LNBS: 10 things that need to happen after the bye

[BossChief]

1) Justin Houston needs to get back. Quickly. The whole defense is predicated on putting pressure on opposing passers and forcing mistakes. With a hobbled Hali/underwhelming Dee Ford being the only immediate options as edge rushers (Dadi needs a ton more snaps, too) it's putting undue pressure on everyone else. The corners are having to cover longer. The DL isnt getting one on one looks, as much. All that changes after Houston gets back. He's gonna force RTs to step wide to protect the edge and utilize the TE to help block him and that helps everyone else. Without him, this team probably misses the playoffs.

2) Alex Smith needs to play like he did in the second half of 2013/his better games from 2015. If I were the coach, he would be on a short leash and expected to be highly effective to retain the starting spot. If he struggles against Oakland and NO, I'd split the practice starter reps with him and Foles the next week. This offense has too much talent to be this unproductive and Alex plays like a damn pussy out there. He needs to man up and lead this team or let Nick Foles take over.

3) Chris Jones needs to take over the starting spot from Allen Bailey. This kid is gonna be special and I think Bailey would be a great guy to rotate at both end spots. Whatever the reason, this kid is gonna be the "Marcus Peters of the DL" for us. No question about it. A very special player. When he's out there, he's constantly flashing BIGTIME ability. The DL needs a shakeup because they should be a lot more disruptive. I honestly think starting Jones would make a big difference on this defense.

4) Tyreek Hill needs to get the third most snaps of any WR on the roster going foreward or it's a coaching fail. Albert Wilson makes me want to kick puppies. I hate that no effort giving pussy. Tyreek has the talent to be a full blown difference maker on offense that's every bit as good as Percy Harvin was if used correctly. I said it while at camp after seeing him in person, this kid is going to be a star and its clear to see on game day what I was seeing in practice. I'm not surprised that he already has scored 4 touchdowns in 4 games (2 being called back for nonsense). This is going to sound absurd, but he just might be our *most skilled* offensive player. He has ELITE: speed, quickness, vision, field awareness, acceleration, spin move, and hands (I know he had the drops in one game, but he caught every pass I saw at camp and 2-3 of those were AMAZING catches. The kid needs to be on the field 60% of the time.

5) Jamaal Charles and Spencer Ware need to be our thunder and lightening and Andy Reid needs to run the ball a lot more. This has a chance to be the best 1-2 punch in the NFL and with the attention the rest of the offense should be getting, the RBs should be able to be very productive.

6) Eric Berry needs to play like a guy wanting to be paid like the best safety in the game. IMO he's taken a small step backwards from last year. He seems to be out of position on the deep ball more often than usual and he's s guy we need to be able to depend on. Step it up, Eric. We all want to see you earn that payday!

7) The OL needs to step up. I think they are playing better than it appears due to Alex playing like a coward, but the unit needs to step up. We simply have too much invested in the OL for them to not play like a top 5 OL. They need to come out and make a statement against Oakland and allow the offense to operate effectively. The guys have been playing together for long enough that they should start to show the cohesion you want/need upfront. It's gonna be troubling if they have a lot of difficulty with Oaklands from 7.

8) Phillip Gaines need to get/stay healthy. No question about it, this is a better defense with Gaines out there. This is a very important year for this young Chiefs team and guys like Phillip, specifically. If he can stay on the field and continue to improve, the defense will be a lot better come playoff time and going into next year.

9) Marcus Peters needs to stay focused on the goal and keep his cool in heated matchups. We need him at his best, to improve on defense. Honestly, I think he plays much better when truly challenged and emotionally invested, but he needs to be aware that opposing QBs will be trying to fool him and he needs to be smart about his gambles.

10) WRs and TEs need to maximize opportunities. With Alex Smith, these guys need to make sure they secure every catch and get every yard they can after the catch. These drops by Maclin have been game changers and we really need him to be dependable for the offense to be effective. Same goes with Kelce, Harris, Travis, Hill, Wilson, Thomas, and the backs....everybody needs to be blocking and fighting for every yard and score.

I still think this team has the potential to go deep in the playoffs, but a few guys need to step their game up for us to do so.

[Mr. Laz]

Originally Posted by O.city

They're averaging 10 wins per year in their first 3 years. Seems like they're doing something right

and there it is ...

fine, then we are all good with no problems

why is anyone complaining or worried about anything or any player?


make the playoffs, maybe squeak out a game, go home

all good Bro

[TigeRRUppeRRcut]

How about our run defense not rank in the bottom five?

[BossChief]

Still waiting on 1, 6 and 8...but it seems a lot of these have come to fruition.

[ThaVirus]

Berry is not making a good case for earning $13m per year, but he has been playing pretty well.

He caused Sorenson's pick 6 today, had a nice stick on a WR to prevent a 3rd down conversion, and had another huge stick to prevent a long TD on White's missed tackle. We also didn't get best over the top despite not even breathing on Brees all afternoon.

[TigeRRUppeRRcut]

Definitely #29's best game

[jjchieffan]

Originally Posted by Mr. Laz

and there it is ...

fine, then we are all good with no problems

why is anyone complaining or worried about anything or any player?


make the playoffs, maybe squeak out a game, go home

all good Bro

Dorsey took a 2-14 team with no depth. He immediately purged about half of the roster and made them an immediate playoff team. We had guys starting in the Pioli era that were barely serviceable as backups. Now we are deep across the board with backups at many positions that would start elsewhere. The O line. Fisher, LDT, Morse. Ehinger all Dorsey picks and Schwartz a Dorsey FA. That is the best line we've had since the Vermeil era. Dorsey built. Smith is solid and an improvement over Cassel. The tight ends are better and all Dorsey guys. Maclin and Conley are the best starting wide receivers I can remember us having and we have better depth in Hill, DAT and even Wilson than we've had in forever. Running backs, we have only Charles left over from before and look at West and Ware. On defense, we still have the core in DJ, Poe, Houston, Hali, and Berry. But he has added Peters, Howard, Bailey, Jones who have played above expectations, as did Sean Smith and Abdullah when they were here. There is also lots of young talent with lots of promise in Alexander, Nicolas, White, Sorensen, Wilson, March, and Murray. That is a Yuge amount of improvement across the board. But if you think he's so bad, you can go to Atlanta and see what Pioli is doing these days.

[Reerun_KC]

Less Jamal is a good thing.