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| LeSean McCoy and the exhilarating Eagles offense will make them a must-watch team this year. (Credits: Nick Wass/AP Photo) |
Monday night the nation tuned in to see what former stud college head coach Chip Kelly had in store for his NFL debut. We knew that he had something fast and exhilarating on his mind, but we didn't know exactly what it would look like. Then we sat there in awe and watched play, after play, after play until either the Redskins defense was exhausted or we as viewers were dizzy from the constant action. The Eagles are going to be fun as hell to watch.
That doesn't necessarily mean they'll be good, however.
This relentless pace has never really been attempted in the NFL. Of course a lot of teams have and still run no huddle offenses, but this is faster than a no huddle. There's no hesitation. There's no stopping to catch their breathes. It's go, go, go. It's the D'Antoni system in the form of an NFL team. They ran 30 plays in the first quarter, finishing the half with 53 totals plays. They'd built up a 33-7 lead early in the third quarter and looked in complete control of the game. Washington looked overwhelmed, ill-prepared and downright crippled. Yet, then the Eagles pace caught up with them and RGIII commenced the comeback.
In the end it wasn't enough, but it showed that this relentless pace is nearly impossible to replicate for four quarters. 53 plays in the first half. 22 in the second half. Proof in the pudding.
If they hadn't finished this victory off, we'd be sitting here ripping this offense to shreds. We'd be laughing at Philly. "Classic Eagles." And the Chip Kelly doubters would be in full force. Yet, this is a result-based league and that win is still a win, no matter how ridiculous or lopsided each half was.
Philadelphia will finish this season somewhere around 8-8. There will be games where they go out and light up teams with this electric pace and they'll be games where inefficient offense drives will led to an exhaustion of the defense. Just wait until the normal mid-season injuries start to pile up, it could get ugly. I worry that Michael Vick is too feeble to run this pace. Hell, he was even limping late in this first game. However there's one thing that will remain the same, the Eagles will be must-see television.
I was interested to see what Chip Kelly brought to the NFL roundtable, now I'm enamored. Not so much to see how good the Eagles actually are, but to see if he makes adjustments or if this type of scintillating pace gains steam around the league. Other teams have enacted a more deliberate versions of the no huddle offense. Will they eventually try to emulate the Eagles? This entire season we'll keep tabs on the Eagles just because it's something new, something intriguing, something incredibly dramatic. The read-option was the talk of the league last year, this non-stop offense will certainly be the talk of the league this year.
Some folks are gushing over this pace. Others are ripping it to shreds. I'm just going to get my popcorn ready and watch the fastest offense in NFL history. Lights. Camera. Speed.
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