Last week, LeSean McCoy told reporters that he expected Michael Vick's presence under center to open up some running lanes for McCoy as the defense shifted some of their focus to Vick's legs. It didn't take long for McCoy's expectations to come true.
On the Eagles' first play from scrimmage, McCoy took a handoff from Vick, burst through the line of scrimmage, then juked an array of Colts defenders and raced down to the Colts' 10-yard-line for a tone-setting 62-yard run.
"Early in the game, they kind of played us a little soft, then we popped the big one, then they started keying in and showing some respect," McCoy said after the game. "The ability of (Vick) to hit you in so many way, on the ground of throwing the ball, really (hurts defenses) ... Having Mike definitely helps this team out."
On the day, McCoy had 16 carries for 95 yards, but the damage done on that first play forced the Colts to pay more attention to McCoy's abilities between the tackles. Meanwhile, Vick rushed for 74 yards on 10 carries. Vick's 7.3 yards-per-carry mark on the season would lead the league if he had enough rushes to qualify. McCoy says that teams around the league are starting to pay attention to the exploits of this Eagles backfield.
"We're up there," McCoy said. "A lot of teams are starting to recognize, man, these young guys can play. You look across the board at all the starters, and we're rolling. It just shows you how to play us. If you stop the run, we got the pass. If you stop the pass, we got the run. We showed that today."
But McCoy's biggest source of pride following the game was how the team responded to the meltdown in Tennessee by following through on the buzz phrase entering the game - "four quarters."
"I think we're learning," McCoy said. "You have to keep your foot on the pedal. The last game we lost, we should have won that game. We beat ourselves to be honest with you and we have to stop doing that.
"It just let us know that you have to finish every game. That game, we came out fresh and pretty fast in the first half, and second half pretty flat. We switched it up and kind of learned from our mistake."
*-- Posted by Bo Wulf, 2:48 p.m., November 8 *
