Our man Ron Jaworski has studied some tape of Chip Kelly's Oregon teams and has some concerns about Kelly's ability to bring the concepts he used in college with him to the NFL. Per Sheil Kapadia:
“It’s going to be interesting to see if this style of offense projects to the NFL,” Jaws said during an interview with Harry Mayes and Nick Kayal on 97.5 The Fanatic earlier this week. “I’m going to say no.”
“I just don’t see NFL passing concepts in this offense. It’s a movement offense by the quarterback, off the run-action, off the read-action. A lot of short, quick passes, dart routes, bubble screens. Very few plays down the field with NFL passing concepts.”
Jaws added that he’s had several conversations with Kelly and hopes he’s wrong. But he offered an honest assessment of what he’s seen on tape.
Sure, and look. It's entirely possible that Kelly is a college-to-pro flop in the tradition of Steve Spurrier or Nick Saban. But it's also possible that he's a smart guy who understands that what worked in the Pac 12 isn't going to work if he tries to transplant it whole-hog into the NFL. It's possible that the NFL version of Kelly's offense has downfield NFL passing concepts. Certainly, if Michael Vick is the quarterback, Kelly will have a stronger-armed passer than he ever had at Oregon and would be foolish not to find a way to take advantage of that.
I think it's understandable for analysts to be asked and to offer their opinions on what the Eagles will be with Kelly running them. I understand the excitement over new things and the eagerness to know as much as possible about them as soon as possible. But I really think it's important to remember that none of us -- Kelly likely included -- yet knows what Kelly's offense is going to look like in Philadelphia. It is May 22. The first games are still nearly four months away. And any reasonable judgment on whether Kelly can or can't succeed as an NFL coach is much further away than that.