Chip Kelly's Spread Offense in the NFL

[coogrfan]

Quote: Originally Posted by kcharles520

i agree with this, and that's why chip kelly's presence in the NFL is going to be such an interesting storyline next season. we're talking about arguably one of the greatest spread-option coaches in the history of college football in a league that's ever so slowly beginning to see the merits of that style of offense. i mean for years we always heard it. "option doesn't work in the nfl, spread offense doesn't work in the nfl...defense is too fast, it doesn't work, etc. etc." and now that people are finally *trying* that offense out they're realizing....it's actually quite effective. so if chip kelly comes in and runs a spread-option offense to perfection in 2013-14 then we could be talking about the dawning of a new era in professional football. it could change the entire nature of the pro game if this style of offense succeeds.

Slow down, tiger. We heard the same talk when Spurrier brought the Fun N Gun to the NFL, and we all know how that turned out.

Like Spurrier, the Chipster's offensive success at UO was primarily due to having an overwhelming advantage in talent and depth over most of the teams they faced. As Spurrier learned the hard way, that doesn't happen in the big leagues. Combine that with the fact that the NFL's best defensive minds are going to be spending much of the offseason working on ways to defend the spread option. By Dec, Kelly may find himself wishing he had stayed in the college ranks.

[JBH3]

Whatever Chip Kelly does, I hope it involves heavy doses of Lesean McCoy. This guy was severely under used last year and I don't think he's reached his max potential.

[ubernoob]

Its not like the spread option as an offense will last that long. Like was stated before, the talent gaps allow that to happen in the NCAA. All it takes is good reads and a disciplined LB corps. That's not to say it won't be good here and there, but don't expect anyone to be winning with it as their primary calls in a couple years.

[SPTO]

Quote: Originally Posted by coogrfan

Slow down, tiger. We heard the same talk when Spurrier brought the Fun N Gun to the NFL, and we all know how that turned out. Like Spurrier, the Chipster's offensive success at UO was primarily due to having an overwhelming advantage in talent and depth over most of the teams they faced. As Spurrier learned the hard way, that doesn't happen in the big leagues. Combine that with the fact that the NFL's best defensive minds are going to be spending much of the offseason working on ways to defend the spread option. By Dec, Kelly may find himself wishing he had stayed in the college ranks.

The main difference is that Spurrier was the only one doing the Fun n' Gun offense in the NFL and he was bullheaded about it. Instead of using the personnel he had in DC he brought in some old Florida players and tried to put a square peg in a round hole. Like it or not, the spread option has proven to be viable in the NFL at least for now and Kelly would be a fool not to use some of its principles in his NFL playbook.

As far as being a "one trick pony" lest we forget that two of the very best coaches in the game could pretty much be viewed as such in Bill Walsh and Joe Gibbs. I'm not saying they were but if we're going by the true definition it kinda fits as Walsh used his West Coast Offense throughout his career and never really deviated from it. You could say he probably tweaked it a little when Roger Craig came to San Fran and used the RB as a receiving option a little more than he did before. (I've seen plenty games pre and post Craig in a Niners uniform) Walsh even used the offense in his college days both his first time around and when he came back in the early '90s to varying degrees of success.

Joe Gibbs is a guy that came from the Don Coryell school but he was the more conservative flip side of that line of thinking. We saw that he was pretty inflexible as Gibbs 2.0 showed that he was basically using the old '80s Redskins offense which wasn't working so well. Hell, he brought in Al Saunders halfway through his 2nd tenure and the guy is basically a disciple of Coryell! Gibbs didn't fully adapt to the new strategies in the NFL and it was thanks to having a pretty decent defense that saved his 2nd tenure from being a failure. (I'd rate it as middling, like a lot of the results during that period for the Redskins)

[L33TFROG]

I think the offense Chip brings into the NFL will mostly just focus on the fast passing no huddle aspect of Kelly's system which will eventually evolve into a fast-paced west coast system

[jth1331]

I'd argue the spread offense already exists in the NFL and has succeeded. Its all about putting 4 WR's out there on the field with a RB. Most teams don't have enough weapons to cause mismatches, because in the NFL you have more talent to cover more guys.
In college, its easier to cause the mismatches spreading the field.

Now in terms of option offense, its shown to have success, but any coach will be nuts to put his QB's health on the line when there is actual money invested in him. Add to the fact the defenses are faster and smarter to react to the option, makes it more difficult to run. Although the Broncos with Tebow did a pretty decent job running it, which kind of baffled me to be honest. I just don't think a coach will want his QB taking so many hits a game to run it very much.

[Find_the_Door]

I'm from Eugene and have attended a number of Oregon games in my life. Chip's read option reads the DT as opposed to the end or backer. This poses a lot of problems for teams as not to many rosters possess a supremely athletic hole plunger.

[ObiJuanKenobi]

I would love to see chip kelly bring it to the nfl. The only problem I see though is the eagles having one of the worst o-lines in football last year. Chip has really only addressed the defensive side of the ball so far in free agency. I think in order to run a spread offense that is viable with the run he is going to need to give the o-line a serious shot in the arm.