Patrick Causey, on Twitter @PhillySportsJD
Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly spoke to the media today for the first time during the team's OTAs. The press conference covered a broad range of topics including Lesean McCoy, Sam Bradford, the revamped secondary, and Joseph Randle's comments about DeMarco Murray. Here are some of the highlights.
LeSean McCoy's claims of racism
Kelly was finally asked his thoughts on McCoy's claim that Kelly got rid of all "the good black players."
Kelly took the high road, but was also shot down McCoy's claims: "I've got great respect for LeSean. However, in that situation, I think he's wrong. We put a lot of time in looking at the characters and factors that go into selection and retention of players, and color's never been one of them."
Kelly was asked if he tried to speak to McCoy after he was traded to the Buffalo Bills, to which Kelly said: “I reached out to him twice and he didn’t accept my call. And I talked to his agent and told him I’d love to talk to him at some point and time but I haven’t had a chance to touch base with him.”
Kelly stated that McCoy's comments did not hurt or affect him: “I’m not governed by the fear of what other people say. Events don’t elicit feelings. I think beliefs elicit feelings, and I understood what my beliefs are and I know who I am.”
Asked whether he was concerned about the perception of racism, Kelly got somewhat defiant: “If you start chasing perception then you got a long life ahead of you, son. That’s what it’s all about. If you’re worried about someone’s perception of what’s going on with you. You control one thing, you control yourself, and I know how we run this organization and it’s not run that way.”
It is unlikely that Kelly's comments changed people's perception of the issue either way. You either believe him or you don't, and his comments today likely did not change that. But it was still good to see Kelly address the issue head on instead of opting for the "no comment" route. McCoy's statements were ridiculous, and warranted a rebuttal.
The revamped secondary
Kelly said that he likes the secondary as a group overall. He expects Malcolm Jenkins and Byron Maxwell to be pencilled in as starters, and thinks they have the best depth in the secondary since he has been with the Eagles.
Kelly also expects the competition for the other two spots to remain open for the entire summer unless someone takes the position and runs with it. He singled out Nolan Carroll as a guy to keep an eye on. Carroll, according to Kelly, was working hard in the offseason and has really impressed the coaching staff.
He also said that newly acquired Walter Thurmond, who played in Seattle with Byron Maxwell and for Kelly at Oregon, was getting the first shot to win the starting spot at safety opposite Jenkins.
The secondary is definitely different than last year. However, it is unclear whether it is better. Maxwell should be an upgrade over Cary Williams, but it remains to be seen how well he can perform now that he's not playing along side the likes of Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas, and Kam Chancellor.
The real question mark comes at the other two positions. While it does not take much to constitute an upgrade over Bradley Fletcher, the question remains whether Carroll, or Eagles rookie Eric Rowe, can show the consistency Fletcher never had.
Ditto the safety spot. Thurmond has played mostly nickle corner in his career, so it is fair to wonder whether the transition to safety will be a smooth one. Kelly noted that Thurmond has played safety before, and cited his ability to always be around the ball as one of the primary reasons he was getting first crack at playing safety. But Thurmond has missed a considerable amount of games in his career due to injury (he missed all but two games last year with a torn pectoral muscle). Can he even be counted on to play?
I'm not saying Kelly is wrong. There is certainly more depth this year. The question remains whether the four starters will be an improvement, however.
Marcus Smith not in action
It is safe to say that Marcus Smith had a disappointing season last year. The former first round pick played in just eight games and on only 74 defensive snaps. Even worse, he did not register a single solo tackle the entire year.
So this is definitely a big year for Smith. Early offseason signs were impressive: he reportedly gained 15 pounds of muscle and was looking much more explosive to the coaching staff.
But according to Kelly, Smith has not participated at all in OTAs because of a leg injury. Kelly was somewhat flippant when he referred to the injury, and said that Smith has spent the entire time working with the training staff instead.
Not a good start for Smith. He is going to need to get on the field — and make a positive impression — before it's too late.
The Quarterback Situation
Kelly said that Bradford is progressing as expected in his rehab. He is at the tail end of the medical rehab stage, and has to get through the performance rehab stage before he is prepared to play. Kelly expects Bradford to being throwing in 7 on 7 drills next week.
Kelly again touted Bradford's skill set and said the doctors told the Eagles that Bradford's twice surgically repaired knee had a 90% chance of recovering fully, so the Eagles were confident with Bradford moving forward.
Mark Sanchez will be taking the majority of snaps with the ones in Bradford's place. Kelly said that Sanchez has benefited from a full season in the Eagles offense and looks much better than he did this time last year. That should come as no surprise.
The Eagles won't admit it publicly, but it's safe to say they do not want to start the season with Sanchez as their starting quarterback. He's a stopgap insurance policy for Bradford's balky knee, nothing more. But at least he has shown improvement from the start of last year.
Kelly also said that Tim Tebow will be given a shot at quarterback and was brought in to the the "4th guy." Kelly did not like any of the quarterbacks that were available around the time they would have targeted a quarterback in the draft, and thought the free agent crop was weak too. Because the Eagles always have four quarterbacks, they decided to give Tebow a chance.
So don't believe the hype. Because it does not sound like Tebow has a great shot at making the team.
Kelly talks Randle versus Murray
Kelly was asked whether he had any thoughts on Joseph Randle's comments that DeMarco Murray left a lot of meat on the bone last season in regard to the run game. In typical Kelly fashion, he quipped: "maybe that means he's [Murray} not a big eater." Well played, Kelly. Well played.
