Legendary Philadelphia Eagles C Jason Kelce Makes Shocking Admission About 13-Year Career

Already legendary Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce made another shocking admission about his playing days while discussing playbooks with his brother Travis Kelce on their “New Heights” podcast.

This admission came just a few weeks after videos of former players showing off the massive size of NFL playbooks went viral. The depth and complication of many NFL playbooks still come as a shock to many fans.

Former Philadelphia Eagles C Jason Kelce claimed he hadn’t looked at a playbook in years

Even though the center is often the anchor of an offensive line from the standpoint of making callouts and figuring out who is doing what, Jason Kelce claimed that he hadn’t looked at a playbook for years before retiring.

NO WAY… #Eagles legend Jason Kelce says he has NOT LOOKED AT THE TEAMS PLAYBOOK IN YEARS.

“I’ve not looked at a playbook in years.”

🤣🤣🤣

(🎥@newheightshow)
pic.twitter.com/XlPEgvKAyy

— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) May 30, 2024

Kelce doesn’t only point out that the playbook is installed by coaches several times a year leading up to the season, but that there are only so many new run concepts that can be installed.

In a way that is starkly different than the passing game, run concepts are extremely limited from the perspective of the offensive line. Most “new” run concepts are just old run concepts with a shiny new execution of that concept for the players in the backfield.

Concepts like inside and outside zone, trap, power, toss, iso, counter and duo will always be in NFL playbooks. They might look different due to the positioning of the players in the backfield, but the offensive lineman ends up doing the same thing.

If it’s power, someone is kicking out a guy on the end and a puller is coming through the hole and essentially lead blocking.

Power may be the most versatile concept in football! https://t.co/bWR2flHpxG pic.twitter.com/lTyHiGU22z

— Coach Vint (@coachvint) June 5, 2021

If it’s a trap concept, then the puller will be the one kicking out the guy on the line instead of someone else (full back, H back, etc.)

(second play in the clip)

Arthur Smith isn’t the only one bringing smash-mouth football back to America’s sundays. Lions OL is nasty in the run game. clip 1, they uproot and move that front with ease for their 1st play of the game.

clip 2, Ben Johnson dials up a fun trap concept for a nice gain pic.twitter.com/TWomRVE20O

— Tre’Shon (@tre3shon) September 20, 2023

Studying for the passing game as a tight end like Travis Kelce is different than former Philadelphia Eagles C Jason Kelce’s required knowledge for the running game

The effort required to know what to do as a tight end, especially in a system created by one of the brightest minds in the NFL Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid, is much deeper than the effort required to know what to do as a center.

While centers do have to know a variation of pass protections, there are only so many variations possible. As someone, especially a focal point, in Reid’s passing game, there are 100s of new concepts introduced every year.

The tight end position is one of the hardest to learn on the offensive side of the ball outside of the quarterback position. The tight end doesn’t only have to know what to do on pass plays, but they have to know what to do on run plays as well.

Wide receivers can either block the man in front of them or run them off, while tight ends are often heavily involved in run game concepts. Offensive linemen have to know what pass protection they are using, but that does not go as deep as a tight end’s required knowledge of the run game.

Travis Kelce, being a focal point of the offense, also has to know that every time he runs a certain concept it could be different from the last time he ran it. Travis is one of the best in the league at finding open space between defenders which means his route could stop at a different place on the field every time he runs said route.

11. Chiefs running a Swap Drive Concept out of 13 Personnel (3 TE’s)

Basic/Dig + Shallow + Post

The Secondary pays close attention to Travis Kelce in the Red Zone which creates space for other routes. pic.twitter.com/eqV8a55k9p

— Coach Dan Casey (@CoachDanCasey) July 15, 2023

Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes expressed his gratitude for this ability of Travis in an article from Arrowhead Pride.

“I think defenses and defensive coordinators are doing their best to cover him,” said quarterback Patrick Mahomes earlier this week. “There’s a reason he’s Travis Kelce. He finds a way to get himself open — versus man, versus zone, versus everything. I’m just glad he’s on my team; I’ll say that.”

Fans still love former Philadelphia Eagles C Jason Kelce

Despite the admittance of a practice that some could view as “lazy,” there is no shortage of Philadelphia Eagles fans who still love Jason Kelce.

Not that most fans would have any way of knowing, but Kelce always seemed to know what he was doing and where he was supposed to be despite “not looking at a playbook for years.”

Despite the practice, Kelce still finished as one of the all-time greats to put on a Philadelphia Eagles uniform. Kelce was a Super Bowl champion, six-time first-team All-Pro, seven-time Pro Bowl selection and one of the greatest centers in the league’s history.

🦅🐐

— Scarboil (@Scarboildotcom) May 30, 2024

Lol

— Saqib Kazmi 사킵 가지미 (@SKazmi51214) May 30, 2024

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