Tribal Warfare
09-13-2009, 10:23 PM
Chiefs put up a fight against Ravens but fall short (http://www.kansascity.com/sports/chiefs/story/1443765.html)
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star
BALTIMORE | Even after taking time to digest the results, the Chiefs still didn’t know quite what to make of the first game of the Todd Haley era. They hoped for and expected a low-scoring gut check against the Baltimore Ravens and instead got a shootout that escaped them only in the final moments of what would be a 38-24 defeat.
If nothing else, they learned a valuable lesson — to buckle up and be ready for just about anything this season, because if Haley’s first game is any indication, they are in for a roller coaster of a year.
“We played the game the way I thought we had to play it,” Haley said. “I made it very clear to the team that for us to win the game, it was not going to be a pretty game. There really was no chance of that. For us to win the game or have a chance to win the game, it was going to be downright ugly. And really, that’s the type of game we played until (Baltimore took the lead for good late in the fourth quarter).”
Haley could well adopt a different strategy for next Sunday’s home opener against Oakland. But against the Ravens, other than fielding a defense that continually collapsed and looked much the same as last year’s forlorn group, the Chiefs adapted nicely to Haley’s way of doing things.
The Ravens pushed the Chiefs around all day, gaining 501 yards of offense and scoring five touchdowns. But the Chiefs still kept the game close by slugging back with big plays. Not only that, but many of them were delivered by guys thought to be little more than spare parts.
Linebacker Derrick Johnson and safety Jon McGraw, both recently demoted from the starting lineup, gave the Chiefs their two biggest plays. Johnson, now a situational player, intercepted a pass and returned it 70 yards, setting up a touchdown; and McGraw blocked a punt and recovered it in the end zone for a touchdown.
Mark Bradley, who moved into the starting lineup only after Devard Darling’s season-ending knee injury, was the leading receiver. Quarterback Brodie Croyle, starting in place of the injured Matt Cassel, had perhaps his best game with the Chiefs, throwing for two touchdowns.
“That’s the beauty of football,” safety Mike Brown said. “You never know who’s the guy making the big play. We expect that. That’s what we want every game.”
Getting plays from unexpected stars helped the Chiefs make the game surprisingly close. Baltimore took the lead for good only when an all-out Chiefs blitz couldn’t prevent a touchdown pass with 2:06 left.
While that play killed the Chiefs for this day, they served notice they will be back for more.
“Our whole group had to be opportunistic,” Haley said. “I told them I couldn’t leave a lot in the bag against this team. You need to take your shots somewhere.
“That was what I was encouraged by. It was not the result we wanted.”
The Chiefs were most disappointed in their defenders. They again had a hard time getting pressure on the quarterback, and that was most costly on third down. Baltimore converted on 10 of 17 third-down plays.
“I wouldn’t say it felt like last year,” said safety Jarrad Page, who started instead of McGraw. “We just couldn’t get off the field on third down.”
They felt the lack of a pass rush most on the game’s biggest play, as Baltimore got the game-winner when quarterback Joe Flacco beat an eight-player blitz with his 31-yard scoring pass to Mark Clayton.
Had the Chiefs even forced an incompletion on the third-down play, they could have survived. As it was, they had run out of big plays by then.
“We knew we’d be in a dogfight, and we were,” Croyle said. “We wanted to run the ball and we wanted to keep it close, and at the end we were just going to have to make plays. It wasn’t surprising to us that we made them. We just didn’t make enough of them.
“They ended up making the play they wanted to.”
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star
BALTIMORE | Even after taking time to digest the results, the Chiefs still didn’t know quite what to make of the first game of the Todd Haley era. They hoped for and expected a low-scoring gut check against the Baltimore Ravens and instead got a shootout that escaped them only in the final moments of what would be a 38-24 defeat.
If nothing else, they learned a valuable lesson — to buckle up and be ready for just about anything this season, because if Haley’s first game is any indication, they are in for a roller coaster of a year.
“We played the game the way I thought we had to play it,” Haley said. “I made it very clear to the team that for us to win the game, it was not going to be a pretty game. There really was no chance of that. For us to win the game or have a chance to win the game, it was going to be downright ugly. And really, that’s the type of game we played until (Baltimore took the lead for good late in the fourth quarter).”
Haley could well adopt a different strategy for next Sunday’s home opener against Oakland. But against the Ravens, other than fielding a defense that continually collapsed and looked much the same as last year’s forlorn group, the Chiefs adapted nicely to Haley’s way of doing things.
The Ravens pushed the Chiefs around all day, gaining 501 yards of offense and scoring five touchdowns. But the Chiefs still kept the game close by slugging back with big plays. Not only that, but many of them were delivered by guys thought to be little more than spare parts.
Linebacker Derrick Johnson and safety Jon McGraw, both recently demoted from the starting lineup, gave the Chiefs their two biggest plays. Johnson, now a situational player, intercepted a pass and returned it 70 yards, setting up a touchdown; and McGraw blocked a punt and recovered it in the end zone for a touchdown.
Mark Bradley, who moved into the starting lineup only after Devard Darling’s season-ending knee injury, was the leading receiver. Quarterback Brodie Croyle, starting in place of the injured Matt Cassel, had perhaps his best game with the Chiefs, throwing for two touchdowns.
“That’s the beauty of football,” safety Mike Brown said. “You never know who’s the guy making the big play. We expect that. That’s what we want every game.”
Getting plays from unexpected stars helped the Chiefs make the game surprisingly close. Baltimore took the lead for good only when an all-out Chiefs blitz couldn’t prevent a touchdown pass with 2:06 left.
While that play killed the Chiefs for this day, they served notice they will be back for more.
“Our whole group had to be opportunistic,” Haley said. “I told them I couldn’t leave a lot in the bag against this team. You need to take your shots somewhere.
“That was what I was encouraged by. It was not the result we wanted.”
The Chiefs were most disappointed in their defenders. They again had a hard time getting pressure on the quarterback, and that was most costly on third down. Baltimore converted on 10 of 17 third-down plays.
“I wouldn’t say it felt like last year,” said safety Jarrad Page, who started instead of McGraw. “We just couldn’t get off the field on third down.”
They felt the lack of a pass rush most on the game’s biggest play, as Baltimore got the game-winner when quarterback Joe Flacco beat an eight-player blitz with his 31-yard scoring pass to Mark Clayton.
Had the Chiefs even forced an incompletion on the third-down play, they could have survived. As it was, they had run out of big plays by then.
“We knew we’d be in a dogfight, and we were,” Croyle said. “We wanted to run the ball and we wanted to keep it close, and at the end we were just going to have to make plays. It wasn’t surprising to us that we made them. We just didn’t make enough of them.
“They ended up making the play they wanted to.”