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Philadelphia wound up running just 1,054 plays last year, which placed the Eagles behind 12 other teams. Does that mean the stories about Kelly and the team’s fast tempo were overblown? No. One extenuating factor was that Foles led the NFL in ANY/A and LeSean McCoy averaged 5.1 yards per carry while leading the league in rushing yards. Philadelphia finished 1st in the NFL in plays of 20+ yards by an astonishing margin: the Eagles had 99 such plays, with the Broncos second with 77. The Eagles also had the most 30+ yard plays and 40+ yards plays, and well, you get the point: it’s hard to accumulate plays when you know, you keep running into the end zone.
But Philadelphia ranked dead last in average minutes per drive according to Pro-Football-Reference.com. The Eagles also ranked 1st in the majority of the Pace Stats on Football Outsiders, including seconds per play, seconds per play in the first half, seconds per play in close games, and seconds per play in neutral situations.
Philadelphia led the NFL in yards per play (6.33) and 32nd in number of seconds between plays. I’d say that’s a pretty ringing endorsement for Chip Kelly’s offense.
Will replacing DJax with Maclin keep the offense on the field longer? Losing that speed should cut back on the number of quick strike, yard-gobbling plays but will the potential emergence of Ertz, the addition of Sproles and anticipation of improved slot production with Matthews slow down the drives without sacrificing efficiency?
But Philadelphia ranked dead last in average minutes per drive according to Pro-Football-Reference.com. The Eagles also ranked 1st in the majority of the Pace Stats on Football Outsiders, including seconds per play, seconds per play in the first half, seconds per play in close games, and seconds per play in neutral situations.
Philadelphia led the NFL in yards per play (6.33) and 32nd in number of seconds between plays. I’d say that’s a pretty ringing endorsement for Chip Kelly’s offense.