The Eagles Still Have Problems To Fix
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Eagles are 4-1 and tied for first place in the NFC East. However, Chip Kelly's squad has been far from perfect.
The Eagles nearly let a 34-7 lead slip away against the Rams, but managed to hang on for a 34-28 victory on Sunday. The Eagles aren't complaining about their record, but Chip Kelly has concerns with inconsistency on both sides of the ball.
"We have to continue to just go to work," said Kelly. "There's not just one magic quick fix when you walk into the staff room and say 'if we do this, everything's straight. We've just got to continue to work on it and get better. The positive is that we're working from a situation where we're 4-1 trying to get better."
One player who has served as an example for the Eagles' inconsistency is Nick Foles. the quarterback threw a pair of touchdown passes against the Rams, but also committed two turnovers. Kelly says one of the issues with Foles is with the quarterback making throws off his back foot.
"Sometimes there's a rush," Kelly said. "He's trying to slide to the right or slide to the left. I think it's fixable. It's just a matter of drill work and fundamentals."
While the offense had its shares of ups and downs, the defense had plenty of problems in the fourth quarter. Rams quarterback Austin Davis riddled the Eagles secondary and led his team to 21 straight points. Kelly disputes the notion that his defense was tired after the Rams had won the time of possession battle.
"I think we were both on the field about the same amount of time," said Kelly. "I know you guys always look at the time of possession, but if they're standing in the huddle, I don't know how that fatigues anybody. If they're running 90 plays and we're running 50 plays, then that's a big problem. It's always plays run to me."
No matter what the time of possession, Kelly admitted it comes down to his defensive backs needing to make the plays they didn't make in the fourth quarter against the Rams.
"We've got to do a better job playing the ball when it's in the air," Kelly said. "I think they were very, very close and they're right there to make a play, but when the ball is in the air, we've got to make a play."
The Eagles will wear black jerseys and black pants for their game against the Giants next Sunday night. The use of the Eagles green jerseys has been delayed until Nike can produce the team's updated version, which is expected to be completed later in the season.
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