Maybe you’re a little worried. Maybe you look at his overall numbers and how they compare to other running backs and it’s concerning. Maybe you watched the Washington game and checked the box score and wondered what’s going on. It’s understandable. LeSean McCoy hasn’t had the same success so far this season that he did a year ago -- which doesn’t mean you should freak out. Grab a paper bag. Inhale. Exhale.
We’ll start with the root of the anxiety. That Washington game was not good for McCoy. Really not good. Not good in a career sense. He had 19 carries for 22 yards. That works out to 1.2 yards per carry. No touchdowns. No receptions. It was probably the worst game he’s had since becoming the Eagles’ primary ball carrier.
“They just played well,” McCoy said about Washington. “They brought the extra guy down in the box and filled it up. They made plays.”
In October 2012, McCoy had 14 carries for 22 yards (1.6 ypc) against Detroit, but he also caught seven passes for 26 yards and a touchdown in that game. Against San Francisco in October 2011, he ran the ball nine times for 18 yards (2.0 ypc). But there, again, he was productive in the passing game, catching six passes for 34 yards and a touchdown. That same year, in December, he ran the ball 27 times for 38 yards (1.4 ypc) against Miami. But he had two rushing touchdowns in that game and added three catches for 33 yards. So, yeah, Washington probably represents his low point.
McCoy led the league in rushing last year. He has 175 rushing yards this season. That puts him 17th. Guys like Chris Ivory and Bobby Rainey and Justin Forsett and Lamar Miller and Terrence West have more. McCoy has 10 catches for 64 yards. Among running backs, that puts him 11th in the NFL. Here, again, he has been outpaced by Rainey and Forsett and Fred Jackson. And his teammate, Darren Sproles.
So the numbers, relative to what he did last season, are not as encouraging. Maybe that stresses you out. Here’s why it shouldn’t:
McCoy isn’t the only star running back to get off to a slow start. Here’s the list of the top 10 running backs from a year ago, in order: McCoy, Matt Forte, Jamaal Charles, Alfred Morris, Adrian Peterson, Marshawn Lynch, Ryan Mathews, Eddie Lacy, Frank Gore and DeMarco Murray. Of that group, only three players -- Morris, Lynch and Murray -- are among the top 10 rushing leaders this season.
Forte, Lacy and Gore have struggled. Charles and Mathews got hurt. (Peterson is obviously a different story. He was removed from the Vikings because of his alleged involvement in the abuse of his 4-year-old son.) Several of last year’s rushing leaders simply haven’t performed well so far. It’s early. More than 80 percent of the season remains.
In McCoy’s case, there are several factors. Washington, despite being a woeful passing defense, is third against the run. Indianapolis is closer to the middle of the pack (17th). The true outlier in terms of opponents and quality run defense is Jacksonville, which is dead last. But McCoy actually wasn’t bad against the Colts or the Jags. He had 24 touches for 102 total yards (4.25 yards per touch) and a touchdown against Indianapolis. Against Jacksonville, he had 27 touches for 115 total yards (4.25 ypt). Those numbers aren’t eye-popping. They aren’t in line with his ridiculous 5.86 ypt last season. But those first two games weren’t terrible, either. Really. The Washington game was obviously not good, but that happens, and it’s easier to excuse when you consider the stout run defense he faced, the attention he draws from the opposition, and the fact that the offensive line is fractured. That last part brings us to the next, bigger issue.
A year ago, McCoy had the luxury of running behind the same guys each week. All five linemen started all 16 games. That is rare and it is important. In addition to that being the Eagles’ best personnel group, it allowed for consistency through communication and an understanding of each other’s habits. As McCoy said, “any back will tell you” that health and familiarity go a long way in football, particularly up front.
That hasn’t been the case this year. Lane Johnson is still serving a four-game suspension for PEDs. His replacement, Allen Barbre, is out for the year with an ankle injury. Guard Evan Mathis suffered a knee injury and will be out for several weeks. Center Jason Kelce is out indefinitely after having sports hernia surgery. There is only so much anyone can realistically expect from Dennis Kelly and Andrew Gardner and David Molk. They are backups or, in some cases, the backups to the backups. There is a reason why Matt Tobin’s return to the team this week was welcomed. They need him desperately. Gashing opposing defenses with a replacement M*A*S*H unit leading the way is a tough ask of McCoy -- and, again, in two of the three games so far he was OK despite that situation.
“I think LeSean's doing everything possible,” Kelly said. “Again, if that's how you're going to do it, and we're going to end up with 30‑whatever points a game and continue to be productive on the offensive side of the ball, it's ultimately that. But also you're down four linemen that you had that were running in front of them last year, too. So I think sometimes when we're running the play, there is a lot better push at the point of attack, and that doesn't have anything to do with the running back from that standpoint. It's kind of what it is right now.”
For simplification, we’ll paraphrase: Have you seen the offensive line? We have Andrew Gardner and Dennis Kelly and David Molk out there. Seriously. Molk is a real dude. That’s not a made-up name.
Here, it’s instructive to point out, as McCoy did, that the Eagles are undefeated. They are one of just three teams without a loss. They are sixth in the NFL in total yards and second in points per game. Perhaps the rest of the offense has succeeded because defenses have focused so heavily on McCoy.
“It could be worse,” McCoy said, “we could be losing games and [have] no yards.”
He has a point there -- a variation on a theme recently employed by Aaron Rodgers. It was good advice.