Ten Things About Last Night's Game
 

Ten Things About Last Night's Game

10) I was guarded in my optimism going into last night's game. I haven't been able to make it up to St. Joe this year, but some of my best buds have, and I trust their judgement. They said offense still looked weak, and they're still not sold on Cassel as a legit leader. To me, he still has a slight stench of Grbac about him. I hoped the first string offense in general would play better. On defense, considering we went in tied at 3-3 at the half, I'll take that every time this year. Succop doinked a 53-yarder off the uprights, or we would have had the lead at the half. And the first half is really all that matters in these games, the second half is a battle of "who's third stringers and cuts are better?"

9) Who looked good? Charles looked like Charles. He averaged over 9 yards a carry. McCluster looked great on the sweeps, but I'm afraid he may get killed if they send him across the middle on a pass pattern. I know the guy is tough, but this is the NFL. I love his burst, he seems to have a fifth gear that our other backs, except for Charles, don't seem to have. The new DBs all looked pretty good. Berry made a nice open field tackle, Kendrick Lewis looked good on a safety blitz. Arenas averaged over 28 yards on kickoff returns, and had a TD called back on a hold by Cole (which should get him cut in the first cutdown, btw). All in all positive production by all our top round picks. Studebaker looked better

8) Who not so good? Both starting offensive and defensive lines. Falcon's first string guys pushed our defensive front all over the field with real vanilla straight ahead running plays. That's not good. I can't remember seeing an outstanding play by Dorsey or Jackson. They had four tackles between them, and no sacks. Considering how much we have invested in these guys, they should have a bigger impact. Leonard Pope sucks at TE. If he catches the ball, he falls down immediately. That's if he catches it at all. He has hands of stone. His only positive is he's 6'8". Even at that, Cassel overthrew him. How do you overthrow a target that's almost seven feet tall? Let's hope Brokiaki can get over his Croyle's disease and actually suit up and play. Speaking of Brokie, his interception was ugly. I think we have to look for a better number two guy. He's never won a game in the NFL, and I just don't think he's got the chops to be a winner. Palko? Telegraphs his passes. He's going to get his receivers killed. I'd rather have Shane Falco as my third guy. Ryan O'Callahan was basically a speed bump all night. He got beat over and over and over again in the first half. Barry Richardson looked a little better, then he got a leg injury at the very end of the game. DJ was basically invisible the whole game. Disappointing. He seems to either be all impact, or useless, no in between.

7) Todd Haley's body language on the sideline was interesting. Looked like he was doing a slow burn the whole game. He stood around with his arms crossed glowering at this players, and had some terse exchanges with some of the sideline coaches. Seems like the front office has drilled it into him NOT to make scene on the sideline this year. He's trying to stay calm, but you can see his true angry nature boiling under the surface. I predict he'll have a couple of Lou Pinella type explosions in pre-season. He just can't help it.

6) So far not impressed much with Charlie Weis. I know we run a pretty vanilla offense in pre-season, but we only threw the ball more than ten or fifteen yards twice that I can remember. Both times the receiver -some scrub named Horne- was wide open, but our QBs couldn't come close to hitting him. Lots of little dink and dunk passes. I'm afraid we're going to have a lot of six yard passed on third and ten again this year. And that makes me crazy. Special teams looked decent, our kicking and returning game should be above average this year.

5) When you compare the stats in the game -except for the score, of course- it looks more even than you might think. Chiefs gained more yards, had more first downs, went 50% in third down conversions, and ran the ball for 4.6 yards per carry. The big difference was turnovers and sacks. We had two picks, one fumble lost, and two sacks. Falcons had no turnovers and gave up no sacks.

4) I noticed our skill guys kept falling down on cuts a lot. Falcon skill guys seemed to have better footing. You'd think our equipment staff would get the right shoes for indoor field turf for our guys. Maybe their players are just more used to the Georgia Dome surface than our players, although our new indoor training field should have a fairly similar surface.

3) On the TV broadcast, this years pairing was Trent Green and Mike Kelly. Kelly is the radio play by play guy for Mizzou. He seemed to struggle. He mis-identified running backs several times, and Trent Green had to tactfully correct him. I think Green is very good. He's smart, and I can see him taking over for Len Dawson when he retires. Lenny is starting to get up there, and probably won't do games for too many more years. Green would be a natural replacement. I couldn't listen to Mitch and Lenny, because the lag between the TV broadcast and radio broadcast was about five or six seconds, and that was making me crazy. Radio was ahead of the TV. 101 needs to fix that, or lots of people are going to have to turn the radio off. It's just too distracting.

2) Tony Gonzalez looked great. But we got Arenas for his pick, and I feel like that's a good deal for both teams. Barring injury, we might have the best young secondary since we had Ross, Lewis, Burruss and Cherry. That's saying something.

1) Overall, I think we'll improve maybe by a couple games this year. I think 6-10 is about right. I'm just not sold on Cassel. He's been injury prone, he's not an accurate passer, and Chambers, who is supposed to be a main weapon, had one catch for six yards, so you can't tell much from that. I think teams will stack up to stop Charles on the run, and dare us to pass. When we do, there's no guarantee we'll be able to pass protect well enough to keep Cassel from throwing picks or fumbling, like he did last night. If Cassel goes down, we're really screwed. Croyle just isn't the answer. I'm not really disappointed, last night was about what I expected. It would just be nice to actually win a game now and then, even if they don't count.

Nice job with this post, dude.

Disagree with the above, though. If you told me that we'd trade Gonzo for a nickle corner/return specialist, I would have preferred to keep TG to help with the development of Cassel and the offense as a whole.

I'd take Grbac today over Cassel.

Then he'd only have a 6'4" target to overthrow.

If those are my only two options - then sadly - I would as well.

LMAO

Grbac wasn't bad, he was just an incredible uberdouche.

http://storage.people.com/jpgs/19981...116-750-94.jpg

FML.

There's a lot of things that I disagree with here, George, but as always, it's a great thread, even if some of your observations are off the mark.

GrBac had no heart.

When the going got tough, his pussy bled.

is it me, or did TJ look like he didn't light a single dumbell all offseason?

OR lift. ;)

Nice write up, gblowfish. I don't really have anything to add or disagree with. Good analysis.

That's why we're all here, the open marketplace of ideas. What things do disagree with? I'm open to persuasive arguments. Make your case!

Are you saying that Thomas Jones leadership hasn't helped the dumbasses on the team any?








Oh, wait, I bet you're talking about Jackson and weight lifting.

Assel sucks bad. Brodie looks more like an NFL quarterback. I would have much rather have Sanchez instead of Tyson Jackson... and much rather have kept that 2nd rounder last year to snag someone who epically fell.

Assel and Jackson are pathetic. And we could have used those picks on a much better scenario.

I don't care who you are... that's funny, guys.

Shit, I just realized that I haven't gotten you pictures of the paintings since I've moved them.

I love the DT on the black wall, but I think I need to re-arrange things to put the JD painting on that wall as well.

http://i38.tinypic.com/2zz574j.jpg

http://i33.tinypic.com/2eqgg9u.jpg

We didn't trade a 24 year old Gonzo for a possibly great return specialist/nickle corner, we traded an old, near-the-end-of-the-road, didn't-want-to-play-here-anymore Gonzo...

Great trade.

Really like the abstract background in the DT painting.

OTW, have you considered creating a black border (for lack of a better word) for behind the Delaney work? Not the entire wall, of course, just an appropriate amount so that the wall seems like an extension of the art.

oh yeah dude..that looks awesome on the black...I agree about JD.

thanks!

ooooh that's a great idea

Oh, and great post, gblowfish.

I'm great with the idea of trading Gonzo. I just hate that we completely wasted the opportunity on the type of player that can be had in round 5.

LMAO

Sorry it took so long. No excuses.

How would you recommend doing it?

It may just be easier to move it over to the black wall. It looked incredible over there.

http://i37.tinypic.com/2arbzc.jpg

Good takes. Although, I think Weiss is going to be just fine. The lack of deep passes were more a product of the QBs/Receivers play and it being the first preseason game. (And there were also some obvious protection issues along the way.)

As for Green, I think he's got his eye on a bigger spotlight. I don't see him doing Chiefs' radio broadcasts. jmho

Tape off three to four inches around the art. Remove. Paint. Re-hang. Just a thought. Would be quick work.

Wall then acts like a frame for the canvas.

Yeppers.
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no worries, it's not like you blew a knee out or anything...if you want to keep it on the red..go behind the painting about an inch with the black and do maybe three or four inch border around the outside...I'd draw a chalk line around the painting and then tape off from that point.

sorry gman, don't mean to hijack the epic ten things thread.

:doh!:

great minds

We're still looking for them.

Me thinks the wife would rather me just move it to the black wall. LMAO

And yeah, sorry George. Didn't mean to hijack here.

That's OK. I'm married to an art teacher. And I really like FDE's work. He rocks.

we were?

We dosn't necessarily include you.

It's the general "we".

Dorsey forced an intentional grounding, just as good as getting credited for a sack. The QB was dead meat if he didn't do it.

I think people forget when Weis was OC for the Pats, they excelled in the short passing game. That was their bread and butter. They didn't have Moss and Welker... they'd put 4 and 5 WR's on the field, spread you out and Brady would cut you up with the short passing game. I kind of expect us to have a similar approach. I think that's exactly why we drafted who we did offensively.

how come I don't get to look?

I didn't say you don't get to look.

I just assumed you weren't by the tenor of your question.

Looks like someone is forgetting about the young defensive backfield of Warfield, Bartee, and Dennis...

Falcons' rookies better than Chiefs 20-10
By GEORGE HENRY (AP) – 15 hours ago

ATLANTA — Matt Ryan played two decent series. Matt Cassel played four average ones.

Both quarterbacks lacked solid protection in the preseason opener, but Ryan's Falcons got better play from their rookie reserves in Atlanta's 20-10 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs on Friday night.

Dexter McCluster, a second-round pick, made a few dazzling moves as a tailback and a slot receiver for Kansas City. But Dimitri Nance and Shann Schillinger helped put the Falcons ahead to stay early in the third quarter.

Nance, an undrafted rookie free agent from Arizona State, ran for a 3-yard touchdown to make it 10-3. Schillinger, a sixth-round cornerback, set up the score by picking off Brodie Croyle's throw and returning it 29 yards.

Kansas City safety Eric Berry, the No. 5 overall pick, was credited with one tackle.

The Chiefs had a winless preseason in 2009, then no victories in the first five weeks of the regular season. They finished 4-12 under first-year coach Todd Haley.

Atlanta is coming off a 9-7 season that ended a 44-year franchise history of never achieving consecutive winning records.

The first half was a dud despite McCluster's speedy bursts and a few timely defensive plays by the Falcons.

Five of the first eight drives ended with field-goal attempts. Matt Bryant's 30-yarder on Atlanta's first possession made it 3-0, but the next four tries all missed from 50 yards or more.

Falcons running back Michael Turner, a 2008 Pro Bowl selection trying to come back from an ankle injury last year, gained 29 yards on four carries.

Ryan, whose final month of '09 was affected by a turf toe injury, connected on a pair of third-and-long completions to tight end Tony Gonzalez, for 16 and 12 yards. He otherwise went 1 of 4 for 6 yards.

Cassel, who completed 6 of 8 passes for 25 yards, suffered from worse protection.

After a three-and-out, Cassel's second drive ended with Kroy Biermann's sack and John Abraham's fumble recovery.

Nine plays into his third drive, Cassel was sacked by middle linebacker Curtis Lofton for a 6-yard loss.

Lofton, the heart of Atlanta's defense, limped off the field before halftime, but Falcons officials said he only had a leg cramp.

McCluster, a second-round pick from Mississippi, ran five times for 25 yards and caught three passes for 22. He needed only limited space to run past the first level of Atlanta's defense and into the open field.

Chiefs kicker Ryan Succop twice tried field goals from 53, hitting the left upright and missing wide right. His 20-yarder with 2 seconds left before halftime made it 3-3.

Haley started Thomas Jones ahead of Jamaal Charles at running back. Jones played one series, gaining 2 yards, before Charles played the rest of the first quarter and into the second, running five times for 33 yards.

Croyle was 8 of 16 for 65 yards. Third-string Chiefs QB Tyler Palko completed 7 of 10 passes for 62 yards, but Falcons cornerback Chevis Jackson picked him off and ran the ball back 26 yards to set up Steve Hauschka's 37-yard field goal and a 20-3 lead.

Palko ran for a 1-yard TD in the final minute.

This was my big argument for that pick.

We could have went a long way towards fixing our run defense with that pick with a premier talent at NT with Terrance Cody. He was very impressive in his first action...so was Arenas IMO but Cody would have helped this team a whole lot more.

I guess we will just have to see how it plays out.

Well thats better than last year. progress.

Lmao, what's hilarious is that People actually intended to have Rich Gannon as their pick for sexist man alive.

I suppose we Chiefs fans weren't the only ones who were left feeling screwed over by Grbac.

Toasty, Crispy and "The Menace?"
You forgot Dexter "The McNugget" McCleon!

Yikes....that's a whole loaf of toast right there...

I admit that I fell asleep in the fourth quarter, but here's what I saw.

1. Charles is without any doubt the star of this team. Dude is flat-out good. McCluster will help, but it's Charles' team.

2. Maybe they didn't let Cassel throw anything more than a couple of yards just to protect him, but averaging four yards per completion won't work in the NFL. Injuries or not, I'm starting to question whether Croyle is the better QB of the two.

3. I spotlighted Tyson Jackson and watched him on every play I could. It wasn't pretty. He was single-blocked every time I remember, and pretty much just stood up and danced with his guy while Edwards was getting double-teamed and the runner was blowing past. Admittedly, he wasn't dancing backwards, but I think his role should involve tying up more than one blocker.

4. I hope Succop isn't headed into a sophomore slump.

5. I spotlighted Asamoah on offense when I started seeing him. At first, he was looking so good that I was tempted to predict that he'd be a starter by Week 1. Then I noticed that he looked very good on running plays and was erratic on passing plays. Sometimes he'd do fine, but on at least two pass attempts his guy ran right by him with almost no contact. For the first preseason game, though, maybe this isn't bad. He had more good plays than bad.

6. When Derrick Johnson was playing against the third-stringers, he should've been dominating. He wasn't. That's sad. Maybe he picked it up in the fourth quarter if he was still playing then.

7. Speaking of third-stringers, Pierre Walters was making a lot of noise. I kept seeing him around the ball and had to study him to figure out who he was.

8. I liked Leonard Pope last year. Hopefully he just had a bad night, because whoa.

9. The CB position is going to be an interesting one, to see how it shakes out in the depth chart.

If Walters makes the team we can nickname him "Lucky Pierre!"

I went into this game knowing the Chiefs had their hands full and that this was a good measuring stick on progress. I'm not thrilled, but I'm not as down as others, because my expectations are lower....I see it as a 6-10/7-9 team this year anyway.

Atlanta has a good offensive line, great running game, good QB and passing game....a very good test for the defense. Their defense is solid, has speed and a very good defensive line.

Given that the offense was obviously generic, it was apparent that the oline still has Rudy at Center, which is a recipe for not running in the middle, and I didn't see anyone on the right side get any push....no big surprise.

I was discouraged by the play of the Dline, the starting LBs(which I don't believe are the starters) and the right side of the oline.

McCluster is going to be fun to watch, Arenas is average at best in coverage but going to be a dynamic returner, Asomoah has a long ways to go before he's playing much and Berry needs more than 1 game to figure things out.

This season is going to be Meh unless you watch it for what it is...a struggling but improving team.

HOF tight end for a Dante Hall/Mighty Mouse hybrid player.

FAIR TRADE FOR BOTH PARTIES,


yea, in your bra.

He had two 50 + yard kicks that he barely missed. Don't be a tard.

Yeah, Rainman, don't be a tard!

LMAO

JFC, n00b.

Doesn't matter who he's addressing, he's right.

I hate the use of the word "tard", but the fact is, that was a stupid ****ing "observation".

Those 50 yarders sure ain't easy thats for sure.

Did you see anything about the offensive line that you liked last night? I thought Albert and Richardson performed well and the rest were well below average.

Asamoah looks like he's a long way off from starting.

I've been watching "How I Met Your Mother" for years thinking Jason Segel reminds me of someone and now I know.

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/ent...ason_segel.jpg

I can't even say that I liked Albert's performance.

He wasn't bad, but neither was he actually good.

The best thing I saw was that Niswanger's level of suckage wasn't at the same level as it was last year.

I'd agree with that. Albert did "okay" save for one play. Richardson pretty much was the same and I hardly saw any dropoff in when Richardson was in at left tackle. Neither was dominant although Atlanta does have a tough front seven and their backups were more than decent.

The 'Wanger didn't suck as much as usual, so it will be interesting to see if that continues next week.

I can't believe that Ndukwe has a job. Seriously.

10 things are BACK bitches!

As a legitimate, non-sarcastic question....Does Cassel give us anything to be optimistic about? He had an abysmal 2009 and what a performance yesterday, huh? Is there anything? I need to be optimistic about something.

Be optimistic that this will be his last year in a Chiefs uniform.

Will that apply to the rest of the '09 draft class?

I appreciate your optimism.

http://bigearcreations.blogspot.com/...1_archive.html

One of my favorite all-time stories is about Elvis Grbac (left), Rich Gannon (right) and People Magazine's Sexiest Men issue from 1998. It is both outlandish and 100-percent true.

Back in the day I knew many People staffers, and they were all cool, fun, intelligent-and woefully ignorant about sports. Every year, in planning the Sexiest Men issue, People's editors would ask a bunch of us at Sports Illustrated for suggestions and insight. In 1998, for a reason I'll never understand, they decided not to seek out help.

The magazine chose Rich Gannon as its Sexiest Athlete. At the time, Gannon was a member of the Kansas City Chiefs. Still a couple of seasons removed from his golden tenure with the Raiders, Gannon was 33, handsome and likable. In other words, a solid choice. Yet People, being People, simply informed the photographer assigned to the piece that the Sexiest Athlete was the Chiefs' quarterback. Hence, he took pictures of the Chiefs' quarterback. Well, one of the Chiefs' quarterbacks: Elvis Grbac.

Yup.

The pictures made their way back to the New York offices, and editors were dumbfounded. This was their Sexiest Athlete? Yet upon learning the truth, no one with the magazine had the heart (guts?) to tell Grbac that an unfathomable mistake had been made. As a result, Elvis Grbac reigns as People's 1998 Sexiest Athlete.

The article's final line says it all: "His personality makes him sexy."
Amen.

Yep.

What I learned from watching the Chiefs 1st preseason game: A defender cannot just take a line on Charles & expect to tackle him. He just jukes & squirts out of the way. It will take at least two defenders to corral the guy. I hate him.

That's really only partially true. The one year they ran that a lot with Weis as OC was 2002. The opened against the Steelers in the first game @ Gillette Stadium on MNF. Brady threw the ball all over them, and people were talking repeat.

They promptly went 9-7 and missed the playoffs. Lo and behold, they trade for Corey Dillon and become a much more balanced team that wins two more Super Bowls, despite never having a true #1 receiver.