ESPN NFL

Our man Ron Jaworski has studied some tape of Chip Kelly's Oregon teams and has some concerns about Kelly's ability to bring the concepts he used in college with him to the NFL. Per Sheil Kapadia:

“It’s going to be interesting to see if this style of offense projects to the NFL,” Jaws said during an interview with Harry Mayes and Nick Kayal on 97.5 The Fanatic earlier this week. “I’m going to say no.”

“I just don’t see NFL passing concepts in this offense. It’s a movement offense by the quarterback, off the run-action, off the read-action. A lot of short, quick passes, dart routes, bubble screens. Very few plays down the field with NFL passing concepts.”

Jaws added that he’s had several conversations with Kelly and hopes he’s wrong. But he offered an honest assessment of what he’s seen on tape.

Sure, and look. It's entirely possible that Kelly is a college-to-pro flop in the tradition of Steve Spurrier or Nick Saban. But it's also possible that he's a smart guy who understands that what worked in the Pac 12 isn't going to work if he tries to transplant it whole-hog into the NFL. It's possible that the NFL version of Kelly's offense has downfield NFL passing concepts. Certainly, if Michael Vick is the quarterback, Kelly will have a stronger-armed passer than he ever had at Oregon and would be foolish not to find a way to take advantage of that.

I think it's understandable for analysts to be asked and to offer their opinions on what the Eagles will be with Kelly running them. I understand the excitement over new things and the eagerness to know as much as possible about them as soon as possible. But I really think it's important to remember that none of us -- Kelly likely included -- yet knows what Kelly's offense is going to look like in Philadelphia. It is May 22. The first games are still nearly four months away. And any reasonable judgment on whether Kelly can or can't succeed as an NFL coach is much further away than that.

As part of our project on the all-time greatest NFL coaches, Rick Reilly offers us a look at his top-20 ballot. This is an NFC East post because he ranked former Washington Redskins coach Joe Gibbs as the No. 2 greatest coach of all time, behind only Vince Lombardi. Rick's reasoning has to do with the well-established fact that Gibbs won "three Super Bowls with three different quarterbacks, none of whom are in the Hall of Fame. That's like crossing the Pacific in a Little Mermaid floatie."

I haven't seen the final list, and we're going to reveal the overall top 20, one per day, starting tomorrow on the site. We'll obviously post as the NFC East-relevant ones come up. But while I appreciate Rick's case for Gibbs, it's hard for me to believe he'll end up ranked ahead of guys like Paul Brown, Bill Belichick, Bill Walsh, Tom Landry and Don Shula. Maybe. We'll see.

The rest of the NFC East-relevant coaches on Rick's list are Landry at No. 6, Jimmy Johnson at No. 14, George Allen at No. 15, Tom Coughlin at No. 18 and Ray Flaherty at No. 19. (Dan Reeves is No. 20, but not because of anything he did with the Giants.)

Rick's list does not include former Giants and Cowboys coach Bill Parcells:

Lot of people are going to file a grievance over that. Fine coach, fun guy, but his regular-season coaching record was only .570, which ranks below most of the coaches in my top 20. Plus, Parcells' stature was blown up because he did his best work in New York, which is the scuba mask of the world. Everything you do in New York looks one-third bigger than it really is.

Nor does it include current Redskins coach Mike Shanahan:

Like Parcells, Shanahan is a wizard, but both his Super Bowls came with one quarterback, Elway. He has won one playoff game in the 13 years since. Needs to prove it.

One man's opinion, and one of the sweet parts about this project is that you can go here and make your own top 20. It's not as easy as it looks!

Good morning. You may have noticed this on our site Tuesday, but we have have begun a large series on the greatest coaches in NFL history. It includes a number of interesting features that we will analyze on this blog in the coming days and weeks, including a top-20 countdown and the opportunity for fans to be a part of it. Let Trey Wingo fill you in on the details. It's pretty cool. I hope you enjoy. As I said, we'll get to it a little bit later. For now, though, links.

New York Giants

Giants co-owner Steve Tisch says he's confident that Victor Cruz "will be a Giant," which means either that the team expects to get a long-term contract extension done with Cruz or that Tisch thinks Cruz has a great deal more growing to do. But if it was that, then it'd be "giant" with a lowercase "g." So it's probably the first thing. But you never know.

Duke University coach David Cutcliffe is telling potential recruits they have a chance to be like Eli Manning if they come to Durham to play for him.

Philadelphia Eagles

Ben Muth of Football Outsiders believes Lane Johnson has enough talent to develop into a great left tackle in the NFL. However, at the moment Ben considers Johnson "a pretty horrific fundamental pass-blocker." So that's something to watch out for, no?

Eager for some definition or resolution to the Eagles' starting quarterback competition? Well, sorry. Jeff McLane says to settle in for the long haul on this one.

Washington Redskins

There is a great deal to like about Robert Griffin III, but the Redskins' super-young superstar hasn't been able to steer completely clear of controversy during his short time in the NFL so far. The latest is the flare-up over his wedding gift registry. Rich Campbell writes that Griffin has a chance to head off an image problem, which I imagine he'll be able to do without too much trouble.

If you're planning to go see the Redskins in training camp this summer, you'll have to go to Richmond, Va. Here are some pictures of what things look like down there as they work to finish the facility in time.

Dallas Cowboys

Tony Romo says he's "not an 8-8 quarterback," and in truth his record as an NFL quarterback is 56-41, so he's right about that. However, he did go 8-8 in each of the past two seasons and it's clear he shares his critics' frustration about that troublesome fact.

Dez Bryant says his quiet offseason hasn't been a coincidence, and that it's actually the result of him finding a degree of comfort and peace that had eluded him in his personal life prior to this year. We shall see. Bryant's reputation is such that he could stay out of trouble for the next five years and still, the next time something goes wrong, everybody would say, "See? Same old troublemaker." He's going to have to stay boring.

So, Ohm has an interesting story about New York Giants defensive end Justin Tuck, who's trying to get out of this mental funk in which he's spent the last couple of years by going to Tony Robbins seminars that include walking on hot coals:

"The game is always changing and always reinventing itself," said Tuck, who turned 30 this spring. "And you got to do the same. I realize I haven't played my best the last two years, whether it be injuries or the circumstances surrounding this team. Who knows? I knew it was time for me to try something different."

Ohm writes that Tuck and Robbins have a mutual friend who encouraged Tuck to attend the four-day seminar as part of his plan to shake up whatever's kept him from performing at the dominant level he attained earlier in his career.

"[Tuck's friend] said he really needs to get out of where he is," Robbins said by telephone. "He is in such a pattern that nothing is working and he keeps talking to [his friend], but talking is not doing it."

...

"I feel like if I can get my mind to a point where I'm saying I am not afraid of these hot coals and I am going to own this moment, then you can get your mind to own anything," Tuck said. "You might have a phobia of snakes, that is all mental."

"The thing that I got from it the most was a renewed confidence in self," Tuck added.

Robbins thinks there's "a different hunger" in Tuck now.

"There's a drive in this man to be the best that has been with him his whole life," Robbins said. "He doesn't need frickin' motivating. What he needs to be is unlocked and unleashed. He is unlocked and unleashed."

This is obviously what the Giants and their fans hope, as Tuck could be the key to revitalizing a Giants pass rush that wasn't itself in 2012 and has already lost Osi Umenyiora to free agency. Entering the final year of his contract at age 30, Tuck knows this is a pivotal season for him. I've always found Tuck's honesty refreshing, and the idea that he admits to not being his old self psychologically is a fascinating one amid the tough-guy clichés you hear from so many in his profession. But as nice as honesty and self-awareness are, I'm sure Tuck would agree with his fans that the point is ultimately not to admit to a funk but to escape it. If walking over hot coals is what it takes, then perhaps Tuck has figured it out.

No, of course it's never too early to talk fantasy football. I mean, sure, if you're like me, you're working on buy-low targets to try and make up points in your rotisserie baseball league before it's too late (I always seem to struggle with batting average), but your football draft is likely about three months away, give or take. Not by coincidence, ESPN.com's first 2013 fantasy football rankings came out at the end of last week, so why not take a look at where the best players in the NFC East fell in those?

• The top NFC East player in the rankings is Washington Redskins running back Alfred Morris, who ranks ninth overall and ninth at his position. Morris finished second in the league in rush yards as a rookie in 2012, and my goodness, how far we've come that a Mike Shanahan running back is a top-10 fantasy option.
• Philadelphia Eagles running back LeSean McCoy, a top-three pick a year ago, ranks 11th overall and 10th among running backs. Chip Kelly likely will use the run game a lot in his first year as Eagles coach, and if healthy McCoy should benefit greatly.
• Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant, who won some fantasy leagues singlehandedly last year with his Week 16 peformance, ranks 16th overall and third among wide receivers, behind only Calvin Johnson and A.J. Green. If you read this blog regularly, you know I have no disagreement with a ranking like this.
• The highest ranking New York Giants player is running back David Wilson, who ranks 32nd overall and 17th among running backs. It's widely believed Wilson will be the feature back in New York this year, and his explosiveness makes him a tantalizing option if he does get the job. But since no one's certain what the Giants will do in terms of carries and how Wilson will handle the carries he does get, this is a guy primed to move up or down dramatically as the preseason unfolds.
• Quarterbacks? Washington's Robert Griffin III ranks ninth overall, and could obviously move up with a healthy preseason. The Cowboys' Tony Romo and the Giants' Eli Manning rank 12th and 13th, respectively, and always seem to land next to each other in these things. And the Eagles' Michael Vick, not yet assured of the starting job in Philadelphia, ranks 16th. Interesting to note that the Eagles' Nick Foles and Matt Barkley rank 35th and 47th, respectively, and that Washington backup Kirk Cousins came in at No. 40.
• Giants wide receivers Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks seem a bit undervalued at 14 and 21, but there's a holdout concern with Cruz and health concerns with Nicks. If those get resolved, those guys likely slide up a good bit.

Much more on this as we get closer to the season, obviously. I know there are a number of you out there who obsess over this nearly as much as I do. At least, I get myself to sleep at night with the help of that belief.

There have been a lot of theories and assumptions, since the Philadelphia Eagles hired Chip Kelly as their head coach, about how much their offense will look like the ones he ran at the University of Oregon. I have generally believed people are assuming too much, since I don't think Kelly himself yet knows for sure how much of what he did as a college coach will or won't work in the NFL. So this approach here by our man Gary Horton is refreshing, as it admits to nothing more than theory and educated imagination.

Gary looked at Oregon film to attain an understanding of Kelly's college tendencies, then watched 2012 Eagles film to assess the way in which those principles might mesh with the plays and personnel Philadelphia was already using. The result is, in Gary's words, "a look at how the Eagles' offense might appear this season under Kelly." I like the "might."

Gary's analysis discusses the speed and volume of plays Kelly is likely to run on offense, the use of tight ends, the run game and the importance of the kinds of athletic offensive linemen the Eagles have. But since it's an Insider piece, I can't give all of that away. You need to go ahead and buy the Insider access. What I will share with you is this part, about quarterback:

Michael Vick should love this offense, and the read-option likely also will be a part of this offensive package, but not the primary scheme. Vick won't have a lot of seven-step drops and unnecessary hits -- the ball should be out quickly with fairly easy reads and not a lot of audibles. There is nothing that Kelly will require that Vick is not capable of doing -- but he must be more consistent.So where does that leave rookie Matt Barkley? A lot of people thought on draft day that he was not a good fit for this offense, with limited mobility to stretch defenses with his feet. However, after watching a lot of USC film, I think he is a good fit. He is accurate in the short-to-intermediate passing game, with not a lot of vertical passes required; he is good on the play-fake; and he has underrated pocket mobility.

A tidy plan, for sure -- Vick this year into Barkley next. The keys to that are, of course, that Vick can stay healthy and avoid turnovers this year and that Barkley really was a steal at the top of the fourth round of this year's draft. I agree with Gary that Vick is capable of doing anything Kelly wants him to do on offense. The question is whether he will do it, or whether he'll revert to what he's always done in terms of holding the ball too long and trying to make too much out of busted plays because his remarkable skill set leads him to believe he can. There's a theory that part of the problem Vick had under the previous Eagles coaching staff was playcalling, and that an offense that leaves him no choice but to get rid of the ball quickly will lead to success and keep him safer from injury. It sounds as though Vick will at least get a chance to prove whether that theory has merit. Should be fun to find out, for sure.

And as for Barkley, a lot of teams saw reasons not to spend a first-round, second-round or third-round pick on him in a league in which a lot of teams need quarterback help. Sure, in theory he can work in a Kelly offense. But fourth-round draft picks don't often make successful starting NFL quarterbacks. (Same with third-rounders, by the way, which is likely why Nick Foles' name doesn't even come up here.) Barkley and the Eagles have much work to do before they can know whether he's the long-term solution at quarterback.

Got a question about the NFC East? Robert Griffin III's wedding registry? Tony Romo's back? The Eagles' quarterback situation? The Giants' incredibly wild, newsy, action-packed offseason? (I kid, I kid.)

If you do have a question about the NFC East, or if you're just looking for something to do instead of work between noon and 1 p.m. ET today, I welcome you to join our weekly NFC East chat. You just click on these little blue letters right here at any time during that hour and fire away with your questions. I'll do my best to answer them. Hope to see you there.

Todd Archer reports that Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo will miss organized team activities this week and could be out until training camp because of surgery he had last month to remove a cyst from his back. The Cowboys don't believe this to be a serious problem that threatens Romo's availability for the season, but his absence from this portion of the offseason calendar is not completely without significance:

In the past Romo has used the offseason to tinker with his mechanics from altering his footwork to how he holds the ball. He has used the OTAs and mini-camp as a test for how the changes would hold up under pressure and if he would continue with the changes.

With Romo on the sideline, Kyle Orton will work with the first-team offense. Signed as a free agent last year Orton saw action in only one game last year. Nick Stephens and undrafted rookie Dalton Williams will receive more work in Romo's absence.

Mechanical tinkering is one thing, but another thing to consider is the Cowboys' plan to involve Romo more in game planning and play calling this season as part of his new, $108 million contract extension. Surely the surgery won't keep him from sitting in meeting rooms and working on that part of installing the offense, but it will keep him from practicing putting it into action. The rest of the players on offense can practice fine with the veteran Orton throwing them the ball, but if Dallas is changing things about the way plays are called and implemented on offense, then any missed practice time is a missed opportunity for the starting quarterback.

The good thing for Romo and the Cowboys is that this happened so far in advance of the season, and that their training camp starts quite early this year and includes an extra game. So assuming Romo is back in time for training camp, he'll get more practice time in game conditions than he would in a normal year. As of now, it appears the Cowboys are trying to be careful with him and not make the back problem any worse than it has to be. This is the time of year to be careful.

Hope you guys didn't miss me too much yesterday. I was out buying a wedding gift for a professional football player who's making $7 million a year in salary, plus endorsement money from Adidas and Subway, and didn't invite me to the wedding. Oh no, wait. I wasn't doing that. You'd have to have a serious screw loose to do something like that.

Right?

Links.

Dallas Cowboys

If you thought the Doug Free situation took too long to resolve itself this offseason, don't worry about a repeat. Free's new contract is structured in such a way that requires a much quicker decision by the Cowboys in 2014.

I was in college in Washington, D.C. when the Redskins won Super Bowl XXVI. Jared Green was 2-years old and sitting on his father's shoulder in a postgame celebration. Darrell Green is expecting his son to return the favor should Jared and the Cowboys find their way to the Super Bowl this season.

New York Giants

Tom Coughlin's recently published book, "Earn the Right to Win," is being studied by college football coaches at Arizona State University. Coughlin has said many times on his book tour that the book isn't football-specific and includes life lessons as well. I personally have yet to read it.

Giants draft pick Cooper Taylor has already overcome a serious health scare on his way to the NFL. He's one of the picks about which I get asked about the most, and he's intriguing for this reason as well as the question of how he fits into the Giants' defense.

Philadelphia Eagles

Nick Foles took more first-team snaps than Michael Vick did in Monday's practice. This clearly means Vick's hold on the starting quarterback job is slipping away in record time and that his career is nearing an ugly end. I'm kidding, of course. This doesn't mean that. It means it's mid-May, and Chip Kelly's using practices to find out as much as he can about all of his players. But we'll keep you posted.

Running back LeSean McCoy left practice early due to a knee issue of some sort, but again. May. Anything that doesn't feel 100 percent right at this point in the year is reason enough to stop working so as not to make it worse.

Washington Redskins

Redskins GM Bruce Allen says he's hearing positive reports and has reason for optimism, but that it's too early to tell when quarterback Robert Griffin III will be fully recovered from his offseason knee surgery and cleared to play. This is, of course, the responsible thing to say and the only thing anyone should be saying right now about Griffin's knee. No word from Allen on how ticked off he was to go on Griffin's wedding registry and find out that some fan had already bought the food processor.

It's also too early to tell who's going to play free safety for the Redskins this year, though Tarik El-Bashir has the scoop on the candidates for the job.

Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless discuss Michael Vick's reaction to criticism that he holds onto the ball too long.

Robert Griffin III's immense fan base is showing its appreciation for the Washington Redskins quarterback by purchasing many of the items he and his fiancée have listed on their wedding registry.

The link to the Bed Bath & Beyond registry had been posted last week by The Washington Post. According to the registry, Griffin and Rebecca Liddicoat are scheduled to be married on July 6.

The 23-year-old Griffin expressed his appreciation to his fans' surprise purchases in a tweet Sunday.

Dallas Cowboys

What are the Cowboys' top storylines this offseason? The Dallas Morning News shares its top 10.

Monte Kiffin and Rod Marinelli are already making an impact in Dallas.

New York Giants

Rookie safety Cooper Taylor models himself after former Giants safety Jason Sehorn. “I’m definitely kind of an enigma for the position, not a whole lot of guys like me,’’ Taylor said.

Philadelphia Eagles

Cornerback Brandon Boykin is hoping the experience he gained last season will begin to pay off when he takes the field in 2013.

Bob Ford of the Philadelphia Inquirer: "There is no coach in the NFL trying to do more in less time than Chip Kelly of the Eagles. He is one of eight new head coaches and received for that honor an extra three days of practice in the form of an April voluntary veterans minicamp. (Woo hoo!) Otherwise, the Eagles are trying to slip a lot of coaching through a narrow window like every other team, but, unlike most, everything coming through the window is brand new."

Washington Redskins

Jason Reid of The Washington Post: "The biggest news about the Washington Redskins actually doesn’t involve quarterback Robert Griffin III’s reconstructed right knee. It’s still way too early to tell when Griffin will be ready to play -- the Redskins are waiting to find out just like everyone else. What is interesting are the changes on offense the team is expected to make to accommodate Griffin.

CSNWashington.com looks at a crowded Redskins backfield.

» NFC Eight in the Box: East | West | North | South » AFC: East | West | North | South

A look at key players for each NFC East team who are coming back from injuries:

Dallas Cowboys: LB Sean Lee

Lee has been a breakout defensive star for the Cowboys the past two seasons, but he hasn't been able to stay healthy. A wrist injury limited him after a raging hot start in 2011, and after another hot start in 2012 he injured a toe in Week 7 and missed the remainder of the season. The Cowboys' defense is different when Lee is on the field and at his instinctive, playmaking best, and it misses him terribly when he's not. Now set to play the middle linebacker position in Dallas' new 4-3 defensive alignment, Lee is more important than ever to the every-down success of the defense. We easily could have picked running back DeMarco Murray or even perpetually nicked-up wide receiver Miles Austin for this exercise, but the Cowboys' biggest question marks lie on defense, where six starters missed time last year because of injury. Improved health on defense is the surest way for the Cowboys as a whole to improve in 2013, and Lee is right in the middle of it all.

New York Giants: WR Hakeem Nicks

Nicks broke a bone in his foot during minicamp last year, and while he made it back in time for the start of the season, he was not himself all year. Foot and knee problems cost him three games and limited him to 692 yards and three touchdowns on 53 catches (10 catches and 199 yards of which came in a Week 2 game for which he was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week). Without his top wide receiver healthy for much of the year, Giants quarterback Eli Manning was unable to duplicate the Super Bowl-winning magic of the previous season. With Nicks hobbled, defenses were often able to focus more on Victor Cruz, whose production dropped from the previous year's dazzling yardage numbers. Nicks is a vital part of the Giants' passing game, which is the vital part of their offense. When he's at his best, he's among the top all-around wide receivers in the league. He needs to stay healthy for the Giants to function at peak levels.

Philadelphia Eagles: LT Jason Peters

Peters tore his right Achilles tendon twice during the 2012 offseason and was obviously unable to play at all as a result. He was the first of three Eagles starting offensive linemen to land on injured reserve last year, but after the year he had in 2011, his was the absence they had the greatest difficulty overcoming. Peters was essential to the Eagles offense in 2011 as a multi-level blocker who could take out his man at the line and then get upfield quickly and block a linebacker or a safety as well. Without him, the run game suffered, the screen game suffered, and quarterback Michael Vick's ability to succeed when he extended plays suffered. The Eagles need Todd Herremans and Jason Kelce back on the offensive line, and they need first-round pick Lane Johnson to play well at right tackle. But the most important offensive line recovery is that of Peters, who brings something to the equation no one else brings. He needs not only to be healthy, but to play like his old, spry self.

Washington Redskins: QB Robert Griffin III

If you've been living in a cave without access to TV or the Internet for the past six months, it will come as news to you that Griffin tore his ACL in the Redskins' playoff game (yes, they made the playoffs) and had reconstructive surgery in January. While the Redskins believe they have a capable backup in Kirk Cousins, much of their 2012 success was because of Griffin's unique talents and abilities. Even if Griffin is back to 100 percent, the Redskins probably will take greater care with how they use him in the read-option this year. But the threat he poses to defenses as a runner and a passer is not something Cousins or very many other quarterbacks in the league can replicate. The Redskins must be careful not to rush Griffin back from his injury, as he's their franchise quarterback and vital to the long-term success and health of the team. But their 2013 fortunes are tightly tied to the timing and extent of his recovery.

The Dallas Cowboys' signing of defensive lineman Anthony Hargrove on Thursday got buried under the at-long-last resolution of the Doug Free matter. But as Calvin Watkins writes on ESPNDallas.com, it says something about where the Cowboys are in terms of their defensive line. As Dallas transitions to a 4-3 front this year, there has been some concern raised about depth. The starting quartet of DeMarcus Ware, Anthony Spencer, Jason Hatcher and Jay Ratliff appears very good, but should one of those guys get injured or need a rest, things get dicey behind them. That's where Hargrove comes in, as the Cowboys believe he can play end or tackle on a 4-3 line.

But Hargrove is going to turn 30 before the start of the season, and since the team didn't address the defensive line in the draft, it's worth wondering about the future there, as Calvin does in his post. Spencer and Hatcher could both conceivably be gone next year. Ratliff's about to turn 32 and always seems to be banged up. Ware has worn down a bit toward the end of recent seasons, and a move up to the line could exacerbate that. Calvin lists Tyrone Crawford, Sean Lissemore, Rob Callaway and Kyle Wilber as young defensive linemen who could factor into the starting mix as early as next year. Lissemore is the most proven of that group, but one of the interesting subplots on the defensive line in Dallas this year will be whether any of them can show enough to instill confidence that they'll play significant roles in the future. The extent to which any or all of them do will affect what the Cowboys do about the defensive line next offseason.

In the meantime, I agree with Calvin that the Cowboys' defensive line appears to have been built for 2013 success without much of an eye toward what lies beyond. You can't fix every problem every offseason, and much of the Cowboys' draft this year was focused on offense due to their belief that they'll be better on defense with better health. Look for defensive line to be a major focus in the 2014 offseason, regardless of the way 2013 goes.