LeSean McCoy, Philadelphia Eagles running back and last season's leading rusher in the NFL, seems to understand that it takes a village, or more aptly, a team, to win football games. After Monday night's victory against the Indianapolis Colts, he told reporters the team "would be in some trouble" without free agent pick-up and half-running back, half-receiver (half-bowling ball), Darren Sproles.
But, even as he acknowledges that he alone is not the singular force that drives the mechanism of Chip Kelly's seemingly unstoppable offense, McCoy still exudes the personality of a professional athlete with a hefty contract, million dollar endorsements and an ego to match.
After carrying the ball 20 times for a measly 79 yards on Monday night, McCoy told Les Bowen of the Daily News, "I need to get my thing together," calling his workload, "just enough to be effective."
"I feel like I'm not playing to my level where I should be playing," McCoy said. "Tonight, it was an average, above-average game where he carried us again. It's good to have that, because when you get that type of attention from the defense, other guys are making plays, and he's doing it. I don't mind at all, and the other thing is I don't feel as tired or as beat up."
He may feel better physically, but most would be willing to bet that he'd rather be exhausted and comfortable in the knowledge that he played a major role in the winning effort. Accolades don't come easily, and McCoy would no doubt prefer to be physically beat up and lauded for his efforts, rather than questioned about why he hasn't been producing as much as his backfield partner.
Head coach Chip Kelly, when questioned about McCoy's role in the offense, brushed it aside as a non-issue.
"Weighing his production against last year is meaningless, in my opinion," Kelly said. "Because we're not trying to win rushing titles, we're trying to win football games. I think he's always a very, very harsh critic of himself, which is a very admirable quality. I think that's one thing that pushes him, that's why he trained so hard, not only this summer but this offseason."
Kelly is confident that it's only a matter of time before McCoy gets on track and has plenty of games more in line with his performances from last season.
"Sometimes things are geared to take him away. If they're geared to take him away, the other guys have to make plays. We have enough weapons all around . . . people have kind of honed in on him, and rightly so, but it opens the field up for some of the other guys . . . It just depends on how people are going to defend us on a week-to-week basis."
