The San Francisco 49ers report to training camp on Saturday, and will hold their first practice on Sunday. One of the complaints from Philadelphia Eagles veterans about Chip Kelly was the pace of practice. Given that this is Kelly’s first year with a whole new batch of players it will be something to track. I would not expect to hear much this first year, but who knows what the season might bring.
In the meantime, the Eagles have reported to training camp, and it is not all that surprising that someone got in a dig at Kelly. Offensive tackle Jason Peters praised his head coach, Doug Pederson, and said the new coach is more respectful of veterans than Kelly was in his tenure.
"The last couple years, there wasn't a lot of vets, and any vet that stood up and had something to say, we got rid of him. Doug was a player here, he understands veteran players and he understands the game, so I think it's better."
Peters said Kelly’s practices took their toll on the team. He said practices were the same in OTAs and training camp, and “so it's pretty much we had training camp the whole offseason.” He also said the decision to go with Tuesday practices and a Monday day off during the season meant there was not the same break and the team “felt it on Sundays.” Most teams have a practice Monday, and then give players Tuesday off. The 49ers under Jim Harbaugh were actually part of the minority that ran the Tuesday practice after the Monday off day.
If other veterans agree with Peters, it will be something for Kelly to consider in his second stop in the NFL. Of course, not all players may agree with Peters. And this could just be Peters praising his current coach, with the easy denigration of a coach that was unpopular on his way out of town. It leaves plenty of room for speculation, and given neither team has high expectations, we could see them connected at the hip with regard to comparisons all season long.