Chip Kelly will still be wearing green in 2013. By Abdoozy (Own work) via Wikimedia Commons

After 14 years in Philadelphia, the Andy Reid era is finally over. During the offseason, the Eagles worked to find a “big name” coach for a replacement. Former Oregon Ducks coach Chip Kelly seemed to fit perfectly as the coach of this team, which had an awful season last year due to a mixture of injuries and poor performance. The spread offense system that he incorporated into the Ducks made them one of the nation’s top offensive teams, would now be brought into the NFL. Under Kelly, the Ducks ranked second in points per game (49.6) and third in rushing (315.2 yards per game) while the Eagles ranked 13^th in the NFL with 117.1 rushing yards per game.

But college is much different than the NFL. I realize that but rushing for over 300 yards per game in the NCAA is almost equivalent to being in the top five rushing teams in the NFL. What Kelly was able to accomplish at Oregon was astonishing and he will try to duplicate that success in Philadelphia. The Eagles addressed the first question — that of which quarterback will run Kelly’s offense — by re-signing quarterback Michael Vick.

Vick had a down year compared to his previous two in Philadelphia but that was due to injuries I believe. Many people questioned whether he would even be back in Philly since rookie Nick Foles showed some promise for the Eagles in Vick’s absence last season. But Vick is better suited to run Kelly’s run-n-gun style of offense so management decided to restructure Vick’s contract and give him a one-year deal worth about $10 million. In my opinion this was a very smart move by Eagles management. They gave Vick one more shot to prove he should be the quarterback of this team after four uneventful seasons. He has a new coach and a new offensive system so what better way to prove himself? If he were to fail in Kelly’s system then the Eagles still have Kelly inked for four additional years and could build a whole new team around his offense schemes. Plus, the Eagles have the fourth overall pick in this April’s upcoming draft so that isn’t too shabby either.

If Vick and the rest of the Eagles team can stay healthy then I believe that they can be very deadly on the offensive side of the ball. With some improvements on defense, the Eagles could easily be back on top as a title contender. Kelly’s spread offense may find some difficulty gaining traction in the NFL, but Kelly is a smart coach and I hope it does work out for him. The Eagles hope to have Kelly repeat the same type of success that he had coaching college football and if all the pieces can fit together then maybe this team can finally show us some of that “dream team”, that Vince Young was blabbering about a few years ago.

Is it a byproduct of the popularity and success of ‘spread offenses?’ Pace allows for more offensive snaps per contest and does have a valid point as far as being able to ‘take the game’ to your opponent. The more you snap the more you score. And the faster you snap, the better the chances you have to score against a vulnerable defense. This much is all true and has been proven between the lines, time and time again.

This past season, the Cal defense became so dysfunctional and struggled for so much oxygen, that they actually and admittedly faked an injury to slow down Chip Kelly’s light-speed Oregon attack. In a game that seemingly has seen it all, you have to admit that’s a first.

Is it a byproduct of the ever-snowballing electronic age? Everything now has an easier way, a faster way, and ultimately, a more efficient way. Face time is a thing of the past and intricate signaling systems have taken over (see also: iphone).

It is amazing to me that this dynamic is now generally accepted as the norm, and is almost foreign to a guy who last suited up no more than just over a decade ago. I can only imagine what the old-timers of the 50’s and 60’s must think?

Some offensive coordination even implements gigantic signs facing the field with a four-square of seemingly random depictions (photo). This form of play-calling apparently is only exercised a small percentage of the time, in an effort to throw off the defensive geniuses of the opponent even further. Ten-word code has effectively become a picture of Scott Van Pelt.

It seems to me the college game is becoming micro-managed by coaches more than is necessary. In today’s game, a player without his coach has become the equivalent of a blind dog in a meat locker – anxious and rudderless. I would be surprised if your average underclassmen would be able to tie his shoes, master the dorm stairwell quickly and navigate to his first class without a series of on-going hand-signals from graduate assistants around campus (including a collection of dummy signals to divert the looky-loos of course).

Whatever happened to banding together for the sake of comradery? Has this beneficial practice of the huddle been tossed-aside and is it on its way to being lost for good?

I can attest through my playing and coaching days, that the huddle was more than a gathering exercise thought a kin to the lunch line in the 3rd grade. There was communication shared, challenges dared and pitfalls ‘bewared.’ It was a rallying point on the proverbial battle-field that constantly reminded and re-injected the common goal.

Wandering up to the line of scrimmage after the ball-carrier has been tackled only to fake a quick snapping of the ball, and then turn to the teat of your position coach seems like a robotic and seemingly uninspired process.

Before it is completely dismissed as a thing of the past, it is paramount to remember what not only has gotten champions of past gridirons accolade and life-long memories, but will continue to get winners of future contests something to point to – something so bare-bones that it was undoubtedly attributive to ‘getting them there,’ the place that they will never forget.

Esprit de corps.

-Andrew Stevens