Chip Kelly Presser: Struggling For Seattle Is Giving Up 14 Points
PHILADELPHIA, PA (CBS) — Chip Kelly does a great job steering away the white noise. The Eagles' coach has demonstrated an uncanny ability to focus on the subject at hand—and that right now is preparing for the defending world champion Seattle Seahawks this Sunday at 4:15 p.m. on national TV.
The Eagles are coming off a 33-10 thumping of the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday.
Facing Seattle will be a little different. The Seahawks, who haven't given up a touchdown in the last eight quarters, are turning into the team they were expected to be this year.
"Yes. They've got really, really good players and Pete [Seahawks Head Coach Pete Carroll] puts them in position to make plays. It will be the best secondary that we play," Kelly said. "Obviously, probably the top corner in the league in [CB] Richard Sherman. He's got 23 picks since 2011—eight more than any other player in the league—and there's a reason for that: he's a smart player, he's an intelligent player. He's big, he's physical and he's got great ball skills.
"I think they've got probably the top safety in the game in Earl Thomas. Then they have a bunch of other guys that are fast and they're athletic. [DE] Cliff Avril can really cause some problems. [DE] Michael Bennett can cause some problems. Their linebackers can run. [SS] Kam Chancellor is a guy [who can cause problems]. They've got players at every single position on the defensive side of the ball. There's a reason they won the Super Bowl last year and there's a reason they held the last two teams they played to three points. They've got a lot of really talented players over there."
Seattle has a formidable Cover 3 scheme, which features the two corners and free safety to cover a deep third of the field, while the strong safety plays like a linebacker. This coverage is generally considered to be a run stopping defense that focuses on preventing big pass plays and stopping the run while giving up short passes.
"Yeah, they've done the same thing since Pete's been there. They've got the personnel. They've got a really, really good group of personnel right now. They're probably 60-40 man-zone," Kelly said. "They're very balanced in what they do. They've got their eyes on the quarterback. They disrupt routes. They've got a lot of guys with good ball skills back there in terms of getting after it.
It's a very formidable group."
Asked about why Seattle may have been struggling earlier this season, Kelly said, "Yeah, I don't know if they were struggling. I mean, they lead the NFL in defense. Struggling for them is probably giving up 14 points. I think a lot of people would take struggling if it's playing that well. But they're really clicking right now. Maybe that's a better question for them, but I know in the last couple games they've played really, really well."
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