How was it a fluke? They scored 30 points the next game? Thursday games are always horrible I wouldn't look too much into last night offensively for Philly As for their defense they probably have the worst 3rd down defense in the NFL.
If you play fantasy football, pick up the WR2 for whoever is playing the Eagles. Week 1 - Hankerson - 5 receptions, 80 yards, 2 touchdowns Week 2 - Royal - 7 receptions, 90 yards, 3 touchdowns Week 3 - Avery - 7 receptions, 141 yards
In all seriousness, the Chiefs have the best defense faced so far by Philly and they aced the test and may have given the rest of their opponents a blueprint on how to beat them. 1. Vick has his share in the blame. The 2 interceptions were bad (1 into double coverage for a TD and the other was behind the receiver). The fumble happened in garbage time but it is still a turnover. 2. The offensive line. Kelce made a few bad snaps, one resulting in a turnover. In addition to that, Vick was under duress all night. Sacked six times and hit numerous others. The offensive line has to do a better job than that. Credit to the Chiefs though, they have an underrated defense and front seven although I doubt it stays like that for long. 3. I see some people are saying the defense was put in bad spots, which is true, but they had some absolutely GREAT spots to give the offense an advantage. 3rd and 10 from the Chiefs own 5 yard line and you let them convert not to mention I think most of the 3rd down conversions the Chiefs had were not 3rd and short. They let ANOTHER 2nd option go off on the defense, as listed in my previous post. The Chiefs ran for 147 yards averaging 4 yards per carry. Sustained drives where the Eagles offense did not get the ball. So on and so on..... Yeah, the defense needs to get some of the blame too. 4. Special teams was bad too. D. Johnson muffed the first punt return and then got popped on every other return he had leaving the offense with mediocre field position. With all that said, I wouldn't write the Eagles off just yet because of the division they play in (it's pretty horrible all around).
Its not just the offense but its also Chip Kelly. The guy might have been an "Offensive Genius" for Oregon but that is because they played crappy teams in their Pac - 12 conference. The Oregon team is still destroying other teams. This is the NFL, teams are not gonna get tired because of the high octane offense. The teams also know how to gameplan much much better than the college team.
So did the Chiefs' defense 'gameplan' so as not to 'get tired'? Eagles fans sure seemed to think so... Spoiler Did Chiefs Players Fake Injuries To Slow Eagles Down?
Washington and San Diego might disagree. I know they lost against San Diego but they were still able to move the ball pretty much at will. The only reason they lost that game was because of their craptacular defense.
Can't provide a link right now...but Aldon Smith was arrested for suspected DUI this morning after being in a one-car crash.
Yeah, I see where you're coming from and generally agree, but I just wanted to draw attention to the boos raining down on 'injured' Cheifs' defenders. Things aren't looking too promising right now in Philly. I'm inclined to be a little more patient and give Chip room to adjust to NFL defenses/schemes. Certainly by week 8 we should have a clearer picture of the Eagles. The NFC East is godawful (especially defensively) so anything's possible. On another note, reading Justin Houston's comments (on the team being prepared physically) immediately after Smith's admission of being tired was hilarious. The obvious contradiction is absurdly entertaining.
Andy Reid tries his best to wiggle out of awkward interview with ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio Spoiler <script src="http://player.espn.com/player.js?pcode=1kNG061cgaoolOncv54OAO1ceO-I&width=576&height=324&externalId=espn:9696437"></script>
Definite bad blood there. I'm sure this has something to do with it... Spoiler Paolantonio “flabbergasted” by Arizona’s interest in Reid Whether it’s on Wednesday or Thursday, the Cardinals will interview former Eagles coach Andy Reid. And the possibility of the Cardinals hiring Reid isn’t sitting well with ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio, a veteran reporter who has covered the Eagles for a long time. “Well, my initial reaction was the last time the Eagles visited Arizona they got their head handed to them by a Cardinals team who fired their coach,” Paolaonotio told Burns and Gambo on Arizona Sports 620 in Phoenix, in reference to Philly’s 27-6 loss to the Cardinals in Week Three. “So I don’t know why the Bidwills would want to hire a guy who they just, you know, they killed the team when they were out there. It was one of the most embarrassing performances by the Eagles all year long. So, frankly, I was shocked that there was that much interest.” Paolantonio thinks Philly’s 4-12 finish, which featured 1-11 over the final three-fourths of the season, could have been even worse. “They could easily have been 1-15 or 0-16,” Paolantonio said. “The Giants miss a field goal by the nose of a football, that’s how the Eagles beat the Giants. There was a blatantly poor call on pass interference in the end zone, or the Ravens beat the Eagles. And the last play of the game a miracle touchdown pass from Nick Foles beats the Bucs in Tampa. The only legitimate win — and call it legitimate after five turnovers — was the first game of the year against Cleveland. This team was really almost 1-15, and I don’t know why in the world you would hire a guy who had a near 1-15 record who you killed when he came into town. Just doesn’t make any sense to me. I am frankly flabbergasted that they would even consider hiring him.” Speaking of quarterbacks, Paolantonio also has an intriguing opinion regarding the potential plans for filling out the depth chart in Arizona. He said he wouldn’t be shocked if Reid invites former Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb to serve as a backup for the Cardinals. “Reid had to be talked into trading McNabb to Washington by the General Manager, Howie Roseman, kicking and screaming,” Paolantonio said. “I’m just warning you, don’t be surprised if it happens.” Given the circumstances... Andy Reid's handling of Paolantonio wasn't too alarming. IMO, it was slightly amusing and made for candid TV. It's clear Reid was relishing every minute of it. Good for him.
They led 26-7 at halftime against the Redskins and ran 53 offensive plays. That was a fluke. Nothing close to this will happen the remainder of the season because the Eagles D is terrible and defenses have had a good look at their offense. Kelly did the smart thing and played his cards close to the vest in preseason. While that helped him in early in game 1, the surprise is gone. RG3's extreme rust also gave them the ball back quickly. Maybe they can beat up the Raiders in a few weeks. That's about it. After Vick gets hurt and starts missing games, the Eagles will be a cooked goose. It isn't that I dislike them, but it my opinion. I'd love to see them beat the Cowboys twice.
I don't think you can read anything into the Eagles at this point. Washington is really bad; Chargers and Chiefs may be really good - there's a decent chance that those are the two AFC wildcard teams this year, with Indy struggling and the AFC North and East being so terrible. Philly has as good a chance as any of those NFC East teams to win that division.