Chip Kelly: Eagles' offense was too slow

Chip Kelly thinks his offense needs to move even faster. (Rob Carr/Getty Images)

Chip Kelly's offense looked sharp in the first half, and his team beat the defending NFC East champions in his NFL debut.

But the new Eagles coach said Tuesday that he thinks the team needs to move quicker.

"I felt like it was slow," Kelly said. “...I’m not joking. We need 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 in between plays. That’s something we need to work on.”

Philadelphia's start against Washington on Monday didn't leave many observers thinking a lack of speed would concern Kelly. The team had 322 yards of offense and 21 first downs on 53 plays in the first half. Going into the season, there was interest in seeing how well Kelly's fast-paced offense would translate from Oregon to the NFL. The early returns were positive.

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But in the second half, Philadelphia slowed. Kelly has said his goal is to run 100 plays in a game. The first half pace was right on, but the Eagles ran only 24 plays after halftime. Washington outgained Philadelphia by 186 yards in the second half and nearly overcame a 33-7 deficit. Kelly said Tuesday that it was a learning experience for the Eagles.

"It's not as much taking your foot off the gas from a standpoint of the tempo that you play," Kelly said. "It's maybe play selection and some of those other things. You're conscious of working the clock. "It's a fine line. As I get a better feel for our guys and they continue to get a better feel for us, it's something you continually work on."