Any one else worried about trying to run a Ram's style offense in October in the pouring rain? How about in December and January when the wind is blowin' and the ball feels like a frozen turkey? I have always felt that the Rams O was built to fit the conditions in their stadium and in their division. Saunders is familiar with the conditions in KC. I sure hope he tweaks it a bit to fit the conditions we play under. Successful teams in cold weather climates must have a running game they can depend on.

I think when Saunders & Vermeil refer to a 'Rams Style Offense', they're speaking of an open attack with multiple shifts, flares, slants and screens. If you look closely at the Rams' O, you will see most of their plays are quick-developing, short to medium passes (allowing the receiver to make y/a/r). They sprinkle in down-the-field aerial assaults to keep defenses honest ;)

Sounds like the O we employed last season - but with more energy and 'underneath' routes. I seriously doubt they are considering trying to implement a 'track & field' O... it's just not possible with our personnel.

The only thing you guys are lacking is a running game (except for the Denver games, and Denver has addressed that one).

Seriously... you guys know the answer. KC currently has plenty of 'serviceable' backs in their offense. KC needs to pick ONE guy, whether it be someone currently on the roster, a new FA RB or a rookie.

Grbac, Gonzo, DA and Morris are all good for the air attack. You guys need a versatile back. Will this make KC the new Rams? I doubt it, but who cares.

It's not a tough question and the answer is pretty simple.

I think the full-blown panic concerning "Martzyball" in KC is premature. Just because we have Vermeil and Saunders and now Joiner does not mean that we will throw the ball to the exclusion of the ground game. The people wailing about "Martzyball" have to make one assumption: that these coaches are stupid.

The Rams Offense is designed for a dome with artificial turf, not for the Midwest plains in winter. I know that, you know that and the American people know that. It would appear that some folks think that our new coaching staff is blissfully unaware of that situation.

These are veteran, professional men who have succeeded in their chosen profession. I have to assume that they are not ignorant buffoons who simply failed to notice that we do not have Warner, Faulk, Holt, etc. on the Chiefs roster.

I think we will see a balanced Offense that forces mismatches and takes advantage of same. I do not fear becoming "Rams West." I eagerly anticipate becoming a flexible, attacking Offense that uses the weapons on the roster to the fullest.

That will be a welcome change.

xoxo~
gaz
giving veteran coaches the benefit of the doubt.

HC - Even so, thier pass/run balance (587 passing plays to 383 running plays) is out of whack for the environment we play in. The offense is built around the pass rather than the run. I think a more balanced approach needed in outdoor bad-weather environments. That's not to say some of the ideas from their passing scheme that you mention might not be profitable.

Gaz-

Thanks for slapping me up side the head and bringing me back to reality. I keep forgetting that the stooges are gone.

"It was just a bad dream... It was just a bad dream ..."

<i>pass/run balance (587 passing plays to 383 running plays)</i> - I think those #s a quite misleading... a very large percentage of those passes were to Faulk (employing the West Coast O's term "extended handoff")

The RB plays a HUGE roll in that offense. :)

I remember Buffalo running a no-huddle fast paced offense with a versital back in Buffalo NY with success. Smashmouth is not the only way to win. Balance is the key.

agreed! :D

HC - its those "extended handoffs" that I was worried about prior to Gaz setting me straight. They work a whole lot better in a dome than in conditions where the ball is hard to handle or the footing is unsure.

The Bills had a very dependable running game with Thurman Thomas. I think we can all agree that the the Bills attack was very balanced and it is a balanced offense that is needed for the conditions KC plays in.

Those 'extended handoffs' were not a problem in KC throughout the 90s. Kimble Anders was out leading receiver a couple of years if you remember :)

What I want to know is........can Elvis learn the shotgun after 2 failed offseason attempts!!!???

MrBlond

Yur right...balance,IMHO,I thought we passed to much after the Rams game. Yes some will say we had no HB....wrong again.We did,no coaching was the problem.No doubt we could use a PB HB,but feel that we need to shore up the defense 1st and use the talent we have to our ability and not try to be the Rams.

I just want to see a cack in KC get the Ball 250 times in a season. I think that is the problem with out running backs, you don't get 1000 yards off of 150 carries. I want a 1200 yard rusher that can catch the ball for another 300-400 yards.

Hoover

I never saw Elvis fail in the shotgun formation. In fact, I never saw him in the shotgun formation. I heard Gun talk about incorporating the formation much like I heard about finding out what Cloud can do, or attacking the Quarterback, etc. This offense could be comparable to Buffalo's with a Thurman Thomas type HB. Gonzo would make us better. Imagine the matchup problems in a no huddle Offense with Gonzo lining up at TE, Slot Reciever, Wide-out, etc. Sly and DA? This offense could be scary.

I don't think swing passes are a substitute for a solid running game. With a good running game, you are making openings for your back primarily through blocking. With a pass to the back, you are creating room for him to run primarily through persuading most of the other defenders to run to a different part of the field (chasing after other receivers and the QB). The defense, especially the front 7, have to react much differently to the two types of situations. Mixing real passes with dink passes is not nearly so diverse as mixing real run with real passes. Balance is the key.

With the evolution of dink-and-dunk offenses, the best defenses in the league are becoming very good at allowing the reception to be made, then jumping all over the guy for a very short gain. Tampa effectively shut down the Rams in last years SB (almost won the game) and the Ravens did this to Oakland and Tennessee this year in the playoffs. I remember the same thing happening with Kimble in the '90s. My memories of the swing pass to Kimble are not fond ones, but I do remember some 100 yd rushing days very well.

Al Saunders Named Chiefs Offensive Coordinator
JAN 22 (morning)--Kansas City Chiefs President Carl Peterson announced today that head coach Dick Vermeil has named Al Saunders as the club’s offensive coordinator.


It's official...but Saunders wasn't OC in St Louis was he?...wasn't Martz?...besides, we don't have the personnel for a Rams style O unless we get a Faulk type RB...Saunders is smart enough, as is Vermeil, to know that they can't duplicate a Rams offense without a decent all purpose back...TRich might be okay, but he aint no Faulk...

I look for a hybrid of the Rams O...something like we saw when we played them...wide open most of the time, but conservative when necessary....

In all seriousness - what is there to learn? :confused:

I spent 2 full days at summer camp this past year and did not see 1 down of it - not 1.

still confused about why this wasn't used?????

No, Saunders was not OC in St. Louis, however, he WAS OC in San Diego in a very successful offense with Dan Fouts, Charlie Joiner (now our WR coach) and it featured the TE (good for TG).

DaKC, that's what I'm saying...Saunders won't try to implement the Rams offense...maybe the Chargers offense of the mid 80s but not the Rams...

Fouts to Joiner and Winslow....

Grbac to Gonzo, Alexander and Morris...

Could be interesting...:)

Bob Dole is willing to give Saunders a chance.

<i>Saunders said that he will offer "a diversified system that allows us to use the personality and playing skills of the best players on the football team. We are going to get the ball in the hands of the playmakers and we're going to create motion, formation, shifting, and ways in which to attack defensive schemes and defensive personnel. We're going to throw the ball long, throw it short, we're going to throw it sideways, we're going to throw it up the field; we're going to run it laterally, we're going to run it vertically; we're going to run draws, we're going to run screens, we're going to run traps, we're going to run a power game. We're going to throw the ball and run the ball in a balanced fashion in a creative, diversified attack. Those are the two operable words: it's going to be creative and it's going to be diversified."</i>

Sounds good to Bob Dole.

Wow, I like him already...he used the word creative and offense in the same sentence...:D

Creative a word that was NOT in Jimmy's vocabulary...

There is just a couple of minor problems with running the Rams offense in Kansas City. #1, who is going to be the Marshall Faulk for the Chiefs? Donnell Bennett? I dont think so. #2, the Rams have Kurt Warner. The Chiefs have Elvis Grbac. HUGE difference. Another small issue lost by MOST Chief fans is the chance that the Chiefs will have to rebuild their offensive line. If I am not mistaken, Shields is a FA, Grunhard has just about had it, and Szott doesnt want to come back. There goes the best interior line in the NFL the last six years.

This isnt fantasy football here. You cant just say what you want to do or name the players you want to sign and make it happen. Peterson rolled the dice by trading for and extending Chester and signing Dan Williams. The dice came up snake eyes for him. If your top paid players dont produce, you cant do much to improve your team except hope that your lower priced draft picks overachieve.

The Chiefs have way to many problems: Grbac's pending contract, the salary cap, talent shortage on defense, no running game, questionable coaching staff, a GM who doesnt have a clue, and impatience from the bandwagon fans who pay the bills.

So forget about Corey Dillon, forget about the Rams offense, and forget about a Super Bowl. It aint happening until the cap problem is erased, high priced underachievers are sent packing AND the Chiefs hire a GM who can draft.

Have a nice day.

What kind of lag time are we going to have to put up with with the new offense? I wouldn't think they would have all of it in place by the first game of the season. This type of offense will definitely put the importance of a QB that can make a quick deicision given what he sees and then execute. This will be the interesting part of the new offense, everyone thinks this is one of EG's weaknesses.

Who was Marshall Faulk before he became a Ram?? He didn't have outstanding numbers before that did he, wasn't he just a solid back?? I will sit corrected if needed on the last comment!!!! ;)