Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
Chip Kelly is just getting started. In what was a miraculous first half against the Washington Redskins which featured an astounding 53 plays and explosive plays galore, the Philadelphia Eagles head coach actually said he thought the offense was “slow” in the first half.
Kelly must have a different definition of slow than the rest of America. The Eagles were going at a breakneck pace with Michael Vick at the controls and had the Redskins’ defenders gasping for air by the end of the first half. Vick himself said he thought by the end of the first quarter that it was halftime. It is admirable that Kelly as a perfectionist wants to kick it up even another gear, but he may wear even his own players out in the process.
The offense certainly was something to behold Monday Night. We saw all sorts of odd formations and unbalanced lines as well as a pace that only is rivaled at the college level. Vick even claimed after the game that we had only seen about 60 percent of the offense. If that is the case watch out San Diego Chargers.
The one problem the offense seemed to have was playing at a slower, more methodical pace and sitting on a lead. The offense didn’t seem to function nearly as well when trying to lower the speed a few notches. This will have to be practiced and preached by coach Kelly as the offense didn’t do a good enough job of controlling the clock as the Redskins almost came back and won the game.
There were certainly lessons learned in this game. We learned when functioning at optimum level this offense is going to be hard to stop for any opposing defensive coordinator. The Chargers come in on a short week after playing late into Monday Night. The Redskins had months to prepare for the Eagles and seemed befuddled much of the night when the Eagles were in high gear. Good luck, Chargers; you’re going to need it.
