Seated at a table in the cafeteria at the Novacare Complex, Duce Staley was asked a straight-forward question: How good can LeSean McCoy be?
“He can be the best,” said the Eagles’ new running backs coach without hesitation. “He can be the best to play the game.”
LeSean McCoy has issued an apology following a heated exchange on Twitter with the mother of his son. It reads:
“In light of the recent events that played out over Twitter this past weekend, I would like to express how deeply sorry and remorseful I am to my family, the Philadelphia Eagles, my fans and every young person who views me as a role model. This is not who I am as a person, nor the image I ever wanted to portray of myself. It’s definitely not the example I want to set for my son.
“My Twitter account was not hacked. I take full responsibility and I apologize for trying to make it seem like it was not me. Due to my bad judgment and frustration, I allowed a very personal matter to be played out on a social network of all things. It was immature and unprofessional of me to do so and to encourage others to join in.
“As a parent, emotions are often magnified when there are stressful and emotional situations concerning them. I take great pride in being a good father and strive to one day be a great one. I’ve always done everything in my means to provide my son financially, emotionally and most importantly with my time and heart. I am sick over the fact that my actions have caused pain to him and all involved. I have decided to handle this matter privately from here on out and I thank everyone for their continued support.”
It was a time for reflection. LeSean McCoy looked visibly upset that he would no longer be playing for Andy Reid. As one of the building blocks going forward, he spoke up and said some of his teammates made too many excuses.
And then there was Jeremy Maclin, the former first-round pick who was in the same draft class as McCoy. Maclin’s career began with consecutive trips to the playoffs, but he’s never been part of a team that advanced past the first round.
“I think change needs to come from everywhere,” Maclin said, when asked if the Eagles’ problem had more to do with personnel or attitude. “I think we’re definitely a talented group of guys individually. I think the team unity probably wasn’t there this year. I think we’ve got to respect each other. If you respect somebody, you’re more willing to go out there and play for that person or play for a purpose. I think the lack of respect that maybe some guys have for other guys definitely hurt us.”
A somber LeSean McCoy stood at his locker Monday afternoon and voiced strong support for the coach who drafted him in the second round of the 2009 draft.
As one of the key building blocks going forward, McCoy reiterated his belief that the Eagles’ struggles were not Andy Reid’s fault. In the process, he was critical of his teammates.
Asked how many Eagles players let Reid down, McCoy said, “Tons, tons of guys. I think guys kind of notice that now that he’s gone. …I think a lot of guys realize the lack of focus, the lack of heart in certain games, in certain situations, it’s in full effect now. Now you may feel sorrow for coach, but it all comes down to your performance, so you should have probably thought about that during the season, during the game.”
Here’s a look at Eagles snap counts from Sunday’s loss to the Redskins. We’ll go position-by-position.
So much for easing LeSean McCoy back in. The Eagles running back had not played since Nov. 18 (concussion), but he had an even higher percentage of snaps than usual (84 percent).… Read More
LeSean McCoy needed about 57 seconds to run through the entire list.
The Eagles running back had just played his first game in more than a month, returning to the field against the Redskins after suffering a concussion against them on Nov. 18. He was asked how tough this year’s been on him.
“It’s been tough for me because losing is definitely hard to deal with, being a winning franchise, and also just being hurt,” McCoy said. “I’ve never really been injured, not even missed games, so that’s probably the toughest part, not being able to help your teammates out, being one of the top players on the team.”
But there was more.
The following Eagles are inactive for today’s 1 p.m. matchup against the Redskins: Michael Vick, Greg Salas, Chris Polk, Stanley Havili, Darryl Tapp, Danny Watkins and Matt Kopa.
From draft positioning to Brandon Graham’s performance, here are 15 things to know about the Eagles’ Week 16 matchup against the Redskins.
Sunday could provide a glimpse of what the Eagles’ running attack might look like in the future.
LeSean McCoy returns to action for the first time since suffering a concussion against this Redskins team back on November 18. He will start, but is expected to be eased back in.
“I’m going to keep an eye on him. He’s not going to play the whole game, every snap of the game,” said Andy Reid. “We’ll monitor him as we go and see how he does.”
Usually when McCoy is active the backup gets very little work. But in this case Bryce Brown could be in heavy rotation.
LeSean McCoy didn’t want to answer the question.
Asked what kind of reaction Andy Reid would draw from fans in what could be his final game at the Linc, he said, “I’m not thinking like that. I don’t want to answer that type of question. As far as I’m concerned, he’s our coach right now and hopefully in the future.”
But the reality is that McCoy is probably playing his final two games for the coach that drafted him in the second round of the 2009 draft. Even though the team is 4-10, coming off an 8-8 season last year and hasn’t won a playoff game since 2008, McCoy still stands firmly in Reid’s corner.
“I think so,” McCoy said, when asked if Reid is underappreciated. “If you sat here and tried to name five to eight coaches that’s better than Coach Reid, I would like to hear them, because Coach Reid’s a good coach. He gets blamed for everything. Sometimes if you break down the film or break down the plays and the mistakes, how do you fault the coach for that? But I guess people have their own opinions and their minds are made up. The thing about the team is we know how good of a coach he really is. Whatever happens, happens. I’m behind Coach Reid 110 percent.”
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Sheil Kapadia has been writing about the Eagles since 2008. His previous Philly.com blog, Moving the Chains, was named one of the best in the state by the Associated Press. Sheil's main joys in life are family, football and finding good parking spots.
Tim McManus is a bulldog reporter with a nose for news and story angles that will get people talking. He'll talk about it himself on 97.5 The Fanatic, where he serves as a host and Eagles beat reporter. Tim, an award-winning journalist, will be with the team around the clock.
