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NFC East: 5 reasons Chip Kelly failed as Eagles HC

By Maurice Barksdale

Sep 27, 2015; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly coaches against the New York Jets during the third quarter at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 27, 2015; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly coaches against the New York Jets during the third quarter at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /
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Oct 4, 2015; Landover, MD, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford (7) is pressured by Washington Redskins linebacker Preston Smith (94) during the first half at FedEx Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports /

3. Read Option doesn’t work well without a running QB

Sure, you can run play action out of the read-option but without the threat of a quarterback running the ball it takes an important element out of the scheme.  Teams knew that Sam Bradford wasn’t going to run the ball so there’s no need for the defensive end to key on the quarterback.

In 2013 the Eagles were the number one ranked rushing team in the NFL and in 2015 they ranked 14th.  Again, not bad but still a noticeable drop off.  Unless you’ve got a Cam Newton or a Russell Wilson, it’s hard to run the read-option in the NFL.

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Newton, because he’s so big that he can take the pounding and Wilson because he’s a great runner and he’s extremely savvy about getting down without taking unnecessary punishment.  Kelly started out well with Michael Vick in 2013 but he stayed injured and out of the lineup.

Nick Foles had early success in replacing Vick but that dropped off big time in 2014.  And sure Sam Bradford ran a spread offense at Oklahoma but without the threat of a quarterback running in the NFL the read-option doesn’t have the same impact.

Next: 4. Kelly's offense wore down his defense

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