By Nick Wojton / Billswire.usatoday.com
The Buffalo Bills’ entire roster has been through a youth movement. Whether a first-round pick starting at quarterback or undrafted rookies starting at playmaker positions on both sides of the ball, guys are getting their chances.
The Bills (5-9) head to the New England Patriots (9-5) in Week 16. Last week, Buffalo’s top rusher, LeSean McCoy, didn’t play (hamstring).
Neither did No. 2 Chris Ivory (shoulder).
Then No. 3 Marcus Murphy was injured during the game (elbow).
An undrafted rookie at the running back position in Keith Ford then got his opportunity after all of that. In his NFL debut, Ford looked OK for Bills standards. He had 14 carries for 46 yards, a 3.3 yards-per-carry average. Ford found and burst through a few holes successfully.
However, the same problem that has found McCoy, Ivory and Murphy this season were spotted. Buffalo’s offensive line is bad. Pro Football Focus ranks them as the second-worst run-blocking unit in the NFL.
This week McCoy and Ivory are practicing and on track to return against the Patriots. McCoy even announced on Thursday while speaking to reporters that he’s going to play.
With the continued struggles of the offensive line in mind, along with McCoy and Ivory both being 30 years old, plus the youth movement, could McCoy see limited carries in Week 16 so Ford can have more?
We’ll find out, but we already know McCoy doesn’t want that.
When asked if the team’s game plan has McCoy as the “featured back” this week, McCoy scoffed at the idea, according to the Buffalo News.
“I’m out, man… Yo, this dude…Am I the featured back? What am I, going to come off the bench? We’ll see. I don’t know. We’ll see,” McCoy said.
The running back didn’t even want to discuss the season to this point at all, either.
“That doesn’t matter. At this point, that’s irrelevant,” he said. “We’ll get it better. We’ll get it going,” McCoy said.
It’s understandable that McCoy doesn’t want to look back. He has just 479 rushing yards and an average of 3.3 yards per carry, the worst of the former All-Pro’s career. He only has two touchdowns as well, also his career-low.
Despite the numbers and brash responses, McCoy continues to see the support of the team’s front office throughout the year. General manager Brandon Beane said McCoy will be in the team’s plans for next season. In addition, Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott said as recently as Thursday that he believes McCoy is in a “decent spot.”
While it might be clear that McCoy is, in fact, not in a decent spot, there could be a positive spin to make on his anger. Almost since the day he’s joined the Bills, McCoy has answered questions about his age since plenty of young, even rookie running backs entire the league and thrive. Look no further than Broncos’ feature back Phillip Lindsay. He’s going to the Pro Bowl.
But McCoy almost certainly knows his issues stem from Buffalo’s offensive line and not his age, but as a team captain, he won’t admit that.
Despite being 31 at the start of the 2019 season, McCoy could re-join the Bills and their likely revamped offense next year with a chip on his shoulder. Sort of a “redemption” type of season, if you will. Shady certainly has the type of personality where you’d think it’s possible and that could pay huge dividends for Buffalo.