The last two games have been rough for the Philadelphia Eagles’ defense. Matthews totaled three receptions for a team-high 60 yards in the loss. And suddenly, a team that was guaranteeing a trip to the Super Bowl before the season began has become a laughingstock.
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However, after two 10-6 seasons, it seems that the Chip Kelly system has hit its first real obstacle.
MORE: If Kelly leaves, where might he go?
But for all intents and purposes, this Eagles season is over; living in the past is not going to change that. All you do is take a look – were not turning the ball over.
Sorry, Chip. You can’t blame Howie Roseman for this one. They did not value Jeremy Maclin in free agency as much as the Kansas City Chiefs, and first-round pick Nelson Agholor has been slow to develop while veteran Miles Austin is revealing why he’s on his third team in three seasons. And since Kelly supplanted Roseman as GM, it’s only gotten worse.
Tahir Whitehead earned positive grades in run defense (+1.7), pass coverage (+1.9) and even as a pass rusher (+0.9). So why has it felt like Murray has spent more time running parallel to the line of scrimmage than plowing forward? The Eagles couldn’t do much about it, especially after starting cornerback Nolan Carroll left the game with a broken right ankle and was replaced by rookie Eric Rowe.
What Kelly is certain of is the Eagles have at least five chances, five games to “determine where we are as a football team”. Still, Kelly is 14-4 with Foles as his QB and 10-15 with everyone else.
“We got through the first quarter without him having a catch and I was sitting there going, ‘Man, we’ve got to get 81 the ball, ‘” Stafford said. It’s what the Lions have always done when they’ve been at their offensive best in the Stafford era: letting Stafford make throws and make plays.
And that’s just off the top of my head.
Kelly’s belief in modern training and preparation techniques is interesting and may hold some benefit, but when this team has played on Sundays (or Thursday), the Eagles have been more than a step behind most weeks and now appear to be hopelessly out of the playoff race. He runs it a little more when he sees something thats there.
So, to be clear, Kelly is going to stay with the Eagles next year and not pursue the job openings at USC, Miami, Missouri, South Carolina and a number of others, including quite possibly LSU?
On those questions, both Kelly and Davis were defiant. Fatigue is not an excuse for the defense, but Bill Davis’ group barely has time to breathe before the Eagles punt, sending their defense back onto the field.
Will Jeff Lurie pull the trigger and fire his coach before he’s even fulfilled his contract? “We’ve got to create more pressure, and Calvin was obviously a very hard matchup for us”. It’s a well-oiled cliché for players to speak of “all having a part in this, ” but it’s 100 percent accurate when it comes to the Eagles.
It’s easy to envision a scenario where Chip Kelly just throws up at his hands and heads back to college.
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Jefferson ended up prophetic, but it took a 225-yard performance from Johnson in a 31-18 loss to Atlanta to get there. And that’s just the first hurdle. They don’t have that anymore, and that is Kelly’s fault. The Eagles allowed six sacks after Peters departed. “So I think, when you’re looking at a guy that’s fighting for his life, in terms of what we do, it certainly does put things in perspective”. “Right now, it’s just bad luck”.
