Jedimaster21 said:
Bob Magaw said:
tony nowak's pre-season (& pre-draft) scouting profile...
http://fftoday.com/articles/idptony/09draft_rbs_v2.htm
LeSean McCoy (Pittsburgh – 2SO) 5’11” 204
Combine Invite: Yes
After a record-breaking freshman year, expectations were high for McCoy and Pitt, who went in to the season with a Top-
25 ranking. Both got out of the gate slow when Bowling Green came to town for the season opener and upset the Panthers by containing McCoy. He finished with 71 yards at a 3.1 ypc clip with no run over 12 yards, but did score an 11-yard TD on the opening drive and had five receptions for 45 yards. The following week, he scored all three TDs for the Panthers on short runs in a close victory over a surprising Buffalo squad. He was seven yards short of his first 100 yard rushing game, but went over 100 all-purpose yards again with a 24-yard reception. After a bye, McCoy scored the eventual game-winning TD in a one-point win over Iowa when he burst through the middle, then cut across the field and outran the rest of the defense 27 yards untouched. He was held in check most of the day, but on that pivotal drive he rushed for 41 yards and caught a 28-yard reception. At Syracuse, to open the Big East season, he notched his first 100-yard game. He rushed for 149 yards and started a five-game string where he would average 152.4 yards rushing and score 10 TDs, including the game-winner in an upset at #10 USF and a season-long 58-yarder at Navy. Against Louisville, the Cardinals put all their focus on McCoy and held him at negative yardage during the second half. He did run for an 11-yard TD on a direct snap and completed his second career pass for 14 yards. McCoy finished with a career-low 39 yards rushing, but Pitt blew out Louisville. He missed rushing for 100 yards again at Cincinnati, but ran for two TDs and had 127 combined yards in the loss. McCoy owned WVU in the Backyard Brawl for the second straight year, rushing for a career-high 183 yards, including a game-winning one-yard TD run, his second of the game, after carrying the ball nine of ten times on the decisive drive. In a regular season finale showdown with fellow standout underclassmen Donald Brown, McCoy was slightly less productive, but his 47-yard TD run in the third quarter began a 24-point outburst that led the team to victory at UConn. McCoy was limited to 85 yards on 24 carries in a disappointing offensive performance in a 3-0 loss to Oregon State in the Sun Bowl. After leading the Panthers to their first bowl since 2004, McCoy reversed early comments that he would return and, following an apparently agonizing decision process, declared he would enter the draft. McCoy finished his second season with 1,488 rushing yards on 308 carries and 21 TDs, tied for second in FBS.
In my preseason preview, I expected Shady to go the route of Panther alum Larry Fitzgerald and declare after just two seasons if he had similar success, but he improved on his numbers as a sophomore despite a target on his back every game. I expect him to find similar success to Fitzgerald at the next level, as well. McCoy is rare in his ability to thrive inside and outside. A natural runner with outstanding instincts and balance, he has breakaway speed once he gets to the second level. His balance really stands out to me watching him on film, just amazing how it contributes to his ability to change direction and break tackles. A compact runner with great elusiveness through the line and ankle-breaking moves in the open field, it’s hard to get a clean shot on him. Also a very good receiver with soft hands and awareness, he had 33 receptions in 2007 and 32 in 2008.
Ball security is one of the few holes in his game. He has also been accused of trying to bounce too much outside, but I don’t see it. He thrives between the tackles and heads to the edges when the situation dictates it. A bit thin through the hips, there’s some concern if he can carry more bulk, but he appears to have enough talent to succeed regardless. He’ll be 20 years old at the start of his first NFL season and with unlimited potential, he should be one of the first three backs selected.
What is your take on his transition to the NFL? How do you think he looked last season?
i thought his rookie year was a mixed bag...seeing as he only played two years in college, left a year early, and historically PHI rookie RBs don't do a lot, i thought overall he did about as good as could be fairly expected. not sure if he hit the wall but the end of the season didn't seem to live up to the promise of earlier.
the OL did seem to have some injuries (andrews brothers, etc), which maybe affected run blocking more than the passing game.
there was some uncertainty about whether mccoy would play much, given questions about his pass blocking, which he seemed to answer as a rookie. if westbrook retires or is deemphasized, his role should only increase. i don't think weaver is going to permanently impact his share of carries to the degree he did at the end of 2009.
he has above average hands and should be dangerous on screens.
while it is still a question how his game will transition to the NFL (which prompted your question), as a prep and in college i thought his lateral quickness (he doesn't have breakaway speed, but neither did westbrook) and elusiveness were outstanding. it is hard to describe, but in his Pitt highlights, he flashed a kind of gliding, effortless economy of motion and the ability to make defenders miss look easy, like the great ones. i have seen him flash the ability to run inside with decisiveness in college and AT TIMES as a rookie, which makes me think he won't have the same chronic dancing behind the LOS problems that have plagued reggie bush.
i suspect i am higher on him than some here, maybe a lot higher. i agree with the seeming minority opinion that he is a hold/buy low, and that his value will go up, probably as soon as next year. i think he is capable of better than 1,200-1,300 combined yards that jeff has him projected for, though i concede he follows the eagles a lot more closely, and has probably seen a lot more of him. perhaps this is part gut feeling on my part.
i do think he has the talent, constellation of traits, skill set & pedigree to seize the lion's share of carries in a year or two, and his value wil go up, probably a lot, in that time. imo he has top 10 RB ability, with possible upside from there, depending on how many touches he ultimately gets, how big a part of the passing game he plays, etc.
remember, some of the same questions about mccoy (will he always be a situational RB?) were said of westbrook his first few seasons. mccoy ALREADY accomplished far more than westbrook did as a rookie, so in that sense can be said to be ahead of schedule relative to westbrook*. not sure about mcnabb's status long term, but i think kolb will be a capable successor, assuming he isn't traded (i think mcnabb being dealt more likely, but most likely mcnabb around in 2010 & kolb takes over in 2011). mccoy could be the beneficiary of an outstanding trio of receiving weapons in jackson/maclin/celek, which should really open up the run game - he will probably rarely see eight in the box with desean's scary, blow-the-lid-off the secondary deep speed. westbrook never really had this kind of advantage (TO for one full season, but for the most part, mediocre WRs for most of his tenure).
westbrook in his prime was more explosive (but you could say that about just about everybody... at one time, westbrook had one of the nastiest first steps in football), and clearly was stronger... most obviously in his lower body power, but also in his upper body... he was rarely arm tackled. but mccoy should physically mature and develop, fill out a bit more and get stronger.
if he evolves into about 80% as good as westbrook, with a similar opportunity, which is my expectation, he should be able to rack up some pretty big numbers over his career. he is one of the youngest players in the league at any position (with kenny britt and beanie wells), and could emerge as the eagles primary RB by the age of 21-22.
don't know if he will ever be a big TD scorer, as reid likes to get cute around the end zone and throw flips to the TEs, PHI has had trouble in short yardage in recent years. but he flashed ability in college, and imo could deliver if given more opportunity there.
* westbrook didn't have 200+ carries until his fifth season, at which time he was already 27... he was only able to sustain this level of workload for two more years after that breakthrough. it should be added, though, that westbrook was highly productive from his third season on, because of his ability to do a lot of damage in the passing game (60-70+ receptions)...
** mccoy's best play of the season, a 66 yard TD run against the giants... it was a gaping hole, but he showed nice initial burst, downfield vision and instincts, and the speed to finish by taking it to the house...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_KBpUkmso8
This is pretty much how I see McCoy as well. Very nicely said.
This is pretty much how I see McCoy as well. Very nicely said.
