Sky Live Preview: Atlanta Falcons host the Philadelphia Eagles
Wednesday 7 October 2015 14:59, UK
After a busy offseason, Chip Kelly will showcase his new-look Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night when they take on the Atlanta Falcons at the Georgia Dome.
The Eagles dispensed with general manager Howie Roseman after last season and handed full control of all football-related decisions to their head coach Kelly.
Kelly took full advantage of his new power by acquiring quarterback Sam Bradford from St Louis in a deal which included former Eagles starter Nick Foles and surprisingly dealing away leading rusher LeSean McCoy to Buffalo for linebacker Kiko Alonso.
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A year after DeSean Jackson was released, leading wide receiver Jeremy Maclin left in free agency to join the Kansas City Chiefs and the team decided to move on from both of last season's guards Evan Mathis and Todd Herremans.
To counteract the departures, Kelly spent a first-round draft pick Nelson Agholor and signed cornerback Byron Maxwell and running backs DeMarco Murray and Ryan Mathews in free agency.
"Every off-season there's always turnover on a team," Kelly said, downplaying the roster overhaul of a team that went 10-6 but missed the playoffs.
"I don't think turnover when it's finally settled and how many players we have new, it's not really different than any other team. It's just the nature of the business."
The Falcons have also undergone a facelift for this season with Seattle Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn replacing Mike Smith as head coach after a 6-10 finish last season.
Part of the rationale for hiring Quinn was the hope he could transfer the system which has made the Seahawks the most feared defence in the NFL but he knows his team will face a stiff challenge against Kelly's fast-paced spread attack.
"A lot of respect in terms of the way they run their system," Quinn said of the Eagles offense. "They play fast-paced offensively, we do defensively as well so a great matchup from that standpoint."
Quinn is implementing a 4-3 scheme hoping to improve an NFL-worst defense (398.3 ypg) which totalled 22 sacks. Only the Cincinnati Bengals had fewer.
The Falcons spent their first-round pick on Clemson pass rusher Vic Beasley and signed linebacker Justin Durant and defensive end Adrian Clayborn with the hope of taking some pressure off Matt Ryan and the offence.
"It's a work in progress," cornerback Desmond Trufant said. "But I like where we're going."
You can watch the Philadelphia Eagles take on the Atlanta Falcons live on Sky Sports 1 HD, with coverage from 12:05am on Tuesday. Not a Sky subscriber? Then watch it with NOW TV for just £6.99.
