Anthony DiBona
You’re either born with it or you aren’t. You either have it or you don’t. It’s called killer instinct and Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly just doesn’t have it. No, I’m not talking about the awful fighting video game either.
There aren’t many people that will go to lengths to defend Kelly like I will, I’ve been called a “Kelly truther” in the past. But right now, as most of us are, I’m speechless. There’s no more defending Kelly and the Eagles, especially on the offensive side of the ball. As Brandon Lee Gowton of Bleeding Green Nation put it, the Eagles offense is downright offensive.
The Eagles offense is beyond offensive.
— Brandon Lee Gowton (@BrandonGowton) October 4, 2015
Yet for as bad as the Eagles offense once again performed in the first half of a game, they came out firing in the second half. Sam Bradford finally looked like that quarterback we all saw on the field against the Green Bay Packers in the third week of the preseason. It’s like Bradford drank some of Michael Jordan’s “secret stuff” from Space Jam at halftime and came out like a completely different player in the third quarter.
Seriously though, Bradford came out on fire in the second half. Not only did he run 14 yards for a first down on a crucial 3rd and 7 to open the half, he got it done with his arm down the field. That’s right…Bradford actually threw a few passes 20+ yards down the field and looked damn good doing so. In just the third quarter and a few seconds into the fourth quarter, Sam Bradford went 6-10 for 154 yards and three touchdowns.
The offense appeared to be on fire and Kelly was finally letting Bradford make throws down the field. It appeared as though the offense finally got in a groove and then it all disappeared. Kelly took his foot off the gas pedal for some odd reason. Apparently he thought a 4-point lead was safe in the NFL. Although the defense was playing lights out once again, that isn’t a good enough reason to just stop trying to score points on offense. What happened to the god damn plan!?
Instead of kicking Washington while they were down, Kelly elected to slow the offense down and take nearly 20+ seconds off the clock between each snap. Two of Philadelphia’s final three possessions in the game started in great field position but Kelly became conservative. There were still 10 minutes or so left in the fourth quarter and Kelly was treating it like the Eagles had a two touchdown lead with a minute to go. None of it made sense, this isn’t what we signed up for!
But it was okay because the defense got another clutch stop, Philadelphia’s offense got the ball back with 7:32 left in the fourth quarter. They were still up 20-16 and once again, “Big Balls” Chip Kelly was a no-show. Kelly elected to run the ball twice to start the drive, which wasn’t working all game long. Aside from Bradford’s 14-yard scramble and DeMarco Murray’s 30-yard gain, the Eagles rushed 16 times for 43 yards…a whopping 2.7 yards per carry.
Why in the world did Kelly think the running game would somehow be effective at that point in the game? You stick with what works and once again, Kelly failed to make the proper in-game adjustments. Every time he teases you and lures you back in with a couple of solid calls, he shoots himself right in the foot. Two steps forward, three steps back, that has been Kelly’s motto this season thus far.
Don’t even try to blame this loss on the Eagles’ defense either. Once again, they balled out and played an unbelievable game overall. If you told me the Eagles defense would allow just 21.5 points per game, 6.6 yards per passing attempt and 3.1 yards per rushing attempt through the season’s first four games…I would have told you the Eagles were undefeated.
But that obviously isn’t the case. Time and time again, Kelly is coming up short as both a head coach and a play-caller. There’s no reason a team with this much talent on offense should be struggling like it has. Luckily the Eagles are just a single game out of first place in the NFC East because their division is awful. Kelly still has time to turn it all around but he better hurry his ass up.