Phenomenal Debut for Eagles Chip Kelly

Chip Kelly shake hands and trade smiles with Michael Vick

After a horrendous 4 - 12 campaign for the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2012 - 2013 season, new head coach Chip Kelly engineers a veritable love fest in the City of Brotherly Love.  The 33 - 27 Monday Night win against the Washington Redskins simply was not as close as the score suggested, despite the fact that the Eagles squandered a 26-point lead in the third quarter.

Reference:  Kelly's debut:  Exhilarating and exhausting.

Michael Vick threw for two touchdowns in the win against the Redskins

“I like the way we dictate the pace of the game,” Philadelphia QB Michael Vick told the NFL Network after his team’s win. “I understand the system and I like what we’re doing. It’s fast, and we’re keeping everybody off-balance.” 

Reference:  Chip Kelly swipes RGIII’s spotlight in exhilarating ‘MNF’ clash.

Bryce Brown runs past Bacarri Rambo

Granted it was Robert Griffin III's first game back, since that horrendous knee injury in last year's playoffs.  As ESPN Steve Young quipped, the team hadn't played together like this in a long time.  But, excuse me, Steve, this does not explain the loss.

It's like the Redskins defense was totally unprepared for the Kelly offense, and gave up 33 points in 32 minutes of football.  That's nothing on RG3.  What happened, head coach Mike Shanahan?  

If Kelly had managed the game, as Broncos head coach John Fox did in their drubbing of the Baltimore Ravens last week, the Eagles would've scored another touchdown or two.  No doubt, Kelly showed good sportsmanship to the Redskins, instead, by being restrained with his high-octane offense and playing prevent-defense for portions of the second half.   

Thank you for reading, and let me know what you think!

Ron Villejo, PhD