Philadelphia Eagles RB LeSean McCoy Losing His Edge?

During the off-season Philadelphia Eagles running back LeSean McCoy talked about having an epic season in 2014. Not only did he see the Eagles going far, but he was going to reach new career heights as well. He was going to hit the elusive and elite 2,000 single-season mark. Five games in to the season  he has 273 yards, one touchdown, and has yet to come close to a 100+ yard game.

At times (like in the play below) he has looked more like a confused rabbit running from hunting dogs. In light of what Chip Kelly said on his weekly Monday morning call-in show you have to wonder if he still has the desire and hunger to be the best.

via Bleacher Report

According to Kelly with the game on the line in the fourth quarter McCoy didn't want to be in the game, but instead removed himself from it. He wasn't told to leave. He wasn't injured. He choose to not play when the team needed it's superstar running back the most (via CBSLocal):

“LeSean took himself out,” Chip Kelly told Angelo Cataldi and the 94WIP Morning Show on his weekly Monday morning call-in. “He rotates and he knows Sproles can play. I think we have two marquee running backs. I don’t change how we call things. I don’t do anything differently when Darren is in the game. I think Darren had seven carries, you know, 51 yards averaged 7.3 yards a carry. So, I think he’s pretty good in what we do.”

Kelly is right. The Eagles do have two solid running backs and Sproles has played really well for Philadelphia. So had it been a coaching decision to insert Sproles over McCoy it would have been understandable.

But it wasn't.

McCoy admitted to pulling himself out and was not concerned about the move at all, 

“No, I actually came out. Me and [Darren] Sproles, we work together no matter if it’s a run or a pass. We kinda work together. I touched the ball a lot tonight, or today, 20-something carries something like that. Next time we really got to finish it though. If it’s me or him, we got to finish the game out.”

In a way you could call that a good attitude; he's not putting himself above the team. McCoy is supposed to be the superstar though. He should want the ball and never willingly take himself out of the game.'

That's not what champions do.

What makes the matter even worse is that the offense failed to put the game away. To be fair that is not all on Sproles, but the team's best players should have been on the field.

They definitely should not be taking themselves off of it.

[CBSLocal]

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