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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Kelly expects quicker pace

Associated Press

That jaw-dropping, eye-popping frenetic pace the Philadelphia Eagles showed in Chip Kelly’s debut can be even faster.

No, really.

Kelly’s hurry-up offense sparkled in his NFL debut as the Eagles opened the season with a 33-27 win over the defending NFC East-champion Washington Redskins on Monday night.

Michael Vick and Co. executed Kelly’s don’t-stop-for-a-breath offense with precision and efficiency, running 53 plays in the first half and racking up 443 total yards. While the rest of the league and a national television audience watched in awe the way the Eagles moved at lightning speed, Kelly sees room for improvement.

“I felt like it was slow, to be honest with you,” Kelly said Tuesday. “I’m not joking. We’ve got to do a better job. We left the ball on the ground too much. We didn’t get the ball to the officials. We could have sped things up from a process between plays. That’s something we need to continue to work on.”

It looked like Kelly was still coaching Oregon against Pac-12 opponents in the first half. The Eagles controlled the ball 20:20 and averaged 2.6 plays per minute. They outgained RG3 and the Redskins 322-75, had a 21-3 edge in first downs and led 26-7.

Still, it was the first real test for Philadelphia under Kelly. There’s still a learning process and players should get more familiar with the way he wants the offense to move.

“I saw a team play their first game,” Kelly said.

49ers retain lead

The San Francisco 49ers gave up ground to the Denver Broncos while holding down the top spot in the AP Pro32 power rankings after the first week of the regular season.

Seattle was third followed by Houston and New England.

Note: A complete listing appears in the Scoreboard on page B6.

Around the league

Lions’ star Ndamukong Suh has been fined $100,000 by the NFL for his illegal low block in the season-opening victory over the Vikings. Suh hit Vikings center John Sullivan during an interception return, drawing a penalty that negated a touchdown by Detroit linebacker DeAndre Levy. … The Patriots have placed running back Shane Vereen on injured reserve with a designation to return. He has a small break in his left wrist. … The Giants signed running back Brandon Jacobs. Jacobs, who played for the Giants from 2005-2011. … The Jets have re-signed wide receiver Ben Obomanu as insurance for the injured Jeremy Kerley, who has a concussion and is uncertain to play at New England on Thursday night.