It’s not the players. It’s not the roster overhaul. It’s not the personnel.
Chip Kelly kept coming back to that Monday, a day after the Eagles fell to 1-3 with a 23-20 loss to the Redskins in Landover, Md.
“We know we have the right players here,” Kelly said.
They are sputtering through one of the worst offensive starts in franchise history. They’ve scored only 27 first-half points. They haven’t played a complete game yet.
The Eagles are 30th in the NFL in offense, 30th in rushing, 26th in passing offense, 29th in yards per play and 30th on third down.
But Kelly insists the right pieces are in place for the Eagles to turn the season around.
“We have the right guys and we’re doing the right things,” he said. “We need to execute the plays better. That’s what we need to do.
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“I’ve seen us move the ball. I saw us move the ball on three of four drives in the second half (Sunday). I saw us move the ball in the second half against Atlanta. I saw us move the ball against the Jets. So I have confidence in this group. We have to do it on a more consistent basis.”
The Eagles averaged close to 420 yards of offense in Kelly’s first season and just under 400 last year, but they’re at 294 so far this year.
With the defense being forced to play an NFL-high 37:12 per game, Kelly’s up-tempo, no-huddle offense has come under fire.
The defense had to play more than 41 minutes Sunday, a preposterous amount. No wonder the Redskins drove 90 yards for the winning touchdown in the closing minutes.
But Kelly said this isn’t a time to make any fundamental changes to the way he does things.
“You don’t throw the baby out with the bath water, and we’re not going to change our offense, change our defense and change everything we’re doing in our approach,” he said.
“We just need to settle down and take a deep breath, and when we have an opportunity to make a play, we have to make a play.”
That has been a problem.
When the offense has been OK, the defense has wilted. When the defense has been good, the offense has been invisible.
The Eagles have really played only three quarters where they’ve dominated an opponent.
They outscored the Falcons 14-0 in the third quarter, only to give the game away in the fourth. They outscored the Jets 21-7 in the second quarter, only to get outscored 10-0 in the second half. And they outscored the Redskins 13-3 in the third quarter Sunday before falling apart at the end.
That’s three quality quarters out of 16.
This from a team that went 10-6 the last two years and had a top-five offense in each of the last two seasons.
Kelly said there aren’t any roster to moves to make at this point. The only solution is to try and build on those few moments of competence.
“You just keep practicing and you keep working on it, and you trust the guys you have,” he said.
“We know we have the right players here. It’s a play here or a play there. We’ve lost a game by two, we lost a game by three, we lost another game by 10. We’ve lost three games by 15 points.
“You hit two kicks, we’re sitting 3-1 and everybody’s happy. You either make plays or don’t make plays and if you’re not making plays, you have to continue to work on them so you’re making plays.”
Kelly used the words “execution” or “execute” nine times in his presser Monday.
But why would a team that was so explosive the last two years suddenly be unable to convert a third down?
Why can’t last year’s NFL rushing leader gain more than 1½ yards per carry?
Why are the Eagles dropping more passes than virtually every other NFL team?
“I wish I knew that answer because then we could go out and fix it tomorrow and get ready to go play the Saints,” Kelly said.
“But you see it a lot. All of a sudden, somebody makes a play, makes a spark, and everybody starts feeding off of that. I think it’s such a game of confidence and as you see it being played out across the league, it’s the same exact thing. Who’s going to maybe give us that spark to maybe bring the whole group along with them?”
The Eagles have actually reached the playoffs four of the last eight times they opened up 1-3 — in 1988, 1990, 1995 and 2013.
And since nobody in the division currently has a winning record, Tony Romo is still out for a couple months and the Eagles have seven of their last 12 games at home, they are in a position where they’re not out of this thing.
But they have to find a way to play 60 minutes.
“I think they have belief in themselves,” Kelly said. “I’m really not worried about this group. I’ve been around a lot of teams, but I think this group is pretty close and understands what the task is at hand and also understands that every game in this league is going to be close.
“Every game you’re going to be in is going to be a one-possession game. If you’re a competitor, you kind of embrace the situation and get excited for your next opportunity.
“It’s about being a competitor and coming back out there. We’re still standing. We’ve taken some shots, but we’re still standing. We’ve got to go out there and compete.”