The Chip Kelly Conondrum
Well, I have finally awoken from my fuzzy comatose state; I’ve found my will to talk football again after the remnants of that disastrous Super Bowl…scratch that…disastrous Super Bowl Play. You know the play where they should have fed the man who had engaged “Beast Mode”, but instead diverged to the opposite side of the playbook and decided to throw a quick slant that was tragically and rightfully intercepted. The Super Bowl as a whole was one to remember, it was an exciting thriller that was decided in the final seconds. It was everything you could ask a Super Bowl to have, except the infamous play call that will go down in the Infamy Hall of Fame as one of the worst play calls in NFL history. It shifted millions of dollars, tore the hearts out of millions, and it even stole bragging rights from me. I felt like the bad guys had won; a sense of injustice that was looming over me, and there wasn’t a single damn thing I could do about it. Yea, I picked Seattle to win. Am I still salty about it? Obviously. Did my gut tell me to go with the Patriots, but instead uncharacteristically went with my heart and took the Hawks? Sadly, yes. Am I going to let that catastrophe ruin the 2015 NFL season for me? Hell no. I’m ready to bounce back and return to my duties as an NFL fan, and will do my due diligence to the sport. As for that abhorrent ending to the 2014 season, I cope knowing that it was better that it happened to the Seattle Seahawks and not my beloved Pittsburgh Steelers, as feeble and chauvinistic as it may sound.
So, now that I did my venting, it is time to move on to the NFL offseason period. A time of uncertainty and change, for better or for worse, it is an integral part of the game. Some teams come out winners, others losers, while the rest remain stagnant. But no team has stuck out like a sore thumb to me more than the Philadelphia Eagles. Now that Chip Kelly has final say over player personnel, he has been construing baffling roster adjustments, that to the naked eye seem questionable, but analyzed under a microscope, it slightly makes sense. The Eagles have lost an abundance of talent only to gain an abundance of talent and flexibility. Some might say Chip is a mad man, but I have to disagree and say it was well played moves by him.
Let’s start with the blockbuster trade: Perennial all star LeSean McCoy traded to Buffalo for budding star Kiko Alonso. People went hysterical, why trade a proven commodity in his prime (26) for a linebacker coming off a torn ACL? First off, by trading away Shady, the Eagles scratch off $11.95 million of dead money they would have owed him, while freeing up money on the salary cap. Secondly Kiko (24) is no slouch, he was defensive rookie of the year 2 years back, and has familiarity with Chip. Oh yea, the Eagles get a Luke Keuchley talent for $750,000. That was kind of a good move by Chip.
So Philly is now without an elite running back to tote the ball in this high powered offense; no problem? I guess Chip is not only a mad man, but a magician too. He took a McCoy and transformed him into a Murray & Mathews. With the departure of Shady, over $11 million opened up in cap space. Chip said I’ll see your elite running back and raise you two. He first snagged a talented Mathews from San Diego, and then he signed a division rival’s best player in Murray (Although I think he was pressured into this move). Nevertheless he signed two proven running backs for the same price they would have had to pay Shady this year. Talk about being resourceful. Now the Eagles have a running back committee of Murray, Mathews, and speedy Sproles.
If trading away their best offensive weapon wasn’t enough, Chip had the audacity to let Jeremy Maclin walk. Off to Kansas City Maclin went, now poor ol Philly’s offense is crumbling at the helms of Chip. Wrong. Chip knows the wide receiver position is a luxury position in his offense, and he has found a go-to target in second year man Jordan Matthews, and can lean on reliable Riley Cooper. Also recently added to the mix was Miles Austin who signed a 1 year $2.3 million contract. The combined total Philly will owe its receiving corp. this year is $9.3 million. Not too shabby. I also believe Philly will search for a wide receiver to replace Maclin in the draft.
Well he went this far, he might as well ship his starting quarterback off for Heaven’s sake. And he did just that. I condemned this questionable trade at first because I happen to be a believer of Foles, although it had been rumored for months that Foles wasn’t their guy. So Chip found his opportunity to strike, he gave up Foles a second (2016) and fourth (2015) round pick in return for Sam Bradford, an injury prone quarterback, but has the potential to be a franchise quarterback. Chip gave up a lot for Bradford, and is taking a huge risk on him, but if he can pull this off he’ll be looking like a Jedi Mastermind and not a quack, no pun intended. The flashes of Bradford we saw were convincing, but his career has been rattled with so many injuries that it is truly hard to say what will become of this trade. I believe a major factor that hexed Bradford in Saint Louis was a porous offensive line. In 49 career starts Bradford was sacked 120 times, 2.4 sacks per game. It is difficult to develop a QB that is being hit that often. Luckily for Bradford, Philly has an offensive system that will help keep him upright, and with a couple line adjustments, their offensive line can become elite. Chip’s offense requires a quarterback with great accuracy, a trait that Bradford possesses. If the offensive line can protect Bradford to orchestrate this offense, these Eagles will have a potent attack. It also helps that they have three solid running backs. This move is a risk, but I think it will pay off for all parties involved.
Chip’s lunacy didn’t end with revamping the offense; he knew that to truly be a real contender you need to be efficient on both sides of the ball. His defense was ranked 28th in total defense last year, and that wasn’t going to fly with Chip. Philly cut two aging and pricey veterans in Trent Cole & Cary Williams, freeing up close to $40 million. He countered this move by resigning Brandon Graham and signing Seattle’s Byron Maxwell to a wealthy contract. They also added a veteran presence in Walter Thurmond to help bolster a secondary that ranked 31st against the pass. With a solid front seven in place and an upgraded secondary, Chip has put this defense in position to be a top 10 defense in the league. It doesn’t end there as Philly will look to the draft to add depth to a resurgent defense. I think they’ll look for a safety to replace Nate Allen, maybe a versatile Shaq Thompson, but that’s for another day when I release my draft projections.
So, do you still think Chip is a mad man or is he a clever strategist? I think he is playing this game to his own tune, and is winning. He is owning their salary cap situation and making this team better at every position. Free agency is not over and they still have a draft to improve this team more. There is plenty of risk involved for Chip and the Eagles, but barring any injury setbacks, Philly has a positive outlook into the 2015 NFL season.
