• March 29, 2024

Chip Kelly’s “Big People Are Beating Up Other Team’s Little People”

RileyCooper1Do you remember when Eagles head coach Chip Kelly talked about how “big people usually beat up little people”?   He used that phrase to let everybody know that he wanted the Eagles to get bigger as a football team.  There’s no question that the additional size has been paying off for the football team.

We saw it big time on Sunday against the Cardinals, when the Eagles defensive ends converted into outside linebackers contributed four sacks to the defensive effort.  The Birds got bigger at the outside linebacker position and it’s making a difference.

Kelly started the transition by signing the Houston Texans Connor Barwin and he made former defensive ends Trent Cole and Brandon Graham, outside linebackers.  The former Oregon coach was taking a chance, but he was clearly making his team bigger at the linebacker position with the addition of Barwin, who is 6’4″ 264 pounds, Cole, who is 6’3″ 270 pounds and Graham, who is 6’2″ 265.

We saw that size pay off big-time on Sunday.  Cole and Graham each had two sacks against the Cardinals and Barwin has been using his size all year to bat down passes as well as manhandle tight ends and running backs.  Cole’s first sack on third down of the game’s first series forced a fumble, which was a big play within the game.

In the secondary, Kelly got bigger at the cornerback position when he signed big physical cornerbacks Cary Williams and Bradley Fletcher.  They started out slowly early in the season, but both have been playing well since then.  They each did a good job of battling big Cardinals wide receivers Larry Fitzgerald and Michael Floyd.   They didn’t eliminate them, but they were able to keep them under control.

Williams came down with a big interception, which is his third of the season.  Fletcher has contributed two interceptions this season. This week they’ll have to battle the best big receiver in the NFL, Detroit’s Calvin “Megatron” Johnson.

The biggest surprise example of “big people beating up little people” is Eagles wide receiver Riley Cooper and the way he has totally dominated the little cornerbacks, who have tried to cover him.  Cooper has become a force out there with his ability to make big plays.

The Eagles now have their own big, physical wide receiver in Cooper, who makes a habit of beating up on little cornerbacks.  In the Cardinals game Nick Foles threw a pass to Cooper that looked like it was well over the wide receiver’s head.  But Cooper shocked all of us, by leaping high in the air and grabbing one of the points on the ball.

He tipped it up into the air to himself and he came down with the football.  After securing the ball, Cooper spun away from the tackler and took the ball downfield for a big gain.  Cooper has been making amazing plays on a regular basis since Foles took over as starting quarterback.

 

GCOBB

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DonP
DonP
December 4, 2013 11:22 am

funny how reid couldnt and wouldnt realize that in the 12 or so yrs the fool was here

paulman
paulman
December 4, 2013 1:49 pm

A list of DE/OLB’s I like the Eagles to check out for the 2014 Draft
These Players Grade anywhere from the 2nd thru the 4th Round’s as far as NFL Prospects Rankings go….

1) DE/OLB Trevor Reilly – Utah 6-5 255lbs
2) DE/OLB King Ealy – Missouri 6-5 275lbs (more of a Pass-Rusher, reminds me a lot of a young Aldon Smith,long,raw but upside)
3) DE/OLB Chris Smith – Arkansas 6-2 268lbs
4) DE/OLB Michael Sim – Missouri 6-2 255lbs
5) OLB Jereimiah Attachu – Georgia Tech 6-3 242lbs
6) DE/OLB Scott Crichton – Oregon State 6-3 260lbs

eagles0superbowls
eagles0superbowls
December 4, 2013 2:33 pm
Reply to  paulman

I think a pass rusher is team’s biggest need but are these players worth a first? I would hate to pass up a Earl Thomas to draft for a need.

Eaglehaslanded
Eaglehaslanded
December 4, 2013 2:37 pm

By the time the Eagles pick, I’m thinking perhaps a Trent Murphy from Stanford. All the receivers, Anthony Barr, and Clinton Dix will be gone. HaHa may be there. He’s not Earl Thomas though. He could stand to be a bit more physical.

eagles0superbowls
eagles0superbowls
December 4, 2013 2:18 pm

That Riley Cooper catch was amazing, additionally he did some kind of spin and got the first down too.

eagles0superbowls
eagles0superbowls
December 4, 2013 2:52 pm

Calvin Johnson and Pettigrew are two big guys this week. so is that DL ( Suh, Fairly and Ansah) are big guys.

deserteagle
deserteagle
December 4, 2013 5:31 pm

Andy was so stubborn,to a fault ..I very clearly recall ,we want speedballs…..why? We also watched Andy take undersized corners manhandled and mauled by bigger more athletic receivers consistently …it’s a breath of fresh air to have a coach who is flexible and open to advise,rather than the arrogance of standing up ,consistently admitting the obvious”I gotta do a better job” the eagle train is no longer the little train that could,but rather a locomotive running downhill…this week will be interesting as ,we should be able to once again find out more about this young defense …billy Davis will scheme megaton and allow others. To try and beat the eagles …let’s hope it’s another eye opening test the birds pass with flying colors…keeping shuh off foles to me will be key ,and the offensive line will be the focus.

Stevo
Stevo
December 4, 2013 8:01 pm

Great point G- It’s the basic concepts that have made Chip stand out this season. I for 1 am very surprised at the success of our CB’s. I am excited to see what could be over the next few years as Chip and Gamble have more say in the draft.

koolbreeze
koolbreeze
December 4, 2013 8:10 pm

Chip Kelly has a sound, clear philosophy that makes sense! He makes adjustments and after years of hearing Reid with his “gotta do a better job putting players in the right position”…we finally got a coach that actually does just that…no doubt about it…Chip Kelly is the biggest reason for the spectacular turn around for the Eagles

EaglesSuck
EaglesSuck
December 4, 2013 11:11 pm

Gameplan is simple. Stop Reggie Bush! Megatron will get his so its important to make them one dimensional. Bush has been outstanding his year. So if he plan is to focus on Megatron the Eagles are making a big mistake.

Desean Jackson too fast for The Lions secondary. Lions DL will be tired with our tempo.

Eagles 37 Lions 24