5 Players Who Will Benefit in Chip Kelly’s Offense
By Jerod Brown
Anybody-Quarterback
The player to start the season at quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers should be excited about the recent coaching change. Obviously, former head coach Jim Harbaugh did well to make both Alex Smith and Colin Kaepernick starting-caliber quarterbacks. However, the Tomsula-Chryst connection that followed was absolutely terrible at helping quarterbacks succeed.
The struggles stemmed directly from an inefficient offense that lacked creativity or variety and routinely settled for 3-and-out drives. Chip Kelly’s offense shouldn’t suffer from those problems at the level that the team did last year.
Chip Kelly’s offense made former quarterback Nick Foles look like the next Tom Brady in 2013. Foles threw for 2891 yards with 27 touchdowns and just two interceptions. That was in just ten starts. If those stats were extrapolated over a 16-game season, Foles would’ve thrown for 4,625 yards with 43 touchdowns and 4 interceptions.
Obviously, stats are unpredictable and fluctuate based on opponent and performance. However, in eight starts in 2014, Foles threw for over 2,000 yards. Sam Bradford, the Eagles quarterback in 2015, threw for 3,725 yards in 14 starts. These aren’t top-tier quarterbacks. If anything, these guys barely crack the top-20 in the league.
Still, Chip Kelly’s offense helps them succeed. Ideally, the quarterback will have enough mobility to make the zone-read an effective weapon on offense and enough accuracy to operate quickly in getting the ball to the perimeter. Whether the 49ers start Blaine Gabbert, Colin Kaepernick or an incoming rookie, the quarterback should feel comfortable after seeing the recent performances of Chip Kelly’s quarterbacks.
Don’t expect some sudden resurrection from Kap or Gabbert, but there’s no reason that the 49ers quarterback in 2016 can’t throw for nearly 4,000 yards with roughly 25-30 touchdowns.
Whether it is Kaepernick or someone else, the 49ers quarterback will benefit from playing for head coach Chip Kelly.
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