Walsh: Eagles O-Line Is Reason For Rushing Problems
By Steve Walsh
For the last 11 weeks, the ongoing debate between Eagles fans has been over LeSean McCoy's 2014 performance. The fan base is at civil war over whether or not Shady is on the decline.
It is true that LeSean McCoy is under performing in comparison to last year's league-leading effort. I repeat, last year's league leading effort. And even though Shady claimed that this was going to be a breakout 2,000-yard season, that is leaps and bounds easier said than done. In the history of the NFL, only seven players have eclipsed the 2,000-yard milestone. Perhaps Shady's (and as a result the fans') expectations were too far-fetched, and basing any single-season rushing performance on reaching 2,000 yards is not prudent.
McCoy is averaging 20.3 fewer yards per game than he did through ten games last season and has managed a depressing two performances of 100-plus yards, compared to four at this point in 2013. The more appalling figure of all is that on a rush-by-rush basis, McCoy is averaging just 3.7 yards, nearly a yard and a half short of last year's rate of 5.1 yards per carry.
While the latter stats are frustratingly face-palming, McCoy is not to blame.
The chemistry between McCoy and his blockers in 2013 was unmatched, thus securing Shady a rushing title. But the offensive line played as a single unit for all sixteen games a year ago, and in a sport that boasts a 100-percent injury rate, this is an NFL anomaly. Naturally, a drop off would be expected if the line experienced some setbacks, which it did.
FootballOutsiders.com, a football saber-metrics website, broke down the numbers to analyze how many yards per carry the o-line helps produce. The only lineman with similar numbers to 2013 is also the only lineman to play in every game this season---Jason Peters. Peters is the only position on the line that did not regress from last season. The remainder of the line is down in aggregate 4.71 yards from 2013, with the right guard position contributing nearly 2.5 less yards per carry than last year.
The front line is also responsible for 25-percent of runs being stuffed at or behind the line of scrimmage, ranking 31st in the NFL. Expecting McCoy to amass 5.1 yards per carry behind this line would be like expecting him to send an email with a carrier pigeon. Without Evan Mathis, Jason Kelce, Todd Herremans, and Lane Johnson all standing to the right of Peters, the offensive line is not its elite self.
Sure, Darren Sproles runs behind the same line and averages 6.8 yards per carry, but is that not the role of a change of pace back? If Sproles was able to be a starter and not a scat back, another team more desperate for a work horse would have contacted the Saints before the Eagles did. The law of averages dictates that McCoy, who is out-carrying Sproles 196 to 38, will have more down-to-earth numbers.
The line, not McCoy, is responsible for the dismal ground game in 2014.
*Steve Walsh currently interns for the 94WIP Morning Show and attends the Connecticut School of Broadcasting in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.
You may also be interested in these Sports stories:
