Paul Domowitch: McCoy gains ground

BREAKING DOWN the Eagles' impressive, 45-19, win over the Jets while wondering whether all North Korean leaders go to heaven:

With 102 rushing yards against the Jets, LeSean McCoy heads into the final two games of the season just 60 yards behind league rushing leader Maurice Jones-Drew of Jacksonville. Jones-Drew has 1,334 yards, McCoy 1,274.

McCoy has his work cut out for him. Jones-Drew has had 17 or more carries in 13 of the Jaguars' 14 games, while McCoy could get a lot of work or a little in the Eagles' last two games depending on which way the wind in Andy Reid and Marty Mornhinweg's game plan is blowing.

With Tennessee and Indianapolis left on the Jags' dance card, Jones-Drew will be facing softer defenses than McCoy the next 2 weeks. The Titans are ranked 20th against the run, the Colts 30th.

The Eagles have the Cowboys and the Redskins left. The Cowboys are eighth against the run, the Redskins 17th. But McCoy had big games against both teams the earlier this season, rushing for 185 yards in the Eagles' 34-7 win over the Cowboys and putting up 126 in their 20-13 win over the Redskins.

He continued to establish himself as one of the league's top short-yardage runners against the Jets. He converted four of six short-yardage situations (2 yards or less) into first downs or touchdowns. In the Eagles' last nine games, he has converted 28 of 36.

Reid and Mornhinweg have developed enough confidence in his short-yardage skill and the offensive line that they are doing a much better of job of resisting the temptation to throw the ball in those situations. On the two occasions Sunday when the Jets stopped McCoy in short-yardage situations, R & M came right back with another McCoy run.

The Eagles' young linebackers and safeties have taken a lot of heat for the team's defensive breakdowns this season. But they turned in a solid effort against the Jets. A quick look at how a couple of them played:

* Kurt Coleman. The second-year safety had one of his best games of the season. He forced the first-quarter fumble by Jets wide receiver Santonio Holmes that Juqua Parker returned 47 yards for a touchdown to give the Eagles a 7-0 lead. He broke up a second-quarter pass in the end zone for Plaxico Burress. And he broke up yet another pass for Burress early in the third quarter.

* Casey Matthews. The much-maligned rookie linebacker, who has resurfaced in the Eagles' nickel package the last 2 weeks after losing his starting job early in the season, had a good day. After the Jets' reeled off 33 yards on four straight Shonn Greene runs on their first possession, they tried a screen pass to LaDainian Tomlinson. But Matthews did a terrific job of recognizing the screen, beating the block and dropping Tomlinson for a 4-yard loss. On a third-and-12 play in the second quarter, Matthews made another nice play on a pass to Tomlinson, stopping him for a 6-yard gain on third-and-12 and spoiling one of the Jets' five red-zone opportunities. The Jets, who came into the game ranked first in the league in red-zone offense, converted just two of five red-zone tries against an Eagles defense that was ranked 32nd in the red zone.

Andy Reid and Marty Mornhinweg have more offensive formations and personnel groupings than Imelda Marcos had shoes. Against the Jets, they used nine different formations.

On their first possession, they used five different formations on five plays. One-back, two-tight end. Three-wide receiver, two-tight end. Three-wide, one-back, one-tight end. Two-back, one-tight end. Four-wide receiver, one-back.

Their most oft-used set Sunday featured three wide receivers, one running back and one tight end. They lined up in it on 27 of their 58 offensive plays. It was the Eagles' most productive run set against the Jets. LeSean McCoy rushed for 78 of his 102 yards and two of his three touchdowns out of the 3-1-1.

Tight end Brent Celek had five catches for a career-high 156 yards and a touchdown. Those five catches came out of four different formations. He had 11- and 6-yard receptions out of a three-wide, one-back, one-tight end set. Had his 73-yard catch-and-run out of a two-wide receiver, one-back, two-tight end set. Had a 38-yard reception out of a three-wide, two-tight end set. His 26-yard touchdown catch came out of a two-wide receiver, two-back, one-tight end set.

God knows where Jason Babin would be right now if Jim Washburn hadn't walked into his life, but it sure as hell wouldn't be three sacks south of Reggie White. In his first six seasons in the NFL, Babin had a total of just 17 1/2 sacks. Then he met Washburn last year in Tennessee, recorded 12 sacks and went to his first Pro Bowl. In 14 games this season playing in Washburn's wide-nine, he's got a league-best 18. He needs three in the Eagles' last two games to tie White's franchise record of 21.

Babin, who had three sacks Sunday against the Jets and three the week before against the Dolphins, is only the 10th player in NFL history to record three or more sacks in back-to-back games.