Philadelphia Eagles News

Quotes: Head Coach Chip Kelly



Q. What did you see on film from DE Fletcher Cox?**

COACH KELLY: Saw a lot of disruption from Fletcher Cox. I think, or I know, what he causes [is] a lot of problems inside in terms of his ability to rush. Brandon [LB Brandon Graham] and Connor [LB Connor Barwin] had the sacks, but a lot of them were, I think, Tom [Patriots QB Tom Brady] trying to run away from Fletch. He played as good a game as he played inside in terms of disrupting not only the running lanes, but the passing lanes.

Q. S Ed Reynolds is a guy who has been around awhile. What did you see from him in practice, on the practice squad and all of that that gave you confidence to put him in that role?

COACH KELLY: Ed's one of those guys that continually you see progress out of him. He's a very smart player and just one of those guys that has earned playing time over the course of the season. We felt like when Coup [S Jerome Couplin] went down, we wanted to get Ed back on the practice squad and it was real important for us. And if we did have an injury at safety, we knew we would promote him and he has taken advantage of it. He played a lot of snaps on defense; he also played a lot of snaps on special teams. And with him and Biggers [CB E.J. Biggers] and the four guys that I would single out, him, Biggers, Celek [TE Brent Celek] and Cooper [WR Riley Cooper], usually when guys are playing prominent roles on either offense or defense, they want off of special teams. Those guys want on special teams. I think we are really happy with what Ed is doing right now. Hopefully he'll continue to progress and get a little bit better and better out there. It allows us to play [S] Malcolm [Jenkins] down in nickel. We like that, especially when teams try to run the ball a little bit or using Malcolm as a blitzer, that has helped us. Ed kind of growing at that safety position has really added some depth to the defense.

Q. Is this how you envision using your running backs the rest of the way?

COACH KELLY: I think everything is a weekly basis depending on who we are matched up with. Who is healthy has a lot to do with it. Where does [RB] Ryan [Mathews] fit in when Ryan gets back healthy? But it's a good problem to have when you have some backs that when you used all three of them, all three of them are productive for you. Again, it's always, as you figure out the week, who you're playing and what you've got available to you. That's kind of how we'll go with that.

Q. So where does RB DeMarco Murray fit in?

COACH KELLY: DeMarco fits in the same way. We have three running backs right now that we felt were productive. We had a couple of game plans, there were some things we were trying to do with the big linebackers and with [RB] Darren [Sproles] and [RB] Kenjon [Barner], but he fits in. It was a strange game offensively from the aspect of we were not on the field in the third quarter and very rarely are you not on the field but yet you're up two scores. We had an interception return for a touchdown, and then we had a punt return for a touchdown. So that lack of snaps usually it's because of we are not being -- I've been there before, it's because we have not been productive offensively. It's just because our defense was scoring and our special teams was scoring. It's not like you're going to say, 'We'll take it any time we can.' But it was a different game from that standpoint, so we only had 50-some-odd snaps total. Hopefully we will get back up to where we normally are in the 70s, and I think that gets expanded a little bit, especially in the run game.

Q. Kind of like what was asked about Reynolds about what gave you the confidence to put him in his role, is RB Kenjon Barner another guy who is kind of --

COACH KELLY: He's another guy, Krause [WR Jonathan Krause] is another guy, which you've continued to see them improve over the course of the season. And we talk about [it to] our guys [that] it is an evaluation every day that you're out there and you have an opportunity. Nothing's set in stone; that you continue to show us that you could help us and be productive. The bottom line is for us to win the football game and [we] felt like they could contribute and help us win the game. I think it helps when you have that youth aspect of it that's really pushing. And when we do that, I think it helps the football team, because we always talk about [how] you have 46 guys up on game day. You have to use 45 of them, none of them being the backup quarterback. But the other 45 guys have to be able to contribute in any manner that they can.

*Q. What can a win like that do for you from here on out? Given that you can use a huge win in college as a recruiting tool, in this case, can this help going forward motivationally by showing that you can beat Tom Brady, who never losses at home? *

COACH KELLY: We take each week as an individual season. We had the same exact question after the Dallas game: What will that do for you? And we went out and lost to Miami. Our total focus and concentration is just on Buffalo. We'll highlight what we did well, but we also have a lot of mistakes that we have to still continue to correct and that's part of what the weekly process is about. But, really, our focus is lazered in on the Bills right now.

Q. With the young guys like Krause, Reynolds and Barner, is it a coincidence that they are all getting playing time now? Or is it a product of things not going well with the guys in front of them?

COACH KELLY: No, I don't think it's a coincidence. I think they have played really well. We don't have to make maneuvers, but they have warranted it in terms of what we've seen out of them from a production standpoint and how they are approaching things. And they understand that when you perform on the training field that you're going to get an opportunity, and I think that's what's showing right there.

Q. You talk about improving on mistakes each week. Is health related to that? We know the injuries are reported, but every football player gets banged up and every football player comes back from injuries differently. Is correcting mistakes connected to the overall health of your team?

COACH KELLY: Yeah, it's all connected. And at this point in time during the season, there's no one that's anywhere close to where they started the season. That's just the nature of sport that we play. But your opponent is in the same situation. That's why no one ever uses it as a crutch [and says], 'Well, I can't do this because of this.' The guy playing across from us is in the same situation. It's really this game becomes which team can last the longest in a lot of aspects?

Q. I think I heard you say that you thought QB Sam Bradford, over the last two games, was coming on and was getting more comfortable. Is he possibly the exception to this rule because he has shaken off the rust from two years and is back from an injury? Could you get better --

COACH KELLY: I think a lot -- it doesn't mean you can't get better. I think it just depends on the individual player and the injury that he has. We had seen Sam progressing in terms of what he had because we had not had Sam for a long time and he was here for the off-season program but we were really limited with him then. He didn't really go full until he got back on August 1st. And then you can see in the last couple games before he got hurt against Miami, we thought he was playing really well. He had a really good game against Dallas and was playing well in the Miami game up until he got hurt. And that was unfortunate for him because then you lose two games and where does he pick up? I thought he played well. I thought he did a real nice job. A lot of those throws were contested throws. They have a good pass rush and they can really push the pocket and he stood in there and really delivered the football. It doesn't mean you can't improve but you also still, to answer your question, you have to take and understand where players are from an injury standpoint in terms of sometimes the progress isn't exactly what you thought it would be. It doesn't always go up, but it depends on the individual's health.

Q. How do you evaluate the fact that your longest throw was 20 yards and Bradford only threw for 120. Did you have opportunities to do more than that?

COACH KELLY: Well, again, it was a different football game. When you look at how that game expressed itself, we literally were not on the field until the end of the third quarter. And at that point in time, I knew we had to keep our defense off the field, so we went on a 12-play drive where we threw one pass I think. And that was a conscious decision by me of our defense has been out there for a long time, let's see if we can keep them on the bench for a little bit of time here. So it had nothing to do with Sam. It had more to do with us trying to equal out what had happened in a positive manner because we got 14 points out of the deal. But I also knew that our defense had a ton of reps against a really good quarterback so I was conscious then. So I think part of our game plan, even within the game, changes depending on the situation that you're in.

Q. What's the 'why' behind showing players positive plays that they had made?

COACH KELLY: I think positive reinforcement is a productive way to be successful. So I don't believe in negative reinforcement. I don't think you get a lot out of that. I think you coach people up, you don't coach them down. And that's been a philosophy that we've used a lot of times. I've always shown guys positive plays after games and every Tuesday morning meeting in terms of what we're doing.

Q. I heard Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick say, primarily, he only shows positive plays from the other team when reviewing film. Do you follow that same practice?

COACH KELLY: No, we watch all their plays. I mean, we need to see everything that they are doing, so --

Q. He said the majority of the film that he shows is primarily positive.

COACH KELLY: Well, our players have access to every game that they play, so it's not like if we don't show it to them, they are not going to see it. But I think we present them with what the other team does, so schematically where they are. Sometimes they may throw a deep pass that's incomplete, but we have to understand how to cover that route combination because this is a route combination that they run.

Q. As a follow up on Murray, you cited the matchup, but how has his performance over the last three months factored into the decision of playing time?

COACH KELLY: I don't think that factored in. It factored into how do we play the New England Patriots and let's focus on the New England Patriots and what's our best game plan going forward against the New England Patriots?

Q. He's a guy who, obviously, led the NFL rushing and he's used to 30 carries a game and he does seem a little frustrated when we talk to him. Do you need to tell him, 'Look, you're still a part of what we are doing"? I mean he had eight out of 31 carries yesterday.

COACH KELLY: All of our running backs knew our game plan going into that game, so it wasn't a surprise to anybody in terms of what we were doing, and I think [Running Backs Coach] Duce [Staley] does a great job of handling those guys. We have to do what's the best thing for the Philadelphia Eagles. So we are not trying to win a rushing championship or a passing championship or a receiving championship or anything from that stretch of the imagination. We are just trying to win football games. And we're going to do whatever it is. There are going to be some games where we throw the ball a lot and our receivers do a great job of catching the ball and we're up in the 50s and 60s throwing the ball and they have to make a lot of catches. And there are going to be other games where we only have 14 receptions and that's what it is. At the end of the day you're judged on did you win or did you lose? And that's what we're all graded upon.

Q. When you're looking at the film of the running backs, what are you looking at to evaluate how they played?

COACH KELLY: Same as everybody. Did they execute the assignment that was called on that play? And did they do what they were supposed to do on that play? It's pretty straightforward in terms of -- a lot of times, if the guy runs the wrong route, the quarterback throws the ball to him, and it's not a plus grade. He should have been running 'this' route because of the concern and the concept of what we are doing.

Q. Can you tell me why Murray, it sounds like he will get more carries, why he deserves more carries when you see the productivity of the other backs compared to Murray?

COACH KELLY: Again, our game plan each week depends on who we're playing, what we're doing and who is available. So I didn't say who has what or whatever. So I don't think --

Q. When you look at the productivity of the other backs --

COACH KELLY: Did I say someone was getting more carries this week compared to last week?

Q. The implication is he doesn't get a lot of carries because you didn't have a lot of offense; I understand that part. But when you look at the productivity of the other backs compared to Murray-- why would if that's the case --

COACH KELLY: Each week we look at who is available and we put a game plan together against the team we are playing. So I don't know how much more plainly I can say that to you.

Q. Was DE Vinny Curry's increased snaps a product of playing more nickel and dime? Or was there a concerted effort to get him a little more involved in the pass rush?

COACH KELLY: Nickel and dime and what they do. They threw the ball 56 times. Vinny is a pass rush guy, we all know that. When you're playing teams that are throwing the ball a high amount, Vinny is going to be on the field a lot more in those games. And when do those games occur? When we are up. So when we're up, they are throwing the ball more. It's kind of just a simple equation, but I think everybody understands.

Q. Getting back to special teams, have you seen a trend upward in recent weeks?

COACH KELLY: Yeah, I've seen our [special] teams play really well and been surprised that we had not had as much success as we had the other night. Obviously what we did was outstanding, but I think our teams have played well at times and I think some guys -- I look at Tutu [WR Seyi Ajirotutu] playing against the Lions, he played outstanding against the Lions, did a great job. I think our gunners have done a great job. I think our punt group in terms of covering kicks has done a really good job. So did I think we were going to block a kick for a touchdown and return a punt for a touchdown against a really good special teams? No, we don't go that far, but I think our group as a whole, we've got a bunch of guys, [LB] Najee [Goode] who scored, Maragos [S Chris Maragos], Braman [LB Bryan Braman], Tutu, Burton [TE Trey Burton], that take a lot of pride in what they are doing out there, have trained at a really high level and are playing at a really high level.

Q. Do you have anything new on RB Ryan Mathews?

COACH KELLY: I don't have anything on Ryan.

Q. How did WR Austin Miles take the news that he was going to be down?

COACH KELLY: I think, like anybody, he was disappointed but he understood. Miles is a real team player and knows what we're trying to get accomplished here. I think that's a question for him.

Q. You were saying yesterday that you kind of wanted to get RB Darren Sproles more involved in the offense. Is that kind of hard sometimes just because of how valuable he is?

COACH KELLY: I don't think it's a value thing, I think it just depends on how people are defending him. There were no doubles on Darren the other day. I think-- and why or why not, we also had not used him a lot before that, so I don't think that was part of their game plan going in that we were going to get him the ball in different manners that way. It was a conscious decision by our staff to get Darren more involved and when Darren has the ball in his hands, good things happen.

Q. Have you been able to follow Bills RB LeSean McCoy's season from afar?

COACH KELLY: I mean, I'm aware of, I know he's having a good year, but I haven't really broken down film or looked at anything like that. I know he's the focal point of their offense and we have to do a good job of team tackling against him because, obviously, seeing him in person and knowing him, he's going to make the first guy miss, sometimes the second guy miss. But we've got to stop the run against Buffalo. I think [Bills Offensive Coordinator] Greg Roman does a great job as an offensive coordinator, and he has always been a run guy. He did a great job when he was at San Francisco and it starts with LeSean, so our defense better get ready to play this week because we are playing against a really good back.

Q. Since S Chris Maragos is one of the leaders on special teams, was that part of the reason of not having him as that nickel guy?


Q. Has his play been any different since he has been --

COACH KELLY: No, I think he has played well on special teams. I just think there are certain things where we had a good scheme, we had two guys going through the gaps, one personal protector grabbed one of them, Chris got free. If the guy went to Maragos, then the other guy would have gotten free. I just thought it was a good design. But I think Chris has played at a really high level from a team standpoint.

Q. LB Kiko Alonso has been back for five games now since the injury. How has he graded out and how did you evaluate his play yesterday?

COACH KELLY: Probably with Kiko, he still played probably too many snaps for us. I think he played 70. We talked about that today. We need to balance that out a little bit between him and [LB] Mychal [Kendricks] in those situations. I think probably we didn't help him a little bit towards the end there because we probably should limit him a little bit with some of the snaps. But I think he's doing what we're asking him to do. We need to balance those snaps out a little bit better at inside linebacker.

Q. Is there a positive of having two young defensive backs in DB Eric Rowe and S Ed Reynolds who are both getting reps, growing and just getting this opportunity to play a lot and play together a little bit?

COACH KELLY: If they are playing well, yes; if they are playing not so well, no. You're happy when – obviously, Eric had to step up because losing [CB] Nolan [Carroll] was a big blow to us on the defensive side of the ball. And so now, it's really the whole next-man-up concept. But for Eric to step in and do what he did, I was happy for him. He has done it on a limited basis. He had the pick in the Jets game, first time he got in, they literally, he's in and threw it on him. For him to make that play, you hope he gained a little bit of confidence in that. Playing corner in the National Football League is very difficult because a lot of times you are left out on an island. But I thought overall for him to play the way he played -- same with Ed. Did they make mistakes? Yeah, they are correctible mistakes that they will continue to learn and grow from, but I think it can help us in the long run that we are developing young depth in the secondary. That was a big thing for us. We need to get some youth in the secondary and to be able to develop that as we move forward here.

Q. Do you find the need to be overly positive in a town that may be a little negative? You talked before about sheltering yourself from everything that's going on outside this building. Do you feel the need to amp it up even more for your players?

COACH KELLY: Are you talking about this town being negative?

Q. A little bit.

COACH KELLY: That's the first I've ever heard of that. [Sarcasm and Laughter] That has always been our approach, no matter where I've been. I think -- it's like raising your kids. Are you going to beat them down every single time? When they make mistakes, you talk about what they did wrong and you praise them when they do things right. It's the same thing. I think everybody works that way no matter what environment you're in, or what profession -- do you have a guy that's just hammering you every day that you're not doing a good job and all of a sudden you're like, wow, this isn't a lot of fun. There's a lot of good, and that's what I told those guys last Tuesday is that sometimes they don't see in themselves what we see in them, and that's why I believe we have a good football team. We proved yesterday we are a good football team. But you know what, that doesn't matter this week because it's a whole brand new week and it has got to start back over again. They will come back into work tomorrow and we've got to get our eyes focused on a really good Buffalo team and we'll correct the mistakes we made. You always have to do that, but I think we do that in a real good environment in the individual position rooms and they take care of that and we move on to the next thing. What did we do well; let's see this as a group; let's talk about there and then we learn from that and then we go. But it's a new challenge this week.
