Chip Kelly, What are You Thinking?

You knew I'd be posting about this.  Eagles news in the offseason? Yeah.

Many were surprised the other day to hear Chip Kelly, former head coach for Oregon State University, and new head coach for Philadelphia Eagles signed MIchael Vick to a new contract with the Eagles.

Shocking because one might expect a new guy with his only experience in football at the colligate level to put all his money in a new kid, not an old dog. 

So, let's get into Chip's head, shall we?

First, as always, let's remember that, as a woman, I am just guessing I know what he thinks.  I'm inserting thoughts and plans that may or may not have anything to do with football, and certainly have not been confirmed by Chip himself.  I just think sometimes we women know what men are thinking more than men think we do sometimes.

So looks like Chip's going with Vick for QB.  Are we going back to the Andy Reid, "Pass Every Play" style of offensive?  Didn't we hire someone to be DIFFERENT from Reid? What's he trying to give us on offense?  Vick is a shotgun passer.  


Here's what I think.  Kelly's no dummy.  He knows he's new.  This is his year to check out the NFL and see what's going on.  This is the year with no pressure.  They aren't going to fire him in his first year.  This is the time to see what he's got and see what works.  Go from there, change only what doesn't work.  Because the players have all been in the system longer than he has at this point.  


If he gets the right offensive line going, things could look promising with a little old-style Philly ball.  Of course, sadly, part of that O-line training will have to be keeping eyes open to cover the fumbles too...


Vick is respected by his teammates.  He knows how to pump up a team, and there's no denying the boy's got heart.  I think that is what Kelly is counting on for the moment.  Signing Vick gave him energy.  And the rest of the team is used to looking to him to make things happen.  


The season will start, likely with Vick, and honestly it is just a matter of time before he gets hurt.  But that time will be a good interview for the rest of the season.  See what works, and who's still got it.  Let Bryce Brown work out some nerves so he can become a big player.  For heaven's sake, we have to run the ball more than Andy did. 


What will the Chip Kelly offense be?  He can't mirror the Pat's offense if he doesn't have Tom Brady.  But I think he is smart enough to figure out what's going to work.  It won't be all the new college ball tricks, but rather a mix of old and new to find what works.


And remember too, it's defense that wins games.  You can win a game without a single TD if your defense and special teams are with it.  (But don't get me started on special teams.)


No one is picking the Eagles to take the NFC East.  As a matter of fact, the last clip I saw of sportscasters ranking QBs in the NFC East actually ranked the other teams' BACK UPs higher than our starters. Great time to lay low and get things figured out on the side stage before we work out the kinks for the main show.


I will wear my Eagles gear this fall, with a little embarrassment, but I'm not giving up hope for the future.  Go Eagles!

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