Can LeSean McCoy lead the NFL in rushing?
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Can LeSean McCoy lead the NFL in rushing?
LeSean McCoy is coming off one of the best seasons for an Eagles running back in team history. He led the NFL in rushing touchdowns (17), total touchdowns (20), first downs (102) and 10+ yard rushes (48).
The only other Eagle to ever lead the league in touchdowns was Steve Van Buren in 1945 and 1947. McCoy’s 17 rushing touchdowns passed Van Buren for the single-season team record.
Having passed Van Buren once last year, can McCoy bump the Eagles great from another claim to fame in 2012?
The last Eagle to lead the NFL in rushing was Van Buren in 1949. McCoy finished fourth last year with 1,309 yards, and didn’t play the final game because of an ankle sprain.
Maurice Jones-Drew led the NFL (1,606), but he hasn’t reported to offseason workouts or training camp with Jacksonville. The other two backs finished just slightly ahead of McCoy: Ray Rice (1,364) and Michael Turner (1,340).
The one man who could stop McCoy is his own coach. With so many skill-position weapons at his disposal, Andy Reid doesn’t have to rely on one back, as Jacksonville did with Jones-Drew, who finished with 343 carries compared to McCoy’s 273.
By the way, the Eagles are in a select company of organizations that haven’t had a rushing champion since 1950. While 26 organizations have—including some no longer in existence—just Atlanta, Carolina, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Seattle and Tampa Bay join the Eagles.
Pittsburgh is a surprise considering Franco Harris finished his career in 1984 as the third all-time career rusher, behind only Walter Payton and Jim Brown.
So, can McCoy get the Eagles off the list?
Wrong question. Can McCoy play on a Super Bowl-winning team this year? Can he have a long career, allowing him to make more money? Can he get three championship rings? Who leads the league in rushing is irrelevant.— armchairGM- Wrong comment. This was a player profile piece, not a team profile piece. Accept it for what it is, and if you don't like the specific player profiles, then read the thousands of other articles only about the team as a whole. I cannot stand comments just for the sake of comments, not everything has to have that negative spin, it doesn't make you seem insightful or intelligent, or whatever you were going for... — JMick1215
- Well said. Commom problem! — Lambo1
- ArmchairGM Exactly !— dmanphilly
- League rushing champions rarely rush to a league championship.— Warhound
- I think your right JMICK. people seem to want to make their comments on issues they want to, not what the article is pertaining to. Like you said this is a profile article not team article. Again "Can mccoy lead the league in rushing"— Lambo1
- I appreciate the comments everyone, but it really is just a question to think about during the "dog days" of training camp. McCoy looks great in camp, he's coming off a monster season, and geez, 60-plus years is a longgggg time for a team not to have the league's rushing champ. Longer even than since the Eagles have won a title--and we all know THAT'S been a longgg time.— John Roach
- Yes, he can lead the league— phillynupe4
- I was HUGE on McCoy going into the 2011 season, even going so far as selecting him 2nd in two of my fantasy drafts. I am not as high this year, however. While he certainly has the talent to lead the league in rushing, I don't see it happening this year. Here is why:
First, consider he is an all-purpose back-- catching a fair amount of passes for a running back. Certainly this will reduce the number of "rushing" carries he has, since there are only so many plays to go around. Second, the loss of Jason Peters will affect his production. He was a beast at getting out in front to block, and I simply do not see Bell as an equal replacement. Finally, Dion Lewis has been the talk of camp this year. Add to that a couple of other off-season additions, and I think McCoy gets a reduced workload.
Granted, none of this will make him any less talented or electrifying. He certainly has the ability to lead the league in rushing, but its not going to happen this year.— monugs - Less carries, less touchdowns, higher YPC.— Stallone
- Agree, more or "fewer" (less). Let's take some of the load off McCoy, spread it around and get him a higher YPC. I think that will be the best sign that the offense is performing at a high level.
- I feel as if there are two different questions here. Can he be the rushing champion? Yes. He is young, extremely talented and seems to be a fairly durable player. Should he be the rushing champion? I don't think so. On a team with a number of other talented pieces (including other young, talented RBs), it would seem to indicate overuse if LeSean McCoy ended up as the NFL rushing champion. Put another way - have any of the teams to have recently won the Super Bowl also had the rushing champion? Perhaps, but I'm guessing it's a rarity. In a day and age when passing is (more than ever) the way to win, you're probably not going to be the team that wins the Super Bowl if you have the league's leading rusher. I don't think it's a coincidence that Jacksonville, who finished 5-11, had the league's leading rusher. In 2010, it was Arian Foster and the Texans finished 6-10. In 2009, it was Chris Johnson and the Titans finished 8-8. 2008 was the last time the league's leading rusher actually did ANYTHING - Adrian Peterson on the Vikings, who went 10-6 and lost 26-14 to the PHILADELPHIA EAGLES in the first round (Wild Card) of the playoffs. To take the argument further: I believe that Brian Westbrook was overused. He could have been a more effective weapon, for a longer time, if the Eagles would have just shared the load a little bit more. The Eagles should not make the same mistake with LeSean (Shady) McCoy. So going back to the original questions: Can He? Yes. Should He? No, not if the Eagles want to win at least one Super Bowl.— knighn
- I think the last team that won a superbowl and had the leading rusher was denver with terrell davis — Lambo1
- If the offensive line does their job then there is no question McCoy can lead the league in rushing.— fanup
- Absolutely but its a longshot. This is a pass first offense and I think a player like Chris Johnson or Arian Foster is a much greater candidate. Where Shady excels is that he does EVERYTHING well. His improvements in picking up the blitz have allowed the Eagles to move the ball as much as they have over the last two years. I think in total yards, the Eagles are the #1 team in the league with total offense.
This is a great pick that really is the Eagles crown draft achievement in the last 10 years. Some interesting talk about draft picks and the birds at http://www.fanland.com/team/25— craigsmith33 - I'm with JMick1215. Many of the comments are negative for the sake of being negative, and I don't understand why grown men would sit around writing them. That being said, I think the article's point about having many talented skill players and thus many options will be one impediment to McCoy leading the league in rushing. The other much bigger challenge will be the absence of Jason Peters. He made many of McCoy's long runs possible.— kingsolomonsmind
