Going in to the 2015 NFL Offseason, Philadelphia Eagles fans did not really know what to expect out of Chip Kelly and his first season captaining the ship. But Chip dropped the third atomic bomb on Eagles fans all over the world and single handedly changed the way this team looks going into the 2015 season and I couldn’t be more excited.
The first domino to fall was Todd Herremans. At the time I did not know what to think of the move in that it came so out of left field that I couldn’t grasp what Chip was thinking. Then about four days later he released Cary Williams and the next day Trent Cole. Eagles fans soon realized something in those two days that we could never imagine happening. Chip was cleaning house for cap space. The Cary Williams move I could absolutely live with in the fact the he had been so erratic all of last season, but Trent Cole? About a week later the absolute unthinkable happens, Chip Kelly trades the best back in the game in LeSean McCoy to the Buffalo Bills in exchange for third year linebacker Kiko Alonzo, and then follows that up by trading Nick Foles to the Rams for Sam Bradford. At this point I was waiting for Center City to light on fire. What was this man thinking? But after thinking long and hard about the moves I realized that we could potentially be a way better team then last year. But what was Chip planning next with so many holes to fill? Soon after the McCoy fiasco, Chip made his move to haul in free agents. We got Byron Maxwell, we got Walter Thurmond and Ryan Matthews, and then finally Chip does the unthinkable again and stole DeMarco Murray from the Cowboys! All of these moves I like a lot. Losing Shady was inevitable in the fact that he and Chip Kelly had a terrible relationship with Chip, so it was better to move on now then later. DeMarco Murray, Ryan Matthews, and Darren Sproles, how about that for a backfield? I fully expect for DeMarco to be the feature back and Ryan Matthews as the man in the back seat. Also, expect to see Darren as more of a receiver style back in catching a lot of passes rather than running the ball in 2015, which makes him a huge weapon.
Having all of these backs is great, but whom is Sam Bradford going to throw the ball to? The loss of Jeremy Maclin is devastating but don’t get me wrong he is replaceable, and that’s what Chip did in drafting Nelson Agholor. I LOVE this pick, Agholor has great hands and speed and can use his body to catch the ball. To me, he is one of the more underrated wide receivers in this years draft class. Also, the addition of Miles Austin is good in that it takes the workload off of Jordan Matthews and Riley Cooper. Sam Bradford should have many options to work with this season and if the offense stays healthy, can be one of the best in football.
The potential that this team has in 2015 in mind blowing, the new weapons on both sides of the ball can really help this team get where we want them to go. I think that the new look Eagles will really surprise a lot of people this year and the NFC East is theirs for the taking.
P.S. No mention of the Tim Tebow signing because he will not get a sniff of the huddle this year.