Kelce: Missing accountability to blame for Eagles' 2018 struggles

Center Jason Kelce, already a two-time Pro Bowler, rose to even greater fame during the Philadelphia Eagles' run to Super Bowl LII last season as a leader of the wholly-embraced 'underdog' team.

An eighth-year veteran, Kelce cites the Eagles' loss of several experienced players in the offseason as reason for a 4-5 record through the first 10 weeks.

"Last year, it just seemed like everybody was clicking. We had guys like Brent Celek who had been here a long time who was very accountable, Torrey Smith who had been in the league for a long time, very accountable. Mack Hollins was a guy that gave great effort. LeGarrette Blount and all of these running backs that, they had their limited amount of stuff that they had to know, but they knew what to do, and they knew how to do those things. That's what we're missing. We're missing that accountability," Kelce said Wednesday, according to Tim McManus of ESPN.

Celek retired after being released by the team. Blount joined the Detroit Lions in free agency, Smith was traded to the Carolina Panthers, and Hollins is on injured reserve due to a groin injury.

The Eagles opened the 2018 campaign as the NFL's 11th-youngest team by average age. They ranked 23rd in that department at the beginning of the 2017 season.

Kelce says the Eagles haven't been able to replace the value brought last season by players who had been around a long time and who knew the "ins and outs of the game."

"This isn't just players, this is coaches, this is everybody. Everybody takes accountability in making sure that everybody is ready to go," Kelce said.

"(Last year) there was a much greater level of accountability from a cohesive standpoint of everybody working together."

The Eagles are tied for second place in the NFC East heading into a Week 11 matchup against the 8-1 New Orleans Saints.