Buffalo Bills head coach Rex Ryan may have a foot fetish. But when it comes to Philadelphia Eagles head man Chip Kelly, it’s all about the knee.
In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Kelly was questioned about what he likes as far as physical attributes when it comes to scouting players.
These are some of the responses Kelly provided:
“Kelly would like to have defensive ends that measure at least 6’6″, and he wants stout nosetackles,” SI’s Greg Bedard writes. “The most important characteristic? Knees with a circumference of at least 18 inches — an identifier of guys who are built solidly in the lower body and thus, the Eagles believe, less susceptible to injuries.”
So Kelly likes his guys super tall with ridicuously thick knees.
In addtion to giraffe height and elephant-like knees, Kelly prefers outside linebackers with long arms and long cornerbacks that can run a scheme similar to the Seattle Seahawks.
Something also worth noting regarding the Eagles’ offense is that Josh Huff is the shortest wide receiver on the team, measuring in at 5-foot-11 inches. Additionally, newly signed running back DeMarco Murray is 6-foot, as opposed to LeSean McCoy at 5-foot-10. There certainly is a pattern here, and we’ll have to leave the circumference of their knee size to our own speculation.
Now that Kelly’s secrets are out when it comes to scouting potential players, we must wonder if he carries around a measuring tape in his pocket to actually measure knees and other physical attributes.
Photo: USA Today Sports