Gerald McCoy calls himself "very average"

Normally when we hear critiques of Gerald McCoy's play, it's people looking for someone to blame without looking at his play. Except this time, the defensive tackle is heaping the criticism on himself -- via Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times:

"Everybody has to self-evaluate, starting with myself. 2013 is over. Gerald McCoy is not an All-Pro," he said. "That was in 2013. Sunday, he didn't play like an All-Pro. ... Sunday, I was kind of disappointed in myself. It's unacceptable. The way we lost, I put it all on me, because my performance was not up to par. Right now, you're only as good as your last performance. Right now, Gerald McCoy is very average."

Lest you think this is just empty "we lost as a team" talk, McCoy's grade received a negative grade from Pro Football Focus. I haven't been able to go through the coaching tape yet, but when re-watching the game his performance certainly didn't stand out the way it usually does. That's disappointing from the team's primary leader.

That's not to say that McCoy has been a problem this season. He's one of the very few players who has played well game in, game out. While he only has two sacks so far this season, he's been a menace in every game he's played -- and that while playing with a broken hand for the past three weeks.

This kind of critical attitude is good to see. But it would be better if that critical attitude wasn't necessary in the first place.