Originally Posted by keg in kc (Post 9963444)

I think there are a few guys on here that are taking any sort of discussion about concerns or things that need to improve as some kind of assault on Alex Smith. When the reality is that it's a simple statement of fact that a game like the Chiefs had on Sunday, a blowout win with under 200 yards passing, is an aberration in today's NFL. Pointing that out isn't saying "Alex Smith sucks" any more than it's saying "Jamaal Charles sucks" when one acknowledges that we also didn't run the ball particularly well, with backs accruing just 95 yards on 24 carries (Smith scrambles accounted for the other 25).

To add to it, the idea that they "took their foot off the gas" on Sunday is, I think, an accurate one (I've said it a number of times myself...). But only in terms of how they were operating on the field. They kept throwing the ball, they just appeared to go preseason vanilla in how they were trying to do it (not much creativity in terms of formation or matchups, unlike the first half). My guess is that they were keeping things close to the vest to limit the looks the Cowboys have on tape for Sunday's game. But that's just a guess...

The numbers line up like this: Smith was 12-19 (63%) for 92 yards in the first half, with the team running the ball 15 times for 78 yards. In the second half, Smith was 9-15 (60%) for 81 yards, and the team ran the ball 13 times for 42 yards. So the reality is that they didn't actually go into a run-heavy shell. They were still throwing the ball (and Smith did finish with 34 attempts for the game, which is right around where most of us expected him to be in Reid's offense - this was not Martyball...). The simple truth is that they just weren't executing particularly well in either phase in the 2nd half, run or pass. The 6 total first downs, thanks in large part to going 1-7 on 3rd down (after starting 4-8 in the first half), and 6 consecutive punts in the half bear that reality out.

I don't point that out to cry "fail". I'm not saying "Alex Smith sucks" (you know, I'm not clayton...). I simply point that out as something that needs to - and probably will - improve. Sunday was not a perfect game for the offense by any stretch. It was enough to win against Jacksonville, but they don't play Jacksonville every week, so they'll have to be better moving forward. And I expect that they will be. I think we'll continue to see @35 passes from Alex Smith every week, but I don't believe we'll see 173 yards passing again, with that many attempts. I think he'll be closer to 250 most weeks.

Originally Posted by Jakemall (Post 9963551)

Again, likely true. I just said there will be a few. Not that it will be the norm. I wouldn't be suprised to see Reid take a page out of Harbaugh's book and try to duplicate what happened in 2011 with the 9ers. That is, the offense did only enough to win, which became more as the year progressed. It also gave time for the offensive players to catch up to the playbook and get on the same pages as each other.

Originally Posted by keg in kc (Post 9963611)

I think they're further along than we realize and were playing possum a bit on Sunday. I'm not saying that they weren't trying or anything goofy like that, they do need to work on execution, but I think they closed the playbook once the game was out of hand. Which was basically after we scored TD #2. It was clear very early that Jacksonville wasn't going to do anything on offense.

It won't be like that Sunday, and I would not be the least bit surprised to see things opened up against Dallas. Whether it works or not is another question, that's a much better secondary, but I don't think they're going to play not to lose, at least not more than Alex Smith already inherently does.

Looking at the calendar I don't see a whole lot of games where they could afford to play passively and hope to just do enough to win (which, frankly, I think is a terrible philosophy, but that's another discussion...). There's a lot of teams that can score a lot of points on their schedule. Obviously Dallas, Philly, NYG and Washington all have potent units, as do the Texans, Colts, Broncos and Chargers. The Titans and Bills are sort of a mystery right now, Oakland looked better but still not good, and the Browns looked like crap, but that's about it. I think the O's going to have to perform, and perform right away, because a good game for the defense against some of those offenses will be holding them down around 20 or 24 points. Certainly Dallas, Philly and the Giants in the next 3 weeks are not what I would consider the kind of games where a Martyball approach will work all that well. Because they're all teams that can score quickly, so ball control and time of possession can come back to bite you in the ass. I'm not saying get into shootouts, the Chiefs offense does need to play with a mentality of protecting the ball, but they also have to move the chains and score points. If they're punting 10 times in these games, they're most likely losing.

Originally Posted by keg in kc (Post 9963611)

I think they're further along than we realize and were playing possum a bit on Sunday. I'm not saying that they weren't trying or anything goofy like that, they do need to work on execution, but I think they closed the playbook once the game was out of hand. Which was basically after we scored TD #2. It was clear very early that Jacksonville wasn't going to do anything on offense.

It won't be like that Sunday, and I would not be the least bit surprised to see things opened up against Dallas. Whether it works or not is another question, that's a much better secondary, but I don't think they're going to play not to lose, at least not more than Alex Smith already inherently does.

Looking at the calendar I don't see a whole lot of games where they could afford to play passively and hope to just do enough to win (which, frankly, I think is a terrible philosophy, but that's another discussion...). There's a lot of teams that can score a lot of points on their schedule. Obviously Dallas, Philly, NYG and Washington all have potent units, as do the Texans, Colts, Broncos and Chargers. The Titans and Bills are sort of a mystery right now, Oakland looked better but still not good, and the Browns looked like crap, but that's about it. I think the O's going to have to perform, and perform right away, because a good game for the defense against some of those offenses will be holding them down around 20 or 24 points. Certainly Dallas, Philly and the Giants in the next 3 weeks are not what I would consider the kind of games where a Martyball approach will work all that well. Because they're all teams that can score quickly, so ball control and time of possession can come back to bite you in the ass. I'm not saying get into shootouts, the Chiefs offense does need to play with a mentality of protecting the ball, but they also have to move the chains and score points. If they're punting 10 times in these games, they're most likely losing.

Originally Posted by keg in kc (Post 9963738)

I think it's going to be increasingly difficult to run if teams do what Jacksonville did and load the short and intermediate zones (which is exactly what I expect everyone to do...). They'll have to go downfield at some point or they're going to get smothered. I don't think the line at this point is strong enough to dictate to opposing d-lines. I also worry that there's an ulterior motive for the proclivity of short passing, beyond Smith's normal conservative tendencies, and that's a concern with protection.

We'll have a better idea after Sunday's game. If Ware eats us alive we may be in some trouble.

Either way, I think we're going to see teams loading the line of scrimmage until we demonstrate that we can beat them over the top. Screens and misdirection can help with that, but most likely nothing short of long completions will cure it (I would point out that our first play Sunday was a shot downfield - I expect to see more of that).

Originally Posted by Mac-NinersChiefs (Post 9963745)

Admittedly optimistic, I am seeing a 6-3 start for KC.

Kansas City @ Jacksonville - W

Dallas @ Kansas City - W
Kansas City @ Philadelphia - L
NY Giants @ Kansas City - L
Kansas City @ Tennessee - W
Oakland @ Kansas City - W
Houston @ Kansas City - L
Cleveland @ Kansas City - W
Kansas City @ Buffalo - W

... though could easily see a surprise W and L swapping out in there.

Originally Posted by NinerDoug (Post 9963939)

7-2. Give yourselves a win against the Giants at home. They are not that good.

Originally Posted by Mavericks Ace (Post 9963920)

I have a legitimate question.

Does DaneMcCloud like anybody?

Originally Posted by Mavericks Ace (Post 9963920)

I have a legitimate question.

Does DaneMcCloud like anybody?

He fights with the Alex haters, and for the last couple of weeks he has been lashing out at the guys who mostly have been supporting him, and his fight against Clay.

That time of the month Dane?

I came here to talk football period. Sure, I talk alex smith, but I talk all things Chiefs.

Relax hombre.....

They make Midol for that.

Originally Posted by Mavericks Ace (Post 9963943)

Eh. Every team has that Kryptonite. Ever since that game where Justin Smith secured that win for the 49ers at the end, the Giants have been a house of horrors for Alex Smith.......

Originally Posted by Mavericks Ace (Post 9963943)

Eh. Every team has that Kryptonite. Ever since that game where Justin Smith secured that win for the 49ers at the end, the Giants have been a house of horrors for Alex Smith.......