‘I Have Nothing To Explain To Anybody’

Getaway day coincided with picture day for the Eagles, and Chip Kelly used that combination to generate one last show of efficiency before sending players off for a week of rest.

“We set a record: four minutes and forty seconds. We got everybody — the entire team, every position group, the coaches and the training staff done in four minutes and forty seconds,” said Kelly. “Oh, it was tempo. And I would challenge anybody [to match that].”

Once that historic feat was accomplished, the players were able to kick into bye-week mode. They have off until next Tuesday when they’ll begin preparations for the Cardinals. Kelly’s message to his guys on their way out the door?

“It was just, ‘We’ve got a good start but we need to continue. Take this time this week. You have off, and just kind of get away. Eliminate the stress in your life, just relax, spend some time with your family, enjoy your couple days off,'” he said. “They’re required to get two workouts in while they’re away. We give a strength and conditioning presentation to them in terms of what we want to get accomplished and then we’ll see them on Tuesday.”

Kelly was in good spirits during his final meeting with the media before the bye. And why not. He had just received good news regarding Darren Sproles, he has a light work week in front of him, and his team is sitting at 5-1 following a dominant performance against the Giants on Sunday Night Football.

What seemed to please Kelly the most about this past win was the team’s steady level of play. The roller-coaster feel that defined the first five games gave way to something much sturdier.

“We didn’t play a perfect game but we played a better total four quarters. In other games we did things in spurts; I think we did things on a more consistent basis [Sunday],” he said. “To win in this league, it’s about consistency, and we’re moving in that direction.”

— With so many questioning the way in which the Eagles got to 5-1, Kelly was asked for his explanation.

“We don’t have to explain,” he said. “You are what you are. I don’t care. I have nothing to explain to anybody. I don’t worry about that. I don’t go in after a game and say, ‘OK, let’s come up with [something to] to tell the reason why.’ It’s, we’re 5-1, that’s it. You don’t have to explain it to anybody. Your record is what it is. You look at the standings and that’s your record. We don’t pay attention to it. There’s noise out there that when you spend time on it, you’re wasting time that you should be devoting towards developing a game plan for the Arizona Cardinals.”

— Blocking out noise was a running theme of this press conference, like when he was asked about the criticism of Bradley Fletcher and Cary Williams this season.

“I think a lot of the times you guys are wrong. Seriously. That’s what I really think. And when we start listening to people outside of here, we’re going to be in trouble. Then we would be wrong. I think those guys have played really, really well.”

The decision to stick to their guns has been one of the keys to the team’s success, according to the head coach.

“I think we continue to develop our players. Billy [Davis] says it and I like the term: we grow our players. I’ve seen us get better. That’s the one positive where we are right now. We weren’t in this situation last year but I saw us get better. We were 7-1 down the stretch, we were a better football team at the end of the year than we were at the beginning of the year and I hope that holds true now because I think we are moving in a positive direction right now.”