Kelly banned hazing from start
PHILADELPHIA — There will be no hazing episodes in Chip Kelly’s clubhouse, no reason for a player to quit over being bullied, no beat-downs — physical or otherwise — of rookies. That’s the plan, at least. In the swirl of the situation in Miami, where Richie Incognito allegedly so heckled and hazed teammate Jonathan Martin as to make him leave the Dolphins in distress, Kelly insisted Thursday that he long-ago prohibited any such behavior.
“I think with all our guys, they’re all members of the same team, and I think everybody should be treated the same way,” Kelly said. “I think some of our young offensive linemen make sure that there’s water stocked in the offensive line meeting room. But everybody’s a professional. Everybody’s on the same team. We don’t have a rookie show. We don’t do those things. We’re all on the same side.
“It is us against the other 31 teams in this league, and you want to indoctrinate the players that they are members of the Philadelphia Eagles now, and there is a way we expect everybody to act. So that’s how we approached it here.”
Kelly stressed that the regulation has been in place since he became the Eagles’ coach and was not a reaction to the Miami fiasco.
“We addressed it when we brought the rookies in here and told them that everybody’s the same whether you’re a 10-year guy or a rookie,” he said. “That’s part of the deal. Part of our job, I think, is to make sure that the young guys get acclimated. What was it like when you were a rookie? It’s hard. Even though they are professionals, there is still a learning curve, just like being a freshman in college again or freshman in high school again.
“They can all go back to think about what it was like when they were younger. It’s a difficult transition for anybody.”
Kelly did acknowledge that the situation has morphed from earlier in his coaching career.
“Yeah,” he said, “I think societal views of all that stuff have changed over the years.”
——— Nick Foles was the NFC Player of the Week in his last game.
The one before that? The 17-3 loss to the Cowboys? The one with 18 incomplete passes and one concussion? Don’t ask. “I never really second-guessed the Dallas game,” Jason Kelce said. “That was a huge thing brought up by the media and everything. You can’t go out there and play your best football every single night. That’s not the way sports works. But I think for the vast majority of the starts Nick has had as an Eagle, he has done well. Obviously, this last one was probably his best one. Hopefully we can build on this as an offense going forward.”
Technically, Kelly hasn’t named Foles as his starter for the Birds’ game in Green Bay Sunday. Reaction? “None,” Kelce said, with a knowing grin. “All
I do is block.”
——— Jake Knott (hamstring) did not practice Thursday, the Eagles said. Bradley Fletcher (pectoral) and Michael Vick (hamstring) were limited in practice.
Rashad Carmichael (groin), Patrick Chung (shoulder), Riley Cooper (illness), Damaris Johnson (ankle), Mychal Kendricks (ankle), Jason Peters (pectoral, shoulder), Chris Polk (shoulder, knee), Cedric Thornton (knee) and Julian Vandervelde (knee) all practiced fully.
——— Due to the rain, the Eagles practiced indoors Thursday. Vick participated in the warmup portion, which was open to the press. Later, while practice was still going on, he was seen back in the main NovaCare Complex building.
“He’s progressing,” Kelly said. “He’s progressing. We’ll see if can he get a little bit more in. But he didn’t take any reps Wednesday. Earlier when it happened, he got some reps in seven-onseven. Right now, he’s just going on individual drills.”
Kelly said Foles was receiving the first-team reps, Matt Barkley the second-string variety. He stressed, though, that Vick’s condition is improving.
“I think it is,” he said. “But it’s one of those things where every day you kind of get an update on where he is. I know he’s working extremely hard at it and doing everything he possibly can. But he hasn’t taken any reps.”
——— Brent Celek and Zach Ertz combined for eight receptions and 69 receiving yards in Oakland, and each caught a touchdown pass.
If that suggests a cause-effect — that the Birds were successful because the tight ends were so involved — Celek won’t quarrel.
“I mean, I’m partial toward our tight ends,” he said. “But we’ve got some great tight ends. They have been doing a great job. And any time you have more than one on the field, I love it.”