Eagles center says he does not put much stock in preseason predictions. Photo by Andy Lewis / contrastphotography.com

In 2015, the Eagles started the preseason 3-0 highlighted by then new quarterback Sam Bradford’s 10 for 10, 121-yard, three touchdown performance against the Green Bay Packers in the third game.
That convincing win setting off a frenzy with many fans, plus local and national observers predicting a Super Bowl for the championship-starved Birds.

The Eagles offense averaged over 38 points for those first three games under Chip Kelly’s frenetic, up-tempo offense. Who was going to stop them?

As it turns out, just about everyone did once the regular season started. The Eagles finished 7-9 and Kelly was shown the door after less than three seasons.

Eagles fans found out the hard way that preseason success can turn out to be Fool’s Gold.

“The offenses aren’t really game-planning,” Eagles Pro Bowl center Jason Kelce said at his locker after a recent practice. “I think that’s why we always did really really well in preseason games with Chip. We were so drastically different than the majority of the NFL . We were no huddle, foot-to-the-peddle the entire time, and we’d go out and blow teams out in the preseason. Outside of the last season we didn’t do too bad in the regular season.”

That depends on how you look at it. Kelly had one playoff appearance in three seasons and it was a loss. The Eagles started off the Kelly era looking like they were going to change the game. Slowly but surely the league figured out the Birds face-paced offense and by the the third season it was the Eagles who were getting blown out.

Under rookie head coach Doug Pederson, who worked as offensive coordinator under Andy Reid for the last three season with the Kansas City Chiefs, has gone back to a Reid-like West Coast offense that features matchups and allows the leaders on offense and defense to think and adjust on the field, especially on offense, where under Kelly, there were no huddles and the quarterback was not allowed to audible at the line of scrimmage.

After three games this year, the Birds were again 3-0 and again Bradford was nearly flawless in each of his three starts. In game three against the Indianapolis Colts he was 17 of 20 for 167 yards with two touchdown passes and one interception.

The interception was a pass that hit Nelsen Agholor in the hands but the second-year wide receiver let the ball bounce off his shoulder pads in into the defenders hands.
Bradford played into the third quarter and led the Eagles to scores on four of their first six possessions.

This year there has been no leap of faith though.

Most fans and pundits maintain low expectations for the season, many predicting anywhere from six to nine wins.

There has not been a rush to book airline tickets to Houston in February (home of Super Bowl 51).
Kelce said he likes the predictions.

“In my history in Philadelphia, when the media has said we’re going to be terrible, we usually are really good,” Kelce said with a laugh. “So I’m hoping that omen stays true. Usually when the media says we’re going to be really good, when end up crapping the bed.”

Kelce, now in his sixth NFL season, says he has learned what he can take from the preseason. Listening to outside voices is not one on his list.

“I try not to look too much into the media,” Kelce said. “But I think if I’ve learned anything, especially from last season is that preseason games are so often…they’re not meaningless, but you cannot evaluate a team until you start playing regular season games, until you get out there game-planning, seeing what other defenses are doing, how you’re going to game-plan against them. It all changes drastically once the regular season gets underway.”

Kelce said the Birds preparation for the Indianapolis Colts – the third and final preseason game for the starters – was be a little more like preparing for a regular season game. But just a little bit.
“Obviously it’s not going to be exactly the same,” the 6-foot-3, 295-pounder said. “But now we’re going to be doing a little more film study, before this we haven’t dome a lot of film study for the first two opponents we had.”

Kelce was asked if the four teams that make up the NFC East had improved themselves in the offseason in the draft and with free agency.

“It had no where to go but up,” Kelce said. “All four teams were so bad last year. I know we didn’t end up on top of the division but I still firmly believe we had every opportunity to win the division last year and we should have, in my opinion, if we take care of some of the things we should have. All four teams have improved, at least that’s what it would seem on paper.”

The Washington Redskins won the division with 9-7 record. Kelce said it will take more to win the NFC East this year.

“I would think,” Kelce said. “I don’t think 9-7 is going to take it again.”

Kelce tells fans not to evaluate the play of preseason but to look at examples of teams that made big turnarounds. He is banking the Birds can do the same.

“In the preseason you can’t, in my opinion, it’s so hard to judge [potential] in the preseason,” Kelce said. “Look at Kansas City the first year Andy (Reid) got there. They went from 2-14, barely changed over the roster much at all and what did they win, 12 games? (actually 11). In the NFL the margin of talent is so close that there are some minute things that can happen that can really revamp a team. I think that we have some really, really good talent, in fact I know we have some really, really good talent in this locker room.”

Kelce said the best is yet to come.

“We’re still squaring things away, ironing out all the details,” he said. “And we’re seeing where this thing’s going to take us.” *

Follow Al Thompson on Twitter @thompsoniii