Oregon's defense sets Chip Kelly's offense loose

Even though Oregon dropped 49 on Arizona last Saturday, it's almost a general consensus that the Oregon offense is far from full form at the moment. The addition of a power package, that boasts 240 pound tight end Colt Lyerla running the same plays that 170 pound DeAnthony Thomas does, the quarterback power play, and reincorporation of the triple-tailback formation might have been fun for fans, and media that noticed it when they were brought out of the playbook, but those formations and packages could be a sign that Chip Kelly had to reach into his back of tricks to put this game away.

It doesn't take too much to see that Chip is indeed an old-school coach at heart, (runs concepts over, and over again until the defense adjusts, then runs the counter to that play) so him adding a jumbo package, or going to his previously well hidden formations may have indicated a slight hint of panic underneath that visor.

Now, it's far from fan base wide panic time in Eugene, but the Ducks will need to rehash many of the concepts that have earned Chip Kelly his reputation.

When the Ducks make the trip up to Seattle for their matchup with Washington State, it will be incredibly surprising if Chip busts out the wrinkles for a second consecutive week. If I was trying to predict Chip Kelly's game plan solely based on past examples, I'd fully expect Oregon to line up in base packages throughout, running a handful of concepts and their counters with precision and efficiency, instead of adding new things to the table.

Then again, this isn't your typical Oregon team. The defense finally has a "bite" to match its intimidating 3-4 Hybrid "bark." The size and speed of this defensive unit is unlike any defense Kelly has had by far, and it will be a major safety blanket for Kelly's aggressive scheme throughout PAC-12 play. The aforementioned statement Oregon issued was something along the lines of, "if we struggle on offense, our defense can shut you out, and we'll still score 49 points." Perhaps Chip sees that he can fiddle with the multitude of talented athletes he has, and can add new schemes as he pleases. While the offense works out the kinks on the field, the defense can keep other teams at bay much longer than ever before.

Chip Kelly putting more into his playbook than ever before? That's a very frightening notion to the rest of the PAC-12.