The Philadelphia Eagles seem to be falling apart, and the blaming is mostly directed at Chip Kelly and whatever it is he’s trying to do with the franchise, as his bold, unexpected offseason moves do not seem to be paying off, at least not right away.
At this point, with the Eagles falling to 4-7 and losing two games in a row while giving up 45 points in each of them, it’s easy to forget Mark Sanchez is the quarterback and not Sam Bradford. Not that things were much better with Bradford, but the offensive system runs better with him under center. But it’s getting to the point where it doesn’t matter. Maybe the Eagles ownership are buying what Kelly is selling them, and see a better, solid, strong future for the team just around the corner.
But it’s difficult staying the course when there are so many losses, and bad ones. On a team that started out with a playoff appearance on his first season, the expectations were to be in that same place or even better. But Kelly might be seeing this in a different way, and although he obviously wants to win, he might be requesting his bosses to remain patient. The problem is being patient is difficult to do when you’re giving up over 40 points in two consecutive games without putting up a fight.
I’m not an Eagles fan, and I’m not an Oregon fan. Kelly knows football, or at least offense, at both the college and NFL level. Maybe the changes he made this offseason had something to do with ego; being about wanting his own picks filling the team, knowing it’s something that might take the team back. Remember, even though they didn’t make the playoffs in 2014, they still finished 10-6, which for almost every team in the NFL suggests it was a good season.
But if the Eagles do give up on whatever it is that Kelly is trying to do (maybe too many rebuilding projects in one city is too much for the frustrated fan base to bear. The season falling apart from here could leave an impression that’s too difficult to shake off and label as growing pains towards a better future. The Eagles are a franchise that’s been aiming to win now, not in three or four years, and failing to even make it out of the weak NFC East is even more of a problem for Kelly. He might not want to go back to college coaching, but at the end of this process, especially if it’s cut short, he might not have a choice anymore.