As the Eagles prepare to hunt victory against a New England Patriots team headed by Tom Brady and the league's second-ranked offense, one prevailing notion seems to be that the onus will be on the Eagles offense to control the ball for a large portion of Sunday's contest so as to keep the ball out of Brady's hands. The lion's share of that responsibility, especially if Michael Vick is unable to play, will fall to LeSean McCoy, the league's leading rusher.
"We definitely want to run the ball a little bit this time, control the game a little bit, keep Brady off the field," said McCoy. "But we're going to score too though, we're going to be scoring. So if we're going to have a shootout to win the game, that's what we have to do. We need to play well, have a good scheme because we know they'll play well. I'm just anxious to see how it unfolds."
McCoy has 1,019 rushing yards through 10 games, 78 yards more than the league's second-leading rusher Maurice Jones-Drew. McCoy is also the first player in Eagles history to surpass 1,000 yards rushing through 10 games. Meanwhile, the Patriots defense ranks 12 in the league in overall run defense, though they've allowed 4.32 yards per rush, 19th in the league. And pertinent to ball control, McCoy leads the league with 72 first downs, while the Patriots rank 30th in first downs allowed.
For their part, the Patriots are well aware of the league's rushing leader.
"He's very good," said Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. "He's got his own style, very elusive. Everybody's got to be ready at the point of attack because he's versatile, he'll go inside or outside, he reverses field, cuts back, good hands, catches the ball well. So he's a hard guy to defend."
"Hands down, (he's one of the best running backs we've seen this year)," said defensive tackle Vince Wilfork. "He's a complete back, a guy that can catch the ball out of the backfield and run. He's probably one of the toughest backs out there and I'm pretty sure they're happy with him ... He's a tough runner. He's a tough, tough back. Between that guy and the receivers and the tight end, with a good offensive line, we have our work cut out for us."
The Eagles had their most impressive "ball-control" drive of the season last week against the Giants when Vince Young led an 18-play, 80-yard game-winning drive that spanned just less than nine minutes of game action. It was the longest drive the Eagles have had since 2001, so don't expect it to be a common occurrence for a team that prides itself on explosive plays. Still, Young showed that he's capable of being driving the ball down the field and remaining patient.
"Kind of knowing Vince and seeing him over the years, I wasn't surprised," McCoy said. "The whole week, he'd done a good job of controlling the team. He's been very vocal in the huddle, getting guys lined up and focused. So I wasn't surprised at all."
