Football NFL to the Eagles: Not so fast Chip !!

Chiefshrink · 07-31-2013, 08:41 PM

NFL to the Eagles: Not So Fast
Chip Kelly's New High-Tempo Offense in Philadelphia May Face a Major Challenge: Referees

By KEVIN CLARK

Associated Press
Philadelphia Eagles coach Chip Kelly (in background watching quarterback Michael Vick) aims to run every play as quickly as possible with no huddles and no stoppages in play.

Philadelphia Eagles coach Chip Kelly has been plotting a football revolution since he was hired this winter to turn around the team's fortunes.

His plan is to continue the philosophy he perfected as the coach at Oregon: to run every play as quickly as possible with no huddles and no stoppages in play, all aimed at leaving the defense doubled over in exhaustion. This "up-tempo" strategy, already popular at the college level, looks like it could change the pro game forever. There is just one small problem standing in Kelly's way: referees.

As Kelly mans his first full week of NFL training camp, installing a high-revving Ferrari engine into the Eagles' offense, league insiders say there are exactly zero indications NFL referees will be willing participants in the Kelly era. The NFL, they say, has a long-standing pace at which they do things between plays and the referees "aren't going to change just to accommodate someone's offense," said Mike Pereira, a former NFL vice president of officiating who is now an analyst for Fox Sports.

"We have to make sure teams understand that they don't control the tempo, our officials do," said NFL vice president of officiating Dean Blandino. "We're going through our normal ball mechanics; we aren't going to rush [unless] it's in the two minute drill."

Blandino said he has talked to every NFL team coaching staff during the off-season to emphasize that there is no forcing the issue—the offense won't be able to snap the ball until the referees signals they're ready.

Kelly declined to comment. An Eagles spokesman also declined to comment.

Blandino said the subject of up-tempo offenses and how they're officiated was a major point of discussion by the NFL's competition committee in recent months. Last season, after what Blandino said was a record for total plays from scrimmage per game, he said the committee felt compelled to "re-emphasize" that NFL rules differ dramatically from college.

At a clinic for NFL officials this off-season, Pereira said he saw league executives taking the next step, drilling the message into the heads of its assembled referees: No matter what, we're going to run at the same pace.

It is easy to see why the NFL might want to tap the brakes on these rampaging offenses. The league has long cherished the somewhat languorous breaks between plays, which are also attractive to broadcasters. There is also a safety concern: The more plays get run, the more tired players become and the more their technique suffers—increasing the risks of injury.

For Kelly, who went 46-7 at Oregon and appeared in a national-championship game, the college game was essentially a racetrack. Since referee guidelines were more lenient, Kelly's teams were consistently able to get officials to work more quickly, setting them up to make lightning-fast snaps. In one game measured by The Wall Street Journal, Kelly's Oregon offense averaged just 23.2 seconds between snaps, a pace 32% faster than the norm for college football.

In the NFL, however, referees are required to change balls when a play dies out of bounds or when there is an incomplete pass. That can add five to 10 seconds between plays. Another source of slowness: The referee who spots the ball in the NFL must be behind the deepest offensive back before the offense can snap the ball.

In at least one collegiate conference, the referee has to only be two steps away from the ball for the offense to snap it. The difference between these approaches can add up to 10 seconds in some instances.

The NFL's policy on substitutions won't help the Eagles, either. If an offensive team substitutes a player, Blandino said, it doesn't matter how quickly that player gets to the line of scrimmage—the defense will also be allowed to make its substitutions. NFL referees, he said, will go so far as standing over the ball to make sure the defenders have time to get in the game.

Pereira, who saw Kelly's offense in action when he briefly oversaw Pac-12 officials two years ago, said Kelly was a coach who lobbied for officials to be more mobile so they could run with the Ducks and get the ball down on the line of scrimmage more quickly, giving the team's center the chance to get a snap off just seconds later. "In the NFL, I don't see him having the juice to persuade crews to work faster," Pereira said. "In fact, I know he doesn't."

To understand the difference between what Kelly wants to bring to the NFL and what the NFL is used to, consider that 12.8% of NFL plays last season were run without a huddle. While that is nearly double what it was five years ago, it doesn't hold a candle to Kelly's Ducks teams. Those squads went without a huddle on 78.5% of plays last year. Eagles receiver Jason Avant said that in his time in the NFL he's come to realize that every NFL team runs the same plays with different names. "But not this offense," he said.

Blandino said that in his meeting with Philadelphia, Kelly didn't show any "overconcern" about these changes. "They had questions about what the parameters were going to be," Blandino said of the Eagles. "It's going to be different from college." Blandino said he didn't sense pushback from teams. He said he wanted every team aware of the mechanics that take place before a snap.

The NFL's version of an up-tempo offense—as tepid as it may be compared with college—has caught on with a handful of teams, most notably the New England Patriots, which ran 74.4 plays per game last season, the most by an NFL team in two decades. By all accounts, the Patriots wish they could go faster. "Tom [Brady] always wants to go faster and faster," said wide receiver Matthew Slater.

But even that pace has stirred up controversy in the NFL. Jets linebacker Calvin Pace called the Patriots' up-tempo offense "borderline illegal" and Jet coaches have publicly complained about the Patriots breaking substitution rules.

"Coach Kelly will not be playing as fast in Philadelphia as he did at Oregon," said Gerald Austin, a longtime NFL referee who now instructs officials and is an analyst for ESPN.

Write to Kevin Clark at kevin.clark@wsj.com

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...350207808.html

salame · 07-31-2013, 08:43 PM

Hog's Gone Fishin · 07-31-2013, 08:46 PM

Face !

**Baby Lee** · 07-31-2013, 08:46 PM

This is bullshit. The role of the referees is to judge the legitimacy of the flow of play under the league rules. They have no business, aside from stopping play for injury or review, setting the pace of play. They are observers and interpreters, not an active element of how the flow of play proceeds.

Valiant · 07-31-2013, 08:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baby Lee

This is bullshit. The role of the referees is to judge the legitimacy of the flow of play under the league rules. They have no business, aside from stopping play for injury or review, setting the pace of play. They are observers and interpreters, not an active element of how the flow of play proceeds.

This..

If they do interfere they need to be fired..

**RealSNR** · 07-31-2013, 08:50 PM

I'm mixed on this. I think the bullshit that Peyton Manning used to try to pull all the time was rightfully called out and reigned in by refs at times. Lots of people had problems with those calls, but football should be a fair chess match. You can try to make it speed chess or slow chess, but you should never try to trick your opponent by shifting pieces around when they aren't looking.

I don't think the refs should be interfering on this unless it's completely ridiculous, and the defense has absolutely zero time to even get set in a base formation.

Bambi · 07-31-2013, 08:57 PM

I think referees should do this because it's annoying when high tempo teams try and make the game all weird and shit.

However as head referee I would have never have talked openly about this...

**007** · 07-31-2013, 09:04 PM

That is a load of horseshit. The refs aren't there to control the pace of the game they are there to call penalties and make sure rules are followed. I am not aware of any rules regarding how fast you get up to the line only the fact that you have 35 seconds to get up there. if a team wants to speed that up and get up there in 10 seconds then the defense needs to adjust to that as well as the refs. if the refs intentionally try to slow them down then the NFL is allowing them to be way too big a part of the game. I already hate that the refs get to be named and take advantage of their camera time. This would be intentionally trying to involve themselves in the outcome of a game.

RippedmyFlesh · 07-31-2013, 09:08 PM

"We're going through our normal ball mechanics; we aren't going to rush [unless] it's in the two minute drill."

Blandino said he has talked to every NFL team coaching staff during the off-season to emphasize that there is no forcing the issue—the offense won't be able to snap the ball until the referees signals they're ready.

That says it all to me.Would have to be a rule change to vary from above.

**mikeyis4dcats.** · 07-31-2013, 09:19 PM

i'd like to be angry about this, but **** CHIP KELLY.

**007** · 07-31-2013, 09:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikeyis4dcats.

i'd like to be angry about this, but **** CHIP KELLY.

I feel that way too but **** the refs. Seriously.

**Baby Lee** · 07-31-2013, 09:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Valiant

This..

If they do interfere they need to be fired..

Quote:

Originally Posted by Guru

That is a load of horseshit. The refs aren't there to control the pace of the game they are there to call penalties and make sure rules are followed. I am not aware of any rules regarding how fast you get up to the line only the fact that you have 35 seconds to get up there. if a team wants to speed that up and get up there in 10 seconds then the defense needs to adjust to that as well as the refs. if the refs intentionally try to slow them down then the NFL is allowing them to be way too big a part of the game. I already hate that the refs get to be named and take advantage of their camera time. This would be intentionally trying to involve themselves in the outcome of a game.

That said, I have no problem with the refs bearing down on formation penalties, false starts, QB head fakes, etc. If the team can't manage a disciplined start of play at accelerated pace, they deserve to reap the whirlwind.

**mikeyis4dcats.** · 07-31-2013, 09:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Guru

I feel that way too but **** the refs. Seriously.

I'm far more enraged about the Big 12 adding an 8th official just to spot the ball so teams can go faster.

philfree · 07-31-2013, 09:27 PM

The ball needs to be spotted at the same pace for both teams.

**007** · 07-31-2013, 09:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baby Lee

That said, I have no problem with the refs bearing down on formation penalties, false starts, QB head fakes, etc. If the team can't manage a disciplined start of play at accelerated pace, they deserve to reap the whirlwind.

I think that goes without saying. Refs just need to do their job.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikeyis4dcats.

I'm far more enraged about the Big 12 adding an 8th official just to spot the ball so teams can go faster.

Seriously? They added an official just to spot the ball? Maybe it is time for younger officials that can multitask.

07-31-2013, 08:41 PM
Chiefshrink Replaced by a future HOFer !! Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: donkey land Casino cash: $6487901	NFL to the Eagles: Not so fast Chip !! NFL to the Eagles: Not So Fast Chip Kelly's New High-Tempo Offense in Philadelphia May Face a Major Challenge: Referees By KEVIN CLARK Associated Press Philadelphia Eagles coach Chip Kelly (in background watching quarterback Michael Vick) aims to run every play as quickly as possible with no huddles and no stoppages in play. Philadelphia Eagles coach Chip Kelly has been plotting a football revolution since he was hired this winter to turn around the team's fortunes. His plan is to continue the philosophy he perfected as the coach at Oregon: to run every play as quickly as possible with no huddles and no stoppages in play, all aimed at leaving the defense doubled over in exhaustion. This "up-tempo" strategy, already popular at the college level, looks like it could change the pro game forever. There is just one small problem standing in Kelly's way: referees. As Kelly mans his first full week of NFL training camp, installing a high-revving Ferrari engine into the Eagles' offense, league insiders say there are exactly zero indications NFL referees will be willing participants in the Kelly era. The NFL, they say, has a long-standing pace at which they do things between plays and the referees "aren't going to change just to accommodate someone's offense," said Mike Pereira, a former NFL vice president of officiating who is now an analyst for Fox Sports. "We have to make sure teams understand that they don't control the tempo, our officials do," said NFL vice president of officiating Dean Blandino. "We're going through our normal ball mechanics; we aren't going to rush [unless] it's in the two minute drill." Blandino said he has talked to every NFL team coaching staff during the off-season to emphasize that there is no forcing the issue—the offense won't be able to snap the ball until the referees signals they're ready. Kelly declined to comment. An Eagles spokesman also declined to comment. Blandino said the subject of up-tempo offenses and how they're officiated was a major point of discussion by the NFL's competition committee in recent months. Last season, after what Blandino said was a record for total plays from scrimmage per game, he said the committee felt compelled to "re-emphasize" that NFL rules differ dramatically from college. At a clinic for NFL officials this off-season, Pereira said he saw league executives taking the next step, drilling the message into the heads of its assembled referees: No matter what, we're going to run at the same pace. It is easy to see why the NFL might want to tap the brakes on these rampaging offenses. The league has long cherished the somewhat languorous breaks between plays, which are also attractive to broadcasters. There is also a safety concern: The more plays get run, the more tired players become and the more their technique suffers—increasing the risks of injury. For Kelly, who went 46-7 at Oregon and appeared in a national-championship game, the college game was essentially a racetrack. Since referee guidelines were more lenient, Kelly's teams were consistently able to get officials to work more quickly, setting them up to make lightning-fast snaps. In one game measured by The Wall Street Journal, Kelly's Oregon offense averaged just 23.2 seconds between snaps, a pace 32% faster than the norm for college football. In the NFL, however, referees are required to change balls when a play dies out of bounds or when there is an incomplete pass. That can add five to 10 seconds between plays. Another source of slowness: The referee who spots the ball in the NFL must be behind the deepest offensive back before the offense can snap the ball. In at least one collegiate conference, the referee has to only be two steps away from the ball for the offense to snap it. The difference between these approaches can add up to 10 seconds in some instances. The NFL's policy on substitutions won't help the Eagles, either. If an offensive team substitutes a player, Blandino said, it doesn't matter how quickly that player gets to the line of scrimmage—the defense will also be allowed to make its substitutions. NFL referees, he said, will go so far as standing over the ball to make sure the defenders have time to get in the game. Pereira, who saw Kelly's offense in action when he briefly oversaw Pac-12 officials two years ago, said Kelly was a coach who lobbied for officials to be more mobile so they could run with the Ducks and get the ball down on the line of scrimmage more quickly, giving the team's center the chance to get a snap off just seconds later. "In the NFL, I don't see him having the juice to persuade crews to work faster," Pereira said. "In fact, I know he doesn't." To understand the difference between what Kelly wants to bring to the NFL and what the NFL is used to, consider that 12.8% of NFL plays last season were run without a huddle. While that is nearly double what it was five years ago, it doesn't hold a candle to Kelly's Ducks teams. Those squads went without a huddle on 78.5% of plays last year. Eagles receiver Jason Avant said that in his time in the NFL he's come to realize that every NFL team runs the same plays with different names. "But not this offense," he said. Blandino said that in his meeting with Philadelphia, Kelly didn't show any "overconcern" about these changes. "They had questions about what the parameters were going to be," Blandino said of the Eagles. "It's going to be different from college." Blandino said he didn't sense pushback from teams. He said he wanted every team aware of the mechanics that take place before a snap. The NFL's version of an up-tempo offense—as tepid as it may be compared with college—has caught on with a handful of teams, most notably the New England Patriots, which ran 74.4 plays per game last season, the most by an NFL team in two decades. By all accounts, the Patriots wish they could go faster. "Tom [Brady] always wants to go faster and faster," said wide receiver Matthew Slater. But even that pace has stirred up controversy in the NFL. Jets linebacker Calvin Pace called the Patriots' up-tempo offense "borderline illegal" and Jet coaches have publicly complained about the Patriots breaking substitution rules. "Coach Kelly will not be playing as fast in Philadelphia as he did at Oregon," said Gerald Austin, a longtime NFL referee who now instructs officials and is an analyst for ESPN. Write to Kevin Clark at kevin.clark@wsj.com http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...350207808.html
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07-31-2013, 08:43 PM	#2
salame Under the Sofa Join Date: Apr 2009 Casino cash: $10010607
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07-31-2013, 08:46 PM	#3
Hog's Gone Fishin Fish are scared of me Join Date: Nov 2001 Casino cash: $-1499523	Face !
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07-31-2013, 08:46 PM	#4
Baby Lee Supporter Join Date: Aug 2000 Casino cash: $8028275	This is bullshit. The role of the referees is to judge the legitimacy of the flow of play under the league rules. They have no business, aside from stopping play for injury or review, setting the pace of play. They are observers and interpreters, not an active element of how the flow of play proceeds. __________________ We need the kind of courage that can withstand the subtle corruption of the cynics - E.W.
Posts: 95,642

07-31-2013, 08:50 PM	#6
RealSNR Special Teams ACE!!! Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Where the hell is SNR Casino cash: $-1424792	I'm mixed on this. I think the bullshit that Peyton Manning used to try to pull all the time was rightfully called out and reigned in by refs at times. Lots of people had problems with those calls, but football should be a fair chess match. You can try to make it speed chess or slow chess, but you should never try to trick your opponent by shifting pieces around when they aren't looking. I don't think the refs should be interfering on this unless it's completely ridiculous, and the defense has absolutely zero time to even get set in a base formation.
Posts: 93,371

07-31-2013, 08:57 PM	#7
Bambi Banned Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: New York City Casino cash: $10036993	I think referees should do this because it's annoying when high tempo teams try and make the game all weird and shit. However as head referee I would have never have talked openly about this...
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07-31-2013, 09:04 PM	#8
007 Shaken. Not stirred. Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: London Casino cash: $12200126 VARSITY	That is a load of horseshit. The refs aren't there to control the pace of the game they are there to call penalties and make sure rules are followed. I am not aware of any rules regarding how fast you get up to the line only the fact that you have 35 seconds to get up there. if a team wants to speed that up and get up there in 10 seconds then the defense needs to adjust to that as well as the refs. if the refs intentionally try to slow them down then the NFL is allowing them to be way too big a part of the game. I already hate that the refs get to be named and take advantage of their camera time. This would be intentionally trying to involve themselves in the outcome of a game. __________________ My dear girl, there are some things that just aren’t done. Such as, drinking Dom Perignon ’53 above the temperature of 38 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s just as bad as listening to the Beatles without earmuffs.
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07-31-2013, 09:08 PM	#9
RippedmyFlesh Veteran Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: New York Casino cash: $10005817	"We're going through our normal ball mechanics; we aren't going to rush [unless] it's in the two minute drill." Blandino said he has talked to every NFL team coaching staff during the off-season to emphasize that there is no forcing the issue—the offense won't be able to snap the ball until the referees signals they're ready. That says it all to me.Would have to be a rule change to vary from above.
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07-31-2013, 09:19 PM	#10
mikeyis4dcats. Scarlett Johansson's boytoy Join Date: Nov 2006 Casino cash: $9555998	i'd like to be angry about this, but **** CHIP KELLY. __________________
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07-31-2013, 09:27 PM	#14
philfree Indian Twitter Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Free Agency Casino cash: $-2103802	The ball needs to be spotted at the same pace for both teams. __________________ [/SIGPIC]
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