How not to defend Chip Kelly’s offense

When Chip Kelly has been asked about the burden his up-tempo offense places on his defense - and he’s been asked about it a lot - he’s often offered a thought-provoking rebuttal.

His standard response during his three seasons in Philadelphia (the Eagles ranked last in the NFL time of possession during his tenure): Focus on snaps, not minutes.

In 2013, for example, he referenced a 2010 game against UCLA when he was Oregon’s head coach that neatly captures his argument. UCLA ran just three fewer plays than Oregon (70-73), but had the ball for 18 more minutes (38:31-21:29). Final score: Oregon 60, UCLA 13.

"So all I gathered was that they stand around a lot more (on the field) than we do," Kelly said. "So I think when people look at the time of possession, and that's what people look at automatically ... It's not time of possession. It's plays run is what I look at because you're not exerting any energy if you're just standing in the huddle."

During the rest of his tenure with the Eagles, Kelly hit on the same theme when the topic was broached:

"Time of possession is how much time can the other team waste," he said in 2013.

“I’m not a time-of-possession guy, I’m a plays-run guy,” he said in December.

The Eagles ranked last in the NFL in time of possession during Chip Kelly’s three seasons in Philadelphia. The Eagles ranked last in the NFL in time of possession during Chip Kelly’s three seasons in Philadelphia. Photo: Rich Schultz, Getty Images Photo: Rich Schultz, Getty Images Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close How not to defend Chip Kelly’s offense 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

The question was also raised in January when he was introduced as the 49ers head coach. He outlined a scenario in which his team and its opponent had similar stats, with the exception of time of possession.

“We won the game by seven, but they had the ball for 10 more minutes than we did,” he said. “So all I learned is that they stand around better than we stand around. It’s still plays run.”

Kelly’s stance can be argued, but it’s a worthy and interesting argument.

However, Kelly didn’t stop there in January. Instead, in defending his system, he offered another rebuttal which has nothing to do with whether his offense wears down his defense.

The argument: defensive players like to play defense.

“I’ve also never met a defensive player that says, ‘Coach, I want you to possess the ball for the entire game so I don’t have to play,’” he said. “I want guys that on the defensive side of the football of the San Francisco 49ers can’t wait to get on the field and embrace the opportunity to get out there and play.”

For starters, Kelly has met at least one defensive player that didn’t like to play too much defense.

But that’s not the point here.

The point is this: A defensive player’s excitement level about getting on the field has nothing to do with his ability to avoid fatigue if he’s on the field for too many snaps.

So to review: Kelly offered A) a compelling argument and B) a nonsensical argument.

So why bring it up four months later? Because the defensive-players-like-playing-defense argument keeps getting invoked to defend Kelly’s offense:

"I'm not looking at it as getting tired or exhausted. I've never, in a thousand years, ever heard (of) someone not want to be on the field,” inside linebacker NaVorro Bowman said in April.

“I think NaVorro said it the best, right? I’ve never met a defensive player that didn’t want to be on the field. Show me one that doesn’t want to be out there,” general manager Trent Baalke said before the draft.

"One of the criticisms has been (on) the defense and they’re on the field too much. And like Bo said -- and I agree with him; we kind of laughed -- if you’re a defensive player, you want to be on the field,” Baalke said on KNBR after the draft.

Baalke has also said of the defense that “what you have what you have to be able to do is get off the field on third down.” But Kelly has acknowledged the onus is on his offense to avoid lightning-quick three-and-outs, which can fatigue even the stoutest defenses.

“If we're not getting the requisite amount of snaps, then that's where we're hurting our defense,” Kelly said in November. “We talk about it all the time: It's plays run. ... It's really just the production from the offensive side of the ball in terms of what's giving them an opportunity to wear us down on the defensive side of the ball.”

That echoes Kelly’s best argument: It’s about snaps, not minutes.

And don’t forget this: It’s definitely not about defensive players liking to play defense.

Twitter: @Eric_Branch