LeSean McCoy signing goes to plan...

Looking forward to the running of the Preakness later today... and thinking of the hard training and expertise that goes into the development of a thoroughbred running back... the ability to read blocks and adjust to lanes is just as important to an NFL running back as it is to a 110-pound jockey astride a 40-mph missile made of muscle and willpower.

That's what makes LeSean McCoy special... he can read his field like a jockey...and he has put in the hard work to qualify as a physical force in the NFL.



Only 23 years old, McCoy has emerged into one of the strongest running backs in the league. He hit the weights like Brizer told him in 2010. It paid off. No more arm tackles...and he has stayed relatively injury-free with the exception of the usual strains and pains. This guy is a horse.

He is a premier back. At 5-11, 208, he is electrifying at times.

He is now making Arian Foster money... $45 million over 5 years, $21 million guaranteed... 

He can run with Foster, and catch more passes... he pass-pro blocks...he is better than Foster.

Give credit where it is due to Howie Roseman, Andy Reid and McCoy's agent Drew Rosenhaus...  All three recognized they were dealing with something special here. Nobody was foolish enough to muck it up.


UPDATE to follow on Preakness Day....
Saturday, May 19, 2012... a lovely day in the Delaware Valley...nice comeback win by the 76ers over the Celtics...and near-perfect weather for the running of the Preakness about 60 miles down the road from me...

Musing on the "Herman Weaver" episode from Friday where I mistakenly labeled retired fullback Leonard Weaver as "Herman"...

The "real" Herman Weaver was a great punter from Tennessee, stood 6-4 and weighed 220, and was nicknamed "Thunderfoot" by Howard Cosell on a Monday Night Football broadcast in the '70's. Weaver was renowned for his distance and hang time. He played for the Detroit Lions from 1970 to 1976, and for the Seatle Seahawks from 1977 to 1981. Today at age 62 he runs a youth ministry for troubled or disadvantaged kids.

 
Herman Weaver's message to kids today is nothing good is going to come easy unless they set goals and work hard for them...he's got an inspirational website which also has plenty of facts and stats on his own NFL career at http://www.thunderfoot18.com  ...

Accidentally thinking about Herman Weaver directed my attention to the least-publicized of all the roster battles looming for the Eagles in 2012.
The Punter position is clearly open to challenge.

Punter Chas Henry ranked near the bottom of the league in average, net and punts inside the 20. The Eagles have brought in Kentucky’s Ryan Tydlacka in what figures to be a true competition for the job.

Chas Henry is the incumbent...undrafted free agent out of Florida in 2011, 6-3, 210, Henry has the strongest and longest leg on the current roster, but still is a relatively inexperienced punter in game sitautions. People tend to forget he rarely punted more than 2 or 3 times a game in his career at Florida...sometimes only 1 punt in a game.


Ryan Tydlacka is the challenger... pronounced "tied-latch-ka", he is 6-1, 190, a UDFA out of Kentucky...He is not as long as Henry but led his conference in net yards and punts landed inside the 20 and downed inside the 10... Folks who watched him at Kentucky rave about his directional control, too. 

I think it's going to be a close competition between Henry and Tydlacka in camp. Chas has the edge on the basis of familiarity with the system and a slightly stronger leg...plus, he is expected to get better. But don't rule out the possibility of an upset performance to win the job by Tydlacka. His peeps at Kentucky say Ryan is a gamer.

Between Herman Weaver and the Preakness, it just seems fitting to dwell a bit on the part of the Eagles game that requires a strong leg and a finishing kick.