Well, the uptempo play he championed actually worked really well. As this article on 538 notes, Kelly’s issue was not that his broader commitment to fast play was ill-conceived, but rather that he was terrible at so many other aspects of his job. So, I don’t think the blur offense is done, especially since Kelley will likely get another NFL job if he desires one, but I do think people will be less desirous to completely hand over the keys to someone with an unorthodoxed style like his.
It largely didn’t fail when it was executed.
[quote=“DCnDC, post:2, topic:741831”]
[li]The man insisted on running practice at full game speed, and didn’t correct anything while on the field.[/li][/QUOTE]
Well, I think he was desirous to practice at game speed in order to work on player endurance. Football players are often don’t have the endurance to play at that speed, and are often not as committed to training as some other athletes.
[quote=“DCnDC, post:2, topic:741831”]
[li]His offensive playbook is extremely simple, exceedingly predictable, and incredibly easy to stop once they didn’t have Vick, McCoy, DJax, and Maclin running it.[/li][/QUOTE]
True, but this largely highlights his failures as a GM. Obviously getting rid of most of your best skill players is going to be detrimental.
[quote=“DCnDC, post:2, topic:741831”]
[li]He thought he could plug anyone in anywhere and still succeed because he believes his system and running it perfectly is more important than talent.[/li][/QUOTE]
To be fair, most coaches think that, and they are largely correct. Most notably, running backs are basically interchangeable at this point. This year, there will likely be eight 1000-yard rushers. There were 17 and 16 in 2010 and 2005 respectively. Even anecdotally, look at how seamlessly Pittsburgh replaced Bell (easily a top 3 RB) with Williams (a largely washed up RB). Or Seattle replacing Lynch with Rawls, or Denver with Hillman taking over for Anderson. Obviously there was some dropoff, but not enough to make a huge difference.
Other positions see the same marginal “WAR” after you exclude a few standout superstars. Just look at how the TE position can essentially be played by washed up basketball players with almost no football experience (eg. Antonio Gates, Julius Thomas), or how many WRs with a good QB are overvalued.
I think there is a growing realization that football has become so situational and specialized that raw talent has an outsized effect in numerous positions. Obviously, you will always have your superstars, but there seems to be little actual differences between players in vast middle ground of talent.
Why do you think ToP is so important if your offense is effective?
Exactly. I think people forget Kelly went 20-12 in his first two seasons. That’s about the same record as the Packers, Steelers, and Panthers during that time period.