By Ryan Foran, howiGit Contributing Philadelphia Writer, Philadelphia, PA
With Boston and New York getting so much love on this site I figured it was time to give Philadelphia some representation. There will be no discussion of the “Dream Team” here, as they are certainly not worthy of that title with a 3-4 record. But with LeSean McCoy having another career day on Sunday with 185 rushing yards and 2 TDs (he’s broken his career record for yards 4 times this season already) while being named the NFC offensive player of the week, I thought it was an appropriate time to raise the question; is LeSean McCoy the best running back in the NFL right now?
After putting up some ridiculous numbers this past Sunday night on national television and helping Andy Reid to move to 13-0 after a bye week, LeSean “Shady” McCoy is the fourth running back in the history of the NFL to rush for over 150 yards against the Cowboys. This puts him in company alongside Walter Payton, John Riggins, and Jim Brown. It is also important to note that Shady put up these numbers against a Cowboys team who were at the time leading the league in run defense and against their defensive coordinator Rob Ryan who personally dubbed the Eagles the “all-hype team.” While making Rob Ryan eat his words was great (it was also probably the healthiest thing he has eaten in a while) a single game performance does not make you an elite player – just ask Timmy Smith or Desmond Howard. So let’s dig a bit deeper into Shady’s stats.
Through 7 games Shady has accumulated 754 total rushing yards, good for second in the league. He currently sits behind only Adrian Peterson who has only 44 more yards and has played one more game. Shady is the only player in the league to score a touchdown in every game and has 8 rushing TDs. This again puts him behind only Adrian Peterson who has 9 but also has that additional game under his belt.
Shady leads the league in yards per game with 107.7, and is second in the league in yards per attempt with 5.6. Here, he sits behind only Demarco Murray who has been solid the past 2 weeks in this category. That said, before Murray’s breakout game against the Rams he had only 74 yards total in the previous 5 games and only averaged 3.5 yds per carry once, leaving his numbers skewed or at least very inconsistent.
Shady also has 2 receiving TDs, putting him in a tie for first with a slew of other running backs but bumping his TD total up to 10 which leads the league in total TDs among running backs and places him second in the league regardless of position behind only Calvin Johnson who has 11. Johnson has also played one more game then Shady. However, besides these 2 TDs his receiving stats are not stellar, as he has been targeted 33 times with 23 receptions for 138 yards, putting him only in the top 20 for total yards among running backs.
In summary as far as running backs go Shady is second in rushing TDs, tied for first in receiving TDs, 2nd in total rushing yards, 2nd in yards per carry, and he hasn’t fumbled yet. He is second in the league regardless of position when it comes to total TDs and he has done all of this while playing behind a young offensive line who starts two rookies and in one less game than some of his competition. With a bit of help from Mike Vick he has led the Philadelphia Eagles, a team who has not been known to run the ball, to the number one rushing offense in all the NFL. Looking at these numbers I for one think LeSean “Shady” McCoy is the best running back in the league.
Do you agree?
I haven’t watched as many Eagles games as I usually do so far this year, so I haven’t seen all of the McCoy that you have. That said, my sense has always been that he’s an explosive player – but I’d much rather have Adrian Peterson. While their stats my be roughly equal this year, Peterson wears down opposing defenses with his physicality. They need to plan for him that much more, and he’s also doing what he’s doing with garbage passing game. There’s no denying that McCoy is having a great season, though.
Peterson certainly does wear down opposing defensives with his physicality, but you never see McCoy take that huge hit which I think will help his longevity.
You are right about teams having to plan for Peterson because of the lack of other threats and them having a garbage passing game. But on the flip side it means that he is going to get more touches and when they are in the red zone be the man called on for the TD most of the time.
All true.
I see a lot of second place in the league up there so I don’t think he is the best. Also he is greatly benefited by his system. The eagles spread the field and teams have to be aware of like 5 players. Peterson has a rookie qb and percy harvin. Arian foster has matt schaub and no andre johnson. If “shady” had to carry a work horse load like a traditional running back then I am not sure he is as successful.
I mean, he’s no Benjavus Green-Ellis that’s for sure.
there are a lot of second places up there. But they are by very small margins (44 yards, 1 rushing TD) and Peterson has played that additional game. After Peterson’s bye this week i’ll take a look at the stats again and i expect to see him in first in many of those categories.
Also he is second in yards per carry but behind Demarco Murray, which is nonsense.
I agree that he is benefited by his system, but I’m not ready to take away any of his success because of it.
Let’s see: McCoy is 1st in the league in yds/game, 1st in the league in total tds for a rb, 1st in the league in yds/att among rbs with more than 100 carries. I think you’re looking at the wrong 2nd places.
Also, Shady has a much heavier workload than you give him credit for, with 22.6 touches per game. He is also consistently their 3rd down back, and doesn’t get subbed out or lose touches to his backups. Except for Vick, the rest of the team has 31 carries in 7 games, only 25 of which are for running backs. This is unlike Foster and Peterson, who sub out with Tate and Gerhart, respectively. Also, McCoy is 4th on the team in receptions.
Finally, I don’t have much to say about the fact that other teams have to spread their defenses a little more. My stance is, if your best argument against a player is the other players on his own team, then you don’t have a lot of bad things to say about that player.
Also, three of the 7 teams that Shady has played against are in the top 10 in run defense.
Hold on shut up I have more. McCoy also leads the league in all 1st downs, with 58 (48 rushing, 10 receiving). His 48 rushing 1st downs leads all rbs by a wide margin, with Peterson at 2nd with 40, and MJD 3rd with 33.
Shmi bringing the stats to his arguments. You must be in law school. Well done.
If you look I didn’t say anything bad, and if you look at the article written the term 2nd or behind is used 5 times so going off the facts I was given that’s where I am getting 2nd places. The guy is having a good half of one season let’s calm down. Chris Johnson has one of the best seasons for a running back ever and he can’t get over 50 yards this year. Peterson has done it since he’s been in the league.
And as far as his team goes if you don’t think the fact that he is not facing 8 in the box let alone 7 or 6 because of the outside speed of both the receivers and the qb then you don’t know football very well. If it wouldn’t matter where he plays how come the eagles are so poor in the red zone when there are that many people in the box.
You said, “I don’t think he’s the best.” I just wanted to point out to you that he leads the league in every appreciable category for a running back (if you put a qualifier of at least 3 games started for yds/att). So yes, so far this season he is the best running back in the league. I am well aware what Peterson and Johnson have done in past seasons, but that doesn’t make them the best running back right now. You might as well say that Tomlinson is the best back in the league. Or Walter Payton.
Since you bring up the red zone, yes, defenses cram a lot of guys in the box, and the Eagles as a team have a tough time scoring in the red zone because of it. But not McCoy. 10 of his 11 TDs have been from the red zone, 9 of which have been from within the 10 yard line. So clearly, he can make moves when the D is crowded against the line.
All I’m saying is that even though you can dig out outlying excuses as to why McCoy has it too easy, or say that other running backs get graded on a curve because of past performance, the stats speak the truth: McCoy is the best running back in the league so far this year.
Shmi take a look at the name of the article. Its not best this year, best right now. Its best running back. Period. So yes prior success matters you gotta get your shmi glasses checked.
that was actually my fault.. as a novice article writer i did not title it properly.. i did however put the question.. Is LeSean McCoy the best running back right now as the question ending my article and heading into the analysis of his stats.
i intended to be an article if he was the best right now
dammit.. i put it as the question ending my first paragraph leading into the analysis of his stats.. this writing thing is harder than it looks
i dont think you need to lead the league in every single category to be the best. especially when the categories you are in second place for the one guy above you has played an additional game because of bye weeks.
schmi if i ever do another article im getting you on board.
I was going to work on my resume today
CJ2K is hte best running back in the game
He said he was going to break the single season rushing record this year!
He is proving to be one of the best in the league for sure, but I think being on a team with Vick helps him alot since defenses have to always play back more than normal expecting Vick may take off, where they can crowd the box against guys like Peterson in running situations. I’m no statistician, nor do I expend the energy others do looking up stats during work, but I would like to know if there are breakdowns on amount of touches when there are less than 8 guys in the box. My point here being that, like what J Bone said, I feel defenses are playing much more to defend Vick and the weapons spread out wide on many plays, vs crowding the box to stop the run. Maybe I’m wrong, but it is obvious teams need to start game planning to stop Mccoy better than they have so far.
I agree that having vick and excellent wide recievers does help him. But Emmit Smith played with Troy Aikman and Michael Irvin, that doesnt mean he isnt a top 5 back of all time and because Vick plays with Lesean doesnt mean Lesean isnt the best in the league.
I’ll take Adrian Peterson or Steven Jackson before McCoy any day of the week.
Give me the guy who can run straight up the middle, knock you on your ass and continue running. (Steven Jackson is 6’2 240. McCoy 5’11 205).
Now that I am writing this – give me Darren McFadden too. If he could stay healthy for a whole season he would be a monster. Last year he only played in 13 games and rushed for 1150 yds.
So AP, Steven Jackson, and Darren McFadden definitely before McCoy.
McFadden makes me giddy.
This season, McCoy has put up more yards/game than any of those three. Last year? McCoy put up more total yards than any of those three. Mind you, he got significantly less touches than any of those three last season. I measure talent by what a player produces on the field during the game, not by what his measurements are before the game.
how bout ray rice?
Ray rice is very similar to mr shady, except with a worse qb and less weapons
and worse numbers, he was i would call a “recieving back” not a “rushing back”
Rice has a ton of ability, and I support anyone who is part of the Rutgers program. Much as I love him, though, I think McCoy has put up better total numbers (mostly because of his ability to find the endzone).
ray rice is fantasy beast in ppr leagues too. Go scarlet raptors… or knights.
LeSean McCoys numbers this year – 754/8 (rushing/tds) and 138/2 (rec/tds) in 7 games.
Fred Jackson – 721/6 and 353/0 in 7 games. He has less touchdowns but almost triple the receiving yards.
Why is no one talking about him?
Good point, at long last.
so he has 182 more total yards and 4 less touchdowns
its certainly a name that could be in the mix, but i think leasean has him beat.
My only response to that is that opposing defenses have to keep track of Michael Vick, Desean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin, Jason Avant, AND Lesean McCoy.
Opposing teams facing the Bills focus on Fred Jackson/Stevie Johnson. The Eagles have a lot more weapons.
Not sure what its worth but Desean Jacksons, Avants, and Maclins YPC are 18.0/13.6/13.3. That means a lot of teams are probably playing zone coverage which should leave some nice holes for McCoy. Regardless – hes really good.
true, and that seems to be the recurring argument for every back that has been brought up. But like i said before, no one is going to say Emmit Smith isnt one of the best backs of all time because he played with Aikman and Michael Irvin.
i am
No but if you were to argue someone like Barry Sanders or Walter Payton you would certainly bring up the fact that Emmitt had more help. and it seems to be the case with everyone brought up because it true. You spread the field, have to play deep safeties and all eyes are not on mccoy, as much as you eagles fans dont care to admit it, it makes a huge difference.
i didnt say it wasnt true. in fact i always agreed that it was true and it does make a difference. But I also think that LeSean fits the system better than a bigger running back would. I am just glad you are recognizing the amazing talent that is the Philadelphia Eagles.
The best two RBs in the league right now are AP and Forte. McCoy has the luxury of defenses having to account for two explosive recievers and a quarterback who himself has 422 rushing yards this season. AP and Forte account for almost all of their teams offense, even with the opposing defenses game planning around them by dropping 8 in the box to stop the run. Also AP and Forte (especially Forte) do not have the luxury of any quality receivers who can stretch the defenses or quarterbacks who could be considered passing threats.
With no stats to back me up, I can confidently say that Matt Forte is not one of the top two running backs in the NFL.
Agreed.
I think what needs to be pointed out in the argument about spreading the field is not necessarily the other weapons but the personnel on the field. Someone touched on zone defenses but most times he is facing nickle and dime defenses where there are less linebackers to hit him hard. Also you are comparing his numbers to AP saying he played one less game but not counting arian foster being injured. Same with gore and he has to play on the 49ers with Alex smith and no wrs. Same with Sjax. It seems like I agree with most in that he is having a great year but is more a part of the system. Put him on the vikings or san fran etc and he wouldn’t be doing as well. Is he top 5 right now yes. But I would EASILY take AP over him and I would probably take foster mcfadden over him but then gore Sjax mccoy rice Fred Jackson mjd would all be comparable depending on the type of back needed.
Completely forgot forte and I would lump him in with foster and mcfadden.
Unlike Baseball or Basketball, where stats can be used to gauge a players ability, Football is a team sport where stats can be quite misleading. If we were to solely look at stats, Cam Newton’s stats are much better in many categories than Brady, Rodgers and Vick, but it is safe to assume that no one would consider him a better QB than the 3 aforemnetioned QBs. There are too many immeasureables in Football for the RB position such as blocking ability, ability to get the tough short yards on 4th & Short, goal line carries, the ability to command the opposing defensive game plan, etc., to make a blanket statement about the best RB in the league. If the article was about McCoy being one of the best football players in the NFL, I would have to agree, because he does creates matchup nightmares for any defense.
Thanks for weighing in Ashi. What team do your allegiances lie with?
Philadelphia Eagles, Phillies, Sixers (teams by proximity for the last 15 years), Rutgers University Sports (as an alum), and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (a lot of their games were shown in India where i lived from ’86-’96, so i grew up rooting for them)
Very interesting. Are you Philly/NJ based these days?