Grabbing thin air…Eagles’ McCoy is Special with a capital ‘S’!

Philadelphia Eagles' running back LeSean McCoy.

I knew Philadelphia Eagles running back LeSean McCoy was going to be a very good starting running back in the NFL during his rookie season when the elusive speedster averaged an impressive 4.1 yards per carry on 155 attempts while adding an additional 308 yards in pass receptions.

While it wasn't very hard to see that the Birds had nabbed a special player with the 53rd overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, I’ll be the first to admit that I didn't foresee the flat-out stunning play that McCoy has unleashed upon the league this season and I suspect not many others did either.

No matter how you felt about McCoy back then, there’s no denying the Eagles have arguable the most gifted back in the entire league right now. Philly’s elusive superstar is guy that displays a shiftiness that is often reminiscent of the legendary Barry Sanders and an ability to dominate either rushing the ball or receiving it that rivals the equally respected Marshall Faulk.

The NFL may not keep statistics on how many running backs made defenders miss by grabbing nothing but thin air, but I bet LeSean ‘Shady’ McCoy leads the league in that category hands down.

Brothers Battle Over the League’s Best Back!

Okay, I was prepared to write a short blurb describing my feelings on Philadelphia Eagles running back LeSean McCoy being the best back in the league – until I got into a very real, but not overly heated – disagreement with my brother Keith Branch.

What an educated argument it was too, with both of us sounding like former Rhodes Scholar recipients.

Me: LeSean McCoy’s the best back in the league.

Keith: No, he’s not.

Me: Yes he is.

Keith: No, E, he’s not! His weakness is running up the middle.

Me: They said the same thing about Reggie Bush and didn’t he just bust one up the gut this weekend?

 

Okay, okay … after I conceded that Adrian Peterson or Matt Forte could be ‘better’ than McCoy, off we went again with the back and forth surrounding Philly’s elusive touchdown-maker.

Just to back up my argument, McCoy is ranked second in the league and is tied for the highest average yards per carry mark in the league for a back with at least 200 carries (4.9 yards).

Okay, I’ll admit that my brother’s argument also has its merits, no doubt, with McCoy ironically being tied with Chicago’s Forte and the Chargers’ Ryan Matthews.

Oh – and Reggie Bush has topped them all by averaging 5.0 yards per carry on 194 attempts.

So, maybe my brother and I are both wrong – and to be honest – it wouldn’t be a first – even if neither of us readily admits it!