Scott Olmos-USA TODAY Sports
The Dallas Cowboys had no idea the who the Philadelphia Eagles were going to hire when they hired defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin last week. Since that time time, much has changed. Kiffin has begun work on transitioning the defense to the Tampa 2 and just when people are trying to decipher if the Cowboys have the pieces to make the switch, here come the Eagles swooping in and adding more questions.
Anything the Eagles do usually causes a ripple for the Cowboys and their fans but the hiring of Chip Kelly today will cause major waves. After all, it was Kelly’s University of Oregon offense that put up 62 points and over 700 yards of offense on Kiffin’s USC defense in early November. That includes over 400 yards rushing on the 72-year olds defensive unit. Kelly’s offense is coming and it should concern every team in the NFL, but especially the Cowboys, who play the Eagles twice a year.
Don’t kid yourself into thinking Kelly got the better of Kiffin in just one game either, the Oregon offense totaled at least 462 yards in all three contests and averaged 597 yards in the three games they played each other. Cowboys fans have to be hoping things will be different at the professional level.
Thankfully for Dallas, there are plenty of differences between college football and the NFL. In college Kelly got to pick the players he wanted for his system and that will not be the case in the pro’s. The players in the NFL are also bigger, stronger and faster so only time will tell how well Kelly’s system will work. However, know this, the New England Patriots run a similar system to the one Chip Kelly has run for years at Oregon and we they’ve been very successful at it.
Kiffin’s defense at USC also didn’t have the talent to compete with Oregon and were out-manned the past few years because of NCAA sanctions against the Trojans but this is still something Cowboys fans didn’t want to see happen. The NFL has become more open offensively in the past few years and athletic quarterbacks are no longer considered taboo so the Cowboys and Kiffin need to adjust, and fast.
Maybe it’s not the worst thing in the world to happen to the Cowboys in a long time but it sure feels like that today. Only time will tell.
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