What do Chip Kelly and Billy Davis mean when they say they’re moving the Eagles’ defense towards a 3-4? And where will they stop? Here’s a look, using the All-22 tape.
Who is winning the quarterback competition? How does Momah look? How about the battle for the No. 3 running back spot?
Chip Kelly, as usual, was standing with the punt returners during the special teams portion of practice Sunday. He has been working with them regularly, focusing on improving their tracking ability so that they are consistently under the ball when it comes down.
All of a sudden, Kelly darted towards the sideline and disappeared into the crowd. He had spotted the handful of Atlanta Braves that were in attendance, and made his way into their pack looking for pointers. After all, who knows more about tracking balls than baseball players?
Another running diary of Eagles practice observations from today’s session.
When it was time for Vick to take over the starting quarterback job in Atlanta, Dan Reeves decided to overhaul his offensive system.
Chris Chandler was the quarterback that preceded Vick and he was a sponge. Reeves would give him the game plan Wednesday morning and he’d know it backwards and forwards by that night. He had played in the league for 14 years at that point, and was heading into his fifth season as the Falcons starter when Vick was selected first overall in the 2001 NFL Draft.
Reeves had a wordy and rather complex system in place that was heavily reliant on memorization. To streamline the process for his young quarterback and the rest of the players, he went to a numbers system, which spelled things out more plainly. He also simplified Vick’s reads.
“I didn’t want to complicate it where Mike had to get past the third progression,” said Reeves. “I gave him a one-two thing. As soon as your back foot hits look at one, go to two and if two is not there, Mike you look to run.”
With Jeremy Maclin out for the year and Riley Cooper taking an indefinite leave of absence, the Eagles’ WR group has gone from one of the deeper units on the team to a question mark.
The team could add a player or two in the coming weeks, but given that it’s Aug. 4, there aren’t a lot of attractive options out there. Keeping that in mind, let’s take stock of where the current wide receivers on the roster stand.
Here’s a roundup of what the national media are saying about the Philadelphia Eagles this week.
The Eagles, you may have heard, have taken a hit at the wide receiver position. Jeremy Maclin is done for the season with a torn ACL. Arrelious Benn has been dealing with a knee injury for almost all of camp so far. And, well, Riley Cooper (though his roster spot is safe for now, per Chip Kelly).
What is going on behind the scenes in the personnel department as they scan the league for potential help? New Vice President Of Personnel Tom Gamble gave us a little peek:
Here is your running diary of Eagles practice observations from Friday’s session.
The Eagles are hopeful that the maelstrom brought on by the Riley Cooper situation is beginning to ease its grip.
Cooper has been temporarily separated from the team to seek counseling. Following his departure to a destination unknown, Chip Kelly held another team meeting that he deemed “very productive.” Jeremy Maclin, Jason Avant, DeMeco Ryans and Jon Dorenbos were among the veterans to speak up.
“We have big things that we want to accomplish this year, and we don’t want that to be a burden on our season — that’s what our coach said about this locker room,” said DeSean Jackson after practice. “As far as the leaders speaking up in meetings, people want to see us stay together and not let this break our team apart.”
Are you willing to still play with Riley?
“It’s my job, brother,” Jackson responded. “I’m here. Gotta work.”
A Wall Street Journal article last week suggested that Chip Kelly and the Eagles might not be able to play at their desired pace on offense because of NFL referees.
But according to veteran official Scott Green, that’s unlikely to be an issue.
“There is nothing new about how we set the ball up and get ready to play,” Green said today. “And as I mentioned, the key is whether there is a substitute that comes into the game. The offense may want to move and move quickly, whether it’s the Eagles, Patriots, whomever. But the defense has an opportunity to match up if in fact there’s a substitute. If there’s not a substitute, then it’s just the normal course of time that it takes us to spot the ball. And like I said, over the last
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