The Defense of Chip Kelly

Hey, someones gotta do it.

We live in a country where every man has the right to an attorney, so today I will be acting as Mr. Kelly’s. Sure Chip has made some pretty big mistake, but we live in Philadelphia, it comes with the area.

Yes, the Eagles are currently one of the worst teams in the league, but I think some of this was inevitable and out of Chip Kelly’s control.

For starters let’s look at the Sam Bradford trade. Bradford has looked nothing like the savior from St. Louis he was being painted as, but it’s not like the Eagles would be in a much better position without him. Considering the fact Nick Foles got benched for the cringe-inducing Case Keenum in St. Louis, I think they’d be hovering around the same mark even if they had the former Probowl MVP under center.

While Im sure there’s some distant, far off timeline or alternate universe where the Eagles were able to get Marcus Mariota, it sure ain’t the one we currently live in. Chip tried, it’s never gonna happen, move on. Seeing as how franchise quarterbacks aren’t moved everyday, finding an upgrade better than Nick Foles isn’t the easiest task. I do agree with Chip when he said the only way to get a franchise QB is through injury or the draft, and while Bradford has been the farthest thing from a franchise player, at least Chip realized Foles’ limit and tried to do better. I really think people would still be asking for Chip’s head if Nick Foles was leading this offense.

Part of me also can’t fully blame Bradford for his production on the field. This is a guy who is playing football for the first time in about two years and has no one on the same page with him. Sammy can throw some pretty ugly balls, but it doesn’t help a quarterback’s development when both his good passes and his bad passes are being dropped.

Wide receiver has been one of the Eagle’s biggest weaknesses this year, but it is not as if Chip didn’t try to upgrade the position. The main reason this group is the mess it is today is because Jeremy Maclin heard walrus calls and ran for KC, but it’s not like Chip wanted to see him go. There were times last season when Maclin was the Eagle’s entire offense, late in games or on crucial conversions, Maclin was consistently the player found with the ball in his hands. The Eagles offered Maclin 9 million a year, but Maclin wanted more. The team tried to flex their fiscal muscles, but they came up short; they just didn’t have the cap room. Chip did make a push for Randell Cobb, but he was swiftly signed by the Packers. After those two names, there wasn’t much left in the free agency pool, so the Eagles only other option was the draft. In Nelson Agholor, the Eagles were suppose to be getting a quick receiver, who ran crisp routes with sure hands in college, but since coming to the pros, he’s been none of that. In fact he’s been on of the worst receivers in football. Agholor has forced the Eagles hand to give Miles Austin more snaps because he is having a hard time remembering what route to run. When the Eagles signed Miles Austin, it was with every expectation that Agholor would get more reps than him, but no one saw this coming.

Jordan Matthew’s unexpected regression has also been a major reason why the Eagles, for lack of a better word, have blown dick. He was expected to follow in the footsteps of wide receivers like Alshon Jeffrey or DeAndre Hopkins and become one of the league’s best in his second season. Instead of becoming a sophomore success story, Matthews is caught in the grips of a brutal sophomore slump that he just can’t shake. It’s impressive how many drives have ended on 3rd down Jordan Matthews drops. He has singlehandedly lost a few games for the Eagles this season.

As for the defense, injuries have really taken their toll. The middle linebacker position has been a turnstile of players this season. Mychal Kendricks and Kiko Alonso have been bouncing on and off the inactive list all season. Kiko looked rough in his first start of the season since week 1, but this is a guy that was starting only his second game of the season, he’s only played five games all season, didn’t play at all last season, and didn’t play at all this preseason. This guy has had to learn a new defense without even playing in it, the rust is well accumulated. Also, Jordan Hicks looks like one of the biggest steals of the draft, lets just hope that pectoralis rupture heals up right.

I can’t praise Chip enough for what he’s done to the safety position. Walter Thurmond looks like a complete natural and Malcolm Jenkins has been the best safety in the NFL this season. Right now, the Eagles have one of the best safety tandems in the NFL, its remarkable improvement when you consider the fact that this has been the Eagles weakest position since Dawkins left.

Yes, this team is a mess. If you were to microwave some tupperware filled with diarrhea for like 20 seconds, you’d get the Philadelphia Eagles, the stinking, soupy Eagles.

There’s a lot wrong with this team and none of it can be sorted out until the offseason. I think this season was inevitable, no matter what changes Chip made in the offseason. Chip inherited a 4-12 team and immediately made them 10-6, that was only two seasons ago but feels much longer. I think the Eagles needed a bad season to show them who they are, they’ve had some pretty big flaws that they’ve been able to just sweep under the carpet, but this season has exposed them to daylight. Now it’s just a means of fixing those hidden flaws this offseason.