This Sunday, the Philadelphia Eagles will host the Buffalo Bills. This week's game will prove to be an interesting match-up for all sorts of reasons. The most intriguing aspect of this game is the fact that ex-Eagles running back, LeSean McCoy, will be returning to Philadelphia for the first time since he was traded in the offseason.
McCoy, or Shady as he was known to most, spent six seasons with the Eagles before getting shipped off to Buffalo in a heartbreaking fashion. Many seem to think he has been looking forward to coming back and playing against his former team.
In March, Chip Kelly made the decision to trade the star-running back in order to acquire linebacker Kiko Alonso. Of course, most were puzzled by this, considering McCoy was the 2013 rushing champion. Although, Alonso was deemed 2013's Defensive Rookie of the Year, trading a high-caliber player like McCoy for him did not seem to make much sense. Kelly's intent was to create more depth at the linebacker position, which was a good idea seeing it from today's perspective. Still, the way the trade was carried out left McCoy feeling disrespected.
That move was followed by a series of accusations toward Chip Kelly which continued to play out through the offseason. McCoy was quoted on ESPN.com saying, "You see how fast he got rid of all the good players. Especially all the good black players." Of course many came to the defense of Kelly and proved McCoy's remarks to be nothing but a false accusation.
Since then, McCoy has progressively enjoyed his new home. Having played football in Pennsylvania his entire life, the change was very different for him, initially. So far through 10 games this season, McCoy is boasting 792 yards off of 173 rushing attempts. He has been battling a lingering hamstring injury, but he still looks to be the same dangerous running back Philadelphia is used to seeing.
Coming off of a huge upset against the New England Patriots, the Eagles will look to contain one of the top rushing attacks in the league, one that they once didn't have to face. Along with McCoy, quarterback Tyrod Taylor will also be a huge rushing threat to Philadelphia's defensive front.
McCoy was loved by all because of his incredible abilities to juke out entire defenses. Like him or not, McCoy deserves credit for what he did with his time in Philadelphia.
McCoy is expected to be greeted with mixed emotions by his old fans, but then again these are Philadelphia fans we are talking about. Whatever happens, McCoy is going to bring his best on Sunday. Eagles fans just have to hope his best isn't good enough to send the Eagles to another loss.
Dan Ketler is a contributing writer for Eagledelphia. Follow him on Twitter @ketler11.
