Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly addressed the media on Wednesday in advance of a Week 4 game against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday afternoon.
One of the reasons why the Eagles stand at 1-3 through the first quarter of the 2015 regular season is because the team hasn't gotten off to great starts in the first half of play.
If you disregard Week 3 against the New York Jets, the Eagles have been outscored 39-3 in the first half of games this year.
The Eagles offense is ranked 31st in the NFL in terms if third down conversion percentage. The Eagles have only made 72 first downs on the year, which ranks 28th in the league. 13 of their first downs came from penalties by the opposing team.
"I gotta do a better job of play-calling, put us in better situations so we've got a little (more) manageable third down situation in terms of always being in third and long," Kelly said. "Percentage wise, you're just not gonna convert as much as you are gonna convert on third and short, and on third and medium. So I think it's an effort for us to do better on first and second down."
Another reason why the Eagles have been unsuccessful on offense is because of their inability to move the football via the ground game. The Eagles rank 29th in the NFL in terms of total rushing with 280 yards, and they rank 31st in the league in terms of rush yards per attempt (3.1)
Reigning NFL rushing champion DeMarco Murray has yet to get going in the Eagles offense. Last year as a member of the Dallas Cowboys, Murray rushed for over 100 yards in each of the first eight games. Through three games with the Eagles, Murray has yet to surpass 50 total rushing yards.
Ryan Mathews replaced in injured Murray in Week 3, and rushed for over 100 yards.
"When you look at the numbers overall, you also have to remember DeMarco didn't play versus the Jets," Kelly said. "So I think that's part of it, that there's a game that he missed in there. we need to get all of those guys going to be honest with you."
Michael Malia is a contributing intern for Eagldelphia. Follow him on Facebook (Michael Malia) or Twitter @Michael_Malia.
