I don’t know whether to call Chip Kelly arrogant or overly confident in his coaching abilities, but it’s safe to say that he isn’t shy about what he brings to the table when he is on the sideline. The Philadelphia Eagles traded their franchise player LeSean McCoy to the Buffalo Bills for Kiko Alonso. This makes it the second year that the Eagles severed ties with an All-Pro performer on the offensive side of the ball. In last year’s off-season the Eagles got rid of DeSean Jackson after he had his best year as a pro, and with McCoy out of the fold the Eagles have many unproven players on the offensive side of the ball.
Like many coaches in the NFL, Chip Kelly is predicated on making his system effective rather than placing all of his stock in players. Kelly, who will be in his third season as a head coach this season has become one of the games best innovators in bringing his style that made him popular while he was the head coach of the Oregon Ducks just a few years ago. Even though he never won a championship at Oregon he’s still been successful in the NFL and Kelly is 20-12 in his first two seasons.
In the first two years under Chip Kelly, the Eagles finished in the top ten in total offense, but will that trend continue as the Eagles get rid of key players on the offensive side of the ball? I honestly believe that the Eagles will find a way to replace McCoy just as they did with DeSean Jackson. For those who have followed Chip Kelly, it’s no secret that the quarterback is the foundation of his system. Other skill players are helpful, but with Kelly everything is predicated on great play from the quarterback. The problem with that, is that the Eagles do not have a franchise quarterback, and they have been rumored to want to trade up for Marcus Mariota in this year’s NFL Draft. As soon as Kelly solves his quarterback quarrel he can move things along just as if nothing ever happened.
From a financial standpoint the Eagles will have over $30 million dollars in cap space, meaning that they can fill holes on the defensive side of the ball, and they could possibly add a cheaper running back than Shady McCoy. The instant knee-jerk reaction to the Eagles trade with the Bills states that the Eagles made a mistake, but with McCoy turning 27 this off-season he is entering the age when running backs tend to fall off.
Kiko Alonso is coming off of an ACL tear, but if healthy teaming him up with Mychal Kendricks, Connor Barwin, and Malcolm Jenkins will give the Eagles a talented group on the defensive side of the ball, which is something they have lacked since the days of Jermiah Trotter, Troy Vincent, and Brian Dawkins.
With the extra cap space the Eagles can address their woes at the cornerback position, a position that kept them out of playoff contention, due to the abundance of penalties and mistakes from Cary Williams and Bradley Fletcher. Chip Kelly knows that he is losing an all-everything player in Shady McCoy, but if he can add several key pieces for the price of one I’m sure he will be okay with the results.
Will Chip Kelly’s arrogance hurt the Philadelphia Eagles? My answer is no. Even though I think McCoy is the second best back in the league outside of Marshawn Lynch, the Eagles were never really a championship team with him, so why not try to build more of a well-rounded team. The New England Patriots won three out of their four Super Bowls with mediocre running backs, and the same could be said for many other teams. Just because a team doesn’t have a star at the running back position doesn’t mean they can’t commit to running the ball. The Eagles and the Philadlephia Eagles fans need to relax and trust the genius of Chip Kelly.
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