Mac is Back

There were a couple of key questions about Jeremy Maclin heading into this year. First, was he all the way back from the torn ACL of last summer? And how would he do in Chip Kelly’s offense, which needs receivers to run after the catch and be good blockers? These were valid questions for a player that was going to be a key to the offense.

So far, so good.

Maclin hasn’t shown any signs of being affected by the ACL. He looks as fast as ever. He is making quick cuts and looks comfortable on the move. He isn’t shy about getting hit in the legs. He looks normal, which is exactly what you want for someone coming off a major injury.

Mac has good tape and good numbers. He is on pace to set career highs in just about every category. Here are his projected numbers for a full season:

80 catches – 1,412 yards – 12 TDs – 17.6 ypc – 20 receptions of 20 yards or more

As a point of comparison, last year DeSean Jackson was 82-1,332-9-16.2, with 25 catches of 20 or more yards. You can see that Mac is putting up some impressive numbers.

Mac had the one gift TD vs the Jags when the deep Safety decided to focus on the run or TE over the middle and left the deep area wide open, but Mac has had to earn most of his yards. He has made some terrific catches this year. His diving sideline grab on Sunday was as good as anything I can ever remember from him.

I’m also impressed by Mac’s willingness to work the middle of the field. He’ll never be Anquan Boldin, but he looks a heckuva lot better than the guy who earned the nickman Self-Tacklin’ Jeremy Maclin back in 2012. That guy avoided contact at all costs and ran for the sideline any time he had the chance.

The questions about Mac coming into the season have been answered. He is healthy and he is playing very well in Chip Kelly’s offense.

The scary thing is that he and Nick Foles still arent totally on the same page, especially down the field. They have left several TDs on the field. Mac and Foles should get better the more they play together.

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Quick notes on some other players

* Brent Celek – What is going on? He has 3 catches for 15 yards. Last year he averaged 15.7 yards per catch. Age might have started to catch up with Celek a bit. It also looks like the timing is just off with he and Foles. Celek has been open a few times and the ball was just off target. Just as concerning, I think Celek’s blocking has taken a step back this year. That has hurt the run and pass game.

* Fletcher Cox – Remember all the Training Camp doubt on him. Cox had a quiet summer and everyone got worried. Cox has played very well and could be a Pro Bowl player by the end of the year.

* Brandon Graham – The OLB light has finally gone on for him. Graham still looks awkward at times, but he seems more comfortable and is making plays when given the chance.

* Riley Cooper – Is he off to a slow start or was 2013 a fluke? Fair question to ask based on what we’ve seen so far. I tend to think he’ll be okay, but Coop needs to get it going. He has dropped some crucial passes. They weren’t all easy, but he’s paid like a player you expect to make those kinds of plays.

* Earl Wolff – Disappointing start. Missed a game recently due to a sore ankle. Then missed a key open field tackle that gave the Niners a TD last week. I was hoping he would play well and steal the job from Nate Allen. No chance so far. Wolff is good enough to be a backup, but he’s got to play better if wants the team to have him as part of the future plays. Allen is a FA after this year. His job is there for the taking, but Wolff has to earn it.

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The Eagles practice sqaud got shuffled around. Brandon over at BGN has the details.

Out – OL Tyler Hoover and LB Brandon Hepburn

In – OL Kevin Graf and ILB Jake Knott

Graf got cut from the roster when Lane Johnson returned from suspension. I’m glad Knott is back. You wonder about what led to his return. Did the Eagles want to look elsewhere initially? Did Knott hope for a roster spot with some other team? Did the Eagles decide Knott was better than other guys they had brought in or looked at?

Knott has some potential so it is good they can work with him.

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Thoughts on Chip’s Thoughts

I love Chip Kelly. I believe in him and think he is a brilliant football coach. So I was interested to get his reaction to Sunday’s debacle.

PE.com has his press conference.

I agree with a lot of what he said. The biggest problem on Sunday is that there wasn’t just one problem. The offense was like Whac-A-Mole. Solve one thing and the next thing goes wrong. There were literally only a handful of plays all day when all 11 offensive players did their job correctly at the same time.

The OL took turns missing blocks.

Shady and the TEs missed blocks.

Coop dropped the TD catch.

There were 2 fumbles.

Foles made bad decisions.

Foles made poor throws.

Who on offense had a legitimately good game? Jeremy Maclin and Jordan Matthews might be the only 2. Clearly that isn’t a formula for success.

Kelly talked about how he thinks things can be fixed, and I think he’s right. The offense has been erratic this year, but was the #1 scoring group in the NFL going into the game. Let’s not act like yesterday’s struggles have been happening all year long. I know the offense has been sloppy, but there is a big difference between sloppy and awful.

I do disagree with Chip in regard to one specific area. He talked about how the running game was struggling no matter who was in the game. He said this was due to poor blocking. I don’t think anyone disagrees with that. Just look at this pick from Fran Duffy’s All-22 breakdown for PE.com and you can see the issue.

Yikes.

That said, McCoy is still a dancer by nature. Sproles hits the hole hard and is a natural N-S runner. I do think it would be wise to mix in more runs with Sproles. I’m not telling you that Sproles is going to get 5 yards a carry, but he might get 3 to 4 yards more consistently. And you just mix him in a bit. Shady is still the starter and key RB.

One other area I wish someone would talk to Chip about or that he would expand on is getting the ball to Shady in space. The Eagles have tried to throw him screens and even quick screens to the outside, but defenses can see these plays coming a mile away right now. Just line Shady up outside and let him run a vertical route. Line him up outside and bring him around on a fly sweep. Hand him the ball or fake to him. Line Shady up in the slot and see if he can get open on a drag route.

As much as you want to run the ball, you really want to feed it to McCoy since he is your best offensive player. If you do move him around creatively, that let’s you mix in Sproles at RB some more.

I do give Kelly credit for trying to be creative during the game. He ran from under Center and from the Pistol in the 2nd half. McCoy looked more effective since he was more downhill in those formations.

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Jimmy Bama decided to rip on Riley Cooper. This is completely fair. Coop has dropped some passes this year and in the past. He must deliver better results. I don’t think he’s in trouble of losing his job to Jordan Matthews quite yet, but Coop needs to get going. He started slow last year before heating up. Maybe that will happen this season as well.

It better for his sake.

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