ESPN sought out to determine which teams that did not make the Super Bowl are the closest to contending. For this bold initiative, they summoned the help of ProFootballFocus.com. An explanation of their methodology:
What makes a Super Bowl contender? When Pro Football Focus analyzed the 28 teams that played in the conference championship games for the 2007 to 2013 seasons, it found that, on average, 40 percent of those rosters were composed of good/elite players (you had to play 250-plus snaps to qualify). Using that methodology, PFF determined how many above-average players stood between your team and contending for this year's Super Bowl.
You can peruse each team here, but for your convenience, here is how they had the Eagles ranked:
If you'll notice, LeSean McCoy is a "bad" player, in the same category with Riley Cooper and Bradley Fletcher. Apparently, Mark Sanchez, Nate Allen, Matt Tobin, and Casey Matthews are better football players than LeSean McCoy.
Curiosity got the best of me, so I figured I'd take a quick peek around the rest of the league to see what other players are better than LeSean McCoy. A player from every other team:
Clay Harbor, Kurt Coleman, Jaiquawn Jarrett, A.Q. Shipley, King Dunlap, Jason Avant, Quintin Demps, Darryl Tapp, Andrew Quarless, Frank Kearse, Ropati Pitoitua, Patrick Omameh, Benson Mayowa, Austin Davis, Michael Ola, Vladimir Ducasse, Joplo Bartu, Tyrunn Walker, Tony Jefferson, Shelley Smith, A.J. Bouye, Terence Newman, EJ Manuel, Mike Mitchell, Quinton Dial, Miles Austin, J.J. Wilcox, Marvin Austin, Kamar Aiken, and the guy who dropped the onsides kick in the Seahawks-Packers game.
LeSean McCoy: Worst. Player. Ever.
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