Jason Kelce says Eagles players share blame with fired coordinator Kevin Patullo for offensive struggles
The Philadelphia Eagles fired offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo after a disappointing 23-19 loss in the Wild Card round against the San Francisco 49ers.
However, former Eagles star center Jason Kelce said that while Patullo bears responsibility for the offensive struggles, he thought the players could have performed better.
"The bottom line is this offense didn't live up to what it should have, right? And Patullo, as the offensive coordinator, bears responsibility and so do the players. That's my thing. I don't think the players played as good as they could have," Kelce said during a recent episode of the "New Heights" podcast.
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"I love all those guys and that's just the way it is sometimes. I had my seasons. I damn sure did. And you know, how do they rebound from this? Where do they go from here? There'll be new faces in. There'll be faces that are familiar that are out."
The 38-year-old said he doesn’t think it’s fair for all the blame to be placed on Patullo. Kelce referenced the offensive line's inability to stay healthy and a running game that regressed as causes for the downturn.
"The main reason (for the regression) and I've been saying this from the beginning was the run game. The offensive line's inability to stay healthy altogether to open up holes. Saquon Barkley almost set the NFL record for rushing last year. They were incredible in the run game," Kelce said.
The seven-time Pro Bowler pointed out that while the Eagles won the Super Bowl last season, the passing game struggled. With the running game not nearly as dynamic as it was last season, the issues with the passing game became more prominent.
"The passing game, they struggled last year. I mean, there were all sorts of things happening last season that we like to forget because we won the Super Bowl, but the passing game has been an issue for multiple seasons now. Now, the running game isn't there. Why isn't it there? The offensive line is in and out. They're hurt. Guys are overcoming injuries. They're not playing the same way they've played in the past," Kelce said.
"You have a quarterback that's not running as much. Jalen Hurts, the threat of him running the ball, opens up so much for the running back when they have to truly respect it, and it also opens up things downfield."
Kelce did lament the lack of creativity within the Eagles offense and said it would "behoove" them to bring in someone from outside the building as their new offensive coordinator.
"I would love to see more motions. I would love to see all that stuff," Kelce said. "It would probably behoove the Eagles to bring in somebody with a fresh perspective on where it's at currently, because when you're in it, you're thinking about what you've done well in the past. You're thinking about how you've had success."
"It's like, man, I know this guy can do this. I know this can happen here. Yeah. When you bring in somebody else, it's like, man, this is where we're at now. And now we can bring in some fresh ideas. we can figure out a way to maximize things while keeping that nucleus together."
Last season, during the team’s Super Bowl-winning season, they were tied for fourth in the NFL, averaging 29 points per game. This season, they scored a touchdown fewer, averaging 22.1 points per game, which ranked 19th in the NFL.
The Eagles hope their next offensive coordinator can turn things around quickly.
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