Jaworski Doesn't Think Chip Kelly's Offense Will Work In the NFL
When Chip Kelly was announced as the new coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, many people questioned whether or not his offense would translate to the NFL.
One of those questioning Kelly's philosophy is former Eagles quarterback Ron Jaworski.
"It's going to be interesting to see if this style of offense projects to the NFL," he said recently said on WPEN-FM, via Phillymag.com. "I'm going to say no."
"I just don't see NFL passing concepts in this offense," Jaworski added. "It's a movement offense by the quarterback, off the run-action, off the read-action. A lot of short, quick passes, dart routes, bubble screens. Very few plays down the field with NFL passing concepts."
It must be a slow news day for those comments to hit the wire. And Jaworski has a short memory. Kelly and the Eagles drafted a classic drop-back quarterback in Matt Barkley less than a month ago. He'll have a lot to learn in the NFL, but going vertical isn't one of them.
Jaws must also have forgotten that numerous wags said the same thing about the Run-and-Shoot offense that had worked for years in the NFL. Teams like the Buffalo Bills, Atlanta Falcons, Houston Oilers, and the USFL Houston Gamblers all either ran the Run-and-Shoot or ran an offense similar to it.
Quarterbacks Jim Kelly and Warren Moon, both in the Hall of Fame, ran those type of offenses when they played, so it didn't hurt their careers.
Jaworski said he hopes it works, but he has little confidence that it will.
"I hope it works. I like the innovation, but I think it's going to be very difficult," Jaworski predicted. "In the NFL, these guys work 17 hours a day. A day, not a week -- 17 hours a day getting ready, so there's no secrets."
He may be right, but then again this is the same guy who is no longer a regular on Monday Night Football.
So Jaworski is no Jon Gruden. If he spent as much time as Chucky in the film room, he'd know better than to diss Chip before he saw what the new Eagles coach really had in mind.