Teicher: Weis says Chiefs offense will bring its game on Sunday

[Tribal Warfare]

Weis says Chiefs offense will bring its game on Sunday
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star

Charlie Weis was in a corner with his back to the wall. Crowded by reporters wanting answers, Weis stood against the retaining wall near the tunnel at Arrowhead Stadium and did the only thing he could.

He came out battling.

Weis, the veteran offensive coordinator, indicated he was embarrassed by the way the Chiefs played in last week’s 31-10 loss to Oakland. But he also said he didn’t believe the Chiefs would play that way in Sunday’s first-round playoff game against Baltimore at Arrowhead Stadium.

“Every game is a different set of encyclopedias,” Weis said Friday in his weekly news conference. “The game last week really has no bearing on the game this week, other than the fact (the Ravens) get to watch that. If I was them, I’d be encouraged about what I watched on tape. I probably would have enjoyed it.

“But the flip side is those players are watching that and saying, ‘Oh, we’re going to get after them and we’re going to get to them.’ I think you’ll see a different (Chiefs) team show up.”

Weis’ situation could have had something to do with the Chiefs’ inconsistency. Last week, word leaked that Weis had accepted the job as offensive coordinator at the University of Florida.

In an interview with the Kansas City Star after Sunday’s game, Weis indicated the Chiefs had put in as much time and prepared for the Raiders as fastidiously as they do for any other game.

As if to prove he was concentrating on the Baltimore game, Weis wouldn’t answer questions about Florida or why he’s leaving and got feisty when reporters persisted.

“Let’s just worry about the Baltimore Ravens, Sunday at noon,” Weis said. “That’s what we’re here for.”

Weis also became frustrated with questions about the Ravens, who feature four Pro Bowl defensive players: defensive tackle Haloti Ngata, linebackers Ray Lewis and Terrell Suggs and safety Ed Reed.

Asked whether the Chiefs would be in awe of their opponents Sunday, Weis snapped back.

“We’re well past that stage,” he said. “It’s really about what we’re going to do against them and not what they’re going to do against us. That’s the way you have to approach it as an offensive player and staff. If not, you’re going to end up on the defensive instead of attacking.”

Weis didn’t agree with suggestions that the offensive line was mainly at fault last week against the Raiders. Chiefs quarterbacks were sacked a season-high seven times.

“I don’t think it was just the offensive line,” Weis said. “Our offense struggled. It was across the board from me right on down. I think that was not our best performance. I think that will be different this week.”

Weis has plenty of experience preparing for playoff games. He was the offensive coordinator for New England during each of the Patriots’ three Super Bowl championship seasons.

The Chiefs have some veterans with playoff experience, but not as many as the Ravens. So Weis said he felt compelled to share some of his wisdom with the players.

“You have to really be tunnel-visioned into one game at a time,” he said. “If you think about the big picture, if you think about down the road, then you’re going to end up going home early. Just as long as the focus stays on the game at hand … we might have a chance of playing again next week.

“We have plenty of guys that have played in playoff games here. We have plenty of coaches that have coached in playoff games here. There will be no shortage of excitement with our group come Sunday at 12 o’clock.”

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by mohammedhali

Not really a big surprise, what OC would say, "No, I don't think were gonna bring our game this weekend. We're dogs by three so we're not supposed to win."

HOME OF THE

CHIEFS!!!

So, this is pretty much the sweetest username ever.

[Rausch]

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

The Ravens are going to do everything in their power to make Cassel beat them. When Thomas Jones is the lead back, he makes the job a lot easier because he allows the Chiefs to play a power running game that commits the defense to playing within a box.

A power running game MUST BE EFFECTIVE.

A young Bettis, Natrone Means, Bam Morris, Okoye, Barry Foster, etc. were effective.

I'd say we're more like the Giants now where we trot out our "physical back" and as of late he does nothing but the old 2 yards and a cloud of dust.

You can get away with that if you have Brady/Manning/Rivers/Rodgers/Brees at QB.

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

In games where Charles has a lot of early carries, the Chiefs have not been that successful.

I don't know about early vs. late but the more carries he gets the more Charles explodes.

Charles has rushed the ball 20+ times only 3 games this season.

In those three games he put up 177, 173, and 116 yards.

RUSHING ALONE.

That's an average of over 155 yards (JUST RUSHING) a game.

FEED HIM THE ****ING BALL!!!!

[FringeNC]

So does a windy, cold, snowy day hurt our offense more or Baltimore's? I think it hurts us a little more. We're more a finesse running team, without the threat of pass, we won't be able to run on them. Then again, with the crowd noise, the weather will be one more distraction on Baltimore.

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by Rausch

A power running game MUST BE EFFECTIVE.

A young Bettis, Natrone Means, Bam Morris, Okoye, Barry Foster, etc. were effective.

I'd say we're more like the Giants now where we trot out our "physical back" and as of late he does nothing but the old 2 yards and a cloud of dust.

You can get away with that if you have Brady/Manning/Rivers/Rodgers/Brees at QB.

A power running game must be effective at extending drives and opening up opportunities for the passing game. Using our power running game early has led to 1 and 2 yard gains, but it has also made our passing game a hell of a lot more effective early. I get that Cassel isn't Brady/Manning/Brees, but we're not going to win this game if he plays like Trent Edwards. It is a hell of a lot more important to make sure Cassel is at least somewhat effective early. If he's not, we're ****ed. Period. Charles isn't going to do shit if the defense is stacking to stop him and Cassel isn't taking advantage.

We've seen time and time again that when our offense can't establish the pass, neither Charles or Jones can establish the run. We have to be able to pass the ball. Period.

I don't know about early vs. late but the more carries he gets the more Charles explodes.

Charles has rushed the ball 20+ times only 3 games this season.

In those three games he put up 177, 173, and 116 yards.

RUSHING ALONE.

That's an average of over 155 yards (JUST RUSHING) a game.

FEED HIM THE ****ING BALL!!!!

In 2 of those games, we did not win handily. We only scored 10 points against Denver and 13 points against Buffalo. Meanwhile, in 4 of our 6 losses, Jones has had 10 carries or less. That tells you something.

Feed Jones the ball early, get Cassel in a rhythm, and then run a heavy diet of Jamaal Charles in the second quarter on (earlier, if we can loosen the pass defense right away).

[Rausch]

Originally Posted by FringeNC

So does a windy, cold, snowy day hurt our offense more or Baltimore's? I think it hurts us a little more. We're more a finesse running team, without the threat of pass, we won't be able to run on them. Then again, with the crowd noise, the weather will be one more distraction on Baltimore.

It hurts us more.

[jettio]

I think the Chiefs have had a couple of games this year where the threw a lot on early downs in the first drive with Jones on the field.

Sometimes a three yard gain by Jones on first down can be a great play because it lets you see how the D is playing certain formations and get an idea on later playcalling.

Jones is also better in pass protection and if the D commits 8 or 9 in the box, Jones is more reliable making the block that gives Cassel time to make the throw.

I think the Chiefs have done a good job using Charles and Jones because plays early in the game set up more successful plays later in the game.

[dannybcaitlyn]

Originally Posted by jettio

It depends on how the Ravens line up on defense.

If you go into the game planning on handing off to Charles no matter the down and distance and defense then it will be harder to sustain drives.

Charles has 1,400+ yards rushing this season. It is better for him to have 15 carries for 125 yards than to have 25 carries for 80 yards.

Chances are greater that he breaks the big one with 25 carries opposed to 15 carries.

[The Bad Guy]

Matt Cassel had one of his best games ever in a snow storm in New England.

I'm not afraid of bad weather.

[TimeForWasp]

I think this will be a fun game to watch. Haley,Weis and Crennel will pull out all the stops. Gonna be some crazy shit in this game, I think.

[Rausch]

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

A power running game must be effective at extending drives and opening up opportunities for the passing game. Using our power running game early has led to 1 and 2 yard gains, but it has also made our passing game a hell of a lot more effective early. I get that Cassel isn't Brady/Manning/Brees, but we're not going to win this game if he plays like Trent Edwards.

Agreed.

Casshole must play up to his potential. Last week can be blown off if you want to but his performance was poor when pressured.

Yes, our line didn't block and not much worked. That's fine. But if you don't think he's going to be pressured and blitzed constantly on 3rd down/passing downs this week you're ****ing bent.

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

It is a hell of a lot more important to make sure Cassel is at least somewhat effective early. If he's not, we're ****ed. Period. Charles isn't going to do shit if the defense is stacking to stop him and Cassel isn't taking advantage.

Agreed.

What I'm saying is that we MUST find a way to make the running game work. It has to. If we start out slinging the ball we'll get our $#it pushed in like we have damned near every game we came out that way.

It's ****ing stupid and it's not our strength.

We run to set up the pass. That works. When we do that we're able to open up the offense.

We have not, not all season long, been able to come out slinging the ball to set up the run. We are not that team. We don't have the WR's or line to pull that off.

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

We've seen time and time again that when our offense can't establish the pass, neither Charles or Jones can establish the run. We have to be able to pass the ball. Period.

I agree.

But this entire offense is built off the run. The team philosophy is built off the run.

It's not a matter of "should we try to pass or run" we HAVE to establish the run. PERIOD.

NO RUN = NO WIN.

It's not if, but how. We have to find a way to run the ball vs. B'more.

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

In 2 of those games, we did not win handily.

Don't care how, we won.

This week, if we win on a blocked field goal returned 99 yards I'll spray the room with baby-batter.

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

We only scored 10 points against Denver and 13 points against Buffalo. Meanwhile, in 4 of our 6 losses, Jones has had 10 carries or less. That tells you something.

Yeah.

When we're getting beat and stuffed Jones is not the answer.

[Rausch]

Originally Posted by The Bad Guy

Matt Cassel had one of his best games ever in a snow storm in New England.

I'm not afraid of bad weather.

I don't like it due to our "X factors" (Charles and McCluster) being shifty guys who do better when they have a solid field to cut on.

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by Rausch

Agreed.

Casshole must play up to his potential. Last week can be blown off if you want to but his performance was poor when pressured.

Yes, our line didn't block and not much worked. That's fine. But if you don't think he's going to be pressured and blitzed constantly on 3rd down/passing downs this week you're ****ing bent.



Agreed.

What I'm saying is that we MUST find a way to make the running game work. It has to. If we start out slinging the ball we'll get our $#it pushed in like we have damned near every game we came out that way.

It's ****ing stupid and it's not our strength.

We run to set up the pass. That works. When we do that we're able to open up the offense.

We have not, not all season long, been able to come out slinging the ball to set up the run. We are not that team. We don't have the WR's or line to pull that off.



I agree.

But this entire offense is built off the run. The team philosophy is built off the run.

It's not a matter of "should we try to pass or run" we HAVE to establish the run. PERIOD.

NO RUN = NO WIN.

It's not if, but how. We have to find a way to run the ball vs. B'more.



Don't care how, we won.

This week, if we win on a blocked field goal returned 99 yards I'll spray the room with baby-batter.



Yeah.

When we're getting beat and stuffed Jones is not the answer.

I'm definitely not saying we need to make this a pass-happy game. 180-200 yards in the air is fine with me. But early, we have to show the Ravens that they can't just stack the box and not expect our pass offense to take advantage. They're going to dare us to throw so when we do, we need to be effective enough that they loosen up their run defense.

I'm saying that we need to use the run to set up the pass which will set up the run, if that makes sense. If we start the game attacking with Jamaal Charles against a run defense wall, we've seen that he'll make a 8-10 yard run or two early, but mostly inch out 3-5 yard gains. We need to establish a first quarter offense that will loosen the run defense wall. And it's just my opinion that those 2-3 yard runs for Jones early may not eat up chunks of yards, but they do a lot to help us get moving as a balanced offense.

[TimeForWasp]

start with an end around flea flicker.

[Marcellus]

We can't lose. We have New Cassel.

[The Bad Guy]

Originally Posted by Rausch

I don't like it due to our "X factors" (Charles and McCluster) being shifty guys who do better when they have a solid field to cut on.

The Ravens D is also aggressive and it could present problems for them.

Regardless, the next 24 hours just have to get here quickly.