Chiefs’ Tamba Hali On Chip Kelly’s Offense

Rob Foldy-USA TODAY Sports

Philadelphia head coach Chip Kelly has brought his fast-paced offense to the NFL and while the Eagles were able to jump out to an early lead over the Washington Redskins last week, there is some question in NFL circles as to whether or not the offense is sustainable over a full NFL season.

Arrowhead Addict staffer, Lyle Graversen recently wrote in his Armchair QB column on FanSided.com (you should check it out weekly) that he didn’t think Kelly would be able to continue running so many snaps without injuring or wearing out his star players.

ESPN recently asked a bunch of NFL players, coaches and owners if they thought Kelly’s offense would hold up all season. As can be expected, the reactions were mixed.

And one of the players they talked to was Kansas City Chiefs OLB, Tamba Hali.

"“I don’t think you’re going to go through a season running twice as many plays as [the opponent] every week. That’s a lot of games stacking up. I don’t think they will do that. I think they’ll try to come out, outcondition the opponent, keep them off balance, try to get points now. Once the game gets under their control, they’ll get back to what they do at a normal pace. In college, it works. You play 12 games and you have a bunch of players on your team. You don’t have that many players [in the NFL] to wear them down. But the mindset of coming out and playing fast and getting [a lead] early, that goes a long way.’’"

Hali is likely already looking at some film of the Eagles offense as the Chiefs play Philly on a short week next Thursday.

It will be interesting to see how the Chiefs handle the Eagles. KC is running a very aggressive scheme and the Philly offense is designed to get defenses off balance and cause them to over-pursue. The Chiefs will need to be patient and stick to their assignments or the Eagles could get an early lead.

Personally, I agree with Lyle. I don’t think Kelly’s offense will keep working. NFL defenses learn fast. Remember when the wildcat offense was all the rage?

The NFL is a big game of chess and it is a game of adjustments. Right now, Kelly has the upper-hand but will he be able to adjust when his competition catches up to him?

Here’s hoping the Chiefs can set the tone for the rest of the NFL by shutting down Philly next week.