Chip Kelly Deserves All The Blame For Eagles Failures in 2014

Chip Kelly began the 2014 offseason as the Philadelphia Eagles head coach with a rather large problem in the name of DeSean Jackson. Fast forward to the beginning of the offseason on Monday and you’re going to hear a lot of that previous problem being rehashed. And while hindsight is a beautiful thing to a cynic, supporters of releasing DeSean Jackson were few and far between. While DeSean might or might not have ties to gangs, his problem stemmed from one simple origin: It’s Chip Kelly’s way or the highway. If further proof is needed, just ask wide receiver Riley Cooper.

There has been some hullabaloo this week about Chip Kelly rating New York Giants rookie receiver Odell Beckham Jr. as the best receiver in the 2014 NFL draft. Well, rather than focusing on that, how about we focus on the fact that we have gotten less than minimal production from our draft class outside of receiver Jordan Matthews this season. Marcus Smith III has been an immense bust, and the selection of Jaylen Watkins ahead of Bashaud Breeland was ridiculous in May and it’s still ridiculous in the present tense. Another draft like last years, and Chip Kelly will be coaching for a four game playoff sooner than later.

The Philadelphia Eagles have averaged 26:45 in time of possession this season. For the second season in a row, the Eagles are dead last in that statistic. Of the top six teams in the NFL in time of possession, all but the Carolina Panthers are playoff bound, and the Panthers will win the NFC South if they defeat the Atlanta Falcons this Sunday. Of the teams in the bottom four in that category? Only the Eagles have more than three wins. Following the loss to San Francisco, I openly criticized the offense and it’s a stance I firmly believe to this day.

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Moving forward, the Philadelphia Eagles have a lot of decisions ahead of them. There are eleven pending free agents this upcoming offseason, none bigger (in name) than wide receiver

. If you ask me however, the decision regarding the contributors (or lack thereof) on defense are the key focal points this offseason.

,

,

,

, and

(restricted free agent) are all set to be free agents. I’d love to see hands for those opposing of getting rid of every single one of them save Thornton. As I expected, the lack of hands is eerily reminiscent of

. Our defense overachieved last season and heavily regressed back to the norm this season. And out of curiosity, has anyone seen

this season?

When looking at the problems, they can all be placed upon Chip Kelly. Rather than using the season finale to evaluate the “talent” of those further down the depth chart, Chip Kelly is insistent on utilizing the starters that contributed to a mediocre season. Rather than evaluating quarterback

, we get pending free agent

again. Instead of seeing the aforementioned Jaylen Watkins at cornerback, the fans will get to see Odell Beckham Jr. torch our porous starting unit. And however opposed you might be towards Marcus Smith not getting any run, you’ll get one last moment in the sun with Casey Matthews. Aren’t we just lucky?

So enjoy the game Sunday Eagles fans as it will be the final time our boys in green suit up until next summer. The playoffs are gone, the coal is in the stocking, and Chip Kelly has some major work to do this offseason. I’d give him the benefit of the doubt, but I expect more from this team, regardless of any personnel that has missed games this season. And while the Grinch in me is in full force on this Christmas day, maybe I’m just green with envy of the teams that have achieved expectations.