NFL to the Eagles: Not so fast Chip !!

[Chiefshrink]

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

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by beach tribe

I dont have a problem with any of that.
Getting a new ball in should not slow the game for any reason if the refs are on point and have a ball ready.
I think the D should be able to make adjustments the same way they do during the 2 minute drill.
And of course the refs have to get into position. Just like they do during the 2 min drill.
And like I said I dont give shit who is running the up tempo offense, just that theh should be able to do it.
This ref makes it sound as though they would not be quickening their pace just because the offense does.
Hence the matter of factly comment about how the game would not change from its current pace.
Sounds lazy and arrogant.

I don't want to compromise the integrity of getting calls right just because one team wants to run at an unreasonably fast pace.

And for the sake of football, I hate the idea of an offense that moves so fast a defense can't make substitutions. That doesn't feel like football to me and I don't see yet another reason to give the offense that kind of an advantage.

[Johnny Vegas]

Originally Posted by mikeyis4dcats.

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

Originally Posted by Guru

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

whoa whoa whoa. nobody is gonna butt **** anyone.

[splatbass]

Originally Posted by cdcox

All the referees are saying is that they will control the pace of the game enough to allow:

1) new balls to be brought into play when the rules require it;
2) officials to get into position to make the proper call as required by the rules;
3) the defense sufficient time to make substitutions in response to offensive substitutions as required by the rules.

The only way to speed up the tempo is to change the rules, Are you guys advocating that the NFL should change its rules to accommodate the whims of a new coach, because it sure sounds like it.

This is entirely too reasonable for CP.

[Dayze]

Originally Posted by Johnny Vegas

whoa whoa whoa. nobody is gonna butt **** anyone.

[splatbass]

Originally Posted by beach tribe

I didnt say that.
I said the refs in college are already adjusting to the up tempo pace......because they have to because offenses have increased their pace.
In the case of the NFL refs, they are acting as though they just arent going to do it because they Dont Have to.
They are setting the pace and making offenses follow suit instead of the other way around.
Offenses should be setting their own pace .
There is no reason why the rules In place should keep the refs from being able to do their jobs.

So you think the offense should always set the pace and the rules shouldn't interfere? So that means you are against the 35 second clock, right? Logically, if the offense sets the pace then that would mean they could go as slow as they want also. Obviously there have to be rules that set limits for the pace in one form or another.

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by Chiefshrink

In the NFL, however, referees are required to change balls when a play dies out of bounds or when there is an incomplete pass.

Jeez - I'd hope they wouldn't play with a ball that just killed a guy.

[jspchief]

I think I side with the NFL here.

[petegz28]

Originally Posted by SNR

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.

the only thing is the Refs need to make sure they are in the correct positions before the ball is snapped. I think that making sure the ball gets spotted correctly, the chains have time to move on 1st down makes and the Refs getting into position for the next play are all legit reasons to slow a team down.

[Cannibal]

We don't need to have refs running all over rushing things just because Chip Kelly says so... **** that guy.

[ShortRoundChief]

We could call him Lil Chippy/Sweet Daddy Hate

[ShortRoundChief]

Originally Posted by Cannibal

We don't need to have refs running all over rushing things just because Chip Kelly says so... **** that guy.

With an Oregon Duck.

[Brock]

Originally Posted by jspchief

I think I side with the NFL here.

Yep. The officials run the game, it's always been that way. I'd rather have correct calls and spotting than a track meet game.

[Chiefnj2]

. "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."

Seems to imply some NFL coaches have the pull to get the refs to move faster.

[Easy 6]

Yeah, NFL Live was talking about this, the league is going to take as much time as it needs to unless its a two minute drill... as much as i love fast paced action and innovation, the refs have to be able to get things ready to roll first.

We cant take every single advantage away from defenses, its bad enough as it is.

[SAUTO]

Originally Posted by Brock

Yep. The officials run the game, it's always been that way. I'd rather have correct calls and spotting than a track meet game.

Exactly.

A lot of prior here are saying it isn't the ref's job to dictate tempo yet the article says the league has a long standing tempo at which they want the game ran.

Sounds like that's part of their jobs to me
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