LeSean McCoy Starting at Running Back for Philadelphia Eagles

Sure, I was not totally sold on the idea at first. But now, I am changing my entire attitude towards LeSean McCoy starting as the Eagles running back.

It has been a debate I have been tossing around in my head for the past few days, and I am sold. McCoy should start in Philadelphia.

McCoy was very young last year, and then I took a glance at his stats and his performance; it's starting material.

He filled in for one of the Eagles' best running backs of all time, and he went above and beyond and proved to not only the Eagles but to the fans, "I can do this."

Am I worried that he has still not had enough game-time experience to know when to run through the correct hole, and block the right linebacker? Sure. Who isn't?

But I have come to terms that this is a young Eagles team, and there will be mistakes no matter how much I don't want to see them.

We will have blown coverages, missed tackles, poor blocking, bad passes, bad ball control, this list goes on.

But the way I see it, this is how every young team starts, and this is how great running backs happen. You learn from experience.

McCoy is on his way to a great career, and I have developed a bold thought, a very outlandish prediction, McCoy could end up being better than Brian Westbrook.

Now please, before you shoot down to the comment section and post a million reasons why Westbrook is better, hear me out.

McCoy's rookie year: 

• Attempts: 155
  
• Rushing Yards: 637
• Average Yards Per Carry: 4.1
• Receptions: 40
• Receiving Yards: 308
• Average Yards Per Catch: 7.7
• Total Touchdowns: 4
• Total Yards: 945

Westbrook's rookie year:

• Attempts: 46
• Rushing Yards: 193
• Average Yards Per Carry: 4.2
• Receptions: 9
• Receiving Yards: 86
• Average Yards Per Catch: 9.6
• Total Touchdowns: 0
• Total Yards: 279

I am aware that these two had very different roles during their rookie seasons, so it is not a totally fair comparison. But generally speaking, McCoy either matched or out-did Westbrook in most categories.

The most shocking thing about the comparison is that McCoy almost broke the 1,000 yard mark as a back-up in just one season, starting in just four games.

McCoy has already proven himself as a valuable weapon in the passing game, Andy Reid loves that more than we can imagine, and he can run the ball when needed.

Watch for McCoy to grow and become a better player as time goes on, and look for Kolb to lean on him as a big support as the season goes on.