Cowboys defense respects Chip Kelly's high-powered offense

Monte Kiffin understands what Chip Kelly can do on offense and respects a scheme that overwhelmed him at USC.

By James Dator Oct 17, 2013, 4:54pm EDT

Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin is all too familiar with Chip Kelly's high-powered offense, facing it numerous times when he was charged with stopping Oregon at USC.

Kiffin spoke to the media on Thursday, explaining his familiarity with Kelly's schemes.

"They did a good job," Kiffin said. "Hopefully, we come out and play better. That's for sure. The 10-2 year that we had at SC, we were a big underdog [at Oregon] that year, and they had a home streak going. We beat them up there. We got him. But he got us two out of three."

Dallas having Kiffin on staff likely makes the Cowboys the team with the best chance to derail an offense averaging almost 450 yards per game and scoring 27.7 points per game.

Kiffin was asked if he was overwhelmed by Kelly while at USC, offering huge praise for the first-year head coach.

"I kind of felt that way with Peyton Manning," Kiffin said of the Cowboys' 51-48 loss to the Denver Broncos on Oct. 6.

In three games at USC, Kiffin's defense allowed an average of 50 points and over 600 yards of offense when playing Oregon. His last attempt to stop Kelly came in November of 2012, when the Trojans were beaten by a score of 62-51.

Garnering comparisons to arguably the best quarterback of all time playing his best season? It's safe to say defensive coordinators around the league understand what Kelly brings to the table and are all preparing for their time to face the Eagles.