What They’re Saying About the Eagles

Here’s a roundup of what the national media are saying about the Eagles this week. We posted some links on Monday too, in case you missed them.

ESPN.com’s Gregg Easterbrook on Chip Kelly:

But now it seems that like the Borg on “Star Trek,” the NFL has adapted. In Philadelphia’s last two outings, the Eagles’ offense has scored a mere three points, while punting 15 times and committing six turnovers. Quarterback injuries have been a problem — but Kelly’s offense exposes the quarterback to injures, which many NFL veterans warned the incoming Eagles coach about. During his first half of professional action, Kelly looked pretty self-satisfied — “It’s true, I’m a genius,” he seemed to be saying to himself. He’s looking stressed-out now.

Last January your columnist said Kelly “would seem ill-advised to leave his dreamlike situation at Oregon for the backstabbing environment of the NFL.” So soon after being the target of a bidding war, could Kelly end his first season fired, or quitting? NCAA sanctions prohibit him from coaching in college again until 2015.

Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com says he’s not overreacting on Kelly:

Let’s allow him to bring his own players in and not go crazy when he doesn’t win with his No. 3 quarterback.

Mike Tanier of Sports On Earth grades all the rookie coaches:

Trending: Downward like a sack of batteries into the bottom of a reservoir (F). While the defense has made modest strides, the Eagles offense has collapsed completely. The Bills have proven that a quarterback catastrophe is no excuse for two touchdown-free weeks against second-tier opponents.

Midterm Grade: C-. And falling fast. Kelly’s scheme showed early promise. Now he must prove his adaptability.

SI.com’s Don Banks weighs in on the loss to the Giants:

Remember that fast-break football that the Eagles debuted in Week 1 at Washington? The one that ever-so-briefly took the NFL by storm, and was designed to dictate the pace of the game to the opposing defense, forcing it to endure a stress test in the matchup game on almost every snap? There’s no sign of that attack in Philly these days, and nothing about the Eagles offense makes it stand out as October concludes, other than its ineptitude. Philadelphia’s offense barely threatened the Giants, after beating New York 36-21 just three weeks ago in the Meadowlands.

ESPN.com has the Eagles 26th in its power rankings:

Eagles quarterbacks completed only four passes against the blitz and the Giants defense disrupted six of Philly’s 12 dropbacks (interception, sack or pass defended) against at least five rushers.

Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com looks ahead to second-half storylines:

The Eagles’ offense, with its warp-speed pace and all those options and amazing read-option looks — was was going to change the way football is played in the pro game. Well, it still might do all of that. But not right now. Chip Kelly’s rookie season in the NFL plateaued in Week 1, dismantling the Redskins, and has been more mundane than not. They ran only 58 plays against the lowly Giants, while New York ran 71. The week before they ran 75 plays — as many as Dallas — but once again fell apart around the red zone. They are averaging a pedestrian 22 points a game. How soon can they get it turned around? Can they get it turned around? How much of his personnel plays its way off the roster? If it keeps up like this, how long does Kelly stick around? Do his problems have a chilling effect on the expected demand for several top college coaches this offseason?

Pete Prisco of CBSSports.com has the Eagles 20th:

The quarterback situation is dragging down a season that started with so much hope. A shutout? For a Chip Kelly team?

Brian Billick of FoxSports.com has the Eagles 26th:

Heading into Week 7, a Chip Kelly team had never scored fewer than eight points in a game. They have just 10 points combined in the last two.

Elliot Harrison of NFL.com has the Eagles 24th:

If Chip Kelly still is going to revolutionize NFL offenses, it’s going to have to happen with Matt Barkley at quarterback. And if Barkley is going to play anything like he did against the Cowboys in Week 7, there’s going to be a revolution in Philadelphia. Sunday’s defeat to the Giants was a bad home loss to a sub-mediocre opponent. And now Michael Vick is out for who knows how long with a hamstring that “popped.” Ugh.

Ryan Wilson of CBSSports.com offers his midseason thoughts:

Chip Kelly’s offense hasn’t revolutionized the game, and there’s no indication that will happen over the next eight weeks, either. Still, the Eagles’ have the league’s best rushing attack, and Evan Mathis has dominated at guard, but it will probably be another season (or two) before Kelly can stock the roster with “his” players. For now, it’s the revolving door of Michael Vick, Nick Foles and Matt Barkley. Then there’s that defense, a huge liability in 2012 and not much better now. Kendricks rates as one of the NFL’s worst linebackers, and DeMeco Ryans isn’t far behind. Still, the Eagles are just one game behind the Cowboys and in a division where up is down and black is white, we wouldn’t be shocked if Philly came out the other end on top.

The NFL.com crew offers midseason thoughts on the Eagles:

The quarterback of the future isn’t on the Eagles’ roster. After becoming the fourth team in NFL history with five consecutive games of 430-plus yards, the Eagles have been held to 10 total points over the past two weeks with Nick Foles and Matt Barkley taking the majority of the snaps. Chip Kelly’s offense works, but he’s going to need to make adjustments with Michael Vick out of the lineup.

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk has the Eagles 21st:

Has everyone figured out Chip Kelly’s offense?  Matt Barkley hasn’t.

Matt Barkley rated 15th statistically, per Football Outsiders:

Third and fourth downs: 2-of-5 for 12 yards, no first downs, plus one sack. One of those completions was a 5-yard gain on fourth-and-20.

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