“Unbelievably quick, he’s got tremendous quickness,” Belichick said of McCoy. “You don’t see really anybody tackle him 1-on-1. You need a group of guys around him. He gets hemmed in and then he gets out of it. He’s got great quickness, good vision but great quickness to be able to avoid people. He’s got some running strength too, he gets through the line. Guys get a shot at him and he’s able to run through them.
“I’m not saying he’s a big-time power runner like Brandon Jacobs or Peyton Hillis or someone like that. He’s got good playing strength, but he’s very quick -- screen passes, draws, things like that and the guy has a lot of carries. He’s really hard to tackle, makes a lot of yards on his own, not taking anything away from their blocking or anything but he gets a lot of yards after it looks like somebody should get him, he gets a lot more.”
The key with McCoy: He's averaging 3.61 yards per rush before contact, according to ESPN Stats and Info, the third-best rate among all running backs with at least 50 attempts. That’s a daunting stat for a Patriots team that has allowed the sixth most yards per rush before contact this season (2.74). New England ranks 12th in the league overall against the run (105.3 yards per game) this season.
