The Buffalo Bills are getting the best of LeSean McCoy again has nothing to do with him playing under a coach he doesn’t hate. It has everything to do with being in better shape than last season, and especially shedding some weight.
McCoy is on his way to a fifth 1000-yards rushing season in six years, with 792 on 173 carries, a 4.6 yards per carry average. He didn’t have the best of starts to the season after getting traded from Philadelphia to the Bills, maybe in part to being busy trashing Chip Kelly at every opportunity. He ran for just 304 yards on his first five games of the season, averaging 3.9 yards per carry. He had a minor injury keep him out for a couple of games, but since then he’s been on fire, rushing for 488 yards in five games, averaging 5.14 yards per carry, while the Bills have gone 3-2.
McCoy is reportedly 10 pounds lighter than he was last season, which has helped him keep his speed despite reaching the age in which running backs begin to decline. He’s had two seasons of over 300 carries, which usually doesn’t bode well for running backs, but by staying a bit lighter he’s able to retain his speed despite getting older, and not becoming one of those running backs that it’s sad to see in the latter stage of their career, at least not right now.
McCoy, along with Tyrod Taylor and Karlos Williams make for a very good running offense, averaging over 140 yards per game on the ground, which fits the way Greg Roman usually likes to make his team play. He turned away from that last season in San Francisco, but this season in Buffalo, with another mobile quarterback who is probably better on the move than in the pocket, Romans is back to his foundation offense. Rex Ryan has some work to do before the Bills break their 16 year playoff wait, but this team has the talent to do it. It just needs to find some consistency.