Pelissero: Chip Kelly's undoing could be failed QB maneuvering

Less than 10 months after betting on Daunte Culpepper over Drew Brees as the Miami Dolphins’ quarterback, Nick Saban was gone to the University of Alabama.

If Chip Kelly makes a similar leap (or gets pushed) in the coming months – still a big if, no matter how lifeless the Philadelphia Eagles looked in Thursday’s 45-14 debacle in Detroit – it won’t be tough to trace it back to his own quarterback call.

Not jettisoning Nick Foles in a deal with the St. Louis Rams for Sam Bradford. That was just the set-up for Kelly as he took personnel control. Foles wasn’t a scheme fit and already has been benched in St. Louis. Bradford, all the injuries aside, was drafted No. 1 overall for a reason.

That made Bradford a trade chip, and Kelly offered up him, backup Mark Sanchez and practically anybody else on the roster to move up and take his old quarterback at the University of Oregon, the multitalented Marcus Mariota. But Kelly didn’t have enough.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers passed, wanting Jameis Winston. So did the Tennessee Titans, who took Mariota at No. 2. Kelly was left with Bradford, who appeared to be on the come before yet another injury sidelined him the past two games – both humiliating blowouts.

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So here the Eagles are, one year after dismantling the Dallas Cowboys 33-10 on Thanksgiving to take the NFC East lead, losers 10 times in 15 games since and resigned to the reality that, even if Kelly sticks around, the quarterback probably will change again. What they’ve put on the field this season has been Plan B or worse.

“Yeah, I’m committed to seeing this through,” Kelly said Thursday, repeating a reporter’s premise for the only acceptable answer with five weeks still to go.

No doubt, injuries aren’t helping. Cornerback Nolan Carroll broke an ankle Thursday, exposing an Eagles defense that now has allowed 90 points in a five-day span. Left tackle Jason Peters departed early with an ankle injury, too, helping Detroit get to Sanchez with a four-man rush.

Remember: Kelly won with Foles, despite his lack of mobility and other shortcomings. Kelly has put a better product on the field at times with Sanchez than the Eagles did Thursday. (Just look at that win over the Cowboys last Thanksgiving, the Eagles’ 16th in 21 games at the time.)

Kelly hasn’t become a terrible coach in a year any more than Saban did when the Dolphins dived from 9-7 in his first season to 6-10 in 2006. But Saban didn’t have the patience to fix the most important position. He left for a place he could go recruit three of them tomorrow.

Nobody knows what’s in Kelly’s head – he’s as tight-lipped as anyone in football – but he’s surely aware he could do the same. Even if the likes of Colin Kaepernick, Robert Griffin III and/or Johnny Manziel become available, there would be reasons for it, and work to be done.

That’s the big picture here. Not a horrendous holiday showing on national TV. Not a 4-7 record that still isn’t bad enough to knock the Eagles out of the NFC East picture (though they have to deal with the unbeaten New England Patriots next). Not a coach who’s so respected for his innovation but suddenly seems unimaginative and stubborn.

It’s another reboot looming, and Kelly still may not see a better option to run his offense. At least not at the NFL level.

The Seahawks got a steal

The Seattle Seahawks weren’t the only team that aggressively pursued Thomas Rawls as an undrafted free agent. The Dallas Cowboys wanted him, among others, and the $15,000 bonus Rawls got from Seattle wasn’t the largest offered.

But Rawls’ agent, Robert Walker, saw opportunity to learn and compete in Seattle behind Marshawn Lynch. And the Seahawks saw a hard runner with vision, albeit one with underwhelming “long” speed and character concerns.

If not for off-field problems after his transfer from Michigan to Central Michigan last year – namely a guilty plea to a misdemeanor charge of attempted larceny stemming from the theft of a 62-year-old woman’s purse – there’s a good chance Rawls would’ve been drafted.

Instead, it appears Seattle got a steal. Rawls, 22, already has two of the top 50 rookie rushing performances since the 1970 merger, going for 169 yards on 23 carries in an Oct. 11 loss at Cincinnati and 209 yards on 30 carries in last week’s win over the San Francisco 49ers.

Having Rawls as a Beast Mode backup plan at least makes Lynch’s absence for the next few weeks a little easier to swallow as Seattle tries to keep alive its shot at a third straight NFC title.Lynch, 29, has played through more painful injuries than anybody knows. He’s beat up. But he didn’t want to shut it down before undergoing sports hernia surgery and the Seahawks didn’t want him to either, even though they wanted Lynch to go see the specialist.

Brock Osweiler must prepare for Bill Belichick's grab bag of tricks

Belichick's gameplan

How will the New England Patriots challenge Denver Broncos quarterback Brock Osweiler in his second career start?

“I don’t see them doing anything extra-aggressive to come at him with pressure,” a coach who has game-planned against the Patriots told USA TODAY Sports, speaking on condition of anonymity for competitive reasons.

“I would think they would make a big effort and try to stand up their offensive line, really two-gap that offensive line, and then make sure they set the edges on (Osweiler), force him to play from inside the pocket. He’s a nice, big, tall kid, but he hasn’t had to do that much.”

The Patriots have all sorts of other ways to cause confusion without blitzing. The players in their front take turns rushing and dropping, and their secondary is loaded with smart players who can change responsibilities and not miss a beat.

One matchup that’s been unpredictable from week to week: Where will cornerback Malcolm Butler be? Depending on what coaches think he can take away, it could be the opponent’s No. 1 or No. 2 receiver, which this week means Demaryius Thomas or Emmanuel Sanders, if Sanders returns from injury.

As an undrafted rookie last season, Butler played a then-career high 36 snaps and had his hands full with Sanders, who finished with 10 catches for 151 yards in a 43-21 Patriots win. But Butler had two pass break-ups in the fourth quarter, and the Super Bowl hero is a better player now.

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Inside runs

- In light of the Case Keenum situation the NFL and the players union will discuss potential discipline for future violations of concussion protocols. But don’t look for it to become a regular occurrence. As one person with knowledge of the dynamics on the issue explained it: The protocols typically work. The communication just needs to be better sometimes. No sense punishing people unless an issue is obviously ignored.

- It’s still too soon to say whether Patriots WR Julian Edelman can make it back this season after undergoing foot surgery, even for the playoffs. The Patriots aren’t shutting him down, but it’s a day-by-day process of rehabbing and trying to avoid a setback. That makes keeping oft-injured Danny Amendola healthy all the more important – and he already suffered a knee sprain last week.

- If the Browns decide to move on from QB Johnny Manziel after the season, his contract should prove tradeable. He’s due $1,169,872 fully guaranteed in 2016, with a $250,000 roster bonus due the following March and a guaranteed base salary of $1,004,125 for 2017. That’s modest compensation even for a backup.

- How have the Chiefs gotten back in the AFC wild-card chase after losing RB Jamaal Charles? Defense is a huge part of it. Through Week 11, Bob Sutton’s crew was among the league leaders in almost every meaningful stat, including yards per play (sixth), sacks per pass play (sixth), third-down efficiency (third) and takeaways (tied for eighth). Giving up touchdowns on 64.3% of opponents trips into the red zone is an outlier.

- Bills guard Richie Incognito’s one-year, $1.45 million contract looks like a bargain. But he’s about to earn more on top of that. Incognito, 32, starts earning incentives if he plays 60% of the team’s snaps this season. He collects the full $800,000 if he hits 75%.

USA TODAY Sports' Week 12 NFL picks

Tom’s Top 10

(Last week’s ranking in parentheses)

1. New England Patriots (1): Loss of weapons, o-linemen making QB Tom Brady’s job tougher.

2. *Carolina Panthers (2): Ron Rivera is building a case for another coach of the year award.

3. Arizona Cardinals (5): Incredible how much depth of speed they have on offense.

4. Cincinnati Bengals (3): Bet on reeling Rams wanting to rumble, get in their heads.

5. Pittsburgh Steelers (6): Four of last six games on the road, starting Sunday at Seattle.

6. Denver Broncos (7): Poor o-line play remains an issue no matter who’s at quarterback.

7. *Green Bay Packers (8): Overlooked positive at Minnesota: NT B.J. Raji wreaking havoc.

8. Minnesota Vikings (4): After loss to Packers, visit to Atlanta has NFC wild-card implications.

9. Seattle Seahawks (10): Time for Legion of Boom to channel its intimidating self vs. Steelers.

10. Kansas City Chiefs (NR): Only team to start 1-5 and make playoffs: 1970 Bengals.

Dropped out: Buffalo Bills (9).

*Note: Does not factor in results of Thursday’s two later games.

Follow Tom Pelissero on Twitter @TomPelissero.

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