McCOY IS THE REAL DEAL By Joseph Santoliquito
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The smile is infectious. You can’t really get away from it. It has a magnetizing effect on anyone and everyone around him. He’ll cajole the media with tales of the “Stinky Leg,” of how he had felt compelled to carry the ball every day last week in fear of fumbling. He’s also provided a positive glimpse into the future—sans Brian Westbrook.
The Eagles had what might be called a spirited sparring session against the lowly Kansas City Chiefs two Sundays ago. And though the 34-14 Eagles’ victory was a foregone conclusion, what the game did reveal was LeSean McCoy.
Without Westbrook, the rookie tailback out of Pitt made his first NFL start and spelled Westbrook in a variety of ways. For one, he can catch the ball out of the backfield, can slither his way through a defense, and on top of all of that, has a personality Eagles’ fans are bound to love.
I got a chance to meet McCoy this past June at the Big 33 game at HersheyPark Stadium, and there wasn’t an outstretched pen and pad, or camera phone he couldn’t pass without flashing a brilliant smile and obliging fans. This is no knock whatsoever against Westbrook, a great player whose body of work is without question, but whose body is also eroding under the constant pounding he’s endured over eight NFL seasons. It’s just that McCoy is has a different type of personality than Westbrook.
He gives you the “Stinky Leg” dance, a willingness to talk openly and above everything else—he’s talented.
Where Westbrook is reserved and hesitant in the media spotlight, McCoy seems to relish it. He loves the attention, and there is a good reason Eagles’ fans will take to him. He loves the spotlight.
Just like that night at the Big 33 game. McCoy had just been picked by the Eagles in the second round a few months ago, and he already heard the “knocks” he was getting in the Philadelphia media, about not being able to “block like Brian Westbrook,” and needing a lot more work “before he becomes the kind of player Westbrook is.”
“I know I’ll get the comparisons, Brian Westbrook is a great player,” McCoy told me then. “Even being mentioned in the same sentence as a player like Brian Westbrook is a compliment to me. All I can do is go there to Philly and prove myself, show that I can play in the NFL. I know I need work on blocking, and picking things up, but I’ve already been to [mini-] camp there, and I also know I’ll get great teaching there. They’ll show me what to do.”
As for nice beginnings, the shifty, smiling McCoy showed great glimpses of what he’s going to do, averaging 6.2 yards per run in the opening quarter, the bulk of his 37 yards on six carries coming in a nifty 14-yard run.
Yes, it was against a very bad football team that might have a few problems beating some major college teams, but McCoy still did what he was asked to do, and he proved he’s a capable back-up and possibly future replacement for Westbrook.
“My dream has always been to play in the NFL, and I have the best of both worlds, I get to learn from the best, Brian Westbrook, and get to play in a system that benefits someone who can do what I can,” McCoy said. “But I’m not Brian Westbrook. I’m LeSean McCoy. There are some things we do similar, and some things we do differently. I was just happy I go the chance to do that today.”
He’s getting the blocking thing down. He’s watched everything Westbrook does on film, and to cut down on the fumbles, he walked around this week with the ball in his arms.
“I have to hold on to that thing, but I think my blocking is coming around and it is a mind set,” said McCoy, who found out he was supposed to start the day before. “Blocking is an attitude, and it’s not just physically doing it, it’s who you pick up and find out who you’re supposed to block. I’m getting there.”
Two Sundays ago, McCoy took a great step in his destination to take over the Westbrook mantle.
“I think today was absolutely a look at the future,” McCoy said. “With me, Jeremy [Maclin] and Kevin [Kolb], you look around that huddle and you can say, with all respect to the veterans, that that is the future.”
CONGRATS TO THE PHILLIES—THE CELEBRATION SHOULDN’T LAST LONG
Sorry to rain on a parade will won’t come again this fall. It’s a big blown save waiting to happen. A Phillies’ closer will blow a game and the season will end in the playoffs with memories of Joe Carter dancing on our heads.
You don’t have to be a baseball expert to figure that out.
Joseph Santoliquito is an Emmy Award-nominated writer based in the Philadelphia area who can be contacted at Jsantoliquito@yahoo.com.
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