First of all, let me start by saying that Shady McCoy was one of my favorite Eagles of all time. With that said, lets get down to business and analyze this trade which makes the Eagles a better team.
I’m not even going to get into the rumors that the Eagles would’ve cut McCoy if they couldn’t trade him.
Why? Because its irrelevant at this point…The reason why I love this move is because the birds got one of the best young inside linebackers in football! Who cares if Kiko Alonso is from Oregon, In 2013 he should’ve been the NFL defensive rookie of the year. If Alonso recovers from ACL surgery and stays healthy, than Chip Kelly just picked up a diamond in the ruff!
Alonso is the type of player that fans are going to love around here. The Eagles defense has been missing a toughness for years. I’m telling you right now, this dude is an animal and he loves to hit people. Apparently his motto is “See people, hit people”…With Kiko and Kendricks playing inside, the middle of the Eagles defense is going to be a force!
Okay so what about McCoy? What about the running back position? Let’s start off by breaking down the decline in McCoy’s production. McCoy led the league in rushing in 2013, and also had a 5.1 yards per carry average. He also had over 320 touches in 13. In 2014 McCoy had a down year compared to his record breaking 2013 season. Shady only averaged 4.1 yards per carry, while also lugging over 300 touches again. A lot of Eagles fans felt that McCoy was on the decline this season, and, screamed for him to be traded.
Which is funny, because most of those same fans are complaining that he was traded yesterday. Regardless, I didn’t think McCoy lost a step last season. In my opinion, it seemed most of his problems had to do with the injuries on the offensive line. With that said, LeSean will be 27 heading into next season, and has over 650 touches since 2013. What does it all mean? It means that over the next year or two he will be on the decline. So why would you keep a declining superstar on your roster? Most fans seem to be upset because he was one of their favorite players. As I stated above, he was one of my favorites as well, but, what playoff games did we win with McCoy? NONE.
It’s not like Kelly is breaking up the 1980’s 49ers team. Moving on, let’s take a look at the real reason this trade makes sense…..MONEY. McCoy was set to make over 12 Million dollars this season with incentives and would have counted for exactly $11,950,000 against the cap. By trading McCoy the Eagles save almost $9,000,000 against the cap. This move combined with the release of Cary Williams, James Casey, and Trent Cole has the Eagles $50,000,000 under the cap!!
Yes I hate talking about the money, but, it seems pretty obvious to me that Chip Kelly is ready to let loose in free agency. With a number of exciting defensive backs becoming free agents like Darrel Revis, Bryon Maxwell, Devin McCourty, and Brandon Flowers…The Eagles can make a splash.
And don’t be surprised if they go after Ndamukong Suh at nose tackle now! So I believe, the Eagles will be a major player when next weeks free agent market opens up. Of course we can’t forget about the draft. Most NFL scouts are preadicting this years running back class will be most impressive in over ten years. It’s very possible, that the Eagles could get a young stud in the second or third round, and plug him in right away.
Trading the all-time leading rusher is a tough pill to swallow, but, it was a smart football move and their is more to come. We tend to fall in love with players here in Philly, and, I’m one of those fans. With that said, the Patriots show no mercy! They let key players walk all the time, and, replace them with new ones. Last time I checked New England has 4 rings.
Hold on folks it’s going to be a wild ride!
Picture Via: Fox News
from Broken Bell Sports http://ift.tt/1F9j4Pk
via IFTTT
from Tumblr http://ift.tt/17QrL5X
via IFTTT
BrokenBellSports 