King: Eagles NFL’s Biggest Disappointment

The Eagles have managed just three points offensively in their last eight quarters. And that has led to a bevy of criticism against Chip Kelly – both locally and nationally.

The latest to chime in is Peter King. In his MMQB column, King called the Eagles, and the offense in particular, the NFL’s biggest disappointment at this point in the season.

I think the Eagles have to be the disappointment of the season. The offense in particular. They do nothing well. In the last two weeks, they’ve had 25 drives in two home games, against the Cowboys and Giants … and scored one field goal and no offensive touchdowns. A Chip Kelly team first and foremost has to have consistency and efficiency at quarterback, and Philadelphia hasn’t had that all season. Which is why I think Michael Vick isn’t back next year, and why I think Kelly probably drafts a quarterback high. The Eagles, by the way, have lost 10 straight at home, by an average of 9.9 points per game.

Bill Barnwell of Grantland suggests the issue is not on Kelly. It’s on the quarterback:

I think that’s the biggest difference between what Kelly was able to do at Oregon and what he might need to do to succeed in the long term in Philadelphia: His offense will require a good quarterback. At Oregon, Kelly basically ran through a series of middling options at quarterback and got great work from just about everybody he tried: Dennis Dixon, Jeremiah Masoli, and Darron Thomas all had success with Kelly as relatively unheralded (or, in Dixon’s case, relatively unsuccessful) options at quarterback. Marcus Mariota was a three-star recruit coming out of Hawaii, but he was the most productive quarterback Kelly had at Oregon, and that was as an 18-year-old redshirt freshman.

At the professional level, the windows Kelly’s offense creates are smaller, and the decision-making his quarterback needs to perform has to be done faster and more reliably than the speed at which his current options operate. Foles misses too many big plays. Vick holds on to the ball too long and isn’t accurate. Barkley is a project at best. Philadelphia’s quarterback of the future — the guy who will eventually prove whether the Kelly offense can sink or swim in Philadelphia — isn’t on the roster right now.

Chris Burke of SI.com weighs in on where things stand with the Eagles:

The schedule does not ease at all, though, in the coming weeks. Philadelphia travels next week to take on an Oakland team that’s better than expected, before heading to Green Bay. If Kelly cannot come up with some answers, at QB and on offense in general, the season could be all but lost by the time he again tries for home win No. 1 in Week 11.

Will Brinson of CBSSports.com gives the Eagles an F for their Week 8 performance:

Chip Kelly’s offense has produced exactly three points of offense in the past two weeks. That’s a major problem regardless of who’s under center: Matt Barkley, Nick Foles and Michael Vick.

Follow Sheil Kapadia on Twitter and e-mail him at skapadia@phillymag.com.
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