RINGLEADER
09-23-2013, 11:16 AM
For those who don't want to wade through all of Peter King's commentary about coffee and Peyton Manning here is his latest column with the Chiefs filter on. Lots of love below:
Fine Fifteen:
8. Kansas City (3-0). Quarterback Alex Smith has something in common with the rest of the KC offense: zero turnovers through three games. Not to rewrite history, or say the Niners made the wrong call on Alex Smith/Colin Kaepernick, but to refresh your memory about what a gutsy decision Jim Harbaugh made in benching Smith for Kaepernick last fall, Smith was 27 of 29 (.931) for 313 yards, four touchdowns, no interceptions and a 151.2 rating in his final passes as a 49er.
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Defensive Players of the Week:
Justin Houston, OLB, Kansas City. Hard to imagine any defensive player in any game this season playing any better than Houston did Thursday night in Philadelphia. Houston set the edge against the wide runs by Philadelphia, and tormented Michael Vick like he has been few times in his career. Houston, a third-year player from Georgia, is just 24, and we could be seeing the dawn of the career of the next great outside linebacker. Houston’s game in Philadelphia:
• 4.5 sacks, for 28 combined yards lost.
• Three passes deflected.
• One forced fumble.
• Two fumble recoveries.
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Special Teams Players of the Week:
Tamba Hali, OLB, Kansas City. Hali thought he was playing on the extra-point defense team when the Eagles scored their first touchdown Thursday night. But Philadelphia called for a weird formation, where only long-snapper Jon Dorenbos, the holder and kicker were in their usual spots. The other eight players on the Eagles’ conversion team were split left, with a huge gap between Dorenbos and the rest of the linemen. Behind the linemen was tight end Zach Ertz. Instead of snapping the ball for a PAT, Dorenbos lifted it off the ground and passed it sideways to Ertz, who immediate lurched forward trying to score the two points. But Hali, sprinting in from Ertz’s right, slammed him to the ground for no gain. Imagine how alert you have to be to anticipate this, and then to react to something you’ve never seen before and wreck it.
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Coach of the Week:
Chris Ault, consultant, Kansas City. Andy Reid hired Ault, who coached Nevada and developed Colin Kaepernick into an NFL quarterback, in the offseason to help his team in a variety of ways. Ault’s job is shrouded in mystery. But you can see his effect on both offense and defense. Andy Reid has adopted some of Ault’s stuff into his West Coast offense—Pro Football Focus had Alex Smith lined up in the pistol eight times Thursday night—and he’s also been active in helping the Kansas City defense against the wide-open offenses the Chiefs will play this year. I can only guess why Ault’s role is top secret: Kansas City travels to Washington Dec. 8. Ault and Kyle Shanahan, before Ault took this job, exchanged some ideas informally last winter. I can tell you Reid’s staff values Ault highly, and he had a big hand in divining what Chip Kelly was doing on Thursday night.
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Factoids of the Week:
So call Alex Smith what you want—Captain Checkdown is probably the most charitable derisive moniker he hears—but understand why Andy Reid wanted him so badly when he took over as Chiefs coach. Reid is what I’d call a conservative West Coast offense coach. He wants his quarterback to move the chains, engineer long drives, and not turn it over. He might have the most perfect quarterback in football for those traits. The Smith-led offense has zero turnovers in the first three games, and the team is 3-0. Let’s go back and include Smith’s late 49er career for this gem: In his last 17 starts, Smith has been intercepted in three games, and has lost three games.
Kansas City has won three games in the last 12 days.
Kansas City won twice in the previous 614 days.
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Ten Things I Think I Think:
a. The blitz pickup by Jamaal Charles. Did you see how he demolished Eagles safety Earl Wolff?
b. Dontari Poe. When former KC GM Scott Pioli picked Poe, he was supposed to be the most perplexing prospect in the 2012 draft—a 346-pound defensive tackle who could run a 40 in under five seconds but had questions about his desire. He’s been a disruptive player for defensive coordinator Bob Sutton, and has 3.5 sacks through three games. He swatted down a Mike Vick pass Thursday.
Fine Fifteen:
8. Kansas City (3-0). Quarterback Alex Smith has something in common with the rest of the KC offense: zero turnovers through three games. Not to rewrite history, or say the Niners made the wrong call on Alex Smith/Colin Kaepernick, but to refresh your memory about what a gutsy decision Jim Harbaugh made in benching Smith for Kaepernick last fall, Smith was 27 of 29 (.931) for 313 yards, four touchdowns, no interceptions and a 151.2 rating in his final passes as a 49er.
---
Defensive Players of the Week:
Justin Houston, OLB, Kansas City. Hard to imagine any defensive player in any game this season playing any better than Houston did Thursday night in Philadelphia. Houston set the edge against the wide runs by Philadelphia, and tormented Michael Vick like he has been few times in his career. Houston, a third-year player from Georgia, is just 24, and we could be seeing the dawn of the career of the next great outside linebacker. Houston’s game in Philadelphia:
• 4.5 sacks, for 28 combined yards lost.
• Three passes deflected.
• One forced fumble.
• Two fumble recoveries.
---
Special Teams Players of the Week:
Tamba Hali, OLB, Kansas City. Hali thought he was playing on the extra-point defense team when the Eagles scored their first touchdown Thursday night. But Philadelphia called for a weird formation, where only long-snapper Jon Dorenbos, the holder and kicker were in their usual spots. The other eight players on the Eagles’ conversion team were split left, with a huge gap between Dorenbos and the rest of the linemen. Behind the linemen was tight end Zach Ertz. Instead of snapping the ball for a PAT, Dorenbos lifted it off the ground and passed it sideways to Ertz, who immediate lurched forward trying to score the two points. But Hali, sprinting in from Ertz’s right, slammed him to the ground for no gain. Imagine how alert you have to be to anticipate this, and then to react to something you’ve never seen before and wreck it.
---
Coach of the Week:
Chris Ault, consultant, Kansas City. Andy Reid hired Ault, who coached Nevada and developed Colin Kaepernick into an NFL quarterback, in the offseason to help his team in a variety of ways. Ault’s job is shrouded in mystery. But you can see his effect on both offense and defense. Andy Reid has adopted some of Ault’s stuff into his West Coast offense—Pro Football Focus had Alex Smith lined up in the pistol eight times Thursday night—and he’s also been active in helping the Kansas City defense against the wide-open offenses the Chiefs will play this year. I can only guess why Ault’s role is top secret: Kansas City travels to Washington Dec. 8. Ault and Kyle Shanahan, before Ault took this job, exchanged some ideas informally last winter. I can tell you Reid’s staff values Ault highly, and he had a big hand in divining what Chip Kelly was doing on Thursday night.
---
Factoids of the Week:
So call Alex Smith what you want—Captain Checkdown is probably the most charitable derisive moniker he hears—but understand why Andy Reid wanted him so badly when he took over as Chiefs coach. Reid is what I’d call a conservative West Coast offense coach. He wants his quarterback to move the chains, engineer long drives, and not turn it over. He might have the most perfect quarterback in football for those traits. The Smith-led offense has zero turnovers in the first three games, and the team is 3-0. Let’s go back and include Smith’s late 49er career for this gem: In his last 17 starts, Smith has been intercepted in three games, and has lost three games.
Kansas City has won three games in the last 12 days.
Kansas City won twice in the previous 614 days.
---
Ten Things I Think I Think:
a. The blitz pickup by Jamaal Charles. Did you see how he demolished Eagles safety Earl Wolff?
b. Dontari Poe. When former KC GM Scott Pioli picked Poe, he was supposed to be the most perplexing prospect in the 2012 draft—a 346-pound defensive tackle who could run a 40 in under five seconds but had questions about his desire. He’s been a disruptive player for defensive coordinator Bob Sutton, and has 3.5 sacks through three games. He swatted down a Mike Vick pass Thursday.