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Eagles Wake-Up Call: Three Kelly Leftovers
By Sheil Kapadia | June 11, 2014 at 6:30 am
Chip Kelly spoke to reporters on Tuesday. Here are three items that stood out to us.
1. We have written a lot in this space about Kelly’s favorites. Guys like Brent Celek, Demeco Ryans, Cedric Thornton, Brent Celek and Jason Kelce whom he will often go out of his way to praise.
Even though he hasn't played a game yet with the Eagles, it sure sounds like Darren Sproles is making his way onto that list.
Asked what he's learned about Sproles, Kelly said: "I don't think I learned anything. We knew he was a really, really talented player, and when he got here, he showed that right from the jump. We heard from the coaches that coached him what an intelligent football player he is and learned that from the first day he was in this building and how sharp he is and how dedicated he is.
"I talked to Norv Turner, and he remarked to me when I saw him at one of the pro days, he said, ‘You'll have to slow him down because he only knows one speed.’ And that's the same thing you see. Darren practices and trains at one speed. It's awesome. He fits in with the culture that we want in terms of preparation, but it's everything we wanted when we got him here."
Sproles has been practicing as the second-team running back. We should get a better idea of how exactly the Eagles plan to use him this summer during training camp.
2. The weak spot on the Eagles' offensive line in terms of pass protection last year was the right side - and specifically, Lane Johnson and Todd Herremans. Both players were better at the end of the year than the beginning. And Kelly offered an interesting take when asked about Johnson's progression.
"He's different," Kelly said. "Obviously he's not a first-year player and he's not relying on Todd Herremans to make the call for him. Similar to Mychal Kendricks, I think sometimes Mychal leaned on DeMeco [Ryans] and didn't make the decisions himself. Last year a lot, Lane made decisions with Todd Herremans, and Todd just told [him] what to do and executed. Now Lane knows what to do, and he's communicating a little bit better with those guys."
As we wrote about earlier this offseason, Johnson has the tools to be an excellent player. If he can make the second-year leap, the offensive line will be in great shape.
3. The Inquirer's Jeff McLane had an interesting report about Kendricks making more of the calls this year. But Kelly indicated that's no big deal.
"No, he did that one day so far because DeMeco wasn't here," Kelly said. "He mimics what DeMeco says, but if you listened to the call, DeMeco is making the call. Mychal is just getting comfortable. If for some reason DeMeco is not here, gets an injury, rolls an ankle, he's sick, Mychal can step in.
"That's just part of everybody getting outside of their comfort zone and expanding their role. Instead of waiting for someone to tell him what we are going to call, he's going to make the call himself, not a big deal."
By all accounts, the Eagles have no plans of reducing Ryans' role. But it certainly can't hurt for Kendricks to learn some of those responsibilities.
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