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49ers players excited about Chip Kelly's 'genius' offense

Ezra Shaw / Getty Images Sport / Getty

San Francisco 49ers players sure seem excited by their first glimpse of incoming head coach Chip Kelly's offense.

The speed, a signature property of Kelly offenses, is specifically giving tight end Garrett Celek a lot of confidence, especially coming off Jim Tomsula's plodding style in 2015.

"In the past we had a lot of delay-of-games because either we're not getting the play in time from upstairs or it's just taking the quarterback too long to read the whole play out," Celek told Matt Maiocco of CSN Bay Area on Thursday.

"Where now, it's a lot quicker. We have hand signals, so you can't have 15 words through hand signals, stuff like that. It's got to be boom, boom, boom. So when you got less verbiage, it's easier to remember. It's kind of genius."

While Kelly's offensive genius has not translated consistently to the NFL game, the principles are valid, with the 49ers trying to speed up defenses so they can't make proper substitutions and simply run more plays than the other team - and thus have more opportunities to score.

"When you're playing fast and defenses don't have time to line up and get their hand in the ground, it definitely gives you an advantage offensively," veteran guard Zane Beadles said.

"Everybody is positive about it so far. There's still plenty to be installed and plenty to work on. But I think everybody can see the benefits. Definitely, at times, you get a little winded and you get a little tired. We're going to be in great shape, that's for sure."

It's important to recognize their was a fairly significant honeymoon phase with Kelly's offensive principles in Philadelphia, until that fell apart in 2015.

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