Why Chip Kelly is not running the ‘blur’ offense at UCLA

Chip Kelly was known for running an extremely fast-paced offense at Oregon called the “blur.” He emphasized speed and tempo, and he rode that offense to a 46-7 record over four seasons leading the Ducks. Kelly’s success at Oregon helped him land the Philadelphia Eagles job, which lasted for three years, and then he went to San Francisco for a season before being fired.

Now in his second year at UCLA, Kelly is looking much more like the guy who went 8-23 over his final two NFL seasons than the innovative offensive mind at Oregon. His Bruins went 3-9 last year and have begun this season 0-2, which includes the school’s first loss ever to San Diego State. What’s worse is the offense looks nothing like the schemes Kelly ran at Oregon.

So why isn’t Chip running the fast-paced “blur” offense at UCLA? At the open of FOX’s telecast for Saturday night’s Bruins game against the Oklahoma Sooners, analyst Brock Huard explained why.

“(UCLA fans are) getting an offense that’s not explosive. They’re getting an offense that Chip told us yesterday doesn’t have the personnel to play at the tempo and speed I think many of us thought he would.”

There you go. It isn’t necessarily that the blur offense is outdated, it’s that Kelly does not think he has the players to play at that speed.

Beyond not running the blur offense, Kelly just isn’t using his offensive personnel well. Sophomore quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson was a dual-threat quarterback entering college, yet Kelly hardly uses him as a rushing threat. Kelly was even ripped by Thompson-Robinson’s father last year.

Last week Chip defended his slow start at UCLA. Now he’s saying he doesn’t have the players to run his offense. He’s really trying hard to buy time.