FishDuck on Kelly’s Win

FishDuck.com is the best Oregon site out there. Those guys do a tremendous job of covering the Ducks and remain big Chip Kelly fans.

Here is their take on the Eagles opener.

3. 4th-&-1

Six plays and eighty-seven seconds into the Eagles’ opening drive, they find themselves in 4th-and-1 on the Redskins’ 24 yard line.  Conventional wisdom says “Kick the field goal, put points on the board.”  Kelly went for it, and got the first down.  But he didn’t just ‘go for it,’ as NFL coaches will do from time-to-time.  It was as though the thought of kicking a 41 yard field-goal hadn’t even crossed Kelly’s mind; 19 seconds after the last play, the ball was snapped, and the Eagles had a first down.

What was so important about this decision wasn’t that Kelly chose to go for it, but that it was a real non-decision for him. This was a sure sign that Chip Kelly doesn’t have stage-fright; he’s the same gutsy playcaller he was at Oregon.

I totally agree with this point. It was important for Kelly to make that decision and just as important for him not to hesitate.