Chip Kelly has his players and fans jumping for joy. Photo by Todd Bauders / contrastphotography.com

While taping an episode of Eagles Game Plan with Chip Kelley last week for Eagles Televison Network, I had a few moments to ask Chip about his trip to Legendary Lambeau Field..He new all of the history. Including how Vincent T. Lombardi helped design the coils under the turf that would insure that their would never be another Ice Bowl Game played there no matter how subzero the temperatures fell.

He also noticed that inside the entire stadium there are only 2 advertisements. You don’t want to clutter the shrine with such nonsense just to add a few more sheckels to the coffers.

Its this type of attention to detail that separates Chip Kelley from many head coaches in the league. It is how he lives his life and how that lifestyle translates to successful coaching.

The debate will rage on well past whenever the season ends as to whom the quarterback should be next season. Conventional thinking says that Nick Foles should be named the starter for the remainder of the season to find out if he can be the franchise quarterback. W e all know that the quarterback is the cornerstone to every successful franchise. We had that with Donovan McNabb for a decade and it was a lot of fun. Can Nick be that guy?

Thank goodness Chip doesn’t share conventional wisdom about much. In fact every single thing Chip has said about offense and quarterbacks from the day he signed here has played out. Think about the quotes. You need two good quarterbacks. I want a quarterback who can run but not a running quarterback who can throw. We need a quarterback who can run not a runner who can throw. We need to be able to play conventional drop back, play action style of football as well as the mix of stuff we did in college. We will design our offense around our personnel. Total truisms.

Creating competition at that position is unconventional thinking. We know the cliches. If you have more than one quarterback you don’t have any. But what if a true quarterback competition makes both better and in a league where staying healthy at that position is now a rarity perhaps it is sound judgement. As of this writing the Eagle quarterbacks have thrown 21 touchdowns vs 7 int’s and have found a way to not fumble it away very much.

Regardless of whom might man the most important position in football for the Eagles next season I am quite confident that Chip knows how to coach the position and that they will get improved and steady play from that position.

What helps the quarterbacks play at a higher level is the unabashed commitment to the running game. After 10 games the Birds were 53 percent pass vs 47 percent  run. And when the NFL’s leading rusher is lined up behind or next to the quarterback it makes play action passes lethal. Presently the quarterbacks are averaging 8.5 yards per attempt, including Matt Barkley, which is second in the league to Peyton Manning and the collision course they are on to break most existing scoring records.

But this wasn’t the original design of the offense. It has gradually morphed into this heavy play action pass game. The protections have been altered, the route combinations have been adjusted to what the opposition has done to try and corral the Birds. It was ugly for two games when the Birds were seeing heavy doses of press man coverage and they went two games without finding the end zone.

But perhaps the highest praise for Chip and his offensive staff has been from all of the other teams that are copying his plays. Both Chicago and Detroit scored important touchdowns against the Redskins using Chip’s plays that he executed to perfection on that explosive opening game of the season on Monday Night. And its not only individual plays teams are using. They have quickly copied many of his bubble screen concepts and how he fits wide receivers in to the blocking scheme.

The Birds are 6-5 as I write this after winning their most important game of the season. It was the end of the dubious mark of a 10 game losing streak at the Lync.

Sole possession of first place i the NFC EAST is now Kelly’s to lose.

I am now completely confident that Chip Kelley is fit for this job and the challenges that lie in front of him and this organization will be met by an unconventional thinker who always believes that there is a solution to every problem. And it starts with his attention to the smallest of details. Down to the coils that lie under Legendary Lambeau Field.