There are times like these when your intuitions about the team you love and follow are about as valid as the Dog With A Blog's…
"Dog With a Blog" is a current Disney Channel hit… and the reason is, dogs don't over-analyze stuff… they see what is there.. and they structure their next move from there…
The dog's name is "Stan"… and Stan tells it like it is…
My goal is to be as honest and straight-forward about the Eagles as Stan would be…
I think Stan sees a team that is buying into the Eagles' new coaching staff in careful stages…
It doesn't help that the old guard currently led by Andy Reid in Kansas City is ripping it up… Heck, Reid is most assuredly in the running for Coach of the Year honors…
But give Coach Kelly some props— he's actually got the Eagles in position to challenge for the NFC East division title.
Quarterback is a crucial position on any team, but especially on a Chip Kelly team. His offense is predicated upon a healthy read-option guy. But maybe it's time to just call a set play and live with it. Take the time to huddle and live with the result…
"I think you can stay up late at night going 'they did this last game and we did this, and they know that we did this, so we need to change because we think they're going to do that.'", Chip Kelly said prior to practice on Wednesday. "But they're in the same room saying the same exact thing. So we know they're going to change, so we're going to change, and you end up not sleeping the second time you play somebody."
Kelly was talking about the Giants, of course.
And there's the rub. Mister "I will run so many plays in a row so fast you will not be able to keep up with us" may be coming down to the realization that, in the NFL, your opponent will eventually figure out the read-option offense, and you'd better be ready to counter with some carefully designed set plays.
I for one am happy for this apparent evolution in Chip Kelly's philosophy on offense. I think it bodes well for the Eagles when you see his offense actually taking the time to huddle and figure out the next best play.
This is also why I think Coach Kelly has reconciled himself to starting a less-than-100% Michael Vick at QB on Sunday vs. the Giants…
Michael Vick hasn't been on the field since he suffered a hamstring injury in the Eagles win over the Giants, but should play this Sunday. This is a plus for the Eagles, meaning the only film the Giants have of the Eagles since then are with a quarterback in Nick Foles that likely won't be playing.
Still, while both coaches might drive themselves crazy going over the tape this week, Kelly said at the end of the day it won't necessarily be who has the best game plan who wins. "At the end of the day, we're going to do what we do, and they're going to do what they do," Kelly said. "Whoever executes the best will win the football game."
"You always start from scratch no matter what," Giants' coach Tom Coughlin said on the challenges of constructing a game plan this week. "The games prior to our first game are all included. You still scrambled around, looking hard at your game (vs. the Eagles) and the two next games. You look to see if there has been any changes, any trend changes."
As for the differences he sees in the Giants, Kelly said they are mostly on the defense.
"They're a little different on the defensive side of the ball with the addition of Jon Beason at linebacker who wasn't there when we played them the last time," Kelly said. "Linval Joseph didn't play against us, so they've got a couple new parts in there."
The major difference I think we will see in the Eagles offense is that it will be more deliberate and more specific in its plan of attack. There will be less read-option and more match-up targeting. I think Chip Kelly has seen the light on this. Call me Stan the Dog, but I think I know a "beggin'' bacon strip when I smell one.
Chip Kelly is learning on the job, and I applaud his effort. What went down at Oregon has virtually no parallel in the NFL.
At this level of talent, it is all about pure execution of designed plays. There is no magic carpet ride that can be sustained on the basis of read-option improvisation. Sooner or later, your best QB (or backup QB) is going to be crushed. Had you realized that beforehand, you would have slowed things down and called more set plays.
Take your time. Let Vick get a good long look at the defense before he calls the play at the line. He's getting better at recognizing defenses, by the way, so let him have a long look. Forget the hurry-up no-huddle tempo, it no longer matters. The opposing defense just brings their safeties up into the LB box when they see that look anyway. Call a vertical set play just to loosen them up. It doesn't even matter if that play results in an incompletion. It will help to set up everything else you want to run.
You can learn a lot from a dog. They see the prize (a beggin' strip?) and methodically plan their way to the trophy. They know what Chip Kelly is learning— fast and furious doesn't necessarily add up to a beggin' strip and a hug.
Take your time— and work it.
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