Chip Kelly has no need for those who waste time

Chip Kelly doesn't like wasting time. Whatever else we know about the Eagles coach as the preparations for his third NFL season begin, we know that much.

He practices fast. He plays fast. He talks fast. If he wants to acquire a player or get rid of one, that doesn't take long, either. Kelly doesn't care for those who waste their own time, which is precisely what he thinks the league's competition committee did when it made a halfway alteration to the conversion-after-touchdown rule.

"I don't understand the proposal. If they want you to go for two [points] more, the ball has always been on the 2-yard line," Kelly said at the Eagles' organized team activities last week. "That's always been an option for everybody for a while."

Kelly and the Eagles wanted the two-point conversion to be attempted from the 1-yard line, in conjunction with moving the single-point conversion spot to the 15, making it the equivalent of a 32- or 33-yard field goal. That was a little radical for the NFL, which merely went with pushing back the one-point try. The two-point try, and its probability of success, was not altered. This, like so many things, made Kelly shrug.

"So the ball went back. We were 43 of 45 in the last two years from that distance, so 96 percent," Kelly said. "We're still going to kick for an extra point."

He said it fast and then moved on during his news conference to his thoughts on the Eagles' quarterback situation (open competition!), his feeling about the defensive secondary (a lot more talent there this year), and his opinion of LeSean McCoy as a purveyor of sociological insight (not much).

Kelly is well aware that little he says matters nearly as much as what the team does while under his control. Saying the team is confident Sam Bradford will recover fully from his second anterior cruciate ligament tear has no bearing on whether the recovery will actually take place. Saying Walt Thurmond can transition from cornerback to safety is a theory that will be judged by opposing offenses. Even his math can be just a handy line from Point A to Next Question. (The Eagles were 7 for 7 on field goals of 32 or 33 yards in the last two seasons. They were 15 of 16 on field goals from 30 to 35 yards. Both are very good rates, and both support his contention that the smart play is still to kick for one point, but there is no clue where he got that 43-of-45 statistic.)

The coach will make his evaluations, keep the players he wants, discard the ones he doesn't, call the plays that suit him, and ignore the opinions and perceptions of the outside world. If that method led to some discomfort within the organization this spring because of McCoy's assertions, he doesn't spend time worrying about it.

"Everybody's looking for an answer as to why Chip is making the moves he's making, trying to figure out the reason. Is it personalities? Is it race? Is it because he thinks his scheme is better? I don't think it's any of that," said safety Malcolm Jenkins. "He has reasons for why he makes his decisions, and he's very open about how we're evaluated and what he wants. Although some of the moves might seem crazy outside this building, I think most of the guys can understand it here."

Kelly demands a 24-hour employee, not a 9-to-5 one. His sports-science reach extends all the way to the players' homes. He can understand that is asking a lot, and the same goes for the pace of workouts and the classroom demands. He doesn't expect every player to accept it. He also doesn't expect those guys to stick around.

"The goal is to get every ounce of potential out of each individual player. That takes a lot. Either you buy into that or you won't survive here," Jenkins said. "It takes work, but you get rewarded for it. I played over 1,300 snaps [in 2014], and it was the best I've felt in Week 16 in my career."

The message is relayed to the younger players by the veterans who survive, and a completely different lesson is delivered by the mere absence of those who didn't. You might be all-pro, but that doesn't mean you will be all-Kelly. He judges things differently.

The coach has gathered all the power now, and he is moving fast. Some of the most important positions on a football field have been tossed into the blender after back-to-back 10-6 seasons. Not good enough.

He's taking chances and will need the right players to make them pay off. Nothing is assured. As May drifts into June, Chip Kelly looks at what he has and needs to make the only decisions that matter to him - separating the guys who will help from the ones who are just wasting his precious time.

@bobfordsports