4) Eagles' wings clipped. There are enough natural connections between Chip Kelly and USC to assume there were never any secrets there, and that the school was well-aware whether Kelly was or wasn't interested in becoming the Trojans' next head coach. His agent, David Dunn, has close ties to USC, having represented almost every QB to come out of there since Carson Palmer, as well as many of their other stars and former coaches. He also has a strong relationship with AD Pat Haden and has a nephew on the football team. Take all of that into account, and it's fair to think that Kelly's commitment to the Eagles, as publicly stated, hasn't wavered. My belief is that Kelly loves the challenge of the NFL and recognizes its difficulties. He's also pragmatic, so if it's just not going to work in the pros, Kelly isn't the sort to lie to himself, which indicates his resolve is still there. And so that leads us to the question of what needs to change. And it's clear that starts with the overall approach to the way his offense and defense relate to one another. One thing opponents have become keen to is an ability to wear out Billy Davis' defense, thanks in part to the pace of Kelly's offense, and one club's research that was passed along bears that out. Since the beginning of the 2013 season, Kelly's first, the Eagles rank dead last in time of possession; they're the only team among the bottom 11 in that category to have a winning record over that period. You can extrapolate that the D spending more time on the field per game is part of the reason the unit also ranks last in total defense and pass defense over that 43-game stretch. One illustration of the stress on the Eagles' defensive players: captain Malcolm Jenkins is leading the NFL in defensive snaps played for the second straight year in his second season in Philly. Of course, using tempo against opponents is central to Kelly's philosophy, and so no one should expect that to go away. But it'll be interesting to see, given the defense's struggles of late, whether some tweaks there would be one offseason initiative.