Ten Things About Last Night's Game

[gblowfish]

Ten Things About Last Night's Game
(Greetings from the Cube Farm) Everybody look busy, it's a work day....

10. You didn't expect them to go undefeated, did you? Yesterday's game day routine was different, because of the Sunday Night game. I got up, cleaned up the garage, tried to rake leaves, but the prevailing 40 mph wind gusts kept blowing the neighbor's leaves into my yard, and blew my Chiefs flag right off the flagpole. That was not a good sign. Neither was Peeholi showing up on the NBC pre-game show. Asking Peeholi for insight into the 2013 Chiefs is like asking Ike Turner how to stop domestic violence. I was pretty much Peyton'ed out by NBC, so I turned on Lenny and Mitch, and of course, drank every time Lenny said "penetration." That certainly took the edge off.

9. Nothing like coming out and playing with your nut sack in your throat. Brandon Albert, who is allegedly our most gifted and experienced lineman, jumps offside on the very first play. He continually leaves his man upright the entire game, and gives up multiple batted balls at the line of scrimmage. Sad thing is, he had the best game on the entire front line. Denver's defensive front won the match up, hands down. They had three sacks and multiple batted balls. Mister first pick Fisher remains a maddening enigma. He held Von Miller in check, but then lost to everyone else who lined up on him. He got torched especially bad by Wolfe, giving up a crucial 16-yard sack to knock KC out of field goal range. Phillips beat every KC lineman he lined up against. By far, KC's offensive line was the weak link in the match up. Our offensive line play has gotten worse over the past three weeks, and that is worrisome. If there is a silver lining, it seems as if when they brought in Schwartz and Stephenson in the fourth quarter, they didn't play any worse than the guys they replaced. They may be better players anyway.

8. Receivers also came out with their nuts in their throat. Avery drops a big ball early. Charles drops one that was a perfectly set up screen. Bowe was targeted fourteen times and only caught four. Charles was targeted eight times, and catches two for a yardage total of negative six yards. Our receivers are poor at getting separation. On the quick slants they are never open. The tight ends tend to do a little better, when Alex Smith doesn't overthrow them. Even the final TD Smith threw was overthrown. He was lucky that Fasano came down in bounds on his hip, or we lose by 17 instead of 10.

7. Alex Smith is looking more Cassel-like week by week. The difference between the two QBs is, Smith can run out of trouble, and Smith doesn't fumble or throw picks. Otherwise, they're basically the same guy. Smith's alleged accuracy is not evident. He tends to overthrow, which means he's having to get rid of the ball fast, and is not stepping into the throw. Very seldom does he have a clean pocket with no pressure, and when he does, his receivers can't separate. Bottom line is, KC lacks skill position players that can be game changers. When Dexter McMidget is your leading receiver, that's a problem.

6. If you want to look through rose colored glasses, Smith threw twice as many TD's as Manning. Manning threw for 100 more yards, but 70 of that was when Cooper got torched by Thomas. The main difference was, Manning was rarely under pressure to unload, where Smith was constantly under pressure to unload. Smith took a couple of sacks that were unnecessary. Usually he's good at unloading the ball and avoiding sacks, but he ate a couple that were on him.

5. Peyton Manning is basically the 2013 version of John Elway. All those years we matched up against Horse Face, the prevailing wisdom was, if you settle for field goals against Elway, you will lose. Same is true with Manning. When you are first and goal from the two, and end up settling for a field goal, you are going to lose. And, if you have first and goal from the two, and can't punch it in, you DESERVE to lose. There's some second guessing we can do with some of Andy's decisions as well. Why not kick off to Denver to start the game? That way, you put the defense on the field, let them establish themselves and deny Manning an additional possession in the second half, when he seems to hit his stride? Why are you punting when down two scores in the fourth quarter with the clock under ten minutes? Why are you only giving Charles 16 carries when he clearly isn't getting it done in the passing game? The challenge on Fasano's TD was a good decision. Reid seems to be wise in his challenge choices.

4. Hali and Poe should be ashamed of themselves. They were owned. Period. Poe was better on run support, but both guys only had three tackles each and put no real pressure on Manning all night long. Houston led the team in tackles, so he was active, and got some pressure on Manning a couple times. But zero sacks will not get it done against an elite QB. More worrisome, KC now has had only one sack in their last three games. Pressure on the QB is a huge part of the winning formula to this point, and if that is taken away by opposing offenses, we can expect more losses.

3. The fumble trade off was unfortunate. The sad thing was, at the point in the game where Denver fumbled, if KC can sustain a drive, they're right back into the thick of the game. I don't really fault Sherman for fumbling. He got blasted hard twice on that play, held the ball on the first blast then lost it on the second blast. We shouldn't be reduced to having to throw passes to the fullback to move the ball anyway. If our wide receivers were more reliable, we wouldn't have to use Sherman in that fashion. Right after that play, Manning hits on one of the few long passes of the night, suckering a rookie (Cooper) and flipping the field. Then we're down by two possessions, which was the case for most of the evening. I guess the silver lining is, Cooper played pretty well after that, until he allowed Decker to get a big first down by the nose hair of the football -icing the game in the fourth quarter.

2. Vegas had Denver as an eight point favorite, and we lost by ten. If Denver doesn't miss a field goal because of a low snap, they hang thirty on us. This game was never close, and Denver controlled the game from the very beginning. All in all, except for lack of pass rush, the defense didn't play that bad. Giving up 27 in Denver is not bad. Denver averaged less than three yards per rushing play, and that's good run defense. Starting the second half, the defense got three straight three and outs on Manning. Our offense did nothing with the opportunity. Bottom line is, Denver was just better on this night, and deserved to win. And for their efforts, they are now tied with us for the lead in the AFC West with a road game to New England staring them in the face. Let's hope the Hoodie beats them, and beats them up before the rematch in Arrowhead.

1. Last night I was dozing off to some of the post game shows. This game went about the way I expected it to, but it was amusing to listen to the Chicken Little's screaming about Smith, and Reid, and Dorsey not going after Tony Gonzalez at the trade deadline, and we're going to get exposed in the playoffs, and this team is a fraud and blah blah blah. One year ago, The Chiefs were 1-10 after losing at home to the Bengals 28-6. Quinn was our QB, Moeaki was our leading receiver. That was the infamous "Blackout" game. A year later, the team is 9-1, tied for first in the AFC West, battling for the division and home field advantage in the playoffs. With Denver having to go to New England, and then to Arrowhead, it's not out of the question that they could lose both of those games. Now is the time to focus, and focus hard, on San Diego and Phyllis Rivers. Last year KC lost at Arrowhead to Rivers 37-20. Time to make that right, because if we don't win Sunday, what happens against Denver the week after doesn't matter nearly as much.

Game pictures from the Star are here:
http://www.kansascity.com/2013/11/17...mile-high.html

[TEX]

Originally Posted by ThaVirus

This is a good one and one that we shouldn't lose sight of..

Let's just take this loss into context. Beating a division rival in their house is not an easy task. When that division rival is one of the best teams in the game, it becomes damn near an impossible feat. Expecting a sweep of the Broncos this year is just about as unrealistic as it gets.

Of course, we lost and we looked exceedingly bad on the offensive side of the ball, which gives us cause for concern, but we played a decent game against them on the whole. Clean up a few mistakes, bring this one to Arrowhead and we have a good shot to beat them in a 23-20 game.

(The "cleaning up a few mistakes" comment may just be asking too much though. After 10 weeks of watching our offense look like a ****ing orangutan humping a door knob, that may just be who they are.)

Door knobs are nasty, hope we use protection.

[mr. tegu]

I really can't understand why they struggle so much in the red zone. Do we not have some more imaginative plays to get guys open? Three runs up the middle on 1st and goal? Ugh.

[gblowfish]

Originally Posted by bricks

George,

Answers in Bold below:

I like Alex Smith. Even though I do think he somewhat contributes to our problems on offense, I don't think he is the main problem. I know he sometimes makes inaccurate throws that are either a tad too short or high but his inaccuracy is not near the level of Cassel. There are times though when Smith makes really good throws but our receivers just fail to execute.

The thing about this is, Smith was highly regarded for his "accuracy." In SF he had Vernon Davis and better wideouts than he has here. Receivers tend to have a great deal of influence on how the QB "looks."

He is better than Cassel in a lot of ways. At least he has better poise and awareness in the pocket. He can elude sacks every now and then and makes much better reads/decisions with the ball. He is just smarter, a better athlete and doesn't necessarily crack under pressure the same way Cassel does. Plus, he is a winner.

Smith has been a winner in the regular season. So was Marty. What did that get us? Casshole was the undisputed turnover king before his sickening and disgusting concussion last year. I used to call Casshole "The Duke of Dink" because of his penchant to throw an eight yard pass on third and ten. Smith is not much better in that regard. His yards per completion have been miserable this year. He does not fumble or throw picks. Otherwise, he IS Matt Casshole.

Everything else you said with respect to the offense was spot on. The Oline is a HUGE problem. The Oline needs to be upgraded for sure in the off-season. There are way too many times where these guys are losing the battle along the LOS. They consistently allow the pocket to collapse by not giving Alex Smith the time he needs to deliver the ball. Prior to the season starting, I, like many other fans wondered if the Oline is simply a product of bad players or inexperience? After all, these are young players that need time to develop and learn a new system. Right? The thing that concerns me though, is, I have yet to see progress in any of our Olineman as the season has gone on. If they are still playing this bad late into the season, then colour me convinced that our Oline is nothing but a product of bad players.

It's year one. Dorsey can't fix it all in one draft.

You couldn’t have said it any better with respect to the receivers. You're absolutely right in that these guys are just bad at getting separation. The route running isn't that great either and of course there is a lack of execution (ala dropped passes) it gets frustrating seeing this stuff over and over again. I think upgrading the wide receiving corps should also be a priority in the off-season. Now, Im not asking for a #1 WR, I just hope they could bring in receivers that could fundamentally do things well and of course fit into the west coast offense system.

I'd like to see them give some PT to some of the guys they've brought in this year like Hemmingway and Jenkins. See what we've got.

I know a lot of fans want a QB, but Im sticking with a realistic approach and not hoping for a QB at all. I know Smith will be here for a bit, and as a Chiefs fan, all I ask for is improvement from this offensive unit as a whole. Let’s get some new Olineman and receivers in here for next year to at least give us a shot at contending. I hope you don’t get the impression that I am implying this season as a write off, I am just being realistic in that I don’t like our chances with this offense.

Stephenson and Fisher are both young players and will improve. We'll lose Albert as a UFA next year, and he's injury prone anyway. I'm more concerned with the guards and center, who are also all relatively high picks. But I believe Dorsey has an eye for talent. He just needs some time.

*Finally, how good would Smith be if the entire offensive unit improved as a whole? That is a question I pose to you and everyone else. I've always wondered about this.

If ands and buts were candy and nuts.....
Would you rather be 1-10 like last year?
Be patient. These front office guys know what they're doing.

[Sweet Daddy Hate]

George knows.

[gold_and_red]

Originally Posted by gblowfish

If ands and buts were candy and nuts.....
Would you rather be 1-10 like last year?
Be patient. These front office guys know what they're doing.

Everybody can see that the interior OL is a liability. Why has there been no change? Do the front office/coaches truly believe they are putting the best players out there?

[gblowfish]

Originally Posted by gold_and_red

Everybody can see that the interior OL is a liability. Why has there been no change? Do the front office/coaches truly believe they are putting the best players out there?

Albert (1st round) and Charles #3 pick is what we got for Jared Allen.
Asamoah is a #3 pick.
Hudson is a #2 pick.
Allen is a #2 pick.
Fisher first pick in the whole damn draft.

That's giving a LOT of draft attention to the O-Line. If they can't play, then that's on scouting.

[ThaVirus]

Originally Posted by mr. tegu

I really can't understand why they struggle so much in the red zone. Do we not have some more imaginative plays to get guys open? Three runs up the middle on 1st and goal? Ugh.

There were some complaints about that series of calls in the game thread last night.

Honestly, I liked three straight runs in that situation. We were trying to make a comeback and reestablish some dominance in the process. With a 1st and goal from the 2 yard line, you should be able to score with three straight runs.

My biggest issue with that series was that we didn't go for it on 4th down. In my mind, that was absolutely four down territory.

[InChiefsHeaven]

The box score I found interesting...

Chiefs Broncos
73 Total Plays 76 Pretty even
344 Total Yards 427 Not a huge difference
9-53 Penalties 13-82 Shocking. Donks flagged more than Chiefs
1 Turnovers 1 God dammit
4-13 Third Down Eff. 6-16 Defense played remarkably well
0-1 4th Down Eff 0-0

Chiefs 22/45 200yds, 2TD
Donks 24/40 323yds, 1TD That blew my mind. Threw it more than Denver...

Anyway, by the numbers it was a much closer game. The problem was their offense did a lot more with their opportunities than did the Chiefs. Also, Alex was hot and cold, but there's no denying he can make the deep ball throw, just in time for a receiver to drop it. That's frustrating as hell. They just can't get their shit together. The offense is really a one trick pony called Jamal Charles, and he can't do it all every week.

Heading for another playoff disaster. BUT...I do feel like this team is in good hands. This is way better than last year, hands down and will only get better.

[bricks]

Originally Posted by gblowfish

If ands and buts were candy and nuts.....
Would you rather be 1-10 like last year?
Be patient. These front office guys know what they're doing.

Oh don't get me wrong, I am content with the improvement.

Love the fact that we are 9-1.

I just fear this season will be another choke. Like you and many others, we've seen it before 13-3, first round playoff loss.

It's still better than 1-10 obviously but you know as fans we've all been down this road before and of course we always want the big picture to be satisfied. That's just how it is. I'll gladly admit it.

I hope you're right about Dorsey and co. Lets see what there judgement is like down the road from now.

[Mosbonian]

Originally Posted by thurman merman

http://www.kcchiefs.com/media-center...6-f8ffa17652ef

I hope you put that link on as a joke.....that is his one time a year lucky play. And the fact that he had gaping holes to run thru (on the pathetic Giants ST) saved him from being embarrassed on the spin move at the first.

Face it...DMAC is not the guy you want as a return man.

[Buehler445]

One thing I forgot to mention, and I'm surprised it didn't make the list, but I was ecstatic about Flowers' flat out nasty attitude towards dealing with Welker.

That's awesome. Welker doesn't like to take hits, so hit him, even if the play is away from him, jack him up. The damn game is too soft on the WRs anyway, so rough him up. Make him know you're there. Welker has started sliding like a pussy on some plays anyway. I love that strategy. And for the most part, Welker didn't really burn us too bad. He had one where he punked flowers and one where they ran a really nice pick play (for once not an illegal one) for a first, but Welker was quiet for the most part. 8 for 72 no TDs isn't bad.

I like that these guys are nasty. Especially in the age where they all try to be friends. I'm not really in favor of dirty or trying to hurt people, but that doesn't mean we have to make it comfortable.

It was kind of surprising to see Flowers jacking him up away from the play like that since not many players do that anymore, but I like it. Get in that little honkey's head.

[Pablo]

Originally Posted by Pestilence

This.

And you can blame our goalline **** up on our interior offensive line. I don't know what the **** is wrong with these assholes but they better figure it out.

If they haven't figured it out by now, I'm not holding out much hope that they will this season.

[bricks]

I think Smiths yard per completion are low mainly because of the system itself.

Remember, this a west coast style of offense that revolves around a short passing game. Because he is so accustomed and dependent on throwing short, his yards per completion suffers. That is my guess.

But that is fine. The yards per completion stuff doesn't really bother me. All I care about is execution really. If he is going to throw short, I want our receivers to execute. In the end, that is all that matters anyway.

[Pablo]

Originally Posted by Mosbonian

I hope you put that link on as a joke.....that is his one time a year lucky play. And the fact that he had gaping holes to run thru (on the pathetic Giants ST) saved him from being embarrassed on the spin move at the first.

Face it...DMAC is not the guy you want as a return man.

Running into a crowd and spinning just doesn't get it done.

[Sorter]

Originally Posted by Buehler445

One thing I forgot to mention, and I'm surprised it didn't make the list, but I was ecstatic about Flowers' flat out nasty attitude towards dealing with Welker.

That's awesome. Welker doesn't like to take hits, so hit him, even if the play is away from him, jack him up. The damn game is too soft on the WRs anyway, so rough him up. Make him know you're there. Welker has started sliding like a pussy on some plays anyway. I love that strategy. And for the most part, Welker didn't really burn us too bad. He had one where he punked flowers and one where they ran a really nice pick play (for once not an illegal one) for a first, but Welker was quiet for the most part. 8 for 72 no TDs isn't bad.

I like that these guys are nasty. Especially in the age where they all try to be friends. I'm not really in favor of dirty or trying to hurt people, but that doesn't mean we have to make it comfortable.

It was kind of surprising to see Flowers jacking him up away from the play like that since not many players do that anymore, but I like it. Get in that little honkey's head.

What Flowers did to Welker is what KC should have done to Manning /Gregg Williams