Chip Kelly Providing Much Needed Change of Pace for Philadelphia Eagles

It’s been a rough couple of years for the Philadelphia Eagles. It seems like everything has gone down hill ever since the infamous ‘Dream Team’ comment. Two seasons in a row of massive failures led to Andy Reid‘s firing, and the hiring of Oregon Ducks‘ coach Chip Kelly. It was a move that was necessary, and one that will provide a much needed breath of fresh air in Philadelphia.

The question on everyone’s mind – Can Chip Kelly shed the stereotype that gimmick college coaches can’t win in the NFL?

In addition, the team decided to stick with Michael Vick, and will roll the dice one more time to see if he can rekindle his old magic. The partnership of Kelly and Vick is an intriguing one, because there is potential for success.

Even if Kelly knows what he’s doing, and if Vick stays healthy, it won’t matter if the Eagles don’t improve their offensive line. Sure, Vick wasn’t good in 2012, but he was constantly getting hit and running for his life. The offensive line deserves as much of the blame for the problems in Philly as any party. If the team addresses the o-line in free agency and the draft, then we’ll get a chance to truly see if Kelly can coach and if Vick can still get it done.

The spread offensive scheme that Kelly runs will also require the wide receivers to do their fair share of the blocking. It’s only natural that the more receivers on the field, the more their blocking responsibilities will increase. This requires a buy-in from the receivers and without that buy-in, the Eagles won’t get anywhere. If the Eagles as team can commit to blocking, Kelly’s chances for success will drastically increase.

At this point it’s just good for the franchise to try something new. Why not give a college coach a chance to run his successful system in the NFL? The Eagles have nothing to lose by doing this, because what they were doing under Reid, wasn’t working. Kelly must draft carefully to put the correct young players in place in Philadelphia, and start to build a team for his offense from the ground up.

It’s tough to say what a fair expectation is for Kelly in his first year, but if the Eagles flirt with a wild card spot, that would be a success in my book.

 

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