There's no questioning LeSean McCoy's toughness. After suffering a cracked rib during Sunday's game against Washington, McCoy didn't miss a beat. In fact, most of his teammates said they had no idea McCoy was even injured. And not surprisingly, McCoy seems ready to go this week in San Francisco.
"I played the whole half injured (last week), so I feel definitely confident to go out there," McCoy said Friday. "There's going to be a little pain, but that comes with the territory. In this type of business, in this type of game, guys are going to be banged up."
McCoy has earned the reputation as being one of the "tough guys" in the locker room after playing through this most recent injury. Quarterback Kevin Kolb told reporters Friday that McCoy is proving just how much he wants to win.
"He's tough as nails," Kolb said. "I think we knew that long before, but he just proves it when he comes in last week and breaks it, in probably the second quarter I think, and never said a word about it. And of course, going and playing this week, too. It's a tribute to him and how bad he wants it and how bad we all want it. We're very focused to go win this game."
When a running back plays with a rib injury, he is almost always forced to wear some sort of protection on his chest –usually a flak jacket. Players have complained in the past that the jacket is bothersome, or prevents them from having the same amount of flexibility that they're accustomed to.
But McCoy disagrees, as he thinks the flak jacket has actually helped him this week in practice.
"It feels good," McCoy said. "Actually, it helps me out a lot. It fits me tight so any lateral movement I'll be fine. Like I said, I have the right gear and I'll be ready to roll."
Head coach Andy Reid said Friday that he expects McCoy to play on Sunday and get, "a normal (work) load that he's been doing." That's just another testament to the toughness of the second year running back out of Pittsburgh. And McCoy admits, he likes that kind of reputation.
"I think every player wants to be tough, especially a running back," McCoy said. "The only thing is that you just have to be smart. Sometimes being too tough ends up in a bad situation."
-- Posted by Josh Goldman, 2:15 p.m., October 8
