Posts Tagged ‘Philadelphia Eagles’

Can Chip Kelly Take the Eagles & the Fanbase Into the Next Era?

Chip Kelly has the chance to bring the Eagles back to greatness.Having gone to Eagles games since 1978, I can say with full confidence that this is the most exciting off-season since Hurricane Buddy blew into town. Chip Kelly has a rather large task in front of him. He has to change the mindset of a fan base that has been beaten into submission by the Andy Reid Era. For 14 seasons we were subjected to a weekly demonstration of trying to fit Square Pegs into Round Holes.

Since taking over in January, Chip, and his offense that he employed at Oregon, has been scrutinized, and put under the microscope by every analyst, talk show host, columnist, and bar patron in Eagles Nation.  ‘How can he …

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The Science Behind The Use of Music by Chip Kelly

Chip Kelly's use of music in training camp raised some eyebrows & some questions.I was one of many Eagles’ fans following the Twitter updates during the team’s OTA Monday.  And I was probably one of the many getting annoyed by the flood of tweets regarding Chip Kelly’s music playlist (more football please!).  But as seems to be the case more often than not with Coach Kelly, there is a reason for everything.   Afterwards, Kelly was asked about including various rock and pop anthems on the practice field.  He answered, “There’s some science behind it…” He didn’t have the time to elaborate, but there are indeed football and non-football reasons for it, and I think they go hand-in-hand.

First, let me preface this by saying that my …

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Former Cowboy Joins the Birds; How Will Felix Jones Contribute?

Felix Jones will no longer be wearing the Star for Dallas but will be part of the Eagles backfield this season.Change has been the theme of the off-season for the Philadelphia Eagles, be it new coaches, new players, new systems, or new practice policies, the 2013 NFL season will have a vastly different feel in 2013.

Announced this week was the singing of former Cowboys’ first round selection, Felix Jones who will complement LeSean McCoy and Bryce Brown nicely in Chip Kelly‘s expected run-heavy offense.  Jones signed a one year contract with the Eagles, and is likely to play a role in the Eagles rushing attack, though we do not know what that exact …

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Donovan McNabb to Retire as an Eagle, Time to Retire the Hate

It is time to retire the hate for Eagles Quarterback Donovan McNabb who will retire as a member of the team this season.Can we get one thing straight…I want to see a Super Bowl Victory as much if not more than anyone. I have been to almost every Eagles home game since 1979. I have seen great players and teams, and some of the worst football ever played or coached. From Dick Vermeil, to Andy Reid and everything in between. With that said I can’t figure out one thing, Why is there still so much hate for Donovan McNabb?

Since the time he was drafted 2nd overall, and the pick was infamously booed, …

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Chip Kelly Philadelphia’s ‘Hero’? Too Early to Tell; But Getting a ‘Good Feeling’

Chip Kelly is starting his first training camp as the Eagles Head Coach.As NFL rookie camps concluded over the weekend, we now look ahead to the next item on the NFL’s offseason agenda. The penultimate of offseason workout events, the first Offseason Team Activites, or OTA’s, kicked off Monday morning and had a new, distinctive, feel compared to the mini-camps run by Andy Reid for over a decade. The players took the field at the NovaCare complex in South Philadelphia to the sounds of Chip Kelly’s playlist, including such gems as “Turn Me On” by David Guetta feat. Nicki Minaj, “Hero” by Nas, and “Good Feeling” by Flo-Rida. While the self-proclaimed “Harajuku Barbie’s” vocalization may seem out of place, the players seem to like …

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Hey Jeffrey Lurie, Bring in Brian Dawkins

Brian Dawkins in his classic tackle picture against the New York Giants.When Chip Kelly provided the names of his coaching staff, I was one of many Eagles’ fans hoping Brian Dawkins would be one of them. At one point it even seemed likely, especially after Kelly paid Dawkins a visit at an event Dawkins hosted at Chickie & Pete’s in late January. Alas, it was not so, and I now think Dawkins, while perhaps open to coaching in the NFL one day, is more devoted to his family and would not necessarily want to spend the amount of time away from his wife and children that coaching requires. However, I have a proposal…

Jeffrey Lurie has demonstrated an ability to think outside the box. He also …

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Post NFL Draft Q&A: Shaping the Potential Eagles Roster

What kind of impact will Lane Johnson have on the Eagles this season?With off-season workouts well under way, and the NFL draft in the rear view mirror, lets reflect on the draft, and make some projections for the upcoming season. We asked HighPhive.com contributor and Eagles/NFL Draft Writer for FootballExtraPoints.com Josh Collacchi, and HighPhive leading Eagles contributor/sports analyst for 91.3 WVUD Ben Haley on their thoughts about the Eagles draft.

Q: Lane Johnson of Oklahoma was drafted fourth overall and became the Eagles first round pick on April 25th. How does Johnson fit on the current offensive line for the Eagles? And what does the acquisition of Johnson mean for the future of Danny Watkins, Todd Herremans, and Jason …

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Value-Scoring the 2013 NFL Draft

Lane Johnson with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell after being named the #1 Draft Pick for the Philadelphia Eagles.The three day NFL Draft event is complete and many analysts have already submitted grades for teams as well as individual selections.  Admittedly, it’s a bit unfair to judge a team’s draft and their respective selections so early, before players have a chance to prove their worth on an NFL football field.   Instead, it may be better to grade the draft based on relative value (although, perhaps no less ambiguous).

Earlier, I created a draft model based on chaos theory principles and ran the simulation 1,000 times.  One of the byproducts of that simulation was an average draft position (ADP) for each player.  My …

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2013 NFL Draft Recap: The Philadelphia Eagles

Matt Barkley's Twitter picture after he was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 4th Round.No draft since 1999 has brought such hype and expectation to the Philadelphia Eagles. Chip Kelly, Howie Roseman, and Tom Gamble took the reins of the Eagles organization, and laid the framework for the Chip Kelly era in the draft. Prior to the draft, the Birds’ team needs were vast at : OL, CB, S, DE, TE, DT, and LB respectively. Through the draft, Kelly and his staff picked out diamonds in the rough in seemingly each of the six rounds they drafted in while addressing many of the team’s needs and finding great value with each selection.

The first round of the draft was very eventful for the Eagles, as Chip …

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Phillies Lose Again 6-4, Chad Durbin, Geno Smith, Draft & Lane Johnson

Gaby Sanchez beat the Phillies again on Thursday as the Pirates defeated Cliff Lee & the Phillies 6-4.Our beloved Phillies sitting at a cool 9-13 (losers of 7 of the last 10), welcomed the 12-9 Pirates who, besides being 20th in runs scored, 24th in batting average, 21st in OBP, and 22nd in slugging are 9-3 in their last 12 games and are a half game out of first.  Jonathan Pettibone beat the Pirates, Roy Halladay could not, Cole Hamels could not, but Cliff Lee can right?  I guess you will have to read on and see (ignore the title of the article).

This was a nice day for baseball, it was close to …

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