'We will't lose the great': Kellen Moore's job is to make Eagles' 'stale' offense work

Kellen Moore was employed by the Philadelphia Eagles to repair a rising downside. Their offense, as soon as their power, did not work throughout their depressing stretch run final season. Nick Sirianni even admitted that it abruptly grew to become “stale.”

However when the Eagles’ new offensive coordinator seemed on the movie, he did not simply see the dysfunction that contributed a lot to the disappointing 1-6 end. He noticed points that wanted to be addressed, however he additionally noticed vivid spots. And nothing made him assume that the Eagles wanted to throw their total playbook away.

“I feel the most important factor was I felt like, ‘Hey, we bought some actually great things occurring right here,'” Moore mentioned final week. “‘And we won’t lose the great.'”

That basically is the crux of what the 35-year-old Moore’s job is that this season. He wasn’t employed to reinvent the offensive scheme they’ve used since Nick Sirianni was employed as head coach in 2021. He was employed to discover a approach to make Sirianni’s offense work once more. They want him to discover a approach to preserve all the great issues the Eagles do nicely on offense and one way or the other improve it. He isn’t being requested to put in his personal scheme and run the Eagles offense his method.

He was employed, in Sirianni’s phrases, to “take away the staleness” and to “add worth” to what the Eagles already do.

They usually did do issues nicely. In any case, they had been the NFL’s eighth-ranked offense final season — the third time they’ve ranked within the high 14 in Sirianni’s three seasons (though he is now on to his fourth offensive coordinator). They averaged 25.5 factors and 354.3 yards per sport in 2023. And with quarterback Jalen Hurts, receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith and tight finish Dallas Goedert, they had been loaded with weapons even earlier than they added working again Saquon Barkley in March.

Their issues had been simply magnified down the stretch, after they abruptly could not rating or transfer the ball effectively. They averaged simply 18.9 factors of their last seven video games. They totaled 19 factors of their final two, together with in a 32-9 loss within the first spherical of the playoffs. They did not high 300 yards of offense in any of their last three video games.

So the instruments are there. The outdated playbook labored. Former offensive coordinator Brian Johnson simply could not make all of it occur when it mattered probably the most.

Can Moore actually repair these issues whereas working an offense that is not fully his? In some methods, he mentioned, that is what he is at all times completed.

“Every cease, actually, the large emphasis is on collaboration,” he mentioned. “We type of saved the system in place and made our little changes when Jason (Garrett) was our head coach (in Dallas). Mike (McCarthy) got here in and we had been lucky to merge these two worlds collectively, and it was a very enjoyable course of. Going to L.A. final 12 months, we had the same factor, attempt to preserve a few of the issues in place, and construct off of that.”

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Moore’s expertise working offenses has been considerably distinctive. He was a backup for 3 seasons in Dallas (2015-17) when Garrett ran the offense (though others typically referred to as the performs). He then spent one 12 months as Garrett’s quarterbacks coach earlier than being promoted to offensive coordinator in 2019 though he was simply 29 years outdated.

The Cowboys had the NFL’s high offense that season too, however they went simply 8-8 and Garrett was fired. McCarthy got here in and saved Moore on board, however introduced his outdated playbook with him. After three seasons collectively, although, McCarthy determined he needed to name the performs of his offense himself and Moore headed off to his one season with the Chargers.

All of which is why it is arduous to pinpoint what a Moore offense truly seems like, since till final season with the Chargers — when his offense was decimated by accidents — he is by no means actually run an offense that was fully his personal.

In 2019 in Dallas, he leaned closely on play-action and movement and rode working again Ezekiel Elliott so far as he might (1,357 dashing yards, 54 catches for 420 yards), although the Cowboys solely ran on 42 % of their performs. In 2021, underneath McCarthy, they ran about the identical quantity however working backs grew to become a featured a part of the passing assault. Quarterback Dak Prescott focused Elliott and working again Tony Pollard 101 instances (they mixed for 86 catches for 624 yards regardless of the presence of each CeeDee Lamb and Amari Cooper.

One 12 months later, with Cooper gone, Lamb (107-1,359-9) was the star of the passing assault. The Cowboys ran greater than ordinary that season (47 % of the time), however the manufacturing of Elliott and Pollard within the passing sport went down (78 targets, 56 catches, 463 yards). Prescott and Lamb had been the main focus as a result of that is what labored greatest.

“Moore is an effective adapter,” mentioned one NFC scout. “He is aware of learn how to make nice use of what he is bought. Possibly he is working another person’s offense, however he figures out methods to make use of it. Some guys attempt to force-feed gamers into their scheme. He isn’t that cussed. He calls performs to suit what he is bought.”

That is what the Eagles are hoping, as a result of they have so much. Hurts, regardless of his struggles final season whereas battling accidents, is likely one of the greatest two-way quarterbacks within the sport. Brown and Smith, who mixed for 187 catches, 2,522 yards and 14 touchdowns final season, are arguably the very best 1-2 punch at receiver in your entire NFL. And tight finish Goedert, when he is wholesome, is a deceptively harmful receiving tight finish.

And now they’ve added Barkley, who misplaced a few of his luster whereas toiling behind horrible offensive traces and battling accidents for six irritating seasons with the New York Giants. He has the power to be as productive as Elliott as soon as was for extra, each within the working sport and the passing assault. The truth is, the Eagles see huge untapped potential in his receiving means. Barkley had 91 catches for 721 yards as a rookie in 2018, however since then, within the passing sport, he is been extremely underused.

“Saquon is a premier working again, initially. We’re actually enthusiastic about his means to run the soccer,” Moore mentioned. “We all know the (different) facets that make him nice. It is his means to be an awesome cross protector, to be a receiver out of the backfield. Clearly, we have to attempt to make the most of him as a lot as we are able to.”

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In fact, Moore cannot experience Barkley on the expense of the others — not when the Eagles simply made Brown (three years, $92 million) and Smith (three years, $75 million) two of the highest-paid receivers within the league. He has to have a look at the great they’ve completed throughout their two seasons collectively, after which add within the good Barkley can do, too.

“Actually we’re actually excited concerning the guys that we’ve got in place right here,” Moore mentioned. “Loads of guys who can do plenty of completely different roles and plenty of selection. I feel the most important factor is having clear id of who we wish to be, and in the end week in and week out understanding their position actually by way of a sport. There’s going to make sure video games the place guys are going to get extra consideration than others. So I feel there’s that steady belief as we construct this factor.”

That belief is what was misplaced late final season when the offense bought “stale”. The Eagles appeared to lose religion of their working sport, regardless of D’Andre Swift’s 1,049-yard season. They handed too usually in conditions the place they need to have run. Hurts did not look proper and made questionable selections about when to run on his personal. Brown usually appeared pissed off. Nothing, throughout their seven-game slide, seemed proper.

However the items had been in place. They’ve much more now. It is Moore’s job to maneuver them in the appropriate instructions — even when the scheme is not fully his.

“I do not even assume we all know that but,” Sirianni mentioned on the house owners’ conferences in late March. “There’s plenty of ideas which are very, very related. However I employed Kellen to do a job and we’ll mesh issues collectively, identical to I mentioned proper from the start. We’ll have some good issues that we have completed right here up to now, and he’ll convey some new components to it.”

“There shall be tweaks. There shall be modifications. All the pieces is consistently evolving,” Moore mentioned. “We have plenty of good occurring. We will not lose the great.”

Ralph Vacchiano is the NFC East reporter for FOX Sports activities, overlaying the Washington Commanders, Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants. He spent the earlier six years overlaying the Giants and Jets for SNY TV in New York, and earlier than that, 16 years overlaying the Giants and the NFL for the New York Every day Information. Comply with him Twitter at @RalphVacchiano.