Many Philadelphia Eagles fans have believed that running back LeSean McCoy has never been used enough. The biggest complain regarding the team's offense over the past few seasons is they do not attempt to run the ball enough, placing too much pressure on Michael Vick. Insert Chip Kelly and a new offensive system and that has all changed. However, McCoy is looking for a little less of the workload.
Kelly said during the offseason that he intends on increasing McCoy's role with the team. He wanted to get back to having the ground game be a significant part of the offensive package. He stayed true to those words on Monday night when McCoy ran the ball 31 times while also working as a pass catcher. That is a far cry from what former coach Andy Reid used to expect from McCoy. While the running back is enjoying the increased time on the field, he would not mind a rotation with Bryce Brown.
"I didn't mind it Monday night," McCoy said, via PhillyMag.com. "I think we can do a better job rotating because it's a long season. I don't think I need to have the ball 31, 32 times in a game for us to be a successful offense. We have too many different weapons. I think the running backs we have here can definitely play. Bryce Brown showed you last year he's definitely a talented back. So I think we have to do a better job of monitoring the reps."
Brown had nine carries in the Monday Night Football game while third-string back Chris Polk did not see the field at all. McCoy notes that some of the snap-count management falls on his shoulders with certain packages. He understands he needs to know when is the right time to stay in or leave the field.
"They just talk about, if you're tired, come off, because the coach understands that it's a fast tempo. We train hard and are in good enough shape to run the offense but we're only human so we're going to be tired," McCoy said.
Fantasy owners might not want McCoy off the field. He put up a good chunk of years in the season debut. An equal rep rotation with Brown could cause his stock to drop. The coaches show no signs of looking to hold back McCoy on the field as long as the team is winning.
"I don't really get into yardage and the different type of records," McCoy said, "that stuff will come. We've got to worry about winning. My focus is winning. The last couple years we haven't been winning."
