Cary Williams says Chip's approach sapping Eagles' energy

THE EAGLES are 3-0 after rallying from yet another double-digit deficit. Around the league, Chip Kelly is being hailed as the league's newest genius.

But don't hold your breath waiting for Cary Williams to call him that.

The Eagles are 3-0 despite giving up 511 yards and 27 first downs to the Redskins yesterday.

They are 3-0 despite the fact that Washington controlled the football for all but 7 minutes of the first half, scored on every one of its first-half possessions and converted seven of nine third-down opportunities before halftime.

They are 3-0 despite trailing Jacksonville, 17-0, in the first half in Week 1; and Indianapolis, 17-6, in the first half in Week 2; and the Redskins, 17-7, in the first half yesterday.

They are 3-0 despite the fact that Williams believes Kelly is working his team too hard.

"It's tough, it's tough," the Eagles cornerback said after his team hung on for a 37-34 win against the Redskins despite missing several starters. "We've got to start taking care of our guys, taking care of our players. And doing the right thing from there, man."

While most of the world is marveling at Kelly's up-tempo approach to both games and practices, Williams feels the coach is slowly but surely driving his team into the ground. He feels all of those extra reps the Eagles are getting in practice are sapping their energy and are the reason they have started slow in each of the first three games.

"A lot of guys had no legs," the cornerback said. "A lot of guys, coming in here, were in a dogfight before the game even started. We've got to start taking care of our guys during the week in order for us to be productive and have more energy on Sunday. We've got to be smart. As a coaching staff and as players."

Williams' argument would carry a little more legitimacy if the Eagles hadn't rebounded from each of their slow starts and played better in the second half, including yesterday.

The Redskins ran 45 offensive plays against Williams and the defense in the first half. Bill Davis' unit should've been road kill at halftime.

But the defense sucked it up and played much better in the final 30 minutes. Yes, they gave up an 81-yard touchdown pass to DeSean Jackson late in the third quarter when the ex-Eagle got behind Williams and safety Nate Allen.

But the Redskins converted just one of six third-down opportunities in the second half. And when the Eagles needed a big play, they got it, whether it was safety Malcolm Jenkins' interception that set up Cody Parkey's game-deciding, 51-yard field goal, or Brandon Boykin's diving third-and-10 pass breakup on the Redskins' final possession.

The Eagles were coming off a short week after beating the Colts on Monday night. But Williams said the short week wasn't the problem.

"I'm going to be honest with you," he said. "It didn't matter whether we had a short week or a long week. Because it's been the same thing.

"Something has to change in order for us to be more productive. It's hard to go out there and fight for 60 minutes when you're fighting throughout the week to make it through one practice. When you don't have legs. Period. It shows up in a game. Period. Throughout the game. Period."

Williams said he's not the only Eagles player who thinks Kelly's pedal-to-the-medal approach is counterproductive. "I'm just one who's man enough to stand up here and address the issue and let you guys know that we're not a fresh team; we're not the freshest team out there," he said. "And it's an issue in our [poor] starts.

"But again, I'm just Employee No. 26 [his uniform number]. Whatever they deem necessary for us to be ready on Sunday, it's whatever it is. If we have to find energy from an outside source or whatever it may be to start games quicker, we've got to do it. But right now, the way we're doing it is not conducive to success."

But, but, but, Cary, you're 3-0.

"It's awesome that we're 3-0," he said. "It's great. It's tremendous. It just shows the resilience of this team. The fight in this team. It shows everybody's heart. It shows that even though we might not be 100 percent out there, when the ball is kicked off, we play with all of the energy we have.

"It's about guys finding a way to get it done. We've been able to get it done. But to be honest with you, starting with low energy isn't conducive to a winning program."

There is no doubt the defense had its problems yesterday. Quarterback Kirk Cousins, making just his fifth career start, threw for 427 yards and three touchdowns. For the second week in a row, the Eagles failed to register a sack.

"We will fix the things that are wrong," Davis promised. "A week ago, we were real excited about our pass defense [they held Colts quarterback Andrew Luck to 172 yards and 5.0 yards per attempt], and our run defense we had to put emphasis on.

"Today, the run defense was good [held Redskins running back Alfred Morris to 3.3 yards per carry], but we gave up too many passing yards.

"You win and you fix things. You keep evolving, you keep evolving and you keep grinding. And at the end of the season, hopefully, you're where you want to be."

If there are others in the locker room who share Williams' opinion that Kelly is working them too hard, they weren't inclined to admit it yesterday.

When I asked linebacker DeMeco Ryans, who, along with safety Malcolm Jenkins, is one of the defensive leaders, he said, "I'm not going to get into that."

Said Jenkins: "Due to the types of games we've been playing, these emotional roller coasters, I think guys are starting to get a little tired. But when the fourth quarter comes and the second half comes, you can see that we're in a different type of shape than most of our opponents and we are able to finish strong. Considering how many plays we're averaging, I feel pretty good.

"They had four 14-play drives [actually, two 11- and two 12-play drives]. That would gas out most defenses. But I don't think I looked around and saw anybody that was too tired. We were able to bounce back. They made plays, but we were able to continue with the same effort and intensity."

The Eagles' biggest problem in the first half was not being able to get the Redskins into any third-and-longs. They had just one third down that was longer than 3 yards in the first two quarters, and that was only 6 yards.

"They did a good job of getting themselves in manageable third downs," Jenkins said. "Getting in formations where we really couldn't put our hands on them. They were getting clean releases. Cousins did a good job of getting the ball off on time so our rush couldn't get there. It was something that was a little frustrating for us in the beginning of the game.

"Later in the game, we were able to put them in more third-and-8s, third-and-9s, third-and-10s. That obviously put us in a more advantageous position."