What to Expect from Philadelphia Eagles' Special Teams in 2015

Through two seasons as the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, Chip Kelly has showed the rest of the football world that he's one of the best offensive minds in the NFL.

In his first season, he took an Eagles squad that ranked 30th in scoring in 2012 and led them to 442 points, fourth-most in the NFL, in 2013. The following season, the Eagles scored 474 points, third in the NFL, and the most in franchise history for the second straight season.

Kelly's abilities as an offensive coach are well-known and appreciated throughout the league. But it's his work as a special teams coach that may have won the Eagles multiple games in 2014. 

The Eagles' special teams units in 2014 were as impressive as any unit you'll ever see, rating first in the NFL by Football Outsiders and third by Pro Football Focus. 

Collectively, the Eagles scored seven touchdowns via their special teams units last season. They were as follows:

Week	Opponent	Type	Player	Yards
3	Redskins	Kick Return	Chris Polk	102
4	49ers	Blocked Punt	Brad Smith	0
4	49ers	Punt Return	Darren Sproles	82
5	Rams	Blocked Punt	Chris Maragos	10
10	Panthers	Punt Return	Darren Sproles	65
12	Titans	Kick Return	Josh Huff	107
17	Giants	Blocked Punt	Trey Burton	27

Now that's not likely to continue in 2015. In fact, it's a virtual guarantee that the Eagles won't reach the end zone via their special teams units at a clip of once every 2.3 games.

In the previous decade, by comparison, the Eagles scored eight special teams touchdowns. That's just one more than they had all of last season. That speaks to the incredible showing by the Eagles' special teams units last year. And that's simply unsustainable on a year-to-year basis. 

Year	Opponent	Type	Player	Yards
2005	Chargers	Blocked Field Goal Return	Matt Ware	65
2008	Redskins	Punt Return	DeSean Jackson	68
2008	Ravens	Kick Return	Quintin Demps	100
2009	Panthers	Punt Return	DeSean Jackson	85
2009	Giants	Punt Return	DeSean Jackson	72
2010	Giants	Punt Return	DeSean Jackson	65
2012	Cowboys	Punt Return	Damaris Johnson	98
2013	Giants	Fumbled Punt Return	Najee Goode	2

But even though the touchdowns will undoubtedly decrease, don't expect the Eagles to see any sort of decline with their coverage or return units. The Eagles' top special teams players from the 2015 season are all still on the roster, specifically their trio of kicker Cody Parkey, punter Donnie Jones and long snapper Jon Dorenbos.

Parkey, an undrafted free-agent rookie who won the kicking job over veteran Alex Henery in the final week of the preseason, emerged as a Pro Bowler during his first year in the NFL. Parkey connected on 32 of 36 field goals, including all four he attempted from beyond 50 yards. For the season, he scored 150 points, both an Eagles franchise record and an NFL rookie record. 

Jones, who turns 35 this summer, is still going strong. He's set the franchise record for most punts inside the 20-yard line in consecutive seasons, and his career average of 45.9 yards per punt ranks ninth in NFL history.

At returner, the Eagles still have the dangerous trio of Darren Sproles, Josh Huff and Chris Polk. Sproles won the punt returner's triple crown, leading the NFL in total punt returns, yards and touchdowns. His 13.0 yards per return also set his career-best. Huff and Polk each returned a kick for a touchdown, with the two combining to average more than 30 yards per kick return. 

Key special teamers on the coverage units include Trey Burton, Bryan Braman and Chris Maragos, with only veterans Brad Smith and Casey Matthews leaving via free agency. But there's no reason to believe that Kelly won't add at least one or two key special teamers via the draft.

After all, he specifically brought in most of the great special teamers currently on the roster. In the same way that he emphasizes character and sports science, the former Oregon head coach has always had a high regard for special teams, the most underappreciated unit in the game. With that regard, there's also no reason at all to think the Eagles' dominance on their special teams units will suddenly drop off in 2015.

It's completely impractical to expect seven touchdowns, especially three by blocked punts. After all, a blocked punt touchdown is almost a once-a-decade occurrence. But with a head coach who places such an unbelievable value on special teams performance, plus one of the best special teams coaches in the league in Dave Fipp, there's every reason to believe the Eagles' units will rank among the best in the game for the next few seasons.