LeSean McCoy defends Andy Reid

LeSean McCoy's concussion came in the final two minutes of a 31-6 loss to the Washington Redskins on Nov. 23. He missed four games, and will finally return this week. Coach Andy Reid was criticized for having McCoy in the game at that point, but McCoy defended his coach on Thursday.

"The thing is, if he would have taken me out, I would have been on him so much bugging him," McCoy said. "You don't play like that. You're down, so you take your guys out? No. We fight to the very end. He knows that and I know that. So when I heard that people were upset about me being in the game, you finish the game out. You start and you finish it. You're not a quitter, where you're down and takes him out.

"It upsets me that people should think that because we're good players, or better players than average, that we shouldn't be out there, losing season or not. I don't agree with that at all. And coach, he doesn't agree with that."

McCoy did not want to tackle the issue of how Reid should be received in Sunday's game, but he believes Reid does not get the appreciation he deserves.

"If you sat here and tried to name five to eight coaches that are better than Coach Reid, I would like to hear him," McCoy said. "Because Coach Reid's a good coach. He gets blamed for everything, and sometimes you break down the film and break down plays and mistakes, how do you fault the coach for that? I guess people have their own opinions and their minds are made up. I think the thing about the team is, we know how good of a coach he really is. Whatever happens, happens, but I'm behind coach Reid 110 percent. ...I don't think he should get blamed for the turnovers, the blown mistakes. Stuff like that, he shouldn't be blamed for. But it is what it is."

McCoy said he's told Reid at times that he's let Reid down as a player. But McCoy doesn't want Reid blamed for a player's mistake.

"Sometimes as players we feel we've let coach down," McCoy said. "But he's tough. He's a tough coach."

McCoy does not know how much he'll be used in Sunday's game against the Redskins, but he expects a rotation with rookie Bryce Brown in his first game since suffering a concussion. The big issue during McCoy's concussion was fatigue. He said he was in great shape, and then he couldn't run for four weeks. The conditioning part was a challenge for McCoy.

"Might do a little more [rotating], just because I've been gone for four weeks," McCoy said. "Just the tempo, playing, running, being in shape, things like that. I'm not sure. But I know once I get in the game, get that competitive nature in me, I'll want to play more than expected."