Notes: McCoy On Message Received


Photo by: Jeff Fusco.

Photo by: Jeff Fusco.

LeSean McCoy took the podium this afternoon after another hot minicamp practice at the NovaCare Complex. [He went with sweatpants for Wednesday’s session; said it was a mental thing.]

McCoy told Albert Breer of NFL.com recently that the release of DeSean Jackson sent a message to the team. He was asked to elaborate.

“I don’t know what you took out of that, but for myself, what I took out of that is no matter how good a player is, it’s a team and if you can’t buy in, anything is possible,” he said.

“I’m not sure about the rest of the team, the concept they took out of that, I’m just speaking for myself. A player like that, who has done so much for this franchise — even in the year Chip was here, the stuff he did — so some players on some teams may think, well, he’s producing on the field, that’s the only thing that matters.”

Has it changed your mindset?

“I like to do things the right things anyway just in general, so I don’t think it changed too much,” he said, “but it’s the small things you think about that you think nobody cares about but in all reality, they  do. So just take care of the small things, the small details, and just do your work and have fun doing it and do it to the best of my capabilities.”

A reporter brought up that McCoy needs 1,066 yards to pass Wilbert Montgomery as the franchise’s all-time leading rusher.

“That’s it?” McCoy said, flashing a playful smile.

Is it a given, assuming health, that you’ll break it this year?

“I wouldn’t say it’s a given; nothing is a given. But that’s another goal to add to my list of things to get done. With the guys blocking up front the way they’ve been blocking the last couple of years, I think in this offense I can get it done.”

With 5,473 career rushing yards, McCoy is currently fourth on the Eagles all-time list behind Montgomery (6,538), Brian Westbrook (5,995) and Steve Van Buren (5,860).

Chip On Murderleg

There has been some question as to whether Carey Spear has a legitimate shot to win the kicking job, or if he’s just here to push Alex Henery.

“No, if you’re in our 90, you’re here to compete for a job,” said Chip Kelly. “There’s no one here just taking space.  He’s improved since he’s gotten here.  I know [special teams coach] Dave Fipp has worked with him really closely and I’ve seen improvement since he got here on Day One.  He’s in camp to compete for a job.”

Would the Eagles consider bringing in someone exclusively for kickoffs if Henery struggles this preseason?

“I don’t know.  That’s why I don’t deal with hypotheticals.  I know Alex has really worked on kicking off in the off‑season, a lot of things him and coach Fipp have sat down and talked about, but I’m not a predict the future guy.”

Maehl sidelined

The Eagles haven’t had too many injury issues during the OTAs and minicamp thus far. Jeff Maehl appeared to be the only player  who did not participate in Wednesday’s session. He watched practice from the sidelines. No injury reports are given this time of year.