The NFL's fastest offense met the NFL's slowest offense on Thanksgiving with the NFC East on the line. Chip Kelly's hyper-caffeinated Philadelphia Eagles—no-huddle extremists trying to stay near the top of the playoff chase with backup quarterback Mark Sanchez in shotgun—faced the methodical Dallas Cowboys, who use DeMarco Murray and a deliberate pace to slow games down and take pressure off an improved-but-still-vulnerable defense. It was old-school tortoise-versus-hare.
It was also a mismatch. The hare never slowed down, so the tortoise
never had a chance. The Eagles drove nine plays in three minutes and five seconds for one touchdown. They drove seven plays in a blink over two minutes for a second. In between, the Cowboys lumbered for 11 plays that took 5:46 before punting. The road underdogs with the punchline quarterback pummeled the winded Cowboys 33-10.
The Cleveland Browns entered the season with a journeyman quarterback, a no-name skill-position corps and an offensive coordinator trying to escape his father's shadow. They also had a plan to pressure opponents by shifting into the no-huddle on a situational basis, though neither head coach Mike Pettine nor coordinator Kyle Shanahan was ready for a Kelly-level playbook rewrite.
The Browns have ridden their quickened pace to a 7-5 record. They are a respectable 12th in the NFL in yards per game, despite an offense reliant on Terrance West, Andrew Hawkins and Jim Dray (and others who will never be mistaken for Demaryius Thomas or Rob Gronkowski). The Browns rank eighth in the NFL in total plays, and those extra opportunities helped spur comebacks against opponents like the Pittsburgh Steelers, Tennessee Titans and New Orleans Saints.
Everyone knows Tom Brady and Peyton Manning love their
turbo-charged no-huddle tactics, and that Kelly is the NFL's radical strategic philosopher. But teams like the Browns are shattering preconceptions about fast-paced offenses, even as they hold back from achieving their full fast-paced potential.
Source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2288335-france-should-grant-legend-thierry-henry-a-farewell-appearance
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