Eagles vs. Giants: LeSean McCoy Must Carry Load in Michael Vick's Absence

With Michael Vick sitting out with a pair of broken ribs and the their slim hopes to contend in the NFC East hanging in the balance, the Philadelphia Eagles need to feed the ball to LeSean McCoy early and often against the New York Giants on Sunday night.

Where before Andy Reid might have had some justification for clinging stubbornly to a pass-heavy, West Coast offensive game plan, now he has no other choice but to run the ball early and often against Big Blue's 20th-ranked rush defense, lest he entrust his team's tenuous fate to Vince Young.

Which isn't entirely out of the question, considering the head-scratching strategies and tactics to which Reid has prescribed throughout his coaching career in the City of Brotherly Love.

But if Reid knows what's good for him and his team, he'll tell Young to hand the ball off to McCoy at every opportunity. McCoy has emerged this season as one of the top running backs in the NFL. At present, he ranks fifth in yards per carry (5.5), second in total rushing yards (906) and first in rushing touchdowns (10). What's more, he's chipped in 31 catches for 196 yards and two touchdowns in the passing game.

In short, McCoy is about as sure a bet as you'll find among NFL running backs of picking up at least five or six yards every time he touches the ball. That sort of yardage on first and second down would leave Young with manageable third-down situations with which to work.

And let's not forget, it's not as though Vince Young hasn't logged significant playing time as a pro. He's had some success under center before, albeit on a different team, in what might as well be considered an entirely different period in his bumpy career. Young is more than capable of converting short-yardage situations with his arm and/or his legs.

Though, ultimately, McCoy would always be the first choice, so long as Vick isn't healthy enough to play.

Aside from taking pressure off Young to perform, feeding the ball to McCoy would allow the Eagles to turn up turf and control clock in the process, thereby keeping Eli Manning and the Giants' at-times explosive offense off the field. Not that Philly doesn't have the talent to keep pace with New York in a barn burner, but rather that doing so is decidedly more difficult without Vick's considerable services at the team's disposal.

Don't be surprised, then, if McCoy gets 30 touches or more at MetLife Stadium. Anything less than that would be the bigger shock, particularly to the Eagles' hopes of winning and, in turn, staying alive in the division race.