Eagles Wake-Up Call: The Familiarity Factor With Chip

Today’s question comes via email from Rob:

So, I compiled this list out of curiosity last night – players & coaches released/traded/signed from the Eagles since Chip Kelly’s hire (1/16/13):

Executive Tom Gamble
QB coach Bill Lazor
QB coach Bill Musgrave
WR Jason Avant
WR DeSean Jackson
WR Damaris Johnson 
WR Jeremy Maclin
RB Bryce Brown
RB LeSean McCoy
ILB Jake Knott
OG Todd Herremans
OG Evan Mathis
OLB Trent Cole
CB Cary Williams
CB Bradley Fletcher
S Nate Allen
S Patrick Chung
QB Nick Foles

That’s 15 players and three coaches/execs who moved on to play for 13 different teams (plus wherever Mathis ends up).

For Kelly, a coach with few & simple packages cloaked in different pre-snap formations, how likely is it the NFL is able to catch on and adapt? Or, if nothing else, steal from him?

Thanks,
Rob (Kelce’s Beard)

I love so much about this question. One, the research that went into it. Two, that it’s something we haven’t covered yet. And three, that I get to talk to a beard – a Birds 24/7 first (I think).

There are a few different categories to discuss here – offensive scheme, defensive scheme and the overall program.

Let’s start with offensive scheme. I hate to be wishy-washy, but I could really go either way here. On one hand, there were indications last year that predictability was an issue at times. Bobby Wagner said the Seahawks knew what plays were coming. And T-Mac wrote a great post about how the Eagles might have tipped their hand against the 49ers.

As Rob said, Kelly likes to run a lot of the same concepts over and over again while dressing them up differently. But with good execution, the use of tempo and guys winning their individual matchups, the offense can work that way. At times, it felt like the offense was a disaster last year. But the Eagles still ranked 13th in DVOA on that side of the ball. In other words, even with shaky QB play, the offensive line injuries and an inconsistent run game, the offense was mediocre, not bad.

The other thing to keep in mind here is that teams absolutely are copying parts of the Eagles’ scheme (although as Kelly will remind you, he didn’t invent any of this stuff). I wrote a piece for Sports On Earth last year about how the Dolphins’ offense under Lazor looked similar to the Eagles. And I remember Kelly at one point saying that the Seahawks ran a lot of the same things the Eagles did.

Because teams are seeing more of these things – tempo, packaged plays, using the QB to “block” a defender in the run game – they are naturally going to get better at figuring out how to defend them. So while I think simplicity is good, I also think Kelly can’t always just preach execution. He needs to figure out how to add wrinkles and be a step ahead.

Defensively, I honestly don’t think this is much of an issue. Teams can watch film and see the Eagles like to run a two-gap 3-4 with a lot of single high safety looks. In other words, it’s no different than other teams.

And finally, the overall program might be the most fascinating aspect to discuss.

“There’s 32 teams in this league, and there’s 31 teams doing it the same way,” said defensive backs coach Cory Undlin last month. “There’s one team doing it a different way.”

That comment holds weight because Undlin has been with five different organizations. In terms of sports science, the practices on Tuesday, the efficiency of “training” sessions and so on, I think organizations may copy the Eagles’ methods if they think they make sense. But again, many of them might have already been implementing these things before Kelly even got to the NFL.

Overall, I think the “Will they catch up?” question applies mostly to the Eagles’ offensive scheme. In addition to overhauling personnel at key positions, my guess is that’s where Kelly has focused a lot of his attention this offseason.

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Have a Wake-Up Call question for us? Email skapadia@phillymag.com or tmcmanus@phillymag.com, and we’ll do our best to answer it in the coming weeks.

WHAT YOU MISSED

“The bottom line is, Kelly knows what he’s doing.” Eagles weekend reading.

NFC East roundup: What’s next for Jason Pierre-Paul? What’s the fallout from the reduced suspension for Greg Hardy?

“Ideally to me he is a great number two.” A Nelson Agholor/Emmanuel Sanders comparison and more.

Mark Sanchez, Jordan Matthews, Zach Ertz and others gathered on the west coast to train and live together for a week. Good details from T-Mac.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING

Jimmy Kempski from the Philly Voice on Earl Wolff being in Kelly’s doghouse:

I was asked during one of my weekly Eagles chats here at PhillyVoice if there are any players on the roster who are in Chip Kelly’s “doghouse.” That answer is easy — Based on Kelly’s quotes, it’s clearly safety Earl Wolff. Kelly’s frustrations with Wolff stem from Wolff’s inability to stay on the practice and playing fields, fair or not. Below are all the times Kelly talked about Wolff in the past year, dating back to August.

In press conferences, Kelly will typically find something positive to say about a player, and the best he could occasionally muster about Wolff was that he was “OK.” There’s almost nothing positive at all about Wolff below, and the quotes get progressively worse.

Geoff Mosher of CSN Philly offers some thoughts on the role of veteran linebacker Brad Jones:

There’s been so much talk about the trio/potential rotation of DeMeco Ryans, Kiko Alonso and Mychal Kendricks and some intrigue surrounding third-round pick Jordan Hicks that Jones has almost become a forgotten man. Jones’ ability to play inside and outside should come in handy, especially with the depth issues the Eagles have on the outside. Jones has 10 career sacks and three forced fumbles, which means he has 10 more sacks and three more forced fumbles than Marcus Smith and Travis Long. Jones is hardly a star but he’s a better version of Casey Matthews and a better special teamer than Matthews was. They really could have used him last year.

COMING UP

We’ll have a roundup of national media coverage.