Eagles head coach Chip Kelly answers questions about his quarterback. Photo by Jeff Berkes/contrastphotography.com

So far Chip Kelly has not flinched. He was stuck with playing his first three games in 11 days. Then the NFL puts him on the road for the next three games.

It Doesn’t seem fair, but Kelly has shrugged those obstacles off just like he has with questions about starting that three-game stretch against the Denver Broncos and the incomparable Peyton Manning, who is off to one the greatest starts for a quarterback in NFL history and is leading the NFL in scoring after three weeks.

At his Tuesday press conference Kelly handled question after question about Manning and his team that has not played consistently at any position.

Kelly was asked if he has ever seen anybody that goes against the blitz better than Manning.

“No,” Kelly said. “Probably him and [Tom] Brady are the two best I’ve ever seen. We were fortunate we got a chance to practice against Tom here, see him a little bit in the preseason. Now we get a chance to see Peyton up close and personal. You’re talking about two of the all‑ time greats. It will be a great challenge for us.”

Kelly was asked about the 11-day deal and about having some time off for himself, his staff and his players.

“Yeah, I mean, that’s just the way the schedule laid itself out,” Kelly said. “We knew it going in. We had a plan going in what we were going to do. We knew they needed a little bit of a break because you were playing three games in 11 days. They were off over the weekend and on Monday, and back together today.”

Kelly was asked about missing Jeremy Maclin. Kelly’s answer showed he has not lost his sense of humor despite losing two in a row.

“I don’t really think of it that way. He’s not here,” Kelly said with a smile. “We’re missing [Harold] Carmichael, too. The guys that aren’t here, we don’t look at our things and say if this guy wasn’t here, if that guy wasn’t there. Jeremy hasn’t been here since camp. It is unfortunate, he’s training his tail off every day. I see him every day in here. We never look at it if we had Jeremy Maclin, it’s a different situation. I don’t think it’s productive to think about it that way. It’s not going to change. Mac isn’t coming back till next year.”

Outside of DeSean Jackson, the receivers are not having seasons to write home about, how does Kelly think he can get more production out of them.

“I think they’re doing a good job,” said Kelly, turning to a bit of coach speak “It just depends how people decide they want to play their plays and cover you. I thought Riley [Cooper] made a huge catch for us in the red zone situation against the Chargers. It really just depends how you’re going to try to deploy yourself and match up to us.”

Last year one of the lightning rods for criticism was cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie who is now playing for Denver after Kelly decided not to sign him. Kelly used more coach speak describing the season DRC is having.

“Doing a good job in covering,” Kelly said. “Really close to receivers. I think he gives them the ability to play some man coverage. They’re not a zero blitz, leave those guys out on islands. There’s always a free safety. They have great help. He’s done a great job of matching receivers and playing them in real tight man coverage”

Kelly addressed playing in the high altitude in Denver and the thinner air that can pose problems for athletes not used to it.

“I think what makes a difference when you play at altitude is who you play against,” he said. “We played against the University of Colorado a couple years ago, it wasn’t a big deal. You play against the Broncos, it’s a big deal. It’s an anaerobic sport. It doesn’t affect you the way you think. We’re not going there to run a marathon. I think a lot of it is mental and it’s not as big a deal as people make it out to be.”

Despite the tough start the NFL handed the Eagles to start the season, Manning actually complained about the League saying it was nice of the NFL to give the Eagles 10 days and the Broncos only six. Is there any truth to his comment? Kelly finally bristled.

“Scheduling. When do we go play? We go play in a parking lot, we go play in a parking lot. We don’t care. We played three games in 11 days. We don’t control the schedule. We only carry about what we can control.”

Controlling Manning will be tough. Kelly’s offense will have to score virtually every time it has the ball in order to upset the high-flying Broncos.

Kelly said Manning has caused many coaches – even the best – to try and stop him when the game was on the line.

“We always consider who we’re playing and what we’re doing when we’re making our decisions,” Kelly said. “I think you’re asking, ‘Do you go for it on fourth down and some of those situations?’ You always have to factor in the opponent.
“You also have to factor in your defense. There’s a lot of things that go into it. I never look at it as a pure statistical thing. The statistics say 62% of the time you’re going to convert, so you got to go with that number.
“It’s where you’re putting them, are you going to put that guy back out on the field? I know [New England head coach Bill] Belichick had one a couple of years ago when he went for it on fourth down in his own territory because he didn’t want to give the ball back to Peyton Manning. Didn’t get it. His thought process was if he’s going to punt it, he’s going to march the field anyway. I think sometimes you definitely have to take your opponent into consideration when you make those decisions.”