Forget Andy Reid. Donovan McNabb? Thanks for the memories.
While the fans are foaming at the mouth over the thought of greeting Big Red, all decked in the red of his Kansas City Chiefs, back to the Linc, there remains a football game to play.
Here’s what I know. It will be incredibly entertaining.
The Eagles are one of the early hits of the NFL season in large part because of Chip Kelly’s offense. This team looks like it is going to consistently put up 30 points a game.
The problem is that they are going to give up at least as many.
Week 1 they scored 33 points and hung on for a win over the Redskins. Last week they put up 30 on the Chargers and lost.
Get used to it. The Eagles have a space shuttle offense. But they’re the Hindenburg on defense.
Somehow, Chip Kelly, and more likely his defensive coordinator Billy Davis, have to figure out a way to occasionally make a third-down stop, get their defense off the field, and allow the Eagles’ electrifying offense to strut it stuff.
Look for the Birds to come up with some new blitz packages in an effort to put the heat on Chiefs’ new QB Alex Smith, the guy who was cast aside by the 49ers for Colin Kaepernick, despite leading them to the playoffs.
I don’t expect Kelly’s offense to miss a beat. He has two of the best offensive weapons in the league. Last week the Chargers obviously decided they were not going to get beat by LeSean McCoy. They stacked the box, and Michael Vick and DeSean Jackson had a field day. If opponents look to shut down Jackson, they make themselves vulnerable to McCoy, both in the air on the ground.
Here’s a couple of things you can count on: Reid will open the game with some type of gadget play. The guy always thought he was smarter than everyone else. He’s not. Chip Kelly is.
It would be poetic justice if Reid burned all his timeouts in the first half, and had Smith throw a ball in the middle of the field as they’re driving for a score before halftime, only to watch helplessly as the seconds expire. Funny, haven’t seen that act since Kelly got there.
Reid comes in with a 2-0 team. Anyone else remember the Eagles also were 2-0 last year? And then went to 3-1 with a win over the eventual Super Bowl champion.
Welcome back, Andy. Bravo, Donovan. There’s a new sheriff in town. Chip Kelly won’t make the same kind of mistakes that so often doomed the two of you.
The Pick: Make it Eagles 31, Chiefs 23. Another huge dose of the best triple threat in the league - Vick, McCoy and Jackson. The only question is if the Birds’ defense can hold down the fort. They can’t be as bad as they were last week. Can they?
Last Week: I didn’t think the Eagles defense was this bad. As I tweeted during the game, all that secondary is missing is a Big Top. It’s a short week, and I think that always works in the home team’s advantage. It’s on Billy Davis to come up with some kind of plan to shut down Alex Smith.
Season Record: I’m taking an 0-fer so far. Looking back, both teams probably had a chance to win easily last week, but both made crucial mistakes that kept the game in nail-biter mode. So I sit at 0-2 while the Birds are 1-1. They are staring at a trip to Peyton Manning in Denver, so it is not recommended that they lose this game. I don’t think they will.
Game by Game: Eagles 33, Redskins 27 (My Pick: Redskins 31, Eagles 23)
Chargers 33, Eagles 30 (My pick Eagles 33, Chargers 17)
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