Eagles

Chip Kelly’s Balls

By Kyle Scott

Published: Oct 1st, 2013 · 12:43 PM EDT

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The Chip Kelly narrative four weeks into his tenure: Go faster, be aggressive! Too fast, don’t be so aggressive! Be more aggressive!

I’ve seen tides that were less predictable.

Today, Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk says that Kelly needs to take the risks that made him so successful in college:

Most notably, Kelly has stopped going for it on fourth down. As a college coach, Kelly had a more aggressive approach on fourth downs, but on Sunday, when the Eagles had a fourth-and-6 at Denver’s 37-yard line while trailing 21-13, Kelly took a delay of game penalty and then punted. That would seem like a perfect time to go for it, but Kelly said he didn’t even think about going for it in that situation.

Although the Eagles went for it on fourth-and-1 and got a first down on their first drive of the season, in the opening Monday night at Washington, Kelly has gone for it on fourth down just once since that very first drive. It sure seems like Kelly is becoming a conservative coach.

More importantly, Kelly has become a losing coach. After losing three in a row, it may be time for Kelly to start taking more chances.

I agree. But you know what happens the first time Kelly goes for it on fourth-and-three in the first quarter and doesn’t get it…