the year before, when he only missed three more match-ups than in 2011.
The extent of McCoy’s production in 2013 is going to be paramount to the Eagles’ success as they enter an entire new era under head coach Chip Kelly and his spread offense. McCoy is without question the ideal starting running back for Kelly’s system, as he exhibits exceptional elusiveness and acceleration.
As the Eagles enter into this brand new scheme, and brand new generation of play, really, I look for McCoy to flourish within an offensive system that was built for his style of play.
With that said, the Eagles are going to have to improve immensely on the defensive side of the ball if they want to have any chance at a post-season trek.
But if there is one man on the Eagles who will be able to spark this squad’s revival and organization-wide revamp, that man is LeSean “Shady” McCoy.
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