Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Michael Vick is a whirling dervish. A speed demon. The craziest thing is he might just be the third fastest man in the Philadelphia Eagles uptempo, frenetic offense.
LeSean McCoy, or as his teammates call him “Shady”, is as fast and quick as they come at the running back position and at only 25 years old has the stamina and energy to wear on opponents. DeSean Jackson as teammates and opponents would concede may be the fastest man in the league, and he is living up to that billing by consistently dusting cornerbacks both on his team in training camp and against his opponents in the preseason.
When Jackson gets up to full speed you can forget it. His blistering 4.2 speed can’t be contained by opposing corners and safeties. The speed of this offense can be scary. McCoy, Vick, and Jackson have to be accounted for at all times, and if they get the edge it is over. Jackson in particular demands a safety rolled his way in coverage as a corner has a tough match up one-on-one in covering the speedster without giving up a long bomb.
A safety and a corner’s attention opens up the other side of the field for receivers such as Riley Cooper and Damaris Johnson to do damage in man-to-man coverage. It is pick your poison for this Eagles offense. Vick, McCoy, and Jackson will demand extra attention. This gives the other receivers and tight ends major mismatches all over the field.
Chip Kelly is always looking for that extra advantage. To him football is like a chess match. If you stack guys in the box to stop the dynamic McCoy he is going to throw the ball. If you leave safeties and corners deep he is going to pound the rock down your throat with his impressive array of running backs. Pick your poison. With this impressive collection of skill players you can bet Kelly will be saying checkmate when the clock hits zero.
