It's time to give thanks in the City of Brotherly Love, though it probably doesn't feel like there's much about which to give thanks for Philly sports fans. The Sixers are an abomination continually touting the "pain now for the promise of tomorrow" line, the Flyers are struggling to generate anything offensively and falling farther and farther behind in the standings because of it with the unofficial late Nov. deadline for NHL postseason teams to separate themselves nearly upon us, and the Phillies are, well, the Phillies. Rueben Amaro Jr. was finally put out of his misery, but the team is now set to begin a rebuild that's probably going to take half a decade if not more before it yields meaningful results. Happy thoughts all around. Pass the potatoes and the whiskey, would you?
But what of the Eagles? What of Philadelphia's beloved NFL franchise? The team with the new starting signal-caller (no, not you, Mark) and a head coach with schemes and dreams aplenty, schemes so dastardly and daring that he nearly set the league and NFL scribes' laptops on fire during his first two seasons as they all attempted to keep up with his groundbreaking approach to a game so often mired in copycat nonsense.
Well, they're still in the thick of things in an NFC East division that may very well be the worst in the league, but you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who thinks they're a playoff caliber outfit. In fact, frustrated fan talk of the potential ousting of head coach Chip Kelly after the team was absolutely trounced by Famous Jameis and his merry band of Buccaneers has given way to some pretty sobering reports over the last couple of days.
On Tuesday afternoon, ESPN's Adam Schefter - about as plugged-in an NFL media member as there is - suggested that "momentum and signs" seemed to be pointing to a split between the Eagles and Kelly after the season. Schefter did attempt to hedge his bets a bit, indicating that that was his "read, from afar" on the situation in Philly, but he did make it clear that Kelly may be "sick of the situation" in Philadelphia.
On Wednesday, an unnamed agent who supposedly represents a starting player for the Eagles told NJ.com's Matt Lombardo in no uncertain terms that Kelly's message to players is now falling on deaf ears.
"Chip Kelly has lost the team," the agent said, via Lombardo. "Between the losses and his bull**t methods that aren't working, I can tell you that the players have tuned him out."
Per Lombardo, the agent, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for "fear of retribution against his client," also insinuated that at least one Eagles player was using an injury as an excuse to stay off the field because "he won't play hurt for Chip."
Who feels better about the Phillies?
While the merits of both Schefter and Lombardo's reports can be debated, what can't is that sitting at 4-6 and facing a plethora of issues, mostly centered around an offense that just isn't working - heading into a Thanksgiving matchup with the Detroit Lions, Kelly's team is 15th in points per game, producing an average of 22.9 points - the way it was intended.
Perhaps it's Sam Bradford, who hadn't taken a snap for nearly two full seasons before he started 2015 under center for Kelly and the Eagles. He'd seemingly begun rounding into form over the last couple of weeks, but even playing better - he went 25-of-36 for 295 yards and one touchdown against the Cowboys and followed that up with a 19-of-25 for 236 yards and one touchdown against the Dolphins before suffering the collarbone injury and concussion that sidelined him for the Bucs game - Bradford hadn't been the revelation he, Kelly or Eagles fans were hoping for.
Perhaps it's Kelly's scheme or his playcalling - he's openly admitted that the last two weeks have seen the Eagles outcoached and outmaneuvered. Perhaps it's the work he did in his first offseason as personnel czar, trading for Bradford, adding DeMarco Murray and remaking the offensive line and defensive secondary.
Perhaps it's something deeper, as Schefter and Lombardo's reports are suggesting.
In the end, the looming Lions game won't be the deciding factor for Chip's future with the franchise, but every game from here on out is vital if the Eagles want to right the ship and make a run to the postseason for just the second time in Kelly's tenure.
If not, Kelly's future will only get murkier and talk of his potentially landing elsewhere will only grow louder and louder.
