| the Talking Can |
12-16-2012 10:05 PM |
Mellinger | Chiefs’ level of incompetence reaches new heights
http://www.kansascity.com/2012/12/16...-level-of.html
Quote:
OAKLAND, Calif. The lasting images from the Chiefs’ football failures are incomplete passes hitting receivers smack in the facemask, fumbles at the goal line and choreographed celebrations for touchdowns that didn’t happen. As professional football teams go, they are worse than wet socks, rotten milk and bedbugs. They are a season-long blooper reel, their soundtrack a sad country music song.
We know this.
And we’ve known this.
So losing 15-0 to the Raiders on Sunday isn’t a new low as much as it is a rearranging of the stank ashes from what’s long been a colossal flop by men paid to be much better.
But gaining 119 yards and making seven first downs against the NFL’s No. 30 defense is a new flavor of uselessness that deserves its own special spotlight today.
The Chiefs’ offense is less imposing than a pillow. Let’s explore.
So, which was it?
Which glimpse of incompetence is your favorite? Mine came in the first quarter, when Brady Quinn’s pass hit Devon Wylie flush in the helmet, bouncing to the grass incomplete. But reasonable minds can disagree on this.
Maybe you prefer Jon Asamoah getting beat like a percussion instrument on a sack, and being called for a blatant facemask penalty on the play. Or maybe it’s Jamaal Charles busting through for a 42-yard gain, only to come on back on a holding penalty (also on Asamoah — he really had a rough day).
Or maybe it’s gaining a total of 10 yards rushing against a team that’s given up an average of 165 to its last six opponents. Or it could be that the Chiefs finished the first half with 17 yards of offense and 40 yards of penalties. They had as many punts as first downs.
This isn’t the 1985 Bears the Chiefs just played. The Raiders had given up the most points in the NFL before the slump-busting Chiefs came along. The last three teams the Raiders have held under 20 points are all the Chiefs.
This is the fewest yards gained against a losing team in six years of the NFL.
“If there’s a bright spot in the game, it was the punter,” coach Romeo Crennel says.
This was Crennel’s 81st game as a head coach, and he says it’s the worst offensive performance he’s seen. This is Ryan Lilja’s ninth year, and he can’t think of a worse game. When I asked Quinn, he sort of mumbled something that sounded like I don’t know before waiting for the next question.
A breakdown of the Chiefs’ possessions: punt, punt, interception, punt, punt, punt, turnover on downs (after a delay-of-game penalty before fourth down), punt, turnover on downs, turnover on downs.
The Chiefs failed because receivers weren’t open, and they failed because the quarterback threw the ball into the ground in front of an open receiver. They failed when running backs got stuffed in the backfield, and they failed when the running back’s long gain got called back on a penalty. They failed when balls bounced off receivers’ hands, and they failed when Jon Baldwin tried another ridiculous one-handed catch.
The idea that the Chiefs are just a few key changes — a general manager here, head coach there, throw in a new quarterback — from being competitive is drowning in a monsoon of ineptitude.
This isn’t a small problem, either. Five teams have won 10 games this season, and here are their rankings in points scored: first, second, third, eighth and eleventh. The Chiefs, you probably would’ve guessed, are dead last, and what we’ve seen the last two weeks could easily bleed into the future.
Consider that Dwayne Bowe may not be back next year and that the Chiefs have had 18 possessions since his season-ending injury last week: 12 punts, four turnovers on downs, and two interceptions. They’ve managed 249 yards, 14 first downs and zero points.
In other words, the Chiefs are doodling with crayons in a league won by real artists.
When Quinn is the Chiefs’ quarterback and Dexter McCluster their leading active receiver, it’s fair to say this team is like a car with a flat tire and busted transmission. And with Crennel and offensive coordinator Brian Daboll in charge, it’s also fair to say that car’s been driven into a ditch.
Last month, Crennel fired himself as defensive coordinator because he wanted to spend more time and attention on the offense. The Chiefs were averaging 357.5 yards and 16.6 points then. They’re averaging 270.3 yards and 10.3 points since.
But it’s about to get interesting. One of the team’s most important decisions this offseason — after the front office, coach and quarterback, of course — is what to do with Bowe. He is making $9.5 million this year with the franchise tag, and that price goes up significantly if the Chiefs decide to hang the franchise tag on him again.
But seeing this offense without him, the Chiefs may have no choice.
Major changes are all but a certainty now, and how the (presumably) new decision-makers handle the offensive personnel will tell us plenty about whether they think it was the roster or coaches that ruined this season.
Then again, maybe they’ll see it the way most of us do and blame both.
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Mellinger | Chiefs’ level of incompetence reaches new heights
(https://chiefsplanet.com/BB/showthread.php?t=267741)