xfactor
08-31-2011, 06:04 AM
Pre-season is no time
to give up on 'the plan'
It was the kind of game I’d been waiting to see throughout the pre-season from the Kansas City Chiefs. Quarterback Matt Cassel was pinpoint accurate with his passes. Tony Moeaki, Steve Breaston and Dwayne Bowe were making great catches all over the place. And our running game was in mid-season form. It was the kind of team performance that Chiefs fans had been expecting to see this season.
No, it wasn’t a pre-season game. You weren’t going to catch any highlights on ESPN. The performances I described above were witnessed by myself and about 10,000 of my closest friends during a team scrimmage on Wednesday, prior to the St. Louis game. The Chiefs were scrimmaging under the lights at Arrowhead and, quite honestly, looked impressive. Which is why I’m not yet ready to hit the panic button after the team remains winless with just one more pre-season game remaining.
Just for a little historical perspective, remember that KC was 0-3 at this time a year ago and most everyone was criticizing Charlie Weis for being “unimaginative” on offense and calling for his job. Some were even worried that a 3-13 record might look pretty good. Well, here we are again . . . 0-3 with an offense that looks like it would struggle against most college teams. That’s not to say there aren’t some concerns. Kansas City has looked like anything but a playoff team in their first three games. I know that head coach Todd Haley has a “plan” for preparing his team for the regular season. If that plan means avoiding injuries to his starters, then it’s been a success.
Outside of a torn ACL by free agent linebacker Brandon Siler and Jon Baldwin’s self-inflicted broken thumb, KC is entering the final pre-season game in great shape. But if the pre-season is meant to build confidence in your players, or fans, then Kansas City’s performance has been a little troubling. Despite having the No. 1 rushing offense a year ago, our ground game has been stuck in the mud. Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones combined for just six carries and 14 yards against St. Louis. We acquired All-Pro fullback Le’Ron McClain and, for the most part, he’s been window dressing. In three pre-season games, the Chiefs have rushed for only 238 yards - an average of just 79.3 yards per game and 3.4 yards per carry. Granted, it’s the pre-season and our starters have been playing only about half a game, but we’ve still come to expect a little more than this.
The area where I sense the biggest concern right now is with the defense. Against our starters, St. Louis quarterback Sam Bradford picked apart our secondary with 8-of-8 passing for 78 yards and two touchdowns on the game’s first two possessions. That’s unacceptable, even in pre-season. So is the 170 yards rushing we allowed.The only player who did show up to play on defense was linebacker Derrick Johnson who appears on the verge of becoming the All-Pro player we’ve been hoping for since he was drafted with KC’s No. 1 pick in 2005. Against the Rams, he had eight tackles, a sack and an interception.He wasn’t the only bright spot on Friday.
Rookie lineman Rodney Hudson split time between offensive center and guard. He was responsible for a holding call that prevented an early touchdown, but otherwise had a very solid game. We drafted him for his versatility on the line and he’s proving to be that kind of player.Backup quarterbacks Ricky Stanzi and Tyler Palko each looked respectable while combining for nearly 200 yards passing and runningback Dexter McCluster showed that he can be dangerous in the open field. The pieces appear to be in place. What’s lacking is the consistency . . . and a desire to open things up a little more on offense.
Meeting with the players, I don’t see that they’ve given up on “the plan.” They don’t like losing. They’re professional football players. They want to win every time they’re on the field. But they aren’t in panic mode.I really look for a little more intensity against Green Bay this week. Bottom line is the real season begins in less than two weeks. We can’t keep saying “It’s only pre-season and the games don’t matter.”Since we didn’t have any training camps this summer, Haley’s focus has been on conditioning, avoiding injuries, and making sure the team is ready for the season opener against Buffalo.That’s been “the plan.”We’ll soon know whether “the plan” was a good one or not.
* * *
•In three years as head coach, Haley’s pre-season record is 1-10. Maybe that says something about KC’s emphasis (or lack of) on pre-season games.
•In order to get down to the mandatory 80 players this week, the Chiefs put Ryan O’Callaghan on injured reserve and released kicker Todd Carter.
to give up on 'the plan'
It was the kind of game I’d been waiting to see throughout the pre-season from the Kansas City Chiefs. Quarterback Matt Cassel was pinpoint accurate with his passes. Tony Moeaki, Steve Breaston and Dwayne Bowe were making great catches all over the place. And our running game was in mid-season form. It was the kind of team performance that Chiefs fans had been expecting to see this season.
No, it wasn’t a pre-season game. You weren’t going to catch any highlights on ESPN. The performances I described above were witnessed by myself and about 10,000 of my closest friends during a team scrimmage on Wednesday, prior to the St. Louis game. The Chiefs were scrimmaging under the lights at Arrowhead and, quite honestly, looked impressive. Which is why I’m not yet ready to hit the panic button after the team remains winless with just one more pre-season game remaining.
Just for a little historical perspective, remember that KC was 0-3 at this time a year ago and most everyone was criticizing Charlie Weis for being “unimaginative” on offense and calling for his job. Some were even worried that a 3-13 record might look pretty good. Well, here we are again . . . 0-3 with an offense that looks like it would struggle against most college teams. That’s not to say there aren’t some concerns. Kansas City has looked like anything but a playoff team in their first three games. I know that head coach Todd Haley has a “plan” for preparing his team for the regular season. If that plan means avoiding injuries to his starters, then it’s been a success.
Outside of a torn ACL by free agent linebacker Brandon Siler and Jon Baldwin’s self-inflicted broken thumb, KC is entering the final pre-season game in great shape. But if the pre-season is meant to build confidence in your players, or fans, then Kansas City’s performance has been a little troubling. Despite having the No. 1 rushing offense a year ago, our ground game has been stuck in the mud. Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones combined for just six carries and 14 yards against St. Louis. We acquired All-Pro fullback Le’Ron McClain and, for the most part, he’s been window dressing. In three pre-season games, the Chiefs have rushed for only 238 yards - an average of just 79.3 yards per game and 3.4 yards per carry. Granted, it’s the pre-season and our starters have been playing only about half a game, but we’ve still come to expect a little more than this.
The area where I sense the biggest concern right now is with the defense. Against our starters, St. Louis quarterback Sam Bradford picked apart our secondary with 8-of-8 passing for 78 yards and two touchdowns on the game’s first two possessions. That’s unacceptable, even in pre-season. So is the 170 yards rushing we allowed.The only player who did show up to play on defense was linebacker Derrick Johnson who appears on the verge of becoming the All-Pro player we’ve been hoping for since he was drafted with KC’s No. 1 pick in 2005. Against the Rams, he had eight tackles, a sack and an interception.He wasn’t the only bright spot on Friday.
Rookie lineman Rodney Hudson split time between offensive center and guard. He was responsible for a holding call that prevented an early touchdown, but otherwise had a very solid game. We drafted him for his versatility on the line and he’s proving to be that kind of player.Backup quarterbacks Ricky Stanzi and Tyler Palko each looked respectable while combining for nearly 200 yards passing and runningback Dexter McCluster showed that he can be dangerous in the open field. The pieces appear to be in place. What’s lacking is the consistency . . . and a desire to open things up a little more on offense.
Meeting with the players, I don’t see that they’ve given up on “the plan.” They don’t like losing. They’re professional football players. They want to win every time they’re on the field. But they aren’t in panic mode.I really look for a little more intensity against Green Bay this week. Bottom line is the real season begins in less than two weeks. We can’t keep saying “It’s only pre-season and the games don’t matter.”Since we didn’t have any training camps this summer, Haley’s focus has been on conditioning, avoiding injuries, and making sure the team is ready for the season opener against Buffalo.That’s been “the plan.”We’ll soon know whether “the plan” was a good one or not.
* * *
•In three years as head coach, Haley’s pre-season record is 1-10. Maybe that says something about KC’s emphasis (or lack of) on pre-season games.
•In order to get down to the mandatory 80 players this week, the Chiefs put Ryan O’Callaghan on injured reserve and released kicker Todd Carter.