LeSean McCoy vs. Osi Umenyiora: Who Really Has Ground to Talk?

Earlier this week, after Osi Umenyiora announced that he filed an affidavit on his contract with the Giants, Philadelphia Eagles running back LeSean McCoy tweeted that Umenyiora was "soft, overrated, and the 3rd best defensive lineman on the Giants." Strong words to say to a guy who had 11.5 sacks last season. 

As every proper public figure does in this age of Twitter, Umenyiora responded back to McCoy's comments by saying that the former Pittsburgh Panther is a "nobody," and said that McCoy's Twitter jab at him was "something a woman would do." He went as far as to refer to McCoy as Lady Gaga.

LeSean McCoy is Lady Gaga? Osi Umenyiora is soft? Say what?

Who has the ground to talk here? 

Ranking the Giants Defensive Lineman

If McCoy thinks that Umenyiora is the third-best defensive lineman on the Giants, then he must be implying that Justin Tuck and Mathius Kiwanuka are better. Tuck is a justifiable argument; he matched Umenyiora's 11.5 sacks in the 2010 NFL season. 

Kiwanuka has no doubt had a great career. He has 161 tackles (93 solo), 16.5 sacks, two interceptions and five forced fumbles. He spent most of the last season on injured reserve, however. 

Umenyiora has played in the league since 2003 and has 303 tackles and 58 sacks. Despite having played for longer than Kiwanuka, Umenyiora's stats are better. 

Verdict: LeSean McCoy is wrong, Umenyiora is at least the second-best defensive lineman on the Giants and, arguably, the most elite. 

Evaluating LeSean McCoy

In two NFL seasons, McCoy has rushed for 1,717 yards and 11 touchdowns. In addition, he has 118 receptions for 900 and two touchdowns. Those are pretty respectable figures for a young running back who plays on a team with a great defense and a ton of other offensive weapons (Michael Vick, DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin).

Umenyiora stated in his response to McCoy's comments that he would respect criticism from Andy Reid, Michael Vick or Jason Peters, but "not a nobody like McCoy."

But McCoy is certainly not a nobody. For a young running back who plays for a team that doesn't rush all too often, McCoy has been brilliant in his NFL career. 

In Conclusion

When it's all said and done, both Umenyiora and McCoy were wrong in the statements they made. Umenyiora is certainly neither overrated nor the third-best defensive lineman on the Giants, and McCoy is certainly a player of relevance. 

So who wins?

Neither of them.

McCoy's comments were unprovoked and were directed at a guy who has owned all offenses, including the Eagles, throughout his entire NFL career. To call Umenyiora "soft and overrated," McCoy was blatantly being disrespectful to a guy who should garner multiple degrees of respect and praise. 

Some will argue that McCoy should also have respect for Umenyiora as an older and more experienced veteran, yet Umenyiora should have reminded everyone of this point and responded to McCoy's comments with a more mature and appropriate statement than to call McCoy a "woman." Umenyiora showed no class or sophistication in his childish jab. 

One thing is for sure though—the Eagles vs. Giants rivalry will be heated this season. Since the Eagles embarrassed the Giants last season in that epic December grudge match, (DeSean Jackson's punt return as time expired) the Giants have a chip on their shoulder and need to once again prove to everyone, including themselves, that they are the most dominant squad in the NFC East.

Expect some hard hits and possibly some long runs when the two teams square off this season. 

Both Osi Umenyiora and LeSean McCoy have showed that they are not entirely mature adults, but hopefully the banter will not prove petty and improve the quality of the great game that is football.