With a 10-6 record last year with the Philadelphia Eagles last season, Coach Chip Kelly has squandered any criticism that he will be the typical college coach that will not have much success in the NFL. Kelly now has his team going in the right direction. In one season as head coach he had given the city of Philadelphia life.
Kelly has indeed differed his style into an unexpected twist with the NFL. He uses about 75 plays a game and relentlessly tires out his opponents either with no huddles or with quick snap counts to draw the defender offside. Many people were not keen on the idea of having over 60 plays in a half, because the players could get seriously injured or tired going at the fast pace that Kelly has exercised in their plays.
Eagles’ writer Peter King had made some honorable mentions about Chip Kelly and how he has resurrected the Eagles. “He really reminds me a huge amount of Jimmy Johnson. Jimmy was a little more of a brash guy, but just in the way they approach the game was similar,” said King. “Jimmy won at Miami and didn’t change a darn thing and when he went to the Cowboys he still had that same system installed. Chip won at Oregon and didn’t change much of anything when he came to the NFL. I think they each of these coaches had a firm belief in their systems and stuck with it even though at first many people criticize their unique coaching style.”
“He has a vision and he’s going to follow through with his program,” said King. “It’s really fun to watch someone come in and turn the league on its heels. Chip is doing that with the fast, small, and elite players that he has.”
Last season the Eagles ran the ball 500 times and passed it 508 times, which goes to show you that this system can work with the right players playing to their strengths.
“We want to get off the ball and be a physical, downhill-running football team,” Kelly said. “This is not a finesse play. We teach our offensive linemen a block we call the bust block. The idea is to bust their sternums against their spines on every play. We want to come off the ball, create a double team, knock the crap out of the defender, and deposit him in the linebacker’s lap.”
Even play makers such running back LeSean McCoy has invited the system that Kelly has installed in their offense. “In this offense we keep you guessing,” McCoy said.
“There are times when the defense says we have seen this before. They think it’s a pass or either it’s a run play, but it’s totally the opposite. I think if you give a defense so many different looks that all look the same, it’s hard to really study them. It’s hard to really know and it keeps them off balance.”
“Our offense is a big-play offense. We’re not that kind of typical boring three-yard offense; we keep the chains moving and the defense off balance.”
