Chip Kelly Update: Torn ACLs and Racial Incidents

Mark Saltveit FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

feature photo by Jimmy Kempski Training camp finally opened for the entire Eagles team, and Chip Kelly faced adversity almost immediately.  First, injuries: not one but TWO ACL tears in the first three days, by #2 receiver Jeremy Maclin and newly acquired linebacker Jason Phillips.  Maclin is a big deal for the Eagles, despite criticism for softness (some call him “self-tackling”); …

Chip and the Eagles: Attack Like Navy Seals

Mark Saltveit FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Chip Kelly’s first training camp hits full stride today, which is exciting, but it started Monday for rookies and selected veterans like center Jason Kelce, new tight end James Casey, and the quarterbacks. If you want a sense of whether veterans are buying in to Kelly’s system, Kelce and Casey showed up early, which is allowed under league rules only …

Chip and the Eagles: Quarterback Thunderdome

Mark Saltveit FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Top photo courtesy of Keith Allison and Matthew Straubmuller I’ve been resisting the endless discussions about the Eagles’ quarterback competition, because as Chip Kelly has said, he simply won’t have the data to make a decision until he sees his players wearing pads and getting tackled. It’s the same exact policy he used in Oregon. In addition to training camp …

Chip and the Eagles: Dog Days of Summer

Mark Saltveit FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

This is the dullest time in the pro football calendar, where the sailing ship of gridiron glory hits windless doldrums and ghosts, as sailors used to say. That’s a verb that means drifting aimlessly, becalmed except for the occasional wisp of a breeze (or a phony controversy manufactured by desperate sports writers). You might be tempted to call these the …

Chip Kelly, Philly’s Man of the Hour

Mark Saltveit FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Chip Kelly is all over the Philadelphia news this week. First, running back LeSean McCoy came down squarely on the coach’s side in the endless controversy over the competition for starting quarterback. He told reporter Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer that he, for one, is not going to pressure Kelly to pick a quarterback, while demonstrating some of that …

Chip, Nick, DeSean and Snoop Lion

Mark Saltveit FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

One of the interesting things about Chip Kelly taking over the Eagles is how connected this team is to the Pac-12. Consider the quarterback competition, which reporters back east can’t stop talking about, even though Duck fans know Kelly won’t make a decision until right before the season starts. There are five quarterbacks on the roster, though no one considers …

Trouble in Philly Town for Chip?

Mark Saltveit FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Philadelphia’s fans are notoriously critical and, as the Eagles mini-camp finished up, there were signs that the burst of initial excitement over Chip Kelly’s new regime was dissolving in a drizzle of worries. The only question is, how much of this worry is legitimate and how much is instinctive gloom-mongering by the fans who once  booed Santa Claus? 1. Starting …