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The inconvenient flaw of Kelly’s high tempo offense


The hiring of Chip Kelly as the offensive coordinator in 2007 ushered in a new era of Duck
football. Since he has become coach, the Ducks have been scratching and clawing to overtake USC as
the team fans think of when the Pac-12 is mentioned.

Coming from New Hampshire, Kelly brought with him a run-first offense unlike anything college
football had seen before. Oregon’s offense feels like a spread but focuses almost all its energy on the
run game. WwWhen Kelly became the head coach in 2009 the Ducks piled up 3012 yards rushing and
followed that performance with a 3,721 yard outburst in 2010. Kelly’s offense has been as important for
the Ducks notoriety as their revolutionary uniform decisions.

But college football is all about W’s and those numbers don’t mean anything if the team is not
winning. Fortunately for Kelly, his system has done plenty of winning. Any reasonable Duck fan will tell
you that the last five years have become the Golden Years for Oregon football.

To date, they have lost two, regular season games in the last two-plus seasons. A testament to
Oregon’s success is that both losses came at the hands of Boise State and LSU; teams currently residing
in the AP top-5. Despite this recent success, the reason why USC is still considered the face of the Pac-
12 is because the postseason has not matched the regular season triumphs.

Recently, ESPN declared that Oregon has “not arrived as a national, elite powerhouse.” While
Duck fans would gripe that no team has had as much consistent success as Oregon, the boys in Bristol
were correct. Pat Ford, in his post LSU vs. Oregon recap he said, “Problem is Oregon doesn't have the
passing attack to compensate for a shutdown on the ground.” More importantly, the Ducks lose all of
their rhythm when the running attack is stopped.

ESPN can see what factor Oregon is missing because it’s the one position that can take any team
from obscurity to relevance. It is the reason why, after rushing for nearly 7,000 yards at a pace that
makes Usain Bolt look pedestrian, the Ducks have not won the “big one.” To be blunt: The Ducks do not
have a professional quarterback.

A professional quarterback is a player who gets drafted in the first or second round or gets
drafted later and becomes a long-term NFL contributor. For example, Andy Dalton can be considered a
professional quarterback by college standards even if he flames out after two years. He was drafted high
in the second round and played so well in college that the Bengals were willing to take a financial risk on
him. On the flip side, it would not be surprising if in ten years we hear an announcer say, “Filling in for
[insert future hall of famer] this week will be Greg McElroy.” Both players were superior to their peers
because of lofty stats and team success during their helm at quarterback. During their college careers
both players can be considered professional quarterbacks at the college level,ee even though Dalton was
drafted far higher than McElroy

This brings up the point about the relative success of Oregon football.W Why do the best

players at the most prominent positions spurn the best Pac-12 team of the last five years to pursue their
careers elsewhere? Well the answer is obvious: it is Chip Kelly’s offense. Whether it’s the fear that their
career will be lost among the tidal wave of running backs Oregon produces, or the reality that the Duck’s
offense suits mobile quarterbacks better, Oregon does not have a professional quarterback on their
roster.

Darren Thomas is an above average college player and will help the ducks win games. But his
talents are limited and while he contributes positively, he is not the reason the ducks win. Against
quality opponents, Thomas is a game-manager, which is fine in college. However, to be an NFL
quarterback Thomas must be the best player on his team.

Dennis Dixon was the Duck’s last professional quarterback, and he is carving out a nice
professional career. Dixon is a quality NFL backup and there still is a chance he will get a chance to
become the starter somewhere. Unlike Thomas, Dixon was the best player on the team in 2007, and he
took a far less talented team into the national spotlight.

If we consider that Oregon in the last five years has produced two starting running backs,
another third-stringer and currently has three running backs that all have NFL potential, it is easy to
claim that Eugene has become the new running back. However, as Cam Newton showed the nation in
2010, and with Andrew Luck following suite in 2011, if a team wants to become an elite squad, and have
postseason success, they must have great players at 21 positions and a truly special talent at the most
important one.

If Oregon wants to firmly take USC’s spot and become an elite college football program, two
things must happen. Darren Thomas needs to develop into a professional quarterback and they need to
make sure that his successor has some serious NFL potential. UnU Unfortunately for Ducks fans across
the nation, this may mean overhauling Kelly’s run-first offense in favor of a more balanced attack.

Written By,

Kevin McSpadden