Takeaways From Chip Kelly’s Final Media Appearances of 2014

Oct 26, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals wide receiver John Brown (12) catches a touchdown pass against the Philadelphia Eagles in the fourth quarter at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Cardinals defeated the Eagles 24-20. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Chip Kelly is not blind and realizes that turnovers and big plays derailed any hopes of success this season

2014 must have been a bizarre experience as a head coach for Chip Kelly. Dating back to his days in college, his teams have always been great at protecting the ball and not shooting themselves in the foot. What was so refreshing about 2013 was how great the team was at avoiding turnovers and putting forth a commendable ‘bend-don’t-break’ defensive effort.

This season was the complete opposite. From the first game of the season, it seemed as if a Pandora’s box of all the things Kelly preaches against was opened and it doomed the Eagles because of it. The 2014 Eagles led the league in turnovers and were among the worst at defending against ‘big plays’ (rushing plays of 10+ yards and passing plays of 25+; the Eagles allowed 85). The fact that the team finished with the same 10-6 record that they did last season is astonishing. To his credit, there was no ‘hollow victory’ talk in Kelly’s appearances. Kelly knows that his team wasn’t good enough to extend their season and won’t take solace in the fact that they finished with a record that, just a year ago, was sufficient for the postseason. Every year is its own entity in the NFL and the league got the better of the Eagles in this one. Personnel will certainly play a big part in how the team addresses its two biggest shortcomings, but a recommitment from the entire organization is also required. Somewhere along the line, the importance of limiting turnovers and big plays fell out of focus. A big part of this offseason and beyond will be re-estabishing those areas as top priorities.