Eagles' McCoy can handle the truth - and it fuels his drive

LeSean McCoy wants the truth.

He yearns for it.

In this age of the modern-day athlete when superstars - or would-be superstars - surround themselves only with yes men, McCoy wants nothing more than an honest answer in his quest for greatness.

So when the topic is "Who are the best running backs in the NFL?" - as it often is - the Eagles running back wants it straight. It's not really an ego thing, although there's a tinge of that. McCoy knows he's good, real good. But he wants to be great, he wants to be the best.

And when you're a little humble (it's no act) and you're a little insecure (yes, it's true), you have your doubts. McCoy doesn't want a self-serving response, though. That doesn't mean he may necessarily like what he hears.

Just the other day, his brother LeRon called another running back great.

"And I'm cool with this guy," LeSean McCoy said. "And he's trying to call him great. I'm like, 'He ain't great. He's good, he's real good. But he ain't great.' He's like, 'No, he's great.' "

LeRon McCoy, a former NFL wide receiver, is part of LeSean's small, close-knit inner circle that the Harrisburg native leans on in high times and low. After every game, McCoy calls his brother, his two childhood friends - Chris "Hollywood" Henderson and Lavar Burhannan - and his do-it-all marketing agent - Ishmail Kamara - to keep it real.

"They tell me how it is," McCoy said. "They'll never go overboard, good or bad. Sometimes I'll be like, 'I killed it didn't I?' . . . Or I'll be like, 'I played so [poorly] today.' And they'll be like, 'Yeah, man, you did.' "

If there's a second circle - one just as important - it is the one McCoy has created inside the NovaCare Complex that consists of coaches Ted Williams and Duce Staley and teammates Michael Vick and Asante Samuel. And like his first inner circle, they don't sugarcoat their lessons for the budding superstar.

McCoy listens, he learns, and he does the right things, the aforementioned universally acclaim. It's as much a part of the 23-year-old's success as his supreme natural abilities. In this season of woe for the Eagles - which ends Sunday against Washington - McCoy's breakout year has been something to celebrate.

He has rushed for 1,309 yards, set a franchise record with his league-leading 20 touchdowns, and became the first Eagles running back to be voted into the Pro Bowl as a starter since Wilbert Montgomery in 1979. McCoy needs 203 yards to pass Montgomery's single-season mark of 1,512 yards.