By Dave DelGrande, The Sports Xchange
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Chip Kelly showed up at the 49ers’ practice facility Tuesday morning like it was another day at the office.
You’d never have known his team had played a near-perfect game in his 49ers debut, a 28-0 shellacking of the Los Angeles Rams in a nationally televised opener Monday night.
Maybe that’s because Kelly, though he was 3,000 miles away as coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, knew what happened to the 49ers in an eerily similar situation last season.
Week 1: 20-3 home victory over the Minnesota Vikings.
Weeks 2-17: Four wins, prompting a coaching change.
“There were a lot of positives for us to build upon,” Kelly downplayed Tuesday. “Offensively, there was a little bit of inconsistency in some of the drives.”
Kelly’s goal Tuesday was clear: Put the opening win behind the team so it can focus on a short week of practice leading into a trip to the East Coast for an early game Sunday.
But try as he might, Kelly had a hard down downplaying:
–The club’s best running output (150 yards) since last year’s opener.
–The most first downs (28) in a game since 2012.
–Four touchdowns on four red-zone trips.
–No sacks allowed by an offensive line that had four different starters than last year’s opener.
–The league’s second-best defensive effort on opening weekend in terms of yards allowed (185).
–Two interceptions that turned into 14 points.
–The first opening-night shutout in franchise history, and the league’s first in four years.
–Two penalties for 10 yards.
“The most telling statistic for us that you’re really proud of going into the first game is that you have two penalties for 10 yards,” Kelly observed, letting down his guard for a moment. “One of them was mine because I (messed) them up with the formation. And the other one, our guys thought (the Rams) jumped, so they tried to touch them.”
That said …
“There’s a lot of things we need to do better and that we need to build on,” Kelly assured. “But it’s a lot easier when you win than when you lose to make those corrections.”