Eagles News: Chip Kelly needs to run the ball more often

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Many of the Eagles' biggest problems in 2014 carried over into Week 1 of 2015 - PhillyVoice
The 2014 Eagles gave up 72 pass plays of 20+ yards. That was the most in the NFL, with the next closest team being the woeful Chicago Bears, who gave up 65. The Eagles also gave up 18 plays of 40+ yards, which was also the most in the NFL. Against the Falcons, they gave up five pass plays of 20+ yards, with perhaps the biggest one being the 44 yard deep ball to Julio Jones that set up the Falcons to take the lead with a field goal. Five pass plays of 20+ yards puts them on pace for 80 on the season. Those "X plays" remain an issue, clearly.

For Eagles, nowhere to run in their season opener - Daily News
The Eagles ran the ball just 16 times and threw it 52 times in their 26-24 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, prompting a barrage of WTFs from fans, media and whatever category you put radio talk-show hosts in. The 16 rushing attempts were the second fewest of the Kelly era - if two-plus years can be classified as an era. The Eagles had just 12 carries in a 26-21 loss to the 49ers last September. Monday's lopsided plus-36 pass-to-run differential has been surpassed only once under Kelly. That was in a 24-20 loss to the Cardinals last October when Nick Foles heaved the ball a franchise-record-tying 62 times.

Eagles Wake-Up Call: Defenses May Copy Atlanta - Birds 24/7
"They didn’t do anything different or special to try and stop us; that’s pretty much the way they do things," Jason Kelce said. "They weren’t really reading anything. They were just trying to get up field, trying to wreak havoc. We did not handle that well." The Eagles ran the ball just 16 times for 63 yards, which players attributed to the Falcons' defensive alignment. Because one of Atlanta's safeties consistently played closer to the line of scrimmage, it opened up passing opportunities for Philadelphia. "They were giving us the pass," Lane Johnson said. "They do it to try to take away the inside zone, but it leaves space in the middle for Sam [Bradford] to make quick throws and dink and dunk all the way down the field.

Eagles' opening night loss should not be cause for panic - CSN Philly
Expectations are tricky. A lot of people were excited about the Eagles prospects in advance of the season. Quite a few picked them to win in Atlanta to open the season. Several more predicted they’ll be headed to the Super Bowl. That’s the kind of thing that gets people all worked up. Philadelphia has always been susceptible to getting all worked up -- and then, more times than not, getting let down.

Technical Breakdowns - Iggles Blitz
Chip Kelly made me feel better about the Eagles performance on Monday night. In his PC, Kelly explained that penalties were his primary issue. He gave the example of seven calls against the offense that set the team back 60 yards. More importantly, they negated 98 gained yards, including a couple of big plays. One of those big gains would have put the Eagles at the Atlanta-10 with about four minutes left. Think that hurt?

Breaking down the good and bad from Sam Bradford's first game with Eagles - NJ.com
One thing is very clear about Bradford -- very rarely is he going to force the ball into dangerous situations.  The Eagles' gameplan on Monday night to beat the Falcons seemed to be getting the ball to their receivers in space, hoping from there they would be able to make plays.

No Better Litmus Test: Dallas Week Is Here - PE.com
Week 1 of every NFL season usually offers some of the bizarro in the league, so 14 penalties, two giveaways, a lack of holding onto the lead in the fourth quarter ... the Eagles have a lot on which to improve ...

Washington Redskins: Bad at Football, Worse at Spelling - WSJ
Study shows that Redskins fans get a failing grade for grammar, while Lions fans are best (Eagles fans are 3rd best!).

Rams DT Aaron Donald is Hoss of the Week - SB Nation
St. Louis' second-year lineman stuffed Marshawn Lynch to help the Rams lock up their big Week 1 win over Seattle. But Donald's versatile play throughout the game shows why he's already one of the league's best DTs.

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