Chip Kelly Update: Playing Through Injuries

Mark Saltveit FishWrap, FishWrap Archive, NFL

In his first three months as general manager of the Eagles, Chip Kelly machine-gunned a stunning series of roster changes that left many observers saying he was over his head in player personnel decisions. He traded RB LeSean McCoy for LB Kiko Alonso, refused to match Kansas City’s $11 million offer for WR Jeremy Maclin, signed two CBs (Byron Maxwell …

Chip Kelly Update: Injuries Start to Pile Up

Mark Saltveit FishWrap, FishWrap Archive, NFL

Two weeks of training camp are done, and Chip Kelly‘s Eagles play their first preseason game against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. Meanwhile, injuries are starting to accumulate. Kelly plays it safe, with no tackling to the ground at all in the preseason outside of actual games, and the team is making great efforts to handle inevitable injuries with its “reconditioning” …

Chip Kelly Update: Training Camp Madness? Not Really

Mark Saltveit FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

After the long but quiet summer break, the Eagles opened training camp in humid 90-degree Philadelphia weather. News broke that they traded cornerback Brandon Boykin to the Pittsburgh Steelers for a fifth round pick. (If he plays 60% or more of the snaps this year, that changes to a fourth round pick.) Boykin is an excellent nickel corner with long arms …

Ascending Eagles — Bradford and Tebow

Noah Smith FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

With the NFL preseason around the corner, all of the intrigue that has been building throughout the offseason will finally be seen on the field. One of the most interesting stories coming out of Eagles camp this year has been surrounding Chip Kelly’s two new quarterbacks – Sam Bradford and Tim Tebow. Both players have looked impressive thus far, with Bradford looking …

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: Things You Don’t Already Know

Mark Saltveit FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

There is a lot of “conventional wisdom” going around about the Philadelphia Eagles these days. For example: — Chip Kelly is an offensive wizard who doesn’t care about defense. — DeMarco Murray is worn out and headed for a crash, while LeSean McCoy will be huge for Buffalo. — All of the Eagles’ new players — Murray, Kiko Alonso, Ryan …

Chip Kelly Update: More Defensive Turnovers

Mark Saltveit FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

The typically astute Jimmy Kempski spotted an interesting number in his profile of JaCorey Shepherd, one of two cornerbacks the Eagles drafted in the sixth round: The most obvious takeaway from Shepherd’s tape is how many footballs he gets his hands on. In fact, Shepherd had more pass break-ups over the last two years than any other cornerback that was …

The Dawn of the Second Coming: The Oklahomafication of Chip Kelly’s Offense

Joe Kearns Analysis

Judging by the numbers, the Philadelphia Eagles had one of the best NFL offenses last season. They ranked third in scoring, fifth in total yards, sixth in passing yards, and ninth in rushing yards. However, PhillyVoice writer Jimmy Kempski persuasively argues the fast-tempo positively skewed the Eagles’ offensive statistics. Apparently, Eagles head coach Chip Kelly also decided the numbers didn’t add up, …

Chip Kelly Update: “I’m not governed by the fear.”

Mark Saltveit FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

The winter and spring are long and barren for a football fan, especially one who follows Chip Kelly. The Eagles coach speaks to the press only at press conferences, and he basically doesn’t have any from the day the team cleans out its lockers after its final game until organized team activities (OTAs) start again in late May. There are …

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 …

Chip Kelly Update: Reconditioning the Roster

Mark Saltveit FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Since our last update, the Eagles have finished their draft and signed a bunch of free agents to complete their roster. They also made some key staffing changes, which helps us understand some of those roster additions. I’m talking about the revamp of the Eagles’ pioneering Sports Science department. Shaun Huls, a very low profile former Navy Seals trainer, got a …

Why the Eagles Fumbled on the Chance to Take Marcus Mariota

Tyler Timm FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Within the last year, and especially within the last three months, there has been a lot of speculation about where Marcus Mariota would end up in the NFL draft. Multiple scenarios swirled around as the draft began to get closer and closer. No team was mentioned more than the Philadelphia Eagles, due to the fact that Chip Kelly (the person …