Chip Kelly says that he has never gone through the situation he is currently facing. The Eagles head coach is unsure whether or not a game, specifically Sunday’s scheduled NFC East tilt against Washington, is going to be played because of weather.
Even so, Kelly fully understands why the NFL is considering all of its options as Hurricane Joaquin starts to work its way north this weekend.
“If [the storm] does hit in some manners that it could hit, then it could really affect everybody, people attending the game and all of that other stuff,” Kelly said.
If you look at some of the latest weather reports, there is a chance that the storm pushes east and stays out to sea. Still, a whole host of possibilities seem to remain. Saturday’s Michigan-Maryland game in College Park, about ten miles away from FedEx Field, has been moved up from 8 p.m. to noon because of the storm.
The Eagles, who haven’t been told anything definitive about the scheduling, are preparing as if they will play on Sunday. If the plan deviates, they will adjust accordingly.
“We’re preparing and going out today, today’s a normal Thursday for us just like we’re playing Sunday at one o’clock,” Kelly said. “If they make an adjustment, then we’ll all make an adjustment.”
During Kelly’s tenure as Eagles head coach, the game where weather most played a factor was a memorable snow-filled victory over the Detroit Lions back in December 2013. The Eagles were told before the game that the area would receive “a light dusting” after halftime. In reality, The Linc got about eight inches of snow.
“I remember going out in pregame and going, ‘Wow, this is a little bit more than a light dusting,’” Kelly said. “And then I don’t know what happened in the 15-20 minutes that we went in the locker room but when we came back out, I couldn’t even see my feet. But you just had to make due with it.”
Like always, Kelly said the players would adjust their cleats after going through pregame warmups and testing the surface out. From a coaching standpoint, he will evaluate the weather and wind conditions on the day of the game once the Eagles arrive at the stadium and then make any necessary tweaks to his game plan.
Update: They're gonna play.
Follow Rich on Twitter: @rich_hofmann