Philadelphia Eagles Thursday: Chip Kelly, Jason Babin and Beat Dallas Week

It’s been a busy week for the Philadelphia Eagles. On Monday the lost again, this time to the 2-8 (now 3-8) Carolina Panthers. There were some positives to come out of that game, but for the most part it was another major letdown. That lead to the release of Jason Babin and nonstop controversy since. We have always been hearing about head coaching rumors already and another new offensive line grouping. First, let’s address the Babin fiasco. Babin is a great guy. He had twitter giveaways for game tickets and his fan club’s clothing line. He had 18 sacks last season and was expected to rack up around 15-18 sacks again this season. His production went down which lead to a decrease in his popularity. Philadelphia is a sports town. They love their athletes when they are performing at a high level. They let them know when they aren’t producing. This fanbase hasn’t seen a football championship since 1960. You are either a part of the solution or a part of the problem. Babin became a part of the problem and fans get on him because of it. Babin also criticized the fans, which never goes over well. A very small portion of the fans deserved it. Some really awful things were said. Not every Eagles fan says some of the things these monsters said. I would see maybe 0.05% of the fans act like that. Remember, a loud minority beats a quiet majority. I hope those fans got their season tickets revoked, but Babin still shouldn’t have questioned the entire Eagles fans’s loyalty. Babin got released because he became an overpayed, situational pass rusher who was a liability against the run. He was taking snaps away from younger guys like Brandon Graham and Vinny Curry who were outperforming him. Why keep around a player like that when you are 3-8? The move was beneficial for both sides and both sides should move on. Babin has been using the media in Jacksonville as an outlet to bash the media in Philly. Today, according to Vito Stellino’s twitter (Jacksonville writer) he said that the Eagles writers were unprofessional, wore shorts, didn’t tie their shoes and had stinky breath. I wish Babin all the best in Jacksonville, but this sounds like he is trying to stir up trouble. Sometimes after a breakup you just need to move on. The Eagles are slated to host the Jaguars in 2014. There are rumors that Howie Roseman is already working on a deal with Chip Kelly to be the next Eagles coach. Kelly is currently preparing Oregon for their upcoming bowl game. I doubt the two talked about a contract, but the two probably did talk. Roseman is a GM, he talks to hundreds of coaches a year. He could of been talking about Oregon linebacker Dion Jordan for all we know. This is a rumor and nothing more.    Evan Mathis has been getting reps at center this week. This could be because starting center Dallas Reynolds has missed some practice this week or because Danny Watkins is close to 100% and the coaches want their 5 best offensive linemen on the field together. The new offensive line could be (from left tackle to right tackle) King Dunlap, Watkins, Mathis, Jake Scott and Dennis Kelly. If Mathis does well at center he could stay there next season. The next Eagles coach may want a bigger center if he runs more of a power running offense. I don’t think a lot of Eagles fans even realize that it is “Beat Dallas Week”. The rivalry has lost is mojo this season. The Cowboys are 5-6 and are hanging on by a thread. The Eagles fell off a long time ago. This game just has no excitement to it. Neither team is making the playoffs, although the Cowboys have a decent shot as they are only a game back of the wildcard spot. A loss this week to the Eagles probably kills the Cowboys season. Maybe if the Eagles had shown enough signs that they could win this game the fans would be more excited. At this point the fans are just counting down the weeks until the season is over. That alone will get Andy Reid fired over anything else.