The Wall Street Journal reports NFL officials aren't going to rush to spot the ball just because Kelly's Philadelphia Eagles have rushed to the line. The officials will make sure that between-plays procedures are followed. "We have to make sure teams understand that they don't control the tempo, our officials do," Dean Blandino, the league's vice president of officiating, told the Journal. "We're going through our normal ball mechanics, we aren't going to rush [unless] it's in the two minute drill." Teams can't snap the ball until the officials signal that they're ready. All 32 teams have been made aware of this, Blandino told the Journal, he added that Kelly did not show any "overconcern" when he was briefed. "They (the Eagles) had questions about what the parameters were going to be," Blandino told the Journal. "It's going to be different from college." Kelly is attempting to install an offense that's similar to the high-speed scheme his Oregon teams ran. "Coach Kelly will not be playing as fast in Philadelphia as he did at Oregon," former NFL referee Gerald Austin, who is now an instructor and an ESPN analyst, told the Journal. Source: Sporting News
Just because some of those beer-gutted zebras can't keep up is no reason to go all Judge Dredd on up-tempo teams and lay down their own law.
This is stupid. Its strategy. How hard is it to get the ball to line quickly to allow the offense to dictate the tempo? Holding the evolution of the game back with this.
I don't see this as a big deal. It won't be as fast as it was in college, but it will still be significantly faster than every other team in the league. So defenses will still be affected by it.
Rather have the officiating in their proper positions than benefit a team just because they want to go "up tempo."
IMO, Kelly is going to wear out his offense and defense because his players aren't used to the uptempo style of play for 60 full minutes.
I have no problem with officials reiterating that they, not a team that wants to take advantage of something, are in control of the game. Go for it Chip, just don't think you're entitled to dictate how quickly they get in position and spot the ball.
I remember this being an issue last with Dallas when Romo was running the hurry up. Their were a couple of times the offense was ready to do catch the opposing D out of place but the refs would slow the game down bc they couldn't get the balm down in time.
