Tribal Warfare
09-03-2010, 11:59 PM
Chiefs offense shows good and bad signs (http://www.kansascity.com/2010/09/03/2198380/chiefs-offense-shows-good-and.html)
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star
The Chiefs wound up the exhibition season as the second-best rushing team in the NFL. Their passing game, meanwhile, looked much of the time as if it could use more work.
Preseason being what it is, those results can be difficult to interpret as they project to the regular season and what type of offensive team the Chiefs will become. Coach Todd Haley indicated that when it comes to building an offense, he’s less interested in raw preseason numbers and more interested in the abilities of the players and things he’s seen on the practice field.
“I know what we put into each game plan,” Haley said Friday, one day after the Chiefs completed a 1-3 preseason with a 17-13 victory against Green Bay at Arrowhead Stadium. “I know a lot of the factors involved up close from a practice-to-game standpoint.
“I’m very encouraged, as I’ve said, about what it looks like we might have a chance to do in the run game. That part I’m real encouraged about. The passing game I’m equally as encouraged about. I feel like if we continue to run the way we’re running, we’ll have a good mix of run and pass and play-action in that mix.”
Still, Haley acknowledged he doesn’t know the identity of the offensive team the Chiefs will field when they open the regular season Sept. 13 against San Diego at Arrowhead.
“That remains to be seen,” he said.
The Chiefs finished only behind Pittsburgh in averaging 148.8 yards of rushing during the preseason. Jamaal Charles, Dexter McCluster and Jackie Battle were consistently effective when running the ball. All averaged better than 5 yards per carry.
“That’s through the preseason,” Haley said. “Preseason is over, and we’re wiping the boards clean. What’s important now is this next chunk of days, the next 10, 11 days. We need to continue to make progress.”
Battle led the Chiefs with 180 rushing yards and scored a 1-yard touchdown on a fourth-down play against the Packers. Haley said Battle’s training camp and preseason forced the Chiefs to look at him in a different light, perhaps as more than just an emergency backup to Thomas Jones, Charles and McCluster.
“This Jackie Battle changed the landscape a little bit with how he jumped into the mix,” Haley said. “He was a guy that would have been easy to ignore. We had at least three guys that look like they’re going to be in the mix one way or another. We had some other guys competing to get into that mix.
“Jackie Battle, through consistently doing what our entire team needs to do, which is get a little better every day and take advantage of opportunities and make plays when you’re in the situation where you can do that … he’s done that. He’s continued to get better on special teams.”
Other offensive indicators from the preseason are not so encouraging to the Chiefs. They committed nine turnovers and took the ball away from their opponents just once. That differential of minus-eight was worst in the league.
“That’s where our focus has to be: Protect the football and disrupt it on defense,” Haley said. “That’s a stat I always take seriously. We need to win that category. I know from a statistical standpoint, if you do, your percentage of wins goes up dramatically.”
The passing game with starting quarterback Matt Cassel gave the Chiefs just one play of more than 20 yards. Cassel’s 30-yard pass to Dwayne Bowe against the Packers set up a touchdown, but many of those 30 yards came after Bowe caught the ball.
The Chiefs threw the deep ball plenty during training camp but rarely tried during the preseason. That suggests that they will begin winging it down the field once the regular season begins or that other issues such as protection problems are interfering with their plans.
Whatever the reason, their biggest downfield receiving threats, Chris Chambers and McCluster, caught mostly short passes.
“I’ve never scored in the preseason in my entire career, so I’m not worried,” said Chambers, who is beginning his 10th NFL season. “Not one touchdown.
“It’s not that we didn’t have plays called and we didn’t want to throw the ball downfield. We just didn’t execute them. It’s not that we haven’t been practicing those plays. We work on that stuff all the time. I expect it to show up soon.”
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star
The Chiefs wound up the exhibition season as the second-best rushing team in the NFL. Their passing game, meanwhile, looked much of the time as if it could use more work.
Preseason being what it is, those results can be difficult to interpret as they project to the regular season and what type of offensive team the Chiefs will become. Coach Todd Haley indicated that when it comes to building an offense, he’s less interested in raw preseason numbers and more interested in the abilities of the players and things he’s seen on the practice field.
“I know what we put into each game plan,” Haley said Friday, one day after the Chiefs completed a 1-3 preseason with a 17-13 victory against Green Bay at Arrowhead Stadium. “I know a lot of the factors involved up close from a practice-to-game standpoint.
“I’m very encouraged, as I’ve said, about what it looks like we might have a chance to do in the run game. That part I’m real encouraged about. The passing game I’m equally as encouraged about. I feel like if we continue to run the way we’re running, we’ll have a good mix of run and pass and play-action in that mix.”
Still, Haley acknowledged he doesn’t know the identity of the offensive team the Chiefs will field when they open the regular season Sept. 13 against San Diego at Arrowhead.
“That remains to be seen,” he said.
The Chiefs finished only behind Pittsburgh in averaging 148.8 yards of rushing during the preseason. Jamaal Charles, Dexter McCluster and Jackie Battle were consistently effective when running the ball. All averaged better than 5 yards per carry.
“That’s through the preseason,” Haley said. “Preseason is over, and we’re wiping the boards clean. What’s important now is this next chunk of days, the next 10, 11 days. We need to continue to make progress.”
Battle led the Chiefs with 180 rushing yards and scored a 1-yard touchdown on a fourth-down play against the Packers. Haley said Battle’s training camp and preseason forced the Chiefs to look at him in a different light, perhaps as more than just an emergency backup to Thomas Jones, Charles and McCluster.
“This Jackie Battle changed the landscape a little bit with how he jumped into the mix,” Haley said. “He was a guy that would have been easy to ignore. We had at least three guys that look like they’re going to be in the mix one way or another. We had some other guys competing to get into that mix.
“Jackie Battle, through consistently doing what our entire team needs to do, which is get a little better every day and take advantage of opportunities and make plays when you’re in the situation where you can do that … he’s done that. He’s continued to get better on special teams.”
Other offensive indicators from the preseason are not so encouraging to the Chiefs. They committed nine turnovers and took the ball away from their opponents just once. That differential of minus-eight was worst in the league.
“That’s where our focus has to be: Protect the football and disrupt it on defense,” Haley said. “That’s a stat I always take seriously. We need to win that category. I know from a statistical standpoint, if you do, your percentage of wins goes up dramatically.”
The passing game with starting quarterback Matt Cassel gave the Chiefs just one play of more than 20 yards. Cassel’s 30-yard pass to Dwayne Bowe against the Packers set up a touchdown, but many of those 30 yards came after Bowe caught the ball.
The Chiefs threw the deep ball plenty during training camp but rarely tried during the preseason. That suggests that they will begin winging it down the field once the regular season begins or that other issues such as protection problems are interfering with their plans.
Whatever the reason, their biggest downfield receiving threats, Chris Chambers and McCluster, caught mostly short passes.
“I’ve never scored in the preseason in my entire career, so I’m not worried,” said Chambers, who is beginning his 10th NFL season. “Not one touchdown.
“It’s not that we didn’t have plays called and we didn’t want to throw the ball downfield. We just didn’t execute them. It’s not that we haven’t been practicing those plays. We work on that stuff all the time. I expect it to show up soon.”