Four-for-Four: The ‘Brett Brown is Awesome’ Edition

EAGLES

Dec 22, 2013; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly talks with members of the NBC Sunday Night Football broadcast team prior to playing the Chicago Bears at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Heath Evans Tries to Make Excuse for Stupidity, Reinforces that he is, indeed, Stupid

For anyone that has read some of my content surrounding the Eagles and Chip Kelly, I have mentioned the name Heath Evans several times. The NFL Network analyst, who still can’t get over the fact that the Patriots didn’t go undefeated when he was on the team, was published saying that the hiring Chip Kelly would be ‘one of the worst ever’.

I don’t have to point to the results of the first-year head coach, but needless to say Evans’ bold statement just made him look foolish more than anything. The fact that he represents a network with the NFL name behind him makes such a defiant proclamation seem almost childish and vindictive. Well good news for all you Heath Evans lovers out there *crickets*, because the statement that he put his name behind WASN’T EVEN HIS FAULT.

Appearing on WIP’s ‘Mike & Ike Show’, Evans was of course asked about his preseason outlook for Kelly and the Eagles.

"“Let me go on record with this, that article I wrote, was written for the Cleveland Browns, and our editors here at the NFL Network decided to flip the name of the team, once the surprise hire in Philly happened, and posted that without my liking.”"

For all you aspiring journalists and analysts out there, congratulations! You are already more respectable than Heath Evans. To throw the people that you work with under the bus for a statement you figured would make you look brilliant if it happened to come true is a combination of two mistakes that would end the careers of people who didn’t play in the NFL. If you truly care about your position as a respected name in the NFL media, writing an article under the assumption that a coach takes a job is flat-out irresponsible. Then, when the news DID come down, wouldn’t you think contacting someone in charge to say ‘hey, don’t print that article I wrote to save myself some work’, could have avoided such a comical gaffe. Finally, to call yourself a member of the media and to blame such a mistake on the same people who make your mindless dribble look somewhat presentable is as damning an offense as one can draw up.

Heath Evans may have a Super Bowl ring and been a very good NFL player. That said, he is a black-eye on the NFL media and a stain to the NFL Network and their credibility.

SHOTS FIRED…SORTA

I had mentioned earlier that this year’s Senior Bowl prospect crop was light by most standards. With more of the prolific players either having not finished their four years in college or choosing not to attend the annual event, there was little buzz around the attendees. One player, Stanford’s Trent Murphy, is a name that some see as a first or second round pick.

During the season, I tabbed Murphy as a player I hoped the Eagles would consider taking to fill an outside linebacker position. Murphy led the nation in sacks in 2013 and is one of the most tenacious intimidating players in the class. Some question his athleticism and ability to cover in an outside linebacker role, but production does not lie and Murphy was dominant in his career at Stanford.

In Tim McManus and Sheil Kapadia’s ‘Birds 24/7’ blog, the Pac-12 product sat down to discuss his career, including his thoughts on Oregon and Chip Kelly. Stanford beat Oregon the last two seasons and Murphy played a prominent role in both. More impressively, perhaps, was the fact that the Ducks were held to an average of 17 points in the two losses. Murphy, certainly not short on confidence, was asked about his school’s approach to the high-powered Oregon offense.

"“Oregon’s scheme works really well for what they do, but it’s all based on number count of how many players are in the box, how many players are out of the box and then they either throw it out or run the gun-read up inside. And fortunate for Stanford players, we can count as well so we usually have it all figured out.”"

As we saw with the drafting of Zach Ertz, Kelly is not one to hold grudges. Could he and the Eagles brain trust bring another Stanford product to bring some of that nastiness to the Philadelphia defense.

PRAISE FROM PRIME-TIME

I felt dirty for liking this tweet, considering the source. That said, any praise for the Eagles quarterback is good praise.