Hammock Parties
09-09-2007, 09:40 PM
http://chiefs.scout.com/2/677766.html
Chiefs head coach Herm Edwards was obviously upset after the Texans whipped Kansas City on Sunday. His team failed to play the brand of football he’s been advocating since the first day of camp.
Setting aside all the critical aspects of Sunday’s opening day loss in Houston, a football team isn’t rebuilt in a day. And let’s face it, there are still some building blocks to assemble in Kansas City before this team can even think about the playoffs.
This week Edwards will be tempted to make a few changes. One of them will be at kicker, while the other might be at quarterback. Those questions are going to linger with each loss this season.
With Kansas City bringing in seven kickers last week, the writing might be on the wall for Justin Medlock. He has the leg and can kick the leather out of the ball, but his mechanics are awful.
Punter Dustin Colquitt talked about it in our Out of Bounds Podcast on Monday. Medlock is simply unable to carry out any sort of repetition from kick to kick. There’s no consistency in his approach.
And JP Darche is all over the board on his snaps. On Medlock’s first miss in Houston, the ball was rocketed back to Colquitt, who couldn’t get the laces turned around.
Medlock panicked and was worried Colquitt didn’t get the laces turned, so he hit the ball with a heavy foot and didn’t follow through, as he needed to. That’s a rookie for you.
Edwards has experience in this situation, as he stayed patient with Jets kicker Mike Nugent after he struggled back in 2005. He stuck with him and it paid off, because eventually Nugent became a solid kicker.
With the likes of Jon Carney still on the market, you have to wonder if Edwards will get the itch to bring him in for another look.
But the kicker decision pales in comparison with the one Herm’s going to have to make at the quarterback position. If anyone thought this topic was dead, they’re wrong.
Edwards had ample reasons to start Huard over Brodie Croyle, but I’m not sure it really matters if the veteran continues to play like he did Sunday.
For the most part the offensive line was stellar. I thought Damion McIntosh was outstanding, and Kyle Turley was equally effective. The interior of the line had a few breakdowns, but Huard was the benefactor of solid enough line play that he could have made better decisions with the ball.
Huard, who tweaked his leg again in the loss on Sunday, was confined to the pocket. He wasn’t able to move outside of the hash marks.
On the other side, you saw Texans quarterback Matt Schaub show some mobility. He wasn’t John Elway by any stretch of the imagination, but he did just enough to keep the Chiefs defense guessing.
The way Schaub ran Houston’s offense is how Huard must run KC’s offense. Schaub’s homerun ball to wide receiver Andre Johnson changed the way Kansas City played defense the rest of the game. No quarterback will have any success in this league unless they throw the ball down the field.
Huard did that last year when he went 5-3 as a starter. Right now, it’s missing.
Edwards will be tempted to bring Croyle into the equation. Huard has to regain his form of a year ago, because once Edwards gives the ball to Croyle, it’ll be his for the remainder of the season and then some.
The head coach can’t panic, but another loss in Chicago could give reason to change both of these positions, provided Medlock and Huard continue to play the way they did against in Houston.
Edwards showed patience last season. It might not be so easy this year.
Chiefs head coach Herm Edwards was obviously upset after the Texans whipped Kansas City on Sunday. His team failed to play the brand of football he’s been advocating since the first day of camp.
Setting aside all the critical aspects of Sunday’s opening day loss in Houston, a football team isn’t rebuilt in a day. And let’s face it, there are still some building blocks to assemble in Kansas City before this team can even think about the playoffs.
This week Edwards will be tempted to make a few changes. One of them will be at kicker, while the other might be at quarterback. Those questions are going to linger with each loss this season.
With Kansas City bringing in seven kickers last week, the writing might be on the wall for Justin Medlock. He has the leg and can kick the leather out of the ball, but his mechanics are awful.
Punter Dustin Colquitt talked about it in our Out of Bounds Podcast on Monday. Medlock is simply unable to carry out any sort of repetition from kick to kick. There’s no consistency in his approach.
And JP Darche is all over the board on his snaps. On Medlock’s first miss in Houston, the ball was rocketed back to Colquitt, who couldn’t get the laces turned around.
Medlock panicked and was worried Colquitt didn’t get the laces turned, so he hit the ball with a heavy foot and didn’t follow through, as he needed to. That’s a rookie for you.
Edwards has experience in this situation, as he stayed patient with Jets kicker Mike Nugent after he struggled back in 2005. He stuck with him and it paid off, because eventually Nugent became a solid kicker.
With the likes of Jon Carney still on the market, you have to wonder if Edwards will get the itch to bring him in for another look.
But the kicker decision pales in comparison with the one Herm’s going to have to make at the quarterback position. If anyone thought this topic was dead, they’re wrong.
Edwards had ample reasons to start Huard over Brodie Croyle, but I’m not sure it really matters if the veteran continues to play like he did Sunday.
For the most part the offensive line was stellar. I thought Damion McIntosh was outstanding, and Kyle Turley was equally effective. The interior of the line had a few breakdowns, but Huard was the benefactor of solid enough line play that he could have made better decisions with the ball.
Huard, who tweaked his leg again in the loss on Sunday, was confined to the pocket. He wasn’t able to move outside of the hash marks.
On the other side, you saw Texans quarterback Matt Schaub show some mobility. He wasn’t John Elway by any stretch of the imagination, but he did just enough to keep the Chiefs defense guessing.
The way Schaub ran Houston’s offense is how Huard must run KC’s offense. Schaub’s homerun ball to wide receiver Andre Johnson changed the way Kansas City played defense the rest of the game. No quarterback will have any success in this league unless they throw the ball down the field.
Huard did that last year when he went 5-3 as a starter. Right now, it’s missing.
Edwards will be tempted to bring Croyle into the equation. Huard has to regain his form of a year ago, because once Edwards gives the ball to Croyle, it’ll be his for the remainder of the season and then some.
The head coach can’t panic, but another loss in Chicago could give reason to change both of these positions, provided Medlock and Huard continue to play the way they did against in Houston.
Edwards showed patience last season. It might not be so easy this year.