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Matt Barkley

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Where the Eagles’ QB Situation Stands

Chip Kelly needed just three words to properly sum up the play of Nick Foles Sunday afternoon against the Cowboys. “He was off,” Kelly said, […]

October 20, 2013; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles running back LeSean McCoy (25) yells at Dallas Cowboys fans before the game at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Pittenger-USA TODAY Sports
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Observations: Cowboys 17, Eagles 3

Here’s what we saw during today’s Eagles-Cowboys game.

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Eagles Wake-Up Call: Rookie Progress Report

With five games in the books, now seems like as good a time as any to check in on the nine Eagles rookies.

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Wake-Up Call: Matt Barkley Comes Clean

During the run-up to the NFL draft, Matt Barkley downplayed talk about his ailing shoulder. Same for when the topic came up once he was […]

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What They’re Saying About the Eagles

Preseason predictions, along with wide-ranging opinion on Chip Kelly in our latest roundup of what the national media are saying about the Eagles.

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Eagles Wake-Up Call: Barkley Doesn’t Want Season To ‘Slip Away’

Matt BarkleyThe question posed to Matt Barkley was straightforward: When’s the last time you went into a football season and weren’t the starting quarterback?

Barkley paused for about four seconds, thought about it briefly and then answered.

“I can’t think of a time,” he said.

“It’s different, but I think since the announcement came out about Mike [Vick], I kind of realized that’s what it is, so you take it in stride and you learn to deal with it. It’s not like a ground-breaking deal. It’s not that drastic. You want to see the field, you want to play, but it’s just another opportunity to learn. I’ve said that before. Just try to grow from it.”

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What They’re Saying About the Eagles

Could another team be interested in getting its hands on Matt Barkley? Plus Eagles-Jaguars notes in advance of tonight’s game.

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Three Thoughts On the Decision To Go With Vick

Michael VickHere are three thoughts on the Eagles’ quarterback situation on the heels of Chip Kelly announcing that Michael Vick will be his starter.

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Eagles Wake-Up Call: Rookie Status Report

Zach ErtzToday, we check in on the rookies. Here’s a player-by-player breakdown of what we’ve seen from each guy, along with projections going forward.

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How the Eagles Package the Zone Read And Bubble Screen

Back in early June, Chip Kelly sat at the head of a conference table in the NovaCare Complex and spent a full hour answering reporters’ questions about his program, his offensive scheme and his philosophies.

avant1bNot surprisingly, the topic of tempo was brought up. And the first-year Eagles’ head coach tried to explain that he didn’t always want to go at a super-fast speed.

“If they didn’t line up right and they have nine guys standing over there and you have a play called that’s going to run into those nine guys, then maybe playing fast wasn’t the smartest thing to do,” Kelly said. “Sometimes you need to let things get settled down and get an opportunity to make sure that you’ve got the right look.

“A lot of things we’re doing, we’re trying to throw it versus the best-located safety. Well, we better make sure we locate the safeties before we snap the football. Do we want to run it at one guy or run away from another guy? You’ve got to make sure some of those things you can see before you start it. It’s just not all driven on let’s see how many plays we can get run.”

While the truth is the Eagles are going to move quickly, Kelly’s response serves as the foundation for much of what he wants to do offensively: spread the field out, look for a numbers advantage and count on the quarterback to make the right decisions.

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Eagles-Panthers Game Review: The Offense

mccoy1aA position-by-position review of how the Eagles’ offense performed against the Panthers, after having reviewed the game.

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How the Eagles Scored Two TDs On the Same Play

brown-block1Nick Foles saw five defenders in the box, and so his decision was simple: hand the ball off to Bryce Brown.

Matt Barkley got a 2 vs. 2 matchup he liked on the perimeter, and so he threw the screen outside to Greg Salas.

The play-calls were exactly the same. Yet the quarterbacks made two different decisions, both which resulted in touchdowns.

We talked about run-pass options in this space over the weekend. And Grantland’s Chris Brown explained them further in his terrific piece about Chip Kelly’s offense. After Monday’s practice, we caught up with several players to gain a better understanding of the “packaged play” concept.

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Eagles-Patriots Game Review: The Offense

Notes on Lane Johnson, the quarterbacks, Greg Salas and others in our game review of the Eagles’ offense.

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Barkley’s Play Picks Up Along With Pace

JJF_6627The Eagles offense did something on Friday night that we have seen very little of during training camp. It huddled.

Chip Kelly has had his group working at a frenzied pace during practice, with the idea that the games will seem slower by comparison. When Matt Barkley came into the game, the pace was slow by any standard.

“I think he was just trying to start slow,” said Barkley, “but he eventually got excited and went up-tempo and we all felt better for it.”

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Eagles Wake-Up Call: Matt Barkley Gets His Chance

Matt Barkley 1Chip Kelly suggested at the beginning of training camp that Matt Barkley would have an opportunity to win the starting job. To this point, though, it sure has looked like a two-man race, with all of the first-team reps going to Nick Foles and Michael Vick.

“Camp’s not over,” Kelly said. “You’ll see a lot of him on Friday night [against the Patriots].  Camp is not over.”

The carrot, then, still dangles in front of the rookie signal-caller.

Vick and Foles will alternate series in the first quarter. The plan is to then hand it over to Barkley for the second and third quarters. He’ll have more snaps on tape than any of his competitors by the end of the night.