By Nick Wojton / Billswire.usatoday.com
LeSean McCoy isn’t big on rookies at 30 years old. It doesn’t matter the position.
McCoy, 30, knows younger players at his own position such as Zeke Elliott and Todd Gurley deserve praise. But in his own analysis of other running backs, McCoy has often referred to older players like 35-year-old Frank Gore.
That same feeling towards youth trickles down to other positions for Shady, quarterback included. He’s now taking getting hand-offs from a guy by the name of Josh Allen in Buffalo. He’s a rookie.
Despite that, McCoy hasn’t been keeping him in check like other rookies. Allen’s play has spoken for itself, and it spoke loud and clear on Sunday when Allen led the McCoy-less Bills to a 27-6 win over the Minnesota Vikings.
McCoy can’t fight it anymore. He’s impressed.
“Well, like I said before, I’m not big on rookies, but certain guys you can see it. You can tell (Allen’s) one of them,” McCoy said on Wednesday. “He’s smart, he has a dog in him. He wants to compete at a high level, he wants to win, he lays his body out on the line. I’m sure a lot of franchise quarterbacks wouldn’t do that, and it’s no secret that he’s our franchise guy. I love him. I love his talent, and he’s out there just playing. Everything is like a learning experience for him, but for the most part, he’s just got the natural feel for the game. He’s a gamer, so I love that.”
Allen certainly showed he’s a “gamer” against Minnesota, from his jumps and dives on the ground to extending passing plays and showing a bit of accuracy via the passing game. But the rookie knows it’s one step at a time in the NFL and he’s not going to get too far ahead of himself.
“I’ve heard nothing but great things about the environment in Lambeau, just the tradition that’s been there, and the team that they have there is really good. You know they have a quarterback over there that, you put him on any team and he’s going to win football games, so we’re going in there, just trying to prepare and have a good week,” Allen said.
If Allen can put together another strong week, or even a win, it’ll certainly be tough for naysayers to doubt his abilities.