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Let's get to the links...
NFC Hierarchy/Obituary: Week 14 - JimmyK, Philly.com
6) Eagles (7-5)
There was one statistic I forgot to mention in my Donnie Jones post, so I'll note it here.
Last season, the Eagles' opponents' starting field position was 31.86 yard line. That was worst in the NFL. This year, opposing offenses are starting at the 25.34 yard line. That's 5th best in the NFL. A difference of 6.52 yards per drive might not sound like a lot, but it is. Consider that the average number of drives per team last year was 181. 181 drives * 6.52 yards of difference in starting field position = 1180 hidden yards over the course of an entire seasons. Crazy.
Non-Moves - Tommy Lawlor, Iggles Blitz
There is an old saying in sports that sometimes the best moves you make are the ones you don’t make. That is certainly true in regard to the 2013 Eagles. Not trading Nick Foles is looking to be a huge move. We don’t know how close the Eagles ever got to actually dealing Foles. I tend to think they wanted to keep him, but I’m sure Andy Reid did inquire about him at some time. Chip Kelly could have pushed Foles out while going for a more athletic QB, but wisely kept Foles around. That could turn out to be a franchise-changing type of move.
Eagles’ Takeaways Are No Accident - Tim McManus, Birds 24/7
In Chip Kelly’s final season at Oregon, the Ducks’ defense led the nation in takeaways with 41. They finished second in that category in 2010. In his two-year stint as defensive coordinator in Arizona, Billy Davis’ units were sixth in takeaways both seasons, generating 59 in all. He had similar success in that department as DC in San Francisco. The 2013 Eagles are currently ninth in the NFL with 22 takeaways, and gaining steam. Nine of those have come during this current four-game winning streak. What is it about the concepts and teachings of this coaching staff that helps create a turnover-friendly environment? Let’s take a look.
Russell Wilson, Nick Foles, Peyton Manning lead MVP race - Gil Brandt, NFL.com
Few have been better lately than Foles, who is just the third player in NFL history to have started a season with at least 16 touchdown passes and zero interceptions, joining Manning (who also did it this year) and Milt Plum (who did it for the Browns in 1960). Passer rating is one of the most accurate indicators of an ability to win games, and Foles is No. 1 in the NFL (125.2); the third-round draft pick has topped 100 in five of six starts this season. Foles has a 5-1 record as a starter in 2013 despite having very little experience and playing for a coach who was largely an unknown quantity heading into the season. Not many expected Chip Kelly's team to win more than six games, and here the Eagles are, tied with the Cowboys for the NFC East lead at 7-5 behind a quarterback who began the year as a backup.
Funny but fruitful, Chip's signs working in Philly - Yahoo Sports
Kelly has chosen some iconic Philadelphia figures - and foods - for those placards his staff hoists on the sideline to convey plays to those on the field. It's a system Kelly began using three years ago at Oregon. He borrowed the idea from Oklahoma State, which used the posters against Oregon in the 2008 Holiday Bowl. Don't try to figure it out, though. The specifics are a mystery, and Kelly won't allow players or coaches to discuss it. ''They represent a lot of things,'' Kelly said when first asked about it by the inquisitive Philadelphia media, refusing to elaborate. ''We could tell you what all our signals are, but that's not going to help us. I'm not going to explain why we go through that whole thing.''
Didinger On The Inseparable Duo - Ray Diddy, PE.com
Fred Barnett and Calvin Williams arrived in Philadelphia together. They were the Eagles’ third and fourth selections in the 1990 NFL Draft, a pair of wide receivers with low profiles but high expectations. Barnett played his college football at Arkansas State, a small school well off the national radar. Williams played at Purdue, a bigger school, but one where he was lost in a wishbone offense until late in his senior year. Barnett and Williams weren’t even the first receivers drafted by the Eagles that year. Buddy Ryan selected Mike Bellamy, a wide receiver from Illinois, in the second round. As it turned out, Bellamy lasted only one season in Philadelphia. Barnett and Williams came and stayed.
Even your phone thinks Nick Foles is the best QB in the NFL - The700Level
Computers can’t lie. They’re all 1′s and 0′s and all that. Nick Foles is all TDs and zero interceptions. But give it a shot for yourself. Ask your phone who it thinks the best quarterback in the NFL is.
