One of the primary criticisms leveled at 49ers head coach Chip Kelly since he made the jump to the NFL three years ago, is that his hurry up offense takes a toll on his defenses, forcing them to stay on the field for an unreasonable period of time, and rendering them largely ineffective.
A cursory glance at the stats seems to reflect that there may be some legitimacy to this argument. When Kelly was with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2014 and 2015, his teams finished last in time of possession and 28th and 30th in total defense respectively. The 2016 Niners have fared even worse, also finishing last in time of possession and is giving up more yards per game than any team in the NFL.
San Francisco’s defensive ineptness was on display once again in Sunday’s 41-23 loss to an average New Orleans Saints team, giving up 571 total yards and 248 yards on the ground, with the visitors running 25 more plays than the Niners.
Getting gashed on the ground has been a weekly occurrence for Kelly’s 49ers, and is playing a large part in putting San Francisco on pace to be one of the worst defenses the league has ever seen. Sunday was the seventh consecutive game, all losses, in which the 49ers have allowed a 100 yard rusher. As pointed out by 49ers beat writer Eric Branch, the Niners are on pace to become the first team in NFL history to allow 500 points and 3,000 rushing yards in a single season.
Currently the 49ers are allowing 32.5 points per game, the worst total in the league. They are also allowing a shocking 193 yards per game on the ground, also the worst total in the league, and 46.6 more yards per game than the Cleveland Browns who are 31st in run defense.
Fair or not, the narrative that Kelly’s style of play cannot be successful at the NFL level is only going to gain traction with what we’re seeing from the San Francisco defense so far this year. It’s also safe to say the Niners will have a hard time winning another game in 2016 if this trend continues.
Yes, the 49ers are bereft of talent on the defensive end and yes, they’ve faced some talented running backs so far this year, but with how bad they’ve been on a week to week basis, it’s hard not to wonder if Kelly’s game plans are putting his players in a position to fail.
