Inside the Huddle: Offensive Line Hurting Eagles Most

Patrick Causey, on Twitter @InsdeTheHuddle

There has been an avalanche of criticism coming at the Philadelphia Eagles since they started the season 1-3. It's like a powder keg exploded, and every person with an ax to grind is coming out of the wood works yelling "I told you so" with righteous indignation. 

But a lot of that criticism has focused on Chip Kelly's offense being "figured out" by NFL defenses. This usually comes from an old-school NFL head who begrudges Kelly for the perception that Kelly is an offensive genius changing the way the game is played (despite that Kelly has never said such things).

While Kelly's offense has seemed somewhat predictable this year, I think it is disingenuous to suggest the scheme has been figured out. Watch the tape; you will see countless examples of open receivers or running lanes that players simply fail to take advantage of. Is that Kelly the head coach's fault? 

No. It is Kelly the GM's fault. Simply put, the Eagles lack talent in key areas of this roster to take advantage of those opportunities. That is the biggest difference I have noticed from the tape between 2015 and the years prior.  So while scheme explains some of the problems, it largely falls back on a roster that is bereft of talent.

Which of course brings us back to Kelly, and the multiple hats that he wears in charge of the Eagles. Because while I will concede — to an extent — that Kelly's offense has become stale, I still think Kelly is a very good head coach at this level. It's the other hat — the hat which requires Kelly to buy the groceries, if you will — which has let this team down.

The Eagles entered this past offseason with three discernible holes: an offensive line in serious need of an injection of youth, a secondary that needed to be overhauled, and a difference maker from the outside linebacker position that could get pressure on the quarterback. 

The Eagles deserve credit for at least attempting to address the secondary — and indeed, the early returns on the safety play have been more than encouraging. And the Eagles also addressed another need — lack of depth at inside linebacker — by trading for Kiko Alonso and drafting Jordan Hicks. 

But rather than address the offensive line and pass rushing holes, Kelly allocated valuable resources to address the quarterback, running back and wide receiver positions. Some thought the players brought in were "better scheme fits" despite the fact that the players they replaced (Nick Foles, LeSean McCoy, Jeremy Maclin) were highly productive in Kelly's system. After four weeks into the season, the early returns on Kelly's moves are questionable at best. 

Kelly's decision to invest critical resources in areas of competence instead of improving glaring roster holes has proven to be the main reason this team started 1-3. NFL teams have limited resources with which they can build their roster. So when they invest a first round pick in a wide receiver (which would not have been necessary had they signed their free agent Pro Bowl wide receiver), they are robbed of the opportunity to invest in an offensive lineman. And so on and so forth.

The line play has been of particular concern, and it all ties back  to Kelly's decision not to bring in reinforcements over the last two years.

Yes, the quarterback play has been suspect and the receivers have not helped the cause. But if you look at the numbers, it is clear that the Eagles offense follows the play of its offensive line. When the offensive line is healthy and productive, the Eagles have one of the best offenses in the league. When the offensive line struggles, so too does the entire offense.

2013

In 2013, the Eagles had arguably the best offensive line in football. Jason Peters, Evan Mathis, Jason Kelce, Todd Herremans and rookie Lane Johnson did not miss a single snap the entire season.

That continuity and talent paid immediate dividends for the run game, with the Eagles running the ball an average of 31.3 times per game, good for fourth most in the league. Their 47.4% run plays was also good for sixth highest in the league.

The offensive line paved the way for LeSean McCoy to have a dominant season leading the NFL in rushing yards en route to being named a First Team All-Pro. To highlight that dominance, both Peters and Mathis were also named First Team All-Pros at their respective positions.

Let's look at the offensive production in chart forms:

Across the board, the Eagles had one of the best offenses in the league. Total yards and points don't need an explanation. The third down rates are especially important to the success of an offense as we have seen this year. String together one too many three and outs, and it can have a devastating effect on your defense. 

Establishing the run had a trickle down effect on the rest of the offense, forcing defenses to stack the box with eight defenders to slow down the vaunted rushing attack, which opened up passing lanes for Foles and company to exploit.

You don't need a reminder of how dominant Foles was in 2013 (27 and 2, yadda, yadda, yadda). Part of that was the result of Foles being a talented quarterback (despite what you hear otherwise), but part of that was undoubtedly a byproduct of the Eagles run game, which in turn was a result of the dominant offensive line.

2014

If 2013 was the model of consistency for the offensive line, 2014 was the complete opposite. Not once in 2014 did all of the Eagles projected starters play together. Not once.

Johnson was suspended for the first four games of the season. When he came back, Mathis and Kelce were out with a knee and sports hernia injuries, respectively. When Mathis and Kelce came back, the Eagles lost Herremans to a torn bicep. 

In all, the Eagles used 10 players for seven different starting combinations for the season. This problem was especially pronounced in the first half of the season, when there was a revolving door of players up front, and that lack of continuity had a significant impact on the Eagles effectiveness as an offense.

Not coincidentally, these injuries coincided with the Foles and the run game struggling.

(Side Note: which is, of course, the funniest part about the people who simultaneously rip Foles while defending Bradford. Yes, Bradford has been let down by an ineffective run game and subpar offensive line. But his supporters (or more importantly, Foles bashers), are quick to recognize that, but refuse to recognize those same issues impacted Foles.' performance in 2014 But I digress). 

Here are the offensive numbers broken down by chart:

As you can see, the Eagles saw a drop in rushing yards, total yards and turnover differential, while they saw improvements in points scored, passing yards per game, and third down conversion percentage. Not a significant drop, but a drop nonetheless.

But again, if we dig a little deeper we can see the impact that losing Johnson, Kelce and Mathis had on this offense. From weeks 2-5, when the Eagles were without Kelce and Mathis (and without Johnson until week 5), the Eagles averaged only 87 rushing yards per game. For the rest of the year, that number jumped to 136 yards per game.  

Bottom line: the Eagles offense took a step back in 2014 because of the injuries to the offensive line. It only rebounded with a respectable result because the talent on the offensive line got healthy.

2015

This is where the proverbial wheels fall off the bus. The Eagles jettisoned long time starters Herremans and All Pro guard Evan Mathis, and in their place relied on Andrew Gardner and Allen Barbre, two journeyman offensive lineman who were career backups. 

And now might be an important time to point out that even though Herremans and Mathis have struggled, that does not validate Kelly's moves. Because getting rid of ineffective players is only half the equation. As general manager, it was Kelly's job to ensure that the Eagles offense returned to its once dominant form, and the best way to ensure that was to bring in some much needed reinforcements along the offensive line. 

Instead, Kelly did not draft a single offensive lineman for the second year in a row, the first time this happened in franchise history.

It was a curious decision from Kelly, especially given that Peters showed signs of slowing down at the end of last season. The Eagles badly needed to restock the cupboard, but Kelly gambled that he could get starter-level production from Barbre and Gardner. So far, that gamble has not paid off.

Let's look at the same numbers we evaluated for 2013 and 2014:

 Now, let's compare the three years in a row so you can see the drastic difference in production:

Without question, the offensive line has been an integral part of the Eagles success on offense. And without question, Kelly's decision to neglect the offensive line is the main reason it has not been nearly as effective as it was in 2013. 

Against the Redskins, we saw more of the same struggles from the line: allowing too many free blitzers to get in the backfield and getting blown up at the point of attack. 

Take this critical third down play, where the interior of the line — i.e., Kelce, Gardner and Barbre, failed to diagnose a blitz up the A gap. 

The Redskins did not disguise this blitz. Kerrigan lined up over the A gap before the snap, plainly showing his intent to bring pressure. But Kelce and Gardner did not do a good job communicating to determine who would pick him up.

We ended up with Kerrigan coming in unblocked while Kelce and Gardner were double teaming other lineman:

The most frustrating part of this play? Riley Cooper was wide open for a first down. But Bradford just did not have any time to let the play develop:

While the numbers might not suggest it, Bradford actually played his best game as an Eagle this past Sunday. Which should be an encouraging sign to anyone with reservations (including yours truly) about Bradford as a potential franchise caliber quarterback.

However, he was held back from an ineffective line which did not give him or the run game enough opportunities to make plays. 

Here is one more example. This time, we get to see Kelce completely whiff on a run blocking assignment:

Surprisingly, Kelce has struggled all year with run blocking. And to be fair to Kelly, it was unreasonable to expect or plan for that to occur: Kelce is young and widely considered one of the best centers in all of football.

But it drives home the importance of investing in the offensive line even when it is a perceived strength. You never know when the line will be hit by injuries or when an otherwise productive player will step back.

For two years in a row, Kelly failed to address the most important position in football outside of the quarterback. While the impact was felt only marginally in 2014, we are feeling the damaging effects in a significant way this year. And with Peters and Johnson hurt and no perceivable upgrades on the roster, it might get worse before it gets better.

Which is bad news for the Eagles, because as we have seen, the offense goes as the offensive line goes.