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Jason Kelce

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Health Update On Kelce, Peters And Herremans

Philadelphia Eagles center Jason KelceThe health of the offensive line is obviously a major issue heading into the 2013 season. The Eagles lost Todd Herremans (dislocated foot), Jason Peters (ruptured Achilles) and Jason Kelce (torn MCL, partially torn ACL) to serious injuries in 2012. Their ability to rebound will be critical if Chip Kelly wants to experience some semblance of success in his first year at the helm.

With the offseason program set to begin on April 1 and the first minicamp a little over two weeks away, we checked in on the triumvirate’s status.

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Kelly Makes Changes To Eagles’ Locker Room

When Eagles players return to the NovaCare locker room in the coming weeks, they’re going to notice some changes.

Instead of having the space organized by positional groups, Chip Kelly has decided to mix things up. A quarterback might find himself next to a safety, a wide receiver alongside a linebacker, and so on.

“I think it’s going to help us blend a little better as a team,” said offensive lineman Todd Herremans, who hosted a fund-raising event for the Herremans Foundation Thursday night. “You’re with your position so much in the meeting rooms and everything like that. This will also have us hold each other accountable.”

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Eagles Wake-Up Call: The State Of the Offensive Line

One of the more intriguing aspects of free agency for the Eagles might have been a move they didn’t make.

On the first day of the new league year, the Birds were linked to right tackle Jake Long. Eventually, Long ended up signing a four-year, $34 million deal with the Rams that includes up to $20 million in guaranteed money if he stays healthy.

The Eagles also expressed interested in right tackle Eric Winston once he was cut by the Chiefs. Les Bowen of the Daily News reports that the team has a number it’s willing to sign Winston at, and a deal is still possible, depending on what he gets offered elsewhere.

So what does all this mean for the current players on the roster?

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Eagles Wake-Up Call: ‘Science Over Tradition’ With Kelly

When told last week that Chip Kelly had hired a sports science coordinator on the Eagles’ staff, Oregon running back Kenjon Barner was not the least bit surprised.

“He was huge with science over tradition,” Barner said. “Everything that we did at Oregon was based on science.”

Such as?

“How we practiced, what time we ended practice, what time we started practice, what time we ended meetings, what time we ate, how we rehabbed, just everything was based on science,” Barner explained. “He was huge on science, always looking something up, always bringing some type of fact or number to us in a meeting. He’s huge on that.”

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Offseason Primer: Eagles Offensive Line

Can the Eagles’ offensive line be a strength next season? What does the future hold for Danny Watkins? And might Todd Herremans go back to playing guard? Answering those questions and more in today’s Eagles’ offseason primer.

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Classy Gesture Connects Jason Kelce And Ed Reed

Philadelphia Eagles center Jason KelceThe game clock read 11:45 in the third quarter at the exact moment Ed Reed made contact with Jason Kelce’s right knee.

It was Week 2, and the Eagles were trailing the Ravens, 17-7. The line of scrimmage was the Baltimore 30-yard-line, and the call was a stretch play to LeSean McCoy to the right side. Reed started 12 yards back as the single high safety. The ball was snapped, McCoy took the handoff, and Kelce used his athleticism to control nose tackle Terrence Cody. Reed, meanwhile, charged towards the ball-carrier.

At right around the 28, he got low and dove at McCoy’s legs. The running back felt some contact, but stumbled forward for a 9-yard gain. Reed failed to hit McCoy squarely, and his dive continued into Kelce’s right knee. After the whistle blew, the Eagles’ center was on his hands and knees in pain. The training staff came out, and he turned over to his back, grabbing his knee.

The result was a torn MCL, a partially-torn ACL and the end of Kelce’s season.

This is the NFL, and such injuries are relatively common. Scan the injury reports on a Monday afternoon during the season, and you’ll see similar notes around the league. But this particular injury gnawed at Reed.

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How A Kelly O-lineman Is ‘Like A Bouncer In A Bar’

 The more we get to know Chip Kelly, the more we realize how much of his success is rooted in simplicity. Where Andy Reid boasted a playbook that could stretch from floor to ceiling, Kelly seems to believe more in focusing on a smaller amount of plays and perfecting them.

It is about execution, and on offense, it is largely about the men up front.

To get a feel for what Kelly wants out of his offensive line in Philadelphia, it’s best to go back to his Oregon days for clues. The Duck offense was based off the inside zone play. Kelly, in a NIKE Coaches Clinic back in 2009, discussed what he expects out of his offensive line on this play, while giving a glimpse at his overall football philosophy.

We want to get off the ball and be a physical, downhill-running football team. This is not a finesse play. We teach our offensive linemen a play we call the bust block. The idea is to bust their sternums up against their spines on every play. We want to come off the ball, create a double-team, knock the crap out of the defender, and deposit him in the linebacker’s lap.

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Kelce Unconcerned About Potential OL Changes

Philadelphia Eagles center Jason KelceIn 2011, Jason Kelce looked like someone who was made to play for Howard Mudd.

Tucked away behind the Eagles’ mistakes in the 2011 draft was the selection of Kelce, a sixth-round pick out of Cincinnati. As a rookie, he caught Mudd’s eye and stole the starting job from Jamaal Jackson on the practice fields at Lehigh. Kelce’s athleticism was exactly what Mudd wanted out of his center, and the rookie showed steady improvement, leading many observers to project a Pro Bowl campaign for him in 2012.

But in the team’s second game against the Ravens, Kelce suffered a torn MCL and ACL in his right knee, ending his season. Now, with Mudd retiring and Andy Reid gone, Kelce is waiting to find out what scheme the Eagles will be running in 2013.

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Michael Vick Takes Back Pre-Snap Duties

Michael Vick has seized control back at the line of scrimmage.

Entering the year, he and Jason Kelce planned to share responsibilities pre-snap so Vick could focus on the other tasks at hand. While Vick had final say, it was the center that was calling out the bulk of the protections. Even when Kelce went down and the unproven Dallas Reynolds stepped in, the set-up stayed in place.

The intended results never came. In fact, instead of Vick feeling more focused in, he actually felt somewhat disengaged.

“Mike, when he’s forced to fix the protections like he was last year, I think he is more in tune to everything,” said Kelce. “That’s one of the things that we ran into problems with at camp was sometimes when you have the center doing a lot of that, the quarterback kind of goes on autopilot. I think that’s why Mike wanted to move back to that. He feels more mentally engaged and he feels like he’s more part of it, he has to focus on each and every play.”

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Mailbag: Revisiting the 2011 Draft; Expectations For Foles

I’m pinch-blogging for T-Mac with the reader mailbag this week. These are e-mails I’ve received in the past few weeks (edited slightly for viewing purposes). Topics include the 2011 draft class, Nick Foles, Trent Edwards and more.

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All-22: What We Saw From the Eagles’ Offense

Here are some plays from the Eagles’ offense that stood out after watching the All-22 tape.

If you missed the defensive breakdown, click here.

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Kelce Out For the Season; Vallos Signing Official

Philadelphia Eagles center Jason KelceEagles center Jason Kelce will not play again in 2012. The team announced today that he has been placed on season-long injured reserve.

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Source: Eagles Likely To Sign Center Vallos

With Jason Kelce sidelined, the Eagles are likely to sign veteran center Steve Vallos Tuesday.

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OL Review: How Did Bell And Reynolds Hold Up?

Here’s a player-by-player review of how the Eagles offensive linemen performed after re-watching Sunday’s game against the Ravens.

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With Kelce Down, A Look At the Eagles’ Options

The Eagles had not been in contact with Jamaal Jackson as of Monday morning. Here’s a look at some possible candidates to add depth to the center position: