The breaking news this week is that the Eagles fired head coach and de facto GM Chip Kelly?

Wondering what went wrong?  Simple.

Kelly, like many before him, wrongfully believed that his almighty system was more important than the people in it.  This kind of hubris is a recipe of NFL failure, and it’s been proven so again and again and again.

Kelly’s demise was inevitable, but was accelerated by the fact that Kelly’s GM roster moves were atrocious and his beloved system leads to overly simplified play calling that only took NFL defensive coordinators two seasons to solve with finality.  No one will be running the Chip Kelly offense in the future.

It wears out defenses and it doesn’t work.  Case closed.

This Week’s Sucked And Won

Joique Bell, RB (DET):  There weren’t many good candidates this week, so I’ll highlight the futility of the Lions’ running game, which has cost them all year.  Bell, ostensibly the team’s #1 back, carried 7 times for 16 yards.  This is in a win, where everything was clicking offensively. The team hasn’t had a reliable running game in the Stafford/Megatron era.  That’s probably why they can’t string together two winning seasons in a row.

This week’s catch of the day goes to the Falcons’ Julio Jones, who literally reached over the Panthers Luke Kuechly to catch an underthrown Matt Ryan pass and turn it into a 70 yard touchdown in the 3rd quarter of Atlanta’s win over Carolina. Good show Julio!

Shocking Realization of the Week

The Jets’ Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker have now posted 8 games in which each of them has a touchdown catch, breaking the NFL record set by Cris Carter and Randy Moss.

In the aftermath of the Texans’ current two-game winning streak, I feel completely justified in saying what I said a couple of months ago:  the Dallas Cowboys were clearly wrong to bench and then release quarterback Brandon Weeden in favor of Matt Cassel.  Even though neither quarterback produced a Cowboys’ win, Weeden played well for the team and I believe he would have pulled out a couple of games had they stuck with him.  In any case, it’s obvious Weeden wasn’t the reason they lost the games he started and the Cowboys misstep is the Texans’ boon:  Weeden has played better than either T.J. Yates or Brian Hoyer.  I think they should keep him in the starting lineup come playoff time and beyond.

This Week’s Great But Lost

Did Bill Belichick make a mistake?  A miscalculation?  Has Satan finally abandoned him in search of fresh souls?  None of these.  Belichick recognized that the Jets defense was kicking his o-line’s ass, and that’s why he chose to kick off during the overtime.  He clearly didn’t expect Ryan Fitzpatrick to be able to march down the field and score a touchdown, probably figuring that at worst the Jets would get a field goal, and at best, the Pats D would produce a 3 and out and turn the overtime into a battle of attrition focused on field position. Instead of looking for a reason to criticize Belichick, give the Jets the credit they deserve both for seizing control in the overtime and for playing an outstanding game when they most needed it.  Here’s hoping the Jets make the playoffs.  Who doesn’t want to see this defense keep at it?

Doug Baldwin, WR (SEA):  It’s time to stop saying the Seahawks “don’t have anyone” at receiver.  Much like Golden Tate before him, Doug Baldwin is seriously underrated, and he was the lone bright spot for Seattle’s offense on Sunday, catching 8 passes for 118 yards and a touchdown.

Sunday was a day of upsets:  Rams over Seahawks, Jets over Patriots, Ravens over Steelers and, of course, the undefeated Panthers losing the Falcons.  These games, the the overtime thriller that capped off the week and saw the Broncos edge out the Bengals overshadowed one other important game.  Arizona’s dominance over the Green Bay Packers was awe inspiring (or terrifying, depending on your point of view).  If the Cardinals play like that in the playoffs, they’re winning it all this year.

 

Featured image via NFL 24×7