Bryce Brown and LeSean McCoy were active for 12 games together last season.

And in those games, Brown averaged 12 snaps (per Pro Football Focus) and 3.7 carries.

But that was with Andy Reid and Marty Mornhinweg running the show. Chances are, Brown is going to see a lot more playing time under Chip Kelly – if he can hold on to the football, that is.

During last week’s press conference, Chip Kelly was asked which quarterback – Michael Vick or Nick Foles – would get first-team reps in the spring.

“First name, last name or flip a coin,” Kelly said, jokingly. “We did enough reps in practice where no one’s ever going to say we didn’t get enough reps. That’s another thing that we do from a practice standpoint is we’ll be able to share that load.”

The response was telling. Not because Kelly revealed anything significant about the quarterback situation, but because he shed some light on how he plans to run practices in the NFL.

When we last asked Kelly about this topic at the Senior Bowl, he was still in the process of formulating a plan. He mentioned roster limitations, injuries and the need to adjust from what he did at Oregon. But after talking to the other coaches on Kelly’s staff, it’s clear that some version of those up-tempo practice are coming to the Novacare Complex.

From mock drafts to offseason priorities, here’s a roundup of what the national media are saying about the Eagles.

Would Utah defensive lineman Star Lotulelei be a good fit for the Eagles? Here’s the latest installment in our series of NFL draft profiles.

How committed is Chip Kelly to improving the Eagles’ special teams? What does Dave Fipp bring to the table? And will DeSean Jackson go back to returning punts? A look at those questions and more in today’s Wake-Up Call.

It’s clear that one of Chip Kelly’s goals is to create a competitive environment where every player on the Eagles’ roster feels like he has a chance to win a spot and make an impact.

So it should come as no surprise that newly-signed quarterback Dennis Dixon believes he’s very much in the mix to be the Birds’ starting quarterback.

“From my understanding, the job is open,” Dixon said Monday afternoon during a conference call with reporters. “It’s going to be a very competitive nature around here. It’s pretty much open. May the best man win.”

According to a report, the Eagles will not use the franchise tag on Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. Assuming that holds up, what are their options at cornerback this offseason?

With the Combine kicking off later this week, Mike Mayock of NFL Network released his list of the top-five prospects at each position.

He also joined Rich Eisen for a podcast and revealed several draft nuggets that will be of interest to this audience.

“I think we’ve got more depth for the first three rounds than maybe any time you and I have done this draft,” Mayock said. “But I’m not seeing the difference-makers at the top end.

“I’m not seeing the explosive difference-makers at the top end of this draft. And I’m not sure that the fifth pick is that much better than the 20th pick or the 30th pick.”

In six career games against the Dallas Cowboys, LeSean McCoy has averaged 5.7 yards per carry and reached the end zone four times.

But according to a former scout, McCoy could very easily have a star on his helmet right now.

Dallas had the 51st pick (second round) in the 2009 draft, but running back wasn’t a glaring need. They had three tailbacks (all under 25) on their roster in Marion Barber, Felix Jones and Tashard Choice. So when it came time to pick, even though the Cowboys had McCoy atop their board, they decided to trade down.

We are now nearly seven months into this whole Birds 24/7 experiment, and well, things are going great.

You stuck with us through training camp, the ups-and-downs (OK, mostly downs) of a 4-12 season, a coaching change and now what promises to be a busy offseason. We’ll be at the combine, the owners’ meetings and will also have free agency (March 12) covered.

As the site grows, we’re attracting more readers, and many of you are stopping by multiple times a day to see what’s happening, or to discuss the latest news in our comments section. We encourage that.

But we want to make sure that the discussion is thoughtful and respectful. That means no name-calling, personal attacks or individuals trying to dominate the conversation.

Michael Vick was holding a blue tarp full of all his belongings during his exit interview back in late December, the one in which he strongly criticized some of his teammates for their lack of effort through a demoralizing 4-12 campaign. His locker room was cleaned out, his patience had been sucked dry, and you got the definite sense that he was ready to put the Eagles in his rear view mirror.

It felt like the end and sounded like the end, but it wasn’t. Instead he is returning to the Eagles for another season, and must play with a lot of the same teammates that he was so frustrated with just a few weeks ago. He addressed that dynamic during an interview with 97.5 The Fanatic Saturday.

The Eagles on Friday announced that they have signed offensive tackle Ed Wang to a two-year deal.

Wang became the first-ever Chinese-American to be taken in the NFL draft  after being selected in the fifth round  by the Bills in 2010. He played in six games as a reserve offensive lineman as a rookie before being placed on injured reserve  prior to the 2011 season. Wang, 25, signed with the Raiders prior to last season but did not make the team.

The 6-5, 315-pound Virginia Tech product started the final 35 games of his career with the Hokies and earned second-team All-ACC honors as a senior at left tackle. He began his college career as a tight end before moving to the offensive line as a sophomore.

His parents both met as Chinese Olympians and participated in the 1984 Los Angeles games before immigrating to the United States.

Chip Kelly had done a little homework on the whole Michael Vick age thing, and was armed with a response when the subject was broached earlier this week.

“Number one, I think when you look at his age and study it for quarterbacks, he is actually younger than Tony Romo and about the same age as Eli Manning.  I think sometimes when you look at him because he has been in the league for a while and he came out early from college. And you look at his age and say, boy, he’s aging.  And it’s funny,” said Kelly. “So I think there is a lot more to Michael.”

Fair enough. But the question wasn’t about how Vick ranks by age compared to his contemporaries, but rather how Kelly planned on getting a soon-to-be 33-year old to change his spots.

I fear we are reading a little too much into the Dennis Dixon signing.

We see that Chip Kelly opted to keep Michael Vick around for next season then went and signed one of his former Oregon quarterbacks,  and jump to the conclusion that Nick Foles is being squeezed out of the picture and it’s read-option city from here on in.

Maybe not.

The Eagles signed former Oregon quarterback Dennis Dixon to a two-year deal Thursday. Dixon was most recently on the practice squad for the Super-Bowl champion Ravens.

The 28-year-old has been in the league since 2008 and has just three starts to his name — all with the Steelers. He has not thrown a pass in the bigs since 2010, and was unable to crack a 53-man roster this past season.

He is now reunited with his old college coach, however, and Kelly has worked magic on Dixon once already. The year before Kelly arrived at Oregon, Dixon threw 12 touchdowns to 14 interceptions and Oregon went 7-6. Kelly came aboard as the offensive coordinator for Dixon’s senior season. The quarterback tossed 20 touchdowns to four INTs that year, becoming a Heisman candidate as the Ducks finished 9-4.