Whitlock: Chiefs can put their faith in Charles
 

Chiefs can put their faith in Charles
By JASON WHITLOCK
The Kansas City Star

DENVER | When it comes to inspiring hope, faith and a belief in miracles, Jamaal Charles has the right initials — J.C.

Sunday afternoon at Invesco Field at Mile High, Charles raised a dead franchise, walked all over the Denver Broncos and just may have stopped me from whining about Scott Pioli and Todd Haley.

On a day when the Broncos had to win and the hapless Chiefs had no reason to play hard, Charles smashed the Chiefs’ single-game rushing record, darting and dancing for 259 yards in 25 carries, leading Kansas City to a shocking 44-24 victory.

When it was over — after he’d eclipsed the 1,000-yard barrier in just half a season as a starter and after he’d surpassed Haley’s goal of 200 yards for the game — Charles credited the Hall of Fame savior in the sky.

“I just prayed on it,” Charles said, “and know that you can do anything through Christ.”

I’m starting to believe the Chiefs can do anything through Charles.

Before Charles, the Chiefs had the worst offensive line in football. The unit couldn’t open holes for Larry Johnson and couldn’t protect quarterback Matt Cassel. A blind man could see that Branden Albert, Brian Waters and Rudy Niswanger were awful and the right side of KC’s line was a bad joke.

Before Charles, Haley’s development of the offensive unit was incompetent at best and criminal in the eyes of some long-suffering Chiefs fans.

Before Charles, I couldn’t think of one reason to attend a 2010 Chiefs game. Not one.

Now, this miserable and painful 4-12 season has meaning. The emergence of Charles as a potential superstar forgives a multitude of sins and makes me believe next season might be significantly better.

What we witnessed Sunday was no fluke. In limited opportunities as a rookie, Charles averaged 5.3 yards per carry. In limited opportunities the first half of this season as an understudy to Larry Johnson, Charles averaged 5.2 yards per carry.

All Charles lacked was a true believer, the faith of his head coach. Johnson’s Twitter eruption, Kolby Smith’s ailing knee and Dantrell Savage’s bum ankle left Haley with no choice but to accept Jamaal Charles as his football savior.

The back Haley deactivated in week two just completed as impressive an eight-game stretch as we’ve seen in the history of the Chiefs.

As the featured back the second half of the season, J.C. rushed for 103, 58, 93, 56, 143, 154, 102 and 259 yards. That’s 968 yards. He carried the ball just 161 times, giving him an average of 6.0 yards a tote.

That’s a Barry Sanderslike average. On Sunday, Tennessee running back Chris Johnson became the sixth back in league history to gain 2,000 yards in a season. He averaged 5.6 yards per carry.

Charles is as good as any back in the league.

“He’s kind of forced us to think differently about him,” Haley admitted.

Thank God.

Charles is making me think differently about the Chiefs. They have an offensive identity. They have a home-run hitter in the backfield, a guy who will make the opposition respect the play-action pass on first down.

Charles can make Cassel a better quarterback the same way Charles improved the offensive line. If the Chiefs add a legitimate No. 1 receiver or a talented rookie receiver, a new center and develop a competent tight end, they’ll field a solid offense next season.

Fixing the defense won’t be as easy. But it might start with Haley making peace with linebacker Derrick Johnson.

D.J. is another player who has kind of forced the coaching staff to think differently about him. Johnson scored two touchdowns on Sunday, running back two Kyle "Pro Bowl" Orton interceptions.

I get that a 3-4 scheme — in the Patriots’ system — is an assignment-sound defense for linebackers and that Johnson isn’t the most disciplined player. Haley (and Pioli) must realize the Patriots system is fueled by Bill Belichick’s preparation and ability to anticipate what the opposition is doing. For years, the Steelers have successfully used the 3-4 scheme while employing more instinctive linebackers.

There’s more than one way to win football games. Placing glass ceilings on talented players because you jump to a quick conclusion is how you wind with your team MVP in street clothes in week two.

I can't say I disagree with any of this.

I know it right? This may be the first Whitlock article that I've ever agreed with. Might even be the only one I'll ever agree with....That being said maybe Whitlock isn't as witless as I had him pegged as being. Who knew?

Wait until Charles gets a case of the fumbles or has a few >50 yd games and Whitlock will be singing a different tune.

I have learned to take him with a grain of salt.

I still hope we have Smith back next year. Charles and Smith should make a great tandem.

Placing glass ceilings on talented players because you jump to a quick conclusion is how you wind with your team MVP in street clothes in week two.

This.

And, this is how you end up with your best strong safety playing in Houston.

His comments about DJ are more interesting.

I still think we need another RB to spell Charles. I will admit that I didn't think he could be an every down back, not necessarily for injury, but because of size. Proved my ass wrong (thank god). But I don't think you run just one back anymore, and we need a short yardage guy.

FYP

I was really excited about Pollard. They were supposed to put him close to the line so he could do what he does well. You know, like Houston is doing.

Nobody put a ceiling on Pollard. Pollard didn't do shit here other than block a few punts early in his career. He earned his ticket out of town. He had three plus seasons to prove he was more than just someone who missed tackles because he was trying to make a big hit or someone who was constantly out of position in the passing game.

Kudos to Pollard for making the most of his second chance. But he did nothing to give the chiefs any faith that he would ever be anything more than what he was. If he had shown more before he got cut maybe he'd still be here.

And here it is. The post that comes along with about every Whitlock column. lol

This game and that performance puts me in the same frame of mind as the Chiefs after Priest's first season. They didn't discover what they had until late in the season but he quickly gave us an identity as Whitlock puts it. Charles can do the same now that Haley can't ignore that he has one of the top backs in the NFL in his backfield. He's finished as the number 11 rusher (between Frank Gore and Ricky Williams) in half a season.

Also agree with Whitlock that the offense is a receiver, center (and tackle) away from being a solid unit.

Despite how woeful the Chiefs were this season (and they were) they still should have beat the Raiders in KC, Dallas in KC, Cleveland in KC, Buffalo in KC, and Cincy in Cincy. That's 9-7 and while probably not good enough for the playoffs there are 1-2 plays in each of those games that separate 4-12 from 9-7. Maybe with Charles starting we win against Baltimore and Jacksonville. Coulda, woulda, shoulda...I know, but KC wasn't consistently blown out despite having a terrible team most of the year. Haley got these guys to play.

I think with another year in the system, knowing Charles is the key to our offense, improving the O-Line and WR, and we could be an 8-8 team next season.

In furtherence of the "Chiefs have an identity" argument...KC finishes 25 in overall offense and 11 in rushing offense.

I say if Charles plays from game 1 we're a top 5 rushing offense.

JW has such insight.

He makes a great point. And I think they're gonna have a tough decision on their hands concerning DJ this off-season.

He's an NFL running back. He's going to have a few fumbled and one or 2 in a crucial situation. It happens. Priest was awesome at holding on to the ball, but remember he fumbled against the Colts in the play offs. We couldnt get down on him because his positive outweighted his negative.


As time goes on and the way he works at his game, i am sure he can limit the fumbled.

The only thing Whitlock should put his faith in is Nutrisystem.

And I seriously hope we don't overuse Charles in compensation for the rest of our team.

Not always a fan of Whitlock but it's a pretty good article. The quote above is a good message, but let's not forget that Charles earned some of that time off the field/on the bench himself by being a fumbler early on in the season. For this coaching staff, it wasn't a matter of talent -- it was a matter of trust.

That said, glad to see that he's manned up, and we're giving him the ball and getting the hell out of the way.

Damn, people.

He fumbled ONCE in the first 11 weeks of the season.

ONCE.

I have no idea where this myth started, or why people choose to continue believing it when facts are presented that prove it's false.

http://www.nfl.com/players/jamaalcha...s?id=CHA561428

Hmm... just noticed this: He even threw Brian Waters under the bus. Surprising.

I posted in the other thread (you know, the one where we were discussing this, Mr. OnTheWarpath58) one possible "source" of the "myth".

Apparently, Charles had what was considered to be a significant fumbling problem in college. That would explain why he was branded with this reputation.

FAX

I'm encompassing training camp/pre-season, too.

Charles is in charge, that's for sure.

From time to time, you get the bear and, in this case, fortune has smiled on us. As do a lot of people, I have concerns about his durability. The guy's shoulder pops out 10 times a game. He's fun as hell to watch, though. I love those 50 yard touchdown runs.

FAX

"We're talking about...practice... Not a game... Practice..."

[/Iverson]

Great. Games that don't count being used to perpetuate a myth. Cool.

Oh, wait. He only fumbled ONCE in the preseason?

So, two fumbles in the first 15 weeks of the season?

Well, Mr. FAX, college ball and the NFL are a different animal.

What's he's done in college has no bearing on what he's done in the league.

And again, this is directed more at the folks that keep claiming this supposed "early season fumbling problem" is the reason why he was inactive for a game, and buried on the depth chart.

Calm down a little bit. You're not listening.

My point was this: Training camp and pre-season is what builds trust early in the season. Charles fumbled once (out of only four carries) against Minny in the pre-season. He only had 15 carries the entire preseason. It's logical to say that it hurt his chances of playing.

Whatever you say.

Keep moving those goalposts.

When did I change the message?

I'm not trying to vilify Charles here, but I'm also noticing that you're now ignoring that he fumbled 3 times in 4 weeks vs. SD, Den and Cleveland.

Here's my final say: Charles is awesome. I want him to play for us for a long time. All I'm saying is let's not pretend it was just the coaching staff that kept him from playing. He had to prove he could play, which he has done. Good for all of us. Go Chiefs.

I'm almost with you.

I still feel like RBs are a ticking time bomb. It's about getting young backs. I'm very much looking forward to watching Jamaal over the next 4 years. But after that, I fully expect him to be a different kind of runner when that time comes from the use he's going to get.

So next 4 or so years? Sure. After that? I'd cut bait and get another guy.

I just don't want to see us pull another LJ with him when you hold onto a RB too long when they're clearly not the player they used to be.

I'm not ignoring it at all.

People, yourself included, keep saying he had a fumbling problem early in the year.

He didn't.

True. True.

I'll go back and re-read some of the training camp reports. Those are what are fueling my opinion on this, as well as the fumble in the Minny game. There's a video clip of Haley saying to him at a pre-season practice something along the lines of "You can't play if you can't hold on to my football."

If I'm wrong, I'll come back and say it.

This is true. He's such a fricken fair weather fan. I hate those types.


Yup. I agree completely.



Hey someone had to say it.

Please. Repeat after me ... "I am not a knucklehead. I am not a knucklehead."

I'm trying to help you here. If you read the post I referred to, you'll see where the "myth" began. In no way is it a comparison of college ball and the NFL (I actually feel stupid having to type that out).

You keep saying that Charles' reputation as a fumbler is unfounded.

Here's what happened ... NFL scouts pay attention to all kinds of things when evaluating a college player ... including his propensity (or lack, thereof) to fumble. Charles got his reputation as a fumbler because he fumbled in college ... he even publicly admitted that he had a problem that needed work.

Jeez.

FAX

OTW58: For what it's worth, Josh Looney of the Chiefs' own Web site acknowledges the rep that was out there in this blog post.

***

http://www.kcchiefs.com/news/2009/12...isk_vs_reward/
RISK VS. REWARD
December 1st – 6:05 AM

Jamaal Charles carries the label of “fumbler” around with him. He’s fought that tag for quite some time now. Regardless of how many big plays he makes, touchdowns he scores or ankles he breaks, as soon as that football hits the ground the dreaded “f word” gets dropped along with it.

Is the characterization unfair, or is it fitting? Better yet, does the reward of Charles’ game outweigh the risk of him fumbling?

Charles has put the football on the ground four times to date over his two-year NFL career, twice this season and twice a season ago. Four fumbles certainly isn’t very many considering that six NFL running backs have coughed up the football four or more times this season alone (Steve Slaton leads the league with seven). But, on the other hand, Charles has also seen limited touches throughout his career until about three weeks ago.

Maybe the classification comes from his time at Texas when Charles coughed up the football twice against Oklahoma in 2007. That version of the Red River Rivalry was the closest matchup between the two schools in over a decade (a 28-21 OU victory) and Charles’ fumble inside the Oklahoma five-yard line was disastrous. Mack Brown even called in legendary Longhorn rusher Earl Campbell to talk ball protection with J.C.

Or maybe the tag comes from this past preseason where Charles struggled to hold on to the football and an exchange between the runner and a wired Todd Haley was broadcast on national television via the NFL Network.

Haley: “Did you fumble yesterday?”

Charles: “Yeah.”

Haley: “What, he just slapped it.”

Charles: “That was my fault. I didn’t cover the ball enough.”

Haley: “You better take care of my football, or you cannot play.”

Regardless of how the perception got legs, it’s running. Charles has already been labeled a “fumbler” and it will likely stick with him until he goes on some ungodly streak of carries without a fumble. He carries the title, but is it completely accurate at this point in his career? Let’s take a look.

Below is a table of 32 NFL running backs. Each running back is currently the leading rusher on their respective team. The table breaks down each of the runners’ total touches (rushes, receptions and returns) and fumbles, ultimately being sorted by fumbles per touch from best to worst. Also, keep in mind that these are not fumbles lost, just fumbles in general.


As you can see, Charles has the eighth-highest fumble percentage of any leading rusher. As a football coach, you definitely don’t want your runner to rank in the league’s top-10 in that category, but is the risk worth the reward?

For instance, Vikings RB Adrian Peterson has put the football on the ground the third-most times per carry, yet you hardly hear anyone characterize Peterson as a “fumbler.” Why? Because he’s among the league’s elite and the reward for Peterson carrying the football far outweighs the risk of the ball bouncing on the turf 2.33% of the time. With that, the next question is where Charles’ reward ranks in relation to his fumble risk?

No, FAX, I'm not.

I'm simply saying that he DID NOT have a early season fumbling problem, as so many people here have claimed.

He fumbled ONCE in the first 11 weeks of the season.

ONCE.

I didnt know his chunky butt could backpedal that fast. Its like reading Woody Paige. Christ, Whitlock, pick a stance and stay with it. "I love them, I hate them, I love Herm, Todd sucks, Egoli, yay Chiefs." Go to hell, Whitlock the Hutt.