Sam Bradford the Next Drew Brees? Chip Kelly Thinks So

Noah Smith FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

The NFL off-season was filled with talk about Chip Kelly and Marcus Mariota, the match made in heaven that was so good it couldn’t possibly happen — and it didn’t. Now they’ve moved on to talking about Kelly and Sam Bradford. Kelly’s the coach so desperate for a headline, he traded for a QB coming off of two ACL tears in the …

Chip Kelly Update: The Dead Zone Lives!

Mark Saltveit FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Some people call this “the Dead Zone,” the part of the NFL season where everyone is on vacation, training camp rosters have been filled to 90 and the draft, OTAs and minicamp are over. It’s the boring time when nothing happens, right? I don’t think so. In some ways, this is the most interesting time of the year. Writers have …

One Odd Duck, Chip Kelly — the New Bill Walsh?

Noah Smith FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Everybody has an opinion on Chip Kelly. Some people see him as the mad genius who will lead the Philadelphia Eagles to greatness by using unconventional means that no one else has thought of to give his team an advantage. Others see him as just plain mad. While this has been the story of many great innovators — both inside …

Shorts, Passes, and Screens — The New Read Option?

Noah Smith Editorials

Needless to say, the Philadelphia Eagles have had an interesting offseason. With a flurry of moves that had (and still have) many Eagles fans questioning Chip Kelly‘s sanity, Philadelphia has set themselves up to have the strongest run game in the NFL. With potentially the strongest stable of runners Kelly has ever had, the Eagles are primed for dominance. Interestingly, what may …

Chip Kelly Update: The Mystery Coach Explains It All For You

Mark Saltveit FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

For the second year in a row, Chip Kelly has tortured the Philadelphia press by not saying a word more than he has to during the off-season. Not surprisingly, this just makes reporters even more desperate to find out what the Mystery Coach is thinking. To be fair, Kelly hasn’t been quite as secretive as he was last year during …

Will Redskins select Marcus Mariota in the NFL Draft?

Omar Garibay FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Remember when Duck fans were clamoring at the idea of their Heisman winner Marcus Mariota playing for Chip Kelly and his up-tempo offense in Philadelphia? Well, there’s no question that the Eagles would be fun to watch if Kelly and Mariota were somehow reunited in the NFL; however, that seems more like a pipe dream now. Kelly shocked the NFL …

Chip Kelly Update: Playing for Pride Now

Mark Saltveit FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

The Philadelphia Eagles were openly discussed as a Super Bowl contender and ranked in the NFL’s top 4 after thrashing Dallas on Thanksgiving Day. The 9-3 overachievers were led by backup QB Mark Sanchez, an NFL laughingstock since his infamous “Butt Fumble” two Thanksgivings earlier, suddenly looking like the league’s most improved player. Then they played Seattle at home, the …

Chip Kelly Update: Sanchez is Redeemed as Eagles Crush Dallas

Mark Saltveit FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Two years ago on Thanksgiving Day, in front of 20 million TV viewers nationwide, Mark Sanchez had a game, in fact a single play so humiliating that it has its own Wikipedia article: The Butt Fumble. This Thanksgiving, he carved up the Dallas Cowboys like a slow-cooked turkey and rebuilt his legacy in front of an equally large audience. Sanchez …

Chip Kelly Update: The Quarterback Whisperer?

Mark Saltveit FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Mark Sanchez started his first game in two years Monday night, leading the Philadelphia Eagles to a 45-21 win that was far more dominating than the score suggests. This is the same Mark Sanchez who was run out of New York as a failure, who went from leading the Jets to the AFC Championship Game in his first two seasons …

Chip Kelly Update: Quarterback Resistant

Mark Saltveit FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

The Philadelphia Eagles won again, beating Houston 31-21, and have the second best record in the NFL at 6-2.  They also lost three more key starters to injury and continue to play poorly in many respects, leading to lots of crazy statistics. For example, the Eagles have the second lowest red zone efficiency in the league, yet they are the …

Chip Kelly Update: Brutal

Mark Saltveit FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

The Philadelphia Eagles suffered a brutal loss to the Arizona Cardinals Sunday, 24-20. But it was the good kind of brutal. It was brutal because they nearly knocked off the team with the NFL’s best record (tied with Denver), the team that leads both the Seattle Seahawks and the San Francisco 49ers by two games. They nearly beat them in …

Chip Kelly Update: Culture Beats Scheme, 27-0

Mark Saltveit FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

It’s been an interesting week for Chip Kelly’s Eagles. The New York Giants built up to their NFC East showdown with Philadelphia by talking trash all week and literally stomping on the midfield Eagle logo right before the game. Chip Kelly lost a shoe and jumped on Jason Peters’ back. The Eagles released a silly cartoon of Eagles-linemen-ghosts haunting Eli …