Ducks Go Down: Outcome of National Championship Game Could Benefit Chip Kelly & Eagles

2.) Chip Kelly Got a Different Perspective of What it Looks Like when his Systems & Philosophies Fail

Jan 12, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Oregon Ducks quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) tries to get up in the fourth quarter as Ohio State Buckeyes defensive lineman Joey Bosa (97) walks away from the play in the 2015 CFP National Championship Game at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

One of Chip Kelly’s go-to deflection tactics in postgame media availabilities is noting that he needs to be given a chance to look at the tape before he can diagnose a deficiency. To be fair, being ‘in the game’ from a coaching perspective makes providing immediate answers rather difficult. It usually isn’t until a staff can sift through hours of coaches tape (provided by the NFL) and get the best viewpoint of where their strategies succeeded and failed.

By the end of year two of Chip Kelly’s foray into the NFL, questions and pessimism over his approach to the game have started to surface. From his practice regiments to his on-the-field tactics, Kelly’s armor is having holes poked in it and there is tangible proof suggesting the criticism is somewhat valid. At this point, it’s too early to tell if the Eagles head coach has it in him to adapt or if he’s stubborn to the point where he is hesitant to change. Given how Monday’s game went, I think Kelly saw a big reason why opening himself up to adjustment could be what keeps him among the NFL ranks.

Even when he was in college, there always seemed to be a team that had the necessary personnel and strategy to pull the plug on Kelly’s Oregon teams. Whether it was a division rival like Stanford or a Bowl Game combatant like Auburn, the Ducks always managed to run into an opponent that could make them look rather pedestrian compared to their usual scintillating style. At the NFL level, a major criticism of Kelly’s Eagles teams is their inability to topple one of the league’s best. For the most part, Chip’s methods and team-building design have looked great against the bottom-half of the league, but leave much to be desired against teams with playoff and Super Bowl aspirations.

One has to wonder if going into Monday’s game, Kelly had a mindset that his system was foolproof at the college level. Maybe if Oregon were able to breeze by Ohio State, Kelly would remain convinced that he could return to the college level and never have to adapt his style of running a program or calling a game. Even though Chip is probably a better coach than Helfrich, I imagine it would not have made a difference who was on the sideline Monday night.

Much like the 2014 Eagles, the 2014 Ducks were derailed by the smallest hitch in their attack. Given their tempo and pace, going ‘Three-and-Out’ seems like a death sentence to each offense given its reliance on rhythm and wearing down an opponent. Any negative play, be it as a result of a penalty or lost yardage in any other manner, throws off a drive to the point where gaining a first down seems almost impossible. If there is one thing an opposing defense can hang its hat on when facing either the Eagles or Oregon, it’s that preventing a first down can set the offense back several drives at a time.

As for the Oregon defense, it was awfully familiar to see players sucking wind toward the end of the game as they desperately tried to manufacture a stop they knew they couldn’t get. The Ducks did some good things on that side of the ball early in the game, but were so exasperated by the end of it that the Buckeyes could have started celebrating early in the fourth quarter. There was only one way, it seemed, that Oregon was going to win against Ohio State. If they were not able to hold a lead in the second half of the contest, their chances seemed beyond futile.

In the NFL, the best coaches are the ones who are able to lead their team to wins in various styles. Given the amount of in-game adjusting and tinkering that goes place throughout each game, it’s rare that a team is able to blow an opponent out from the opening kickoff. The Eagles have shown the capability to do that on various occasions since Kelly’s arrival. Considering the wear and tear that goes on throughout an NFL game, it’s a bonus to have the arsenal to beat an opponent handily. What Chip has to do is strengthen his ability to stay engaged in a lock-down, drag-out affair and still be a feared coach when doing so.

In a matter of two days, Kelly probably saw first hand the difference between a coach capable of improvising on the fly and one a victim to his own philosophies. Bill Belichick once again seemed poised to meet defeat at the hands of John Harbaugh and the Baltimore Ravens in the postseason. It would end up being a sequence of plays, one that Harbaugh is still probably upset about, that tilted the game back in the Patriots’ favor against a Baltimore team poised for another upset. It would be a 3rd quarter drive where the Patriots manipulated their eligible and ineligible players in a way that confused the aggressive Raven defense and allowed New England to take advantage of a major volley by their coaching staff.

Conversely, as had been the case for several Eagles games this season, defeat seemed inevitable far too early for the Ducks on Monday. Once Ohio State demonstrated the ability to get the quick ‘Three-and-Out’ that could sufficiently stall the Oregon attack, the game started to get away from Helfrich’s team. As mentioned before, were it not for the four Ohio State turnovers, this could have been an entirely different level of blowout.

For how smart he comes off, one would hope that Chip Kelly is not stubborn to a fault. He comes off as the type of individual who wants to be among the coaching upper class, but has to realize there isn’t a steadfast formula to doing so. The Carroll’s, Belichick’s, and even Coughlin’s of today’s NFL have earned their status by staying ahead of the curve and being receptive to the changes of the league. Kelly has the aptitude in various areas of coaching and team-construction that can allow him to build an impressive arsenal of coaching methods. What he saw on Monday was that it’s essential to be able to know when and where to use each different tactic and work on gathering a pulse for each game as its own individual entity.