Gretz Article: Shields in a boot

[tomahawk kid]

GRETZ: Worse Than the First
Aug 18, 2006, 5:59:19 AM by Bob Gretz - FAQ


EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – As optimistic as Herm Edwards can be as a head coach, it’s going to be tough for him to find anything positive out of the Chiefs second pre-season defeat, this time 17-0 to the New York Giants on Thursday night in the Meadowlands.



OK, Dustin Colquitt was a positive. The Chiefs second-year punter was worn out after kicking nine times. He averaged just a hair short of 50 yards per punt, with a net average a hair short of 42 yards per punt.

After that … this tape is going to have to be dissected to slivers before the coaching staff finds much to be happy about.

That’s especially true with the first-team units of the offense and defense. They essentially moved through the first half like they were sleep walking. The defense couldn’t stop the Giants and the offense was ineffective.

And then there was the site of Will Shields limping out of Giants Stadium, his left foot in a boot. The veteran guard suffered an ankle injury. An x-ray taken at the stadium showed nothing broken, but he’s likely headed for several weeks of rehab.

Suddenly the problems mount for Edwards:

Defense: In two games they’ve not forced a turnover. They had three sacks, but none of those involved the Giants starting quarterback Eli Manning; he was unencumbered as he completed 11 of 14 passes. The Chiefs have gotten no push in the middle of their pass rush. After getting hammered in the running game by Houston, the Chiefs gave up 154 rushing yards to New York.

Offense: the Chiefs never got close to scoring against the Giants. In 10 possessions, they moved across the 50-yard line just one time and never moved beyond the New York 32-yard line. Trent Green was under pressure from the Giants pass rush and some of that came up the middle, where normally the Chiefs are very stout in the protection of their quarterback.

There were penalties. There were mental errors. It may be an over-simplification, but the way this game played out it looked like the Giants had something to play for and the Chiefs were just punching the clock, going through the motions. Tom Coughlin’s team looked like they had three weeks of training camp, while Edwards group played as if they had just showed up for the pre-season.

As Edwards told his team at halftime and then the media after the game, the Chiefs have yet to play together as a team. Now, the pre-season is where a lot of this comes together, so it’s far too early for anybody inside or outside Arrowhead Stadium to hit the panic button.

But the Chiefs players are delusional if they think this team is in a position to be able to flip a switch on September 10th and suddenly be well-oiled machine and blow away the rest of the AFC. Football teams win championships, and the Chiefs haven’t been a “team” for the last five years. They don’t have a lot of carry over from last year to build on.

This group of Chiefs veterans has done nothing to think they are anything special in the NFL. They didn’t make the playoffs last year, or the year before. They’ve made the playoffs once in the last eight years. All those Pro Bowl berths and offensive records are withered flowers when it comes to the 2006 season.

As a team, they’ve accomplished nothing. And, that’s exactly what they accomplished Thursday night before a national television audience: nothing.

As the Chiefs return to Arrowhead to continue the pre-season, there’s an awful lot of work that must be done.

The opinions offered in this column do not necessarily reflect those of the Kansas City Chiefs.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This just gets better and better......