All around the NFL during the 2013 season, you heard about Chip Kelly’s system. At this time last year, it was about what could be expected from a run-and-gun system that moved fast and kept defenses struggling to keep up at the college level.
Kelly’s offensive system is entering its second year in the NFL and teams are certain to adapt to what the Philadelphia Eagles attempt to do. What the Eagles are focused on is stepping that up to the next level. Tempo is the key.
In running an offense that involves a fast tempo, players need to be constantly up on their health and condition. In addressing the media for the first time since the players arrived on Friday, Kelly said he feels the players understand putting time into being conditioned athletes.
"I think that's why teams have conditioning tests, to see kind of where those guys are," Kelly said. "It wasn't a long layoff. It was only 35 days. But after watching what our guys did in the conditioning test, I'm confident our guys are prepared to go."
Offensively, the Eagles have adjusted and seen results. The defense was a learning curve on all ends. Kelly has prepared a different approach to preseason practices for his defense. His players see the fast pace of practicing against their own teammates as a challenge to stay in top shape.
"We had live tackling drills where the offensive backs went against linebackers, wide receivers went against DBs, so we're going to stick with that," Kelly said. "We have four preseason games where we're allowed to tackle to the ground that I checked on."
"The tempo definitely helps with our conditioning," DeMeco Ryans said. "We're a really well-conditioned team, probably one of the most well-conditioned teams in the league just because of the way we practice, the amount of reps that we get on the day. It really helps us because we're getting so many in so fast, we can't help but to be in good condition."
There were many different angles to observe on the first day of camp. One of the more notable things about this first day was that every member of the team was present for practice from the beginning.
"After evaluating it from one year, we don't have a rookie quarterback. We also want to make sure there's a certain tempo and pace if you've seen us practice and go," Kelly said. "To try to run our rookies into the ground when you don't have a quarterback, you know, we did that a little bit in our rookie camp.”
Obviously, Day 1 of camp was also the first chance to see rookie participation. Two rookies that will have magnified roles are the two wide receivers the Eagles drafted in June – Jordan Matthews and Josh Huff. How was their first impression with the Eagles offense?
"The rookies are looking good," Nick Foles said. "They had a great offseason with us. I remember my rookie year, getting that four weeks off, five weeks off, that’s huge because you have such a long offseason."
You’ll hear it a lot during camp, but conditioning, especially for the rookies, will make the transition smoother. Matthews got right to work after being drafted and trained with some impressive names.
"It’s about who can sustain and who can make it through the course of a season," Matthews said. "That’s why I went to train with A.J. Green and Calvin Johnson – to learn about longevity and learn about being a professional over a long period of time.
"Training with Calvin, he was so deliberate on the things he ate, how much he stretched."
Huff was the under-the-radar receiver the Eagles snagged in the third-round. One of Kelly’s college products at Oregon, he knows the system and the workload that goes into making it work. But that’s obviously at another level in the NFL.
Huff and rookie safety Ed Reynolds collided on the final play of practice. Both players walked off the field unharmed with a first-day lesson.
"I feel good. It was just a football play," Huff said. "I've just got to get better. That was bad on my part. I kind of got off on alignment, the quarterback threw it in the right direction, it was bad on my part. I've just got to go back at the film and look at it."
The Eagles will return to the practice field at the NovaCare Complex at 11:45 a.m. on Sunday morning. Defensive coordinator Billy Davis is expected to address the media prior to practice with LeSean McCoy and Jeremy Maclin speaking following practice.
Kevin Durso is a contributor for Eagledelphia. Follow him on Twitter @KDursoPhilsNet.
