Chiefs Pantalones
08-21-2005, 07:54 PM
GRETZ: A Half-Step Forward
Aug 21, 2005, 8:22:44 AM by Bob Gretz - FAQ
Ok, so at least it was better than last week.
If you happen to be one of the red and gold crazies who couldn’t watch Saturday night’s pre-season game between the Chiefs and Cardinals and rolled tape or Tivo let me give you with a warning: watch the first half, then destroy the second half. Don’t even bother.
The “real” Chiefs showed improvement from week one to week two and that’s what this month before the real games are played is all about. The guys that are going to make Dick Vermeil’s roster for the opener on September 11th left the field with a 10-0 lead at half-time.
That the Chiefs lost 24-17 to the Cardinals was testimony to a very poor second half effort, especially from the offense, as Damon Huard threw a pair of interceptions, one that was taken back for a touchdown. He was one of 12 throwing the ball. In fact, all second half quarterbacks combined were 10 of 45; that’s not even a completion percentage of 25 percent.
What mattered was the first half and the Chiefs defense really stepped forward from the Minnesota game. Gunther Cunningham unleashed the blitzing hounds on Kurt Warner and the Arizona quarterback was running for his life most of the half. The Chiefs did not sack him, but they disrupted the Arizona offense that went three plays and out, four plays and fumble and three plays and out in its first three possessions.
Warner did burn the Chiefs for a long 49-yard TD pass, but the score was wiped out by a needless 10-yard holding penalty on left tackle Leonard Davis. After Warner released the pass, Davis threw blitzing linebacker Scott Fujita to the ground. If a zebra sees that, it’s a guaranteed penalty; offensive linemen are told that every year. It was just a stupid penalty, of which there were plenty on both sides in this game: 14 for the Cardinals and nine against the Chiefs.
Dexter McCleon was beaten on that negated touchdown, but it was the only time an Arizona receiver really got behind the Chiefs secondary. Defensive end Eric Hicks had the best game of any Kansas City defender and middle linebacker Kawika Mitchell wasn’t too far behind.
Offensively, the Chiefs got Samie Parker into the offense in a big way. He only caught two passes for 14 yards, but he picked up three pass interference calls against Arizona cornerback David Macklin. He ran a nice double move that had Macklin tripping over his own feet when he scored on an eight-yard pass from Trent Green.
Mind you everything wasn’t perfect. The No. 1 offense had four possessions and scored only one touchdown. The Chiefs running game did not get into gear against the Cardinals. Priest Holmes ripped off a 13-yard run on his first carry and then gained just three yards on his next seven touches. That’s pretty ugly. Larry Johnson had better luck, averaging 5.4 yards on his nine carries. Kris Wilson, who started the game at tight end did not catch a pass. In fact, I’m not sure one was even thrown in his direction.
Defensively, the Chiefs did not get a sack and they were able to recover just one fumble, without any interceptions. That’s two games, and just two takeaways and only one sack.
And the sad saga of kicker Lawrence Tynes continued, as he missed two of the three field goals he attempted, pushing it wide right from 38 and 46 yards. That’s four of seven for the pre-season and that’s not good enough. As he always is with kickers and punters, Dick Vermeil was blunt when talking about Tynes: “He’s in the tank. You miss two field goals like that … not in the National Football League … we have a real concern.”
The Chiefs will bring in another kicker; at this point they must, whether to compete with Tynes or simply take his place. But they may wait until after pre-season game No. 3 and the NFL’s first mandatory cutdown. A lot of teams that have two kickers on their roster will be slicing one in that first cut, which would provide the Chiefs with more options off the waiver wire.
What happened in the second half really isn’t worth much analysis, other than the guys who won’t make the Cardinals roster were much better than the guys who won’t make the Chiefs roster. A bunch of guys wearing red and gold made the job of the Vermeil, Carl Peterson and the personnel department a whole lot easier in this game; they played their way right out of the NFL.
That group got extended playing time because 25 players on the Chiefs roster did not dress for the game, including six potential starters: Will Shields, Tony Gonzalez, John Browning, Kendrell Bell, Eric Warfield and Kevin Sampson.
So all in all, with the guys that count, the Chiefs improved. A tougher test comes next weekend with Seattle.
Aug 21, 2005, 8:22:44 AM by Bob Gretz - FAQ
Ok, so at least it was better than last week.
If you happen to be one of the red and gold crazies who couldn’t watch Saturday night’s pre-season game between the Chiefs and Cardinals and rolled tape or Tivo let me give you with a warning: watch the first half, then destroy the second half. Don’t even bother.
The “real” Chiefs showed improvement from week one to week two and that’s what this month before the real games are played is all about. The guys that are going to make Dick Vermeil’s roster for the opener on September 11th left the field with a 10-0 lead at half-time.
That the Chiefs lost 24-17 to the Cardinals was testimony to a very poor second half effort, especially from the offense, as Damon Huard threw a pair of interceptions, one that was taken back for a touchdown. He was one of 12 throwing the ball. In fact, all second half quarterbacks combined were 10 of 45; that’s not even a completion percentage of 25 percent.
What mattered was the first half and the Chiefs defense really stepped forward from the Minnesota game. Gunther Cunningham unleashed the blitzing hounds on Kurt Warner and the Arizona quarterback was running for his life most of the half. The Chiefs did not sack him, but they disrupted the Arizona offense that went three plays and out, four plays and fumble and three plays and out in its first three possessions.
Warner did burn the Chiefs for a long 49-yard TD pass, but the score was wiped out by a needless 10-yard holding penalty on left tackle Leonard Davis. After Warner released the pass, Davis threw blitzing linebacker Scott Fujita to the ground. If a zebra sees that, it’s a guaranteed penalty; offensive linemen are told that every year. It was just a stupid penalty, of which there were plenty on both sides in this game: 14 for the Cardinals and nine against the Chiefs.
Dexter McCleon was beaten on that negated touchdown, but it was the only time an Arizona receiver really got behind the Chiefs secondary. Defensive end Eric Hicks had the best game of any Kansas City defender and middle linebacker Kawika Mitchell wasn’t too far behind.
Offensively, the Chiefs got Samie Parker into the offense in a big way. He only caught two passes for 14 yards, but he picked up three pass interference calls against Arizona cornerback David Macklin. He ran a nice double move that had Macklin tripping over his own feet when he scored on an eight-yard pass from Trent Green.
Mind you everything wasn’t perfect. The No. 1 offense had four possessions and scored only one touchdown. The Chiefs running game did not get into gear against the Cardinals. Priest Holmes ripped off a 13-yard run on his first carry and then gained just three yards on his next seven touches. That’s pretty ugly. Larry Johnson had better luck, averaging 5.4 yards on his nine carries. Kris Wilson, who started the game at tight end did not catch a pass. In fact, I’m not sure one was even thrown in his direction.
Defensively, the Chiefs did not get a sack and they were able to recover just one fumble, without any interceptions. That’s two games, and just two takeaways and only one sack.
And the sad saga of kicker Lawrence Tynes continued, as he missed two of the three field goals he attempted, pushing it wide right from 38 and 46 yards. That’s four of seven for the pre-season and that’s not good enough. As he always is with kickers and punters, Dick Vermeil was blunt when talking about Tynes: “He’s in the tank. You miss two field goals like that … not in the National Football League … we have a real concern.”
The Chiefs will bring in another kicker; at this point they must, whether to compete with Tynes or simply take his place. But they may wait until after pre-season game No. 3 and the NFL’s first mandatory cutdown. A lot of teams that have two kickers on their roster will be slicing one in that first cut, which would provide the Chiefs with more options off the waiver wire.
What happened in the second half really isn’t worth much analysis, other than the guys who won’t make the Cardinals roster were much better than the guys who won’t make the Chiefs roster. A bunch of guys wearing red and gold made the job of the Vermeil, Carl Peterson and the personnel department a whole lot easier in this game; they played their way right out of the NFL.
That group got extended playing time because 25 players on the Chiefs roster did not dress for the game, including six potential starters: Will Shields, Tony Gonzalez, John Browning, Kendrell Bell, Eric Warfield and Kevin Sampson.
So all in all, with the guys that count, the Chiefs improved. A tougher test comes next weekend with Seattle.