“Kelly, who grew up in the northeast and coached at New Hampshire before Oregon, wore a shirt at his Sunday press conference that said “Massachusetts State Police.” His intellectual relationship with Bill Belichick has been well documented over the years, particularly as Belichick has embraced Kelly’s frenetic no-huddle philosophy. Indeed, if the moves Kelly has made over recent weeks are any indication, then I’m not so sure Chip Kelly is trying to bring Oregon to Philadelphia. Instead, he might be trying to bring New England.”
There is a lot of logic in his thinking. Chris is always must read material.
On the first or 2nd day of the draft, I also noticed him wearing a Boston Police shirt. Anyway, in the blog on the EMB, this idea has been discussed. There were those who thought he would bring his Oregon offense, and those who thought it would resemble New Englands.
I think the running game will look like Oregons, and the passing game will look more like New Englands.
We will feature TEs, short passing game with quick throws, and it will be very uptempo. But we will also have packages featuring versatile players such as Casey, or someone who can play a Deanthony Thomas role if we find a player like that which will obviously reming people of Oregon.
I dont think we will totally ignore read option plays either. But they wont be a huge part of the offense. As long as Foles or Barkley win the job.
Nice take and I agree with you for the most part. However, you (and everyone lese) are assuming that “read option” means run or run. The QB can also read post snap either run or pass. That’s where Foles and Barkley come in. Kelly plans to use “packaged plays” where there are basically 2 or 3 plays embedded in the same call. The QB will read a linebacker for instance–if he moves toward the run motion, the QB throws where the linebacker cannot cover. If the linebacker moves to cover the receiver in his zone, the QB hands off. The POST SNAP READS using one word play calls, and packaged plays will make the no huddle, up tempo deadly. Not even New England is doing anything like it. We are entering a new era in football. Fasten your seatbelts.
Klausner wrote an interesting draft recap on BGN earlier and included some comments about Barkley:
“(-)
Doesn’t always handle pressure well, can get skittish in the pocket if protection isn’t up to snuff
Minimal zip on his passes (no “zing” quality), which is especially troublesome when having to squeeze the ball into tight windows (as is necessary in the NFL)
Lack of natural arm strength can’t make up for feet not being set, struggles when forced to shuffle/reset and unable to step into throws
Ball hangs in the air, doesn’t (can’t?) consistently drive throws outside the numbers
Misses some wide open throws
Below average athlete
Makes some baffling decisions, even when he has time, and throws into coverage
Sometimes appears too nonchalant, question poise and sense of urgency under pressure
I think the best way I can sum up Barkley is thusly: His physical skill set is such that he needs to be perfect — and needs his surrounding cast to be perfect — in order to succeed. When Barkley — and his team — falls short of that, he doesn’t have the special tools to compensate. However, protect him capably, surround him with talented weapons, install an offense predicated on short-drops and quick decisions (which is what Chip wants)… and you might end up getting that franchise QB. For now, I’m still on Team Foles.”
I really feel like those are pretty much exactly the criticisms that people levelled at Brady when he came out of college:
“Can get pushed down more easily than you’d like. Lacks mobility and ability to avoid the rush. Lacks a really strong arm. Can’t drive the ball down the field and does not throw a really tight spiral. System-type player who can get exposed if he must ad-lib and do things on his own.
Is not what you’re looking for in terms of physical stature, strength, arm strength and mobility, but he has the intangibles and production. Could make it in the right system but will not be for everyone.”
Bill put him in a system that worked, with quality receivers, a short passing game and a rock-solid line to stand behind. Maybe it’ll work the same way for Chip and maybe it won’t, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he saw a bit of Tom in Matt and decided to take a swing and hope for a similar outcome. Can’t knock him for that and it’ll sure be interesting to see whether it pays off.
Degoey I disagree about Barkley, I think he has a lot of potential, with a brilliant mind like Chip’s, skies the limit. Even Brady wasn’t the greatest when he replaced Bledsoe in NE. I think the eagles need a better QB coach. Remember Billchick comes to Kelly for advice, so I’m sure Kelly will play to Barkley’s strength’s. hopefully our run game gets a lot better to take a lot of pressure off the QB.