Eagles’ LeSean McCoy Will Silence his Doubters

Oct 12, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles running back LeSean McCoy (25) runs past the tackle attempt of New York Giants cornerback Trumaine McBride (38) during the first half at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Eagles running back LeSean McCoy had as rough a start this season as any elite player in the NFL.  A year after being named an All-Pro and leading the league in rushing, McCoy looked awful through the first five games.  He finally got back on track in game six, against the division rival New York Giants.  This weekend, against the league’s second ranked rushing defense, the Eagles’ LeSean McCoy will silence his doubters.

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Through the first five weeks of the season, McCoy struggled.  That’s putting it gently.  He looked nothing like the dynamic back who put the team on his back last year en route to the playoffs.  The offense, and almost all scoring, ran through McCoy last year.  Through five games, it was the defense and special teams keeping McCoy and the offense in games.

People were speculating that McCoy was injured, or perhaps had put too much tread on the tires last year when he led the league in rushing attempts.  Others were saying that McCoy only looked good last year because he had the best offensive line in football for all 16 games.

No matter what the “authorities” were speculating, we all knew McCoy was going to get it together.  He was being too tentative and trying to do way too much with the football.  Rather than hitting the holes, McCoy was bouncing almost every run to the outside.  It seemed as though the ghost of former Eagles running back Bryce Brown was possessing McCoy.

Then week six happened.  McCoy ran all over the division rival New York Giants and the smile on his face told you Shady was back.  Still, there were doubters.  Despite the Giants having ranked in the top half of all defenses in rushing yards allowed, people are still merely stating that one game does not a comeback make.

That will change this weekend.  The Eagles are traveling to Arizona to take on the Cardinals, who sit atop the NFC West.  The Cardinals are coming into this game with the number two ranked rushing defense in the league.  They have only allowed 72.5 rushing yards per game through their first six games.

This week that changes.  This week the Eagles are going to travel to Arizona and Shady is going to run all over that Cardinals defense.  Some defenders will be shaken out of their cleats, and others will look plain silly.  Shady will make sure of that.

This will be the first game this season that Shady has had the same five starters on the offensive line as the previous game.  The fact that those five starters paved the way to 149 rushing yards last game bodes well.

We also know that Shady is the engine that keeps the Eagles’ offense running.  This weekend, he will silence his doubters and carry this offense, and this team, to a 6-1 record.