Bickering and public swipes against coaches are something we've come to expect out of NFL locker rooms embroiled in a losing streak, not out of one that's sitting at 3-0. It's rather puzzling, therefore, that Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Cary Williams, whose team just dropped division rival Washington to get off to its hottest start in 10 years, is taking potshots at Chip Kelly, according to NJ.com.
Cary Williams says Chip Kelly is over-working Eagles in practice
Despite being 3-0, the cornerback claimed after Sunday’s win that too much work during the week is hurting the team on game day.
Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Following the Eagles’ 37-34 hard-fought win on Sunday, Williams was surprisingly critical of the head coach’s preparation schedule, complaining that overwork during the week has left the team overtaxed come game day.
"I was just trying to conserve as much energy during the week so I can be as effective as I can be on Sundays," said Willliams, who was burned by DeSean Jackson for an 81-yard touchdown in the third quarter. "It was just such a dogfight. It didn't help that I wasn't healthy through the week and it didn't help that I had a dogfight before the week and then I had a dogfight during the game. It's just tough, man. We have to start taking care of our guys, taking care of our players, doing the right thing from there.
“In other words, we have to be smart. As a coaching staff and as players.”
Washington vs. Eagles
Kelly is known for his uptempo, high-volume scheme and runs practices with a similarly frenetic pace. Unlike most teams, the Eagles do a fair share of running in their Saturday practices.
Philadelphia had a short work week coming off of a Monday night game in Week 2. They had a low-impact practice on Tuesday, then returned to their normal schedule, according to ESPN.
“I’m going to be honest with you, it didn’t matter if we had a short week or a long week, it’s been the same,” said Williams. “Something needs to change for us to be more productive. It’s tough enough to go out there and play hard for 60 minutes, let alone having to fight through the week.”
Kelly downplayed the issue during his Monday press conference, saying he has no issues with Williams after meeting with him and that the cornerback was "just frustrated," according to Reuben Frank of CSNPhilly.com.
While the Eagles have yet to lose, slow starts have defined the early goings of their season. They had to fight back from a 17-point deficit in their opener against Jacksonville and trailed the Colts 20-6 early in the third quarter of their Week 2 matchup. On Sunday, they watched Washington jump out to a 17-7 lead midway through the second quarter.
Williams, who has allowed 14 receptions through three games and has the worst grade Pro Football Focus grade among Eagles defensive backs, was limited by a hamstring injury last week.
“We take a lot of reps. It’s taxing on your body,” Williams continued. “It’s difficult and you have to find that energy. We’ve been able to muscle through that, fight through that as a team but there are some modifications that need to be made.”
And according to Williams, he’s not the only player on the team that thinks so.
“I’m saying [practicing every day] impacted a lot of people. A lot of people, but I’m just the only one man enough to get up here and say anything about it, talk to ya’ll as a man and discuss and issue that obviously in my opinion is an issue in our starts [to games].”
We’ll likely get Kelly’s take on those comments when he holds his typical Monday afternoon press conference.
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