Eagles' Further Review: For Eagles, best offense is a better defense

THE MOST interesting thing Chip Kelly said yesterday came right at the end of his day-after news conference, when the first-year coach was asked about quarterback Michael Vick trusting his receivers. Kelly talked about that a little, and concluded with this:

"I don't think we're far away offensively . . . I think we know as a group we can move the football, but sometimes the enemy that we play isn't the other team, it's ourselves."

It's certainly true that penalties and drops stunted Sunday's output in Denver. It's true that the Eagles have gained an astounding 1,835 yards in four games. But after watching the interplay between the Eagles' offense and defense for those four games, I'm not that sure how close the Birds are to consistently putting big numbers on the scoreboard.

For one thing, they have the same red-zone issues they had under Andy Reid - they lack a receiver who can make a tough play against strong coverage, and Vick doesn't fit the ball into tight windows when the field contracts. But beyond that, I don't think the Eagles are ever going to have as productive an offense as Kelly envisions until the defense is decent, at least.

In the critical third quarter at Denver, the Broncos mounted three successive touchdown drives. They had the ball for 11 minutes and 53 seconds during those three drives. Yes, the Eagles could have eaten into that total with some drives of their own, but you really don't see it happen that way too often - an offense stands around on the sideline for a long spell, watching its defense get pushed around, then runs out and flips the momentum switch. Maybe that happened a little in the Eagles' 33-30 loss to the Chargers, but it's rare. It's hard to carry the weight of your defense down the field with you, especially in someone else's building, when the home team just scored a touchdown.

Around the Eagles right now, every drive that doesn't result in a touchdown is a failure. A three-and-out is a catastrophe. The opportunity to jump on a team, grab a big lead, as the Birds did in Washington in the opener, just isn't there, because the defense, ranked dead last in the league going into last night's game, can't give the offense any room, can't help it build any momentum.

I think the offense will work better when the defense is no longer a train wreck.

* The Eagles' 793 rushing yards are the most they've ever had through four games.

* Until the past few weeks, I didn't know that an opponent playing press/man coverage completely precluded any sort of attempt at quick passing or throwing in rhythm.

* When did Casey Matthews change his name to Mychal Kendricks?

* Unlike some of their teammates, who were out of the locker room before it opened to the media Sunday, Earl Wolff and Brandon Boykin were angry at and embarrassed by their performances. It's a start, I guess.

* The two guys who got great pressure in limited snaps against KC were Brandon Graham and Vinny Curry. So who couldn't get on the field until the fourth quarter in Denver? Brandon Graham and Vinny Curry. Not sure what Bill Davis is valuing there.

* Speaking of Brandon Graham, he was the guy Chip Kelly was talking about yesterday who was too worried about getting down to stop punt returner Trindon Holliday, and just took off without blocking Broncos linebacker Steven Johnson. Johnson, formerly of Strath Haven High and Kansas, easily blocked Donnie Jones' punt, scooped and scored.

* That the best prospective NFL coach the Eagles interviewed last January might not have been Chip Kelly or Gus Bradley, but Mike McCoy?

* That Andy Reid could still dominate the NFC East?

The Giants, who host the Eagles on Sunday, have been outscored 69-7 over their past two games.

The strength of this Eagles team was supposed to be the offensive line. The last two games, the o-line could have been a lot stronger. Run-blocking is still happening—the Broncos gave up the most rushing yards they have allowed this season — but Chip Kelly seems concerned about the pressure Michael Vick is facing.

Yes, Vick often holds the ball too long, but he also rarely has a clean pocket anymore. On his blindside is a raw rookie, Lane Johnson, and next to Johnson is ninth-year veteran Todd Herremans, who turns 31 this month. Herremans and fellow ninth-year guard Evan Mathis spent some time in the medical room after Sunday's loss. Mathis, who took what he described as a "drive-killer" of a holding penalty, said the o-line absolutely is healthy enough to be effective.

Kelly said yesterday that there is no one problem with protection that he can isolate and fix. "Someone who has been playing fantastic for 52 plays, on the 53rd play makes a mistake upfront, and when you get beat in a one-on-one situation, all of a sudden somebody you expected to get picked up has created some penetration into the backfield," Kelly said.

Johnson clearly has all the tools and seems to have the right focus, talks about learning from mistakes and getting better. Kelly said Johnson's problems pretty much have to do with not being comfortable yet.

"There's times where you've just got to go. Just trust ... the line call made by Jason Kelce, don't hesitate. Sometimes when you're half a second late and when you're on the guy, all of a sudden he's got your back shoulder. I think Lane knows exactly what to do but at times, the game just has to happen a little bit quicker for him."

"We have to do a better job pass- blocking," Kelce, the center, said after Sunday's game. "We can't be onedimensional on offense; guys have done a pretty good job run-blocking, but that doesn't matter. You've got to be able to protect the quarterback in this league and you've got to be able to throw it when you need to."

Email: bowenl@phillynews.com

On Twitter: @LesBowen

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