Chip Kelly's first Eagles roster: No surprises

CHIP KELLY really had us going, didn't he?

All that "May the best man win" stuff.

All that "Every job is open for competition."

And then, after the blood was let, there were zero surprises on Kelly's first Eagles roster.

Zero.

Kelly, early in training camp, listed co-starters at quarterback, when one guy fit his offense like a New England accent fits in Philly sports (there's a lot of that going on these days). Making Michael Vick watch Nick Foles run Kelly's read-option scheme would be like making Kelly put his best receiver and his most professional player, Jason Avant, at safety for a day. Avant, all along clearly the only choice in the slot, should drop two passes just to get even . . . but then, Avant lacks that sort of malice.

Kelly put contact-averse tight end Clay Harbor at linebacker for a day. Yeah, that was funny.

Harbor had no chance once the Eagles signed James Casey and drafted Zach Ertz. Harbor was not about to morph into a blocking machine, like Emil Igwenagu, who really is a fullback.

As for anyone taking starter Brent Celek's job, well, that turned out to be fallacy, didn't it? Celek might be the toughest player on the team, is a complete tight end, is unfailingly accountable and incredibly adaptable.

Kelly even pretended that depth at the linebacker position mattered . . . then kept Casey Matthews, one of Kelly's Ducks at Oregon; and, more to the point, one of the hallmarks of the Eagles' recent poor drafts. You have to wonder if general manager Howie Roseman was 100 percent behind keeping Clay's little brother.

Not only did Matthews survive initial cuts, he made it through the waiver harvest, too. The Birds chose him over Emmanuel Acho, a promising second-year linebacker who had a fine preseason. Acho was released yesterday when the Eagles claimed Najee Goode. Matthews had better be Dave Fipp's best player, and playing the middle of the special-teams units is a tough place to justify a roster spot.

And no, Big Dan the Fireman never had a chance.

Danny Watkins was Andy Reid's worst vanity pick. Watkins was worse than Freddie Mitchell in 2001, a slow, small receiver Reid was convinced would play bigger than his size. Watkins was worse than Jerome McDougle in 2003; another undersized player who, as a defensive end, might have added some size to match his speed if not for a litany of injuries.

Watkins was a football late-comer who simply could not play. So, Watkins being released was no surprise.

As for that depth chart . . .

Vick was nearly perfect in his first two preseason games, but then so was Foles. It's just that Vick has this thing connected to his torso that Foles lacks:

An NFL arm.

It might have been interesting if Vick had sputtered and Foles had played as well as he did.

Would Kelly really have given his first NFL offense to a quarterback who is slightly slower than half of his offensive line?

Not only does Kelly's full offense incorporate the threat of the quarterback running, it is even more dependent on crisp, quick route-running - which will not happen much the first few weeks, it being a newly installed scheme. So, the quarterback will have to scramble. The quarterback will be hit.

Vick is spectacularly good at both of those.

Then there was the possibility that Trent Cole might not start. Or make the team.

Forget the $6.4 million the Eagles would have eaten if they cut him.

Forget the lack of real pass-rushing competition on the roster.

Cole trails only Clyde Simmons and Reggie White on the Eagles' all-time sack list. Only four players have more sacks than Cole since 2006. He went to the Pro Bowl after 2007 and 2009.

Cole managed all of those feats as a defensive end in a four-lineman scheme, but all along he displayed the athleticism to pursue the run, if not the agility to defend the pass.

Still, along with free-agent outside linebacker Connor Barwin, Cole - and only Cole - gives the Eagles an entity on defense against which other teams must scheme.

And, of course, they will be backed up by Brandon Graham, the first-rounder from 2010 who flashed nicely at end when healthy and when given the chance.

It should have shocked no one that safety Kenny Phillips could not overcome his history of leg injuries. It was no revelation that injury-magnet Arrelious Benn got hurt on the first day of camp, then went down for good a little more than 2 weeks later. Felix Jones came to Philadelphia looking for a resurrection; instead, he was repackaged and shipped to Pittsburgh in exchange for linebacker Adrian Robinson.

Who, predictably, was cut 8 days later.

And Casey Matthews wasn't.

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