Chip Kelly 2-point conversion GIFs!

The "Swinging Gate" formation in Philadelphia is 0 for 1 in the Chip Kelly era. Kelly's first attempt failed because of poor execution, as opposed to a poor play design, but failed nevertheless.

At Oregon, Kelly attempted a total of 23 2-point conversions, 16 of which were out of an unconventional offensive set. According to Matt Takimoto of AddictedToQuack.com, the Ducks were successful on 13 of those 16 unconventional attempts, or 81%. Takimoto elaborated:

Many Duck fans who follow the team closely know Chip Kelly's two-point strategy: the coaching staff prepares a number of options out of the "swinging gate" formation, and it's up to the holder (Nate Costa in '09 and '10, then Jackson Rice) to identify a possible mismatch in coverage and try to steal a point. If no mismatch exists, the holder simply calls the team to line up in the extra point formation, and they kick. Only twice since 2009 did an Oregon team attempt more than one two-point conversion in a game: the BCS title game, and the 2011 loss to USC. In both cases, at least one of the tries was situational. So you're only seeing the swinging gate once a game. And in every case but one, against UCLA in 2010, the gadget conversion came after Oregon's first touchdown.

Because his first 2-point conversion attempt failed on the first try with the Eagles, it's a safe bet that Kelly will tuck his tail between his legs, slink off to the corner with a hangdog look on his face, realize that the NFL is a magical place where new ideas never work, and never think of trying it again... Right?

Love it or hate it, it's probably not going anywhere. You may not see it next week in Denver. You may not see it for a month or two. But you'll see it again at some point, and it probably won't look the same as the play they ran against the Chiefs. Kelly has a assortment of looks from that formation, whether it be a punter-kicker option play, a pass to the long snapper, or something really cool that I don't even know about.

With that in mind, I thought it might be fun if we prepped for the multitude of looks Kelly showed at Oregon, so we might have an idea of what to expect the next time around. Of the 16 2-point attempts Takimoto identified, I found 15 of them, with one play (a successful conversion vs Washington St in 2010) not caught on video because the camera operators missed it. Here they all are, in GIF form:

The Ducks are in a similar alignment as the Eagles were against the Chiefs, except they throw to the other side, where they have a 2-on-1 advantage. Easy score:

Here is an example of a great way to defend the Swinging Gate. Notice the defensive player sprinting over late. By the time he's on his way, the offense has already decided they're going to throw over that way, giving the defense a numbers advantage. Whether that player got over in time or not, this play was doomed, as an Oregon player missed a block, and this play got blown up.

Here's another example of a team defensing this well. Watch the Arizona State defender running into the passing lane and getting a hand on the ball. Unfortunately for Arizona St., the ball still finds its way to the Oregon receiver, who scores easily. Lucky conversion here:

Oregon State looks confused initially, but this play didn't come close to working. It looks like a Duck missed a block and the runner had no chance. He then tried to pitch it to no avail. I can picture a snarky beat writer whistling circus music while watching this:

Here's the 2-point converstion strategy in all its glory. In the Tostito's Bowl against Kansas St., the Ducks returned the opening kick for a TD, and then on top of that, Oregon gets 2. Kansas State had an 8-point deficit 12 seconds into the game. Demoralizing. This is almost the exact same look the Eagles showed the Chiefs:

Apologies for unclear video here, but this is a similar look that the Eagles showed the Chiefs, and it failed against Nevada in 2011. This will be the last failed 2-point converstion attempt you will see in this post:

Here's your basic up-the-middle holder-kicker option play. I don't think we'll see Donnie Jones and Alex Henery running this:

Aaaaand, here's your basic holder-kicker option jump pass. Again, I don't think we'll see Jones and Henery running this:

Aaaaaaaaand here's your basic "snap it to the guy behind the wall who throws it to the long snapper" play. Jon dorenbos is a magician, so I'll bet he could pull this off:

Option run-pass look:

This play wasn't framed up very well by the TV crew working this game, but the Ducks hit Brandon Bair on a slant. Bair played DL at Oregon. I didn't notice during training camp if Fletcher Cox has good route running skills or not:

Handoff to the kicker who powers through the line like Earl Campbell:

The camera crew is again caught off guard, as they're showing the Oregon mascot, but by the time they realize the Ducks are running a fake, Dion Jordan is scoring on a play similar to the look the Eagles showed against the Chiefs:

Chip will run this stuff in huge games too. Here's a holder-kicker option run in the National Championship Game against Auburn. Ballsy.

4-on-3 advantage, blocked well. Easy score:

To be determined if any of this will work in the pros, but PATs after the first Eagles TD every game will be fun to watch.