Kelly Not Pleased With Offensive Performance


Photo by: Jeff Fusco.

Photo by: Jeff Fusco.

The Eagles scored 31 points on offense, racked up 365 yards on 62 plays and went 4-for-4 in the red zone Monday, all while breaking in a new quarterback. Chip Kelly, though, was not particularly pleased with his unit’s performance.

“No,” Kelly responded when asked if this was the most complete game his team has played. “We didn’t play well offensively at all.”

How so?

“I just didn’t think we were very consistent overall. I think we could have sustained some drives. We missed a couple key conversions on short-yardage situations that we didn’t convert,” he said. (The Eagles were 5-of-15 on third down). “You ask the guys on the offensive side of the ball, they felt like they didn’t play well and I believe we didn’t really play up to our potential on the offensive side of the ball.”

While Kelly’s comments seem a little odd coming off a 45-21 thrashing of the Panthers, they line up with the mood in the locker room late Monday night. The offensive linemen in particular were not happy with how they fared in the run game.

“Frankly, we just didn’t block well today, myself included,” said Jason Kelce. “They did some things they hadn’t really shown on tape that we weren’t prepared for early. That’s on us for not being prepared for everything that you can be hit with.”

“They did a better job at defeating our blocks than we did at sustaining our blocks,” said Kelly, “so I can see their frustration.”

LeSean McCoy had just 19 yards on 12 carries and overall the Eagles rushed 23 times for 37 yards (1.6 average). The Panthers were geared up to stop the run. While effective, it also opened things up for the passing game, and Mark Sanchez and company were able to take advantage.

“We don’t care if we run it or throw it as long as we’re moving the football, we’re confident in what we can do offensively,” said Kelly.