Wednesday Morning QB (Week 2)
The Philadelphia Eagles were a team that was struggling to recapture success when they decided to reach out to one of the most innovative coaches in football.
They had once been one of the strongest teams in the east and found their way to multiple NFC championships.
Under Andy Reid they had truly become a team to be feared with a strong defence and a good offence.
In 2011 and 2012 that seemed to change though as they finished second and fourth respectively missing the playoffs both years.
It wasn’t good enough for Reid to keep his job as the Eagles looked for a change to try to take the Eagles to the playoffs and the Super Bowl.
They reached out to one of the most innovative coaches in football in Oregon’s Chip Kelly who had plenty of suitors after establishing the Ducks as one of the best teams in the NCAA with the fastest offence ever created.
The question became how could he translate that speed to the NFL where smaller faster players usually don’t do well for long periods of time.
The new attitude translated well enough in his first two years as the head coach winning ten games each year but missing the playoffs last year.
That missed playoff appearance led for more changes this off-season as the Eagles gave Kelly full control over the team.
The idea was that Kelly could mold a team that is capable of running the offence he likes to run, high paced and explosive.
With the new control Kelly went to work releasing some of the best players that the Eagles have ever had.
LeSean McCoy, DeSean Jackson, and Nick Foles were all gone while Kelly brought in some big names.
In a trade for Foles he received Sam Bradford, a potentially elite QB with injury issues, while he also landed one of the biggest free agents in DeMarco Murray at running back.
He also added Austin Miles at receiver and Ryan Mathews to provide a change of pace back to Murray.
The changes did not stop there are a number of defensive additions were made but the concentration for a Kelly team will always be the offence.
It was one of the most active off-seasons by a team in recent memory as Kelly traded and signed an almost entirely new team bringing in a new core for the Eagles.
The moves were still a mystery heading into the season though as some wondered if he had made the right moves in releasing two players in McCoy and Jackson that seem to fit his scheme perfectly to bring in a receiver that is not as good as McCoy and a back that leans more to the power run than the speed.
Everyone was wondering what was going to happen when this new-look team took the field in the regular season.
Where they going to be the high-powered offence that Kelly was brought in to replicate or were the changes going to have too much of an adverse effect on the chemistry of the team.
So far the answer seems to be the latter as the Eagles have struggled to put together any type of offensive attack.
After two weeks they are ranked 25th in total yards and 28th in the league in total points.
That potent attack has yet to surface and against the Dallas Cowboys they had their worst showing yet.
They only managed 10 points, all coming in the fourth quarter, while the running backs ran a combined 7 yards with Murray only getting 2 yards in total with 13 rushes.
The Eagles have started the season at 0-2 making it a tough road back both on the field and off of the field.
Patience is clearly running thing in Philly and not just from the fans as it was clear to see that players were not happy with what was happening on the field.
If they can overcome this there is still a chance for the Eagles to turn things around but history shows that starting 0-2 makes it very tough to find their way to the playoffs.
If they can’t figure it out this may be the end for Kelly with the Eagles as he was given the keys to the castle and so far has had terrible results.
It isn’t time to panic yet and there are plenty of weeks left for the Eagles to figure things out but so far the Philly experiment is a failure.
Fifth Quarter:
(Thoughts on Week 2 in the NFL)
Trouble in Big ‘D’
The Cowboys were already in tough after losing their best player in Dez Bryant who could miss at least five more weeks but now things got tougher as they also lost Tony Romo who will miss eight weeks with a broken clavicle
Alcohol restrictions in Santa Clara
The home of Super Bowl 50 is under some scrutiny this week after video surfaced of fans beating up a Vikings fans leading city council to consider ending alcohol sales after the second half of games in an attempt to curb violence that has plagued sports events in the area
More TV Exposure
The NFL has mastered the art of media exposure but that won’t stop them from continuing to develop as the NFLPA is set to exercise their right to create a TV channel that will feature rights to original content from players along access to NFL players
Ragnar Fired
The Minnesota Vikings have long loved their motorcycle riding Viking mascot, Ragnar but they will no longer see him as a contract dispute where the mascot reportedly requested a $1.6 million raise and did not get it meaning the Vikings will be without a mascot
Key Scores:
Pittsburgh Steelers 43 – 18 San Francisco 49ers
– The Niners began their season on a promising note with a convincing win against the Vikings but it all changed in Week 2 when they had nothing for the Steelers who easily got by them handing San Francisco their first loss
New England Patriots 40 – 32 Buffalo Bills
– Any team under Rex Ryan will always circle the fate that they play the Patriots as Ryan and Belichick have plenty of history but the Bills weren’t up for this challenge as the Pats went ahead early before holding off a late comeback attempt by the Bills
Cleveland Browns 28 – 14 Tennessee Titans
– With Johnny Manziel under centre the Browns took their first win of the season as Manziel threw two touchdown passes in a decent showing taking on the golden boy of Week 1 in Mariota who struggle to keep up the momentum from Week 1
Green Bay Packers 27 – 17 Seattle Seahawks
– The Packers and the Seahawks have a rivalry brewing after the Fail Mary and the 2015 NFC Championship game both games won by the Seahawks but the Packers turned things around at home beating the Seahawks from start to finish
Next Week:
Atlanta Falcons vs. Dallas Cowboys (Sunday September 27th; 1:00 pm ET)
– The Cowboys have started the season 2-0 but now they will go into a new week without their starting quarterback look to Brandon Weeden to try to keep the momentum going against another 2-0 team in the Falcons
Oakland Raiders vs. Cleveland Browns (Sunday September 27th; 1:00 pm ET)
– The Raiders and browns have both struggled recently but this year they have shown some promise this year as they try to get their second win of the season with the Browns bringing back Josh McCown to start
New Orleans Saints vs. Carolina Panthers (Sunday September 27th; 1:00 pm ET)
– The Saints were not expecting to be here at the start of the year as they have yet to win this year and now they take on the team they have fought for the division the last two years in the Panthers who hope to hand the Saints their third loss
Kansas City Chiefs vs. Green Bay Packers (Monday September 28th; 8:30 pm ET)
– The Packers are coming off of a big win against the Seahawks, their first in three years, and now they welcome the Chiefs to Green Bay looking to start 3-0 while the Chiefs try to spoil the party and take their second win
The Sport Addiction 