The Chip Wagon

Where Did it All Go Wrong? The Rise and Fall of Chip Kelly

I apologize for what was a very quiet 2015 NFL season at the Chipwagon this past year. There are a couple reasons for that. 1) I started a new job in September and it has been pretty demanding of my time and balancing that with the family life didn't leave a lot of time left to put blog posts together. 2) Watching the 2015 season was one of the worst and most frustrating seasons I can recall watching. I realize that this was far from one of the worst seasons in Eagles history, but from beginning to end it was just so frustrating and aggravating to watch. We had lapses in execution all season long and Chip's offense that I loved so much in 2013 and 2014 just went completely stale.  The truth is, there is no one reason why things didn't work out in Philadelphia. Certainly, Chip the GM, Chip's personality, the power struggle with Howie Roseman and his apparent fractured relationship with Jeff Lurie will lead the way in the headlines. Our old friend @sheilkapadia was spot on this assessment which really nicely summarized the downfall of the Kelly regime. However, to look at it from another angle, one really needs to understand that Lurie's decision was not exclusively a non-footbal decision. To put it bluntly, the Chip Kelly we fell in love with just stopped showing up on the chalkboard in 2015. The offense we saw in 2015 was a stripped down version of what we saw in 2013 and 2014 and lacked any imagination, creativity or evolution as defenses around the league continued to adjust and catch up. Furthermore, it seemed in 3 years Chip Kelly's offense lacked some of the fundamental concepts and philosophies that need to be considered and applied in the pro game. Here is my post-mortem and likely final chapter on Chip Kelly's offense.

One Step Forward?: Gameplan vs. Execution in the Passing Game

In my last post, I talked about the Eagles improvements in the running game vs. the Saints being a mix of better execution from the personnel and better game-planning from the coaches. I think its fair to say that the same can be said for the passing game last Sunday. First and foremost, I thought Chip did a good job deciding to attack with the passing game from the start and even his decision to go for it on 4th down on the opening drive (more on that in a bit) was a good one to try and extend the rhythm they have had such a hard time establishing in the first several games. That said, I think it's important to note that the Saints do not have a good defense and were beat up in the secondary. It played a major role in making the Eagles offense looking good. 

A Momentary Sigh of Relief but QB Struggles Continue

Let me first start by saying that it's great to get the first win. Especially combined with a Cowboys loss. The defensive play was very encouraging and Darren Sproles gave us another instant classic on STs. All I can say is thank the Pope that the defense and STs unit showed up. We'll have more on the running game a bit later once the All-22 comes out. Lots of interesting stuff mixed in and it was great to see so much outside zone eventhough the execution remains a hair off. But let's get right down to it. I'm generally not the guy who dumps on the team after a much needed win, I'll generally take wins anytime I can get it. But I have bigger aspirations for this team than simply a title in a crappy NFC East and a playoff appearance. It was widely acknowledged that the biggest thing Chip Kelly needed to get this team over the hump was a franchise QB. Unfortunately, Sam Bradford continues to NOT look the part. 

The Eagles Passing Game is a Hot Mess

Yesterday I broke down just how bad the Eagles ground game was on Sunday. Problems amongst almost every member of the offensive line. Still, it isn’t the first time an NFL team has had to overcome a poor ground game performance. Unfortunately, the Eagles passing offense might be even worse right now with erratic QB play front and center. When Chip Kelly traded Nick Foles and a 2^nd round pick for Sam Bradford all the concern was surrounding Bradford’s health. People thought it was a terrible move considering he was coming off back to back ACL injuries. That said, the optimists among us said if, just if, Sam could stay healthy he’s the exact QB Chip Kelly is looking for. Great arm, intelligent, quick decision maker with repetitive pinpoint accuracy. Despite Sam’s lackluster QB stats and win-loss record, of which most blamed coaching and supporting cast, people believed that Bradford could still be what everyone thought he would be as the #1 overall pick many years ago. 

All-22: Bradford and the Deep Ball and the Sproles Match-up

After the Monday night debut there has been some discussion about the Eagles gameplan and how they chose to attack the Falcons defense. Heading into the game we knew this was going to be a Cover 3 defense and we talked about a variety of ways the Eagles would attack that Cover 3 defense. Certainly we were expecting a heavy dose of the running game with our 60 million dollar backfield and some deeps shots against that Cover 3. Turns out, we didn't see much of either. So what did we see?