GRETZ: Lost in the Victory (An interesting read)

**Lzen** · 09-23-2005, 07:25 AM

Sep 23, 2005, 6:20:39 AM by Bob Gretz

There’s so much talk about the Chiefs quick jump to a 2-0 start and the improved play of the defense, that the best performance by a Kansas City offense over the last five years has been overlooked.

What’s that you say? “Best” performance? When?

It happened last Sunday night in Oakland.

What?

OK, I know you’re thinking Gretz got hold of some bad mushrooms or something this week. The Chiefs only scored two touchdowns in their victory over the Raiders. They managed 354 yards and 17 first downs; those are pedestrian numbers for an offense that has been breaking records for the last three seasons.

All that is true, but I still maintain what the Chiefs did with the ball against the Raiders was as masterful a performance as when they ran for eight touchdowns against Atlanta, or came from behind in the fourth quarter and beat the Packers in Green Bay, or when they matched Indianapolis touchdown for touchdown in the playoffs or in the 2004 regular season.

To understand, I must tell you the “rest of the story” one that has gotten much play in the local fish wrap, or among the tin throats and hairdos. You see, the Chiefs beat the Raiders with an offensive game plan that was obsolete after the first play.

All through the pre-season and into last week, the Chiefs had prepared for a Raiders defense that was going to have a 3-4 look. Yes, they knew and prepared for some sub-defenses that included a four-man line. But all through the pre-season and in the opener against New England, Oakland had lined up doing rather conventional things.

That’s not what the Chiefs saw on the field last Sunday night. From almost the first play, the Raiders completely changed how they played defense. They played most of the game in what amounted to a 4-2-5 alignment. Oakland’s primary defense against the Chiefs was a nickel set, where Charles Woodson was no longer a cornerback, but a safety, and where the NFL’s biggest man Ted Washington was on the field not only for running plays, but passing plays as well.

In effect, everything the Chiefs had planned to do on offense was now up for debate, because the mismatches, the situations that offensive coordinator Al Saunders had prepared for and nurtured all the way back to the off-season, were now out the window.

“Of all the games we’ve played here in the last five years, I can’t remember a game offensively where we had to work so hard from series to series to get ourselves on track,” Saunders said.

“They had five new starters in the game on defense. All the mismatches, all the shifting and motion that we use to try and get match ups in our favor; they all evolved in a different way.

“After every series, we had to evaluate where we were going, what we wanted to do, how we were going to alter our attack.”

There were other factors as well. Willie Roaf wasn’t on the field at left tackle. Another veteran offensive lineman John Welbourn wasn’t a factor because of a league suspension. Kevin Sampson had not played since the opening pre-season game. Tony Richardson, a key part of the Chiefs running game as the blocking fullback was available on a limited basis because of a knee injury. Then, in the first half, tight end Jason Dunn went down with a knee injury. Dunn is a huge part of the Chiefs running game and though he came back and played in the second half, he wasn’t close to being 100 percent..

Key players were missing or limited in their participation. Not only was the opponent fired up and extra-motivated, but they were playing a style of defense completely different than the one they played 10 days before. The crowd was loud and hostile, and that doesn’t include Sterling Sharpe in the broadcast booth.

It was a recipe for disaster. It was anything but; it was the offense’s finest hour. Saunders and offensive line coach Mike Solari, who handles the running game, made changes on the fly, throwing out plays that had been practiced and going with plays that had never reached the game plan.

“We had several passes there in the second half that we haven’t repped on the practice field since training camp,” said Saunders.

On the field, the players adapted.

“It took us awhile, but we finally just told them to tell us what to do, and we would do it,” said guard Brian Waters. “There was nothing out there that was anything that we had prepared for. We were adjusting from the first play.

“The best part was that nobody got upset, nobody got ticked off. We had some penalties and we had things that got in our way.

“I’ll tell you, Trent did a great job of keeping everything together in the huddle.”

If you wonder why Trent Green received the offensive game ball for the Oakland game – when he didn’t throw a touchdown pass and barely broke 90 in the passer rating – it’s because of how he orchestrated the offensive madness.

“It was a constantly stream of adjustments,” Green said. “We had to change our approach. We had to change our passing game.”

Instead of relying on the play-action game, Green came out in the second half and started throwing quick passes on slants to Eddie Kennison. Bang, bang, bang, for 14 yards, then another 14, and another 14. Woodson, a cornerback talented enough to jump those slants and bust them up, was out of the action around the line of scrimmage, because he was generally concerned with covering Tony Gonzalez in the middle of the field. Ever so slowly, those passes started opening up holes to exploit in the new Raiders defense.

Penalties (back-to-back holding calls on Jordan Black at left tackle in the red zone), dropped passes (Samie Parker), a fumble (Parker) kept the Chiefs out of the end zone. They had to settle for a pair of field goals.

But they did what any team with a 17-10 half-time lead on the road would want: they dominated the clock. The Chiefs held the ball for 19 minutes, 56 seconds in the second half. When the Raiders scored to tie the game in the third quarter, the Chiefs then kept the ball for the next nine minutes. Yes, they got only a field goal out of the possession, but they stopped any momentum that was building in the Raiders favor.

By then, Saunders and Solari had figured out the right combinations against the new Oakland look. Green kept everybody together in the huddle.

“I’m so proud of the players, the way they stuck together, the way they had patience and confidence in what they were doing,” said Saunders. “They kept working, and working, and working. They didn’t get frustrated, they just kept working.”

It was a performance that called for the Chiefs to reach for something extra on offense. Thanks to their scheme and the creativity of the coaching staff, thanks to their maturity as a group and thanks to the level-headed nature of their quarterback, they had that something extra.

The opinions offered in this column do not necessarily reflect those of the Kansas City Chiefs.

http://www.kcchiefs.com/news/2005/09...n_the_victory/

**dirk digler** · 09-23-2005, 07:29 AM

Awesome article and something that as fans we may have never known.

teedubya · 09-23-2005, 07:33 AM

thats very interesting... good to know that we can adjust. A Marty led team would have folded and whithered away into patheticness.

SCChief · 09-23-2005, 07:34 AM

The most impressive thing I saw in that game was the time of possession in the 2nd half. Even if those two drives only netted field goals, they didn't leave a lot of time for the Faiders to score.

Mr. Kotter · 09-23-2005, 07:38 AM

Thanks for the article, Lzen.

It's a side of the game that most fans never even consider; and even those who are watchin' it, never see.

jynni · 09-23-2005, 07:43 AM

Even more impressive that they did it on the road in front of a very hostile crowd. That Raidersland crowd sounded nasty.

Rukdafaidas · 09-23-2005, 07:44 AM

This explains a lot!

I was worried about our offense after that game. It looked as though there was some confusion between the receivers and Trent. I thought they all looked a little confused.
I also wondered why Trent got the game ball. I thought it was one of his worst performances in quite some time.

Mecca · 09-23-2005, 07:47 AM

That would explain why we called 2 timeouts in the first 5 minutes of the game, while all of us wondered what the hell they were doing.

**Lzen** · 09-23-2005, 07:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rukdafaidas

I also wondered why Trent got the game ball. I thought it was one of his worst performances in quite some time.

Are you serious?

Otter · 09-23-2005, 07:54 AM

Quote:

The crowd was loud and hostile, and that doesn’t include Sterling Sharpe in the broadcast booth.

Hehe

Fish · 09-23-2005, 08:03 AM

I really thought we had something special going in this game. We had some long drives that were hard fought on every down. There were some huge 3rd down plays by many different guys. Johnson struggled a little, but Holmes showed that no matter who we play, I'm still gonna do what needs done. I've never been more proud of Holmes than I was when he got that 14yd 1st down to put the game away....

Kylo Ren · 09-23-2005, 08:05 AM

Instead of relying on the play-action game, Green came out in the second half and started throwing quick passes on slants to Eddie Kennison. Bang, bang, bang, for 14 yards, then another 14, and another 14. Woodson, a cornerback talented enough to jump those slants and bust them up, was out of the action around the line of scrimmage, because he was generally concerned with covering Tony Gonzalez in the middle of the field. Ever so slowly, those passes started opening up holes to exploit in the new Raiders defense.
-- Why didn't Sterling Sharpe talk about this?

Red Dawg · 09-23-2005, 08:10 AM

VERY VERY INFORMATIVE. No wonder it looked crazy.

Rukdafaidas · 09-23-2005, 08:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lzen

Are you serious?

Yeah, a lot of the passes downfield looked way off to me. I'm now thinking the receivers were off on their routes. I've grown accustomed to Trent being deadly accurate on passes from 15-25 yards and he wasn't that night.
They started using the quick pass plays to compensate.

**Skip Towne** · 09-23-2005, 08:12 AM

I give all the credit to Rich Scanlon.

09-23-2005, 07:25 AM
Lzen Banded Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Oz Casino cash: $-739308	GRETZ: Lost in the Victory (An interesting read) Sep 23, 2005, 6:20:39 AM by Bob Gretz There’s so much talk about the Chiefs quick jump to a 2-0 start and the improved play of the defense, that the best performance by a Kansas City offense over the last five years has been overlooked. What’s that you say? “Best” performance? When? It happened last Sunday night in Oakland. What? OK, I know you’re thinking Gretz got hold of some bad mushrooms or something this week. The Chiefs only scored two touchdowns in their victory over the Raiders. They managed 354 yards and 17 first downs; those are pedestrian numbers for an offense that has been breaking records for the last three seasons. All that is true, but I still maintain what the Chiefs did with the ball against the Raiders was as masterful a performance as when they ran for eight touchdowns against Atlanta, or came from behind in the fourth quarter and beat the Packers in Green Bay, or when they matched Indianapolis touchdown for touchdown in the playoffs or in the 2004 regular season. To understand, I must tell you the “rest of the story” one that has gotten much play in the local fish wrap, or among the tin throats and hairdos. You see, the Chiefs beat the Raiders with an offensive game plan that was obsolete after the first play. All through the pre-season and into last week, the Chiefs had prepared for a Raiders defense that was going to have a 3-4 look. Yes, they knew and prepared for some sub-defenses that included a four-man line. But all through the pre-season and in the opener against New England, Oakland had lined up doing rather conventional things. That’s not what the Chiefs saw on the field last Sunday night. From almost the first play, the Raiders completely changed how they played defense. They played most of the game in what amounted to a 4-2-5 alignment. Oakland’s primary defense against the Chiefs was a nickel set, where Charles Woodson was no longer a cornerback, but a safety, and where the NFL’s biggest man Ted Washington was on the field not only for running plays, but passing plays as well. In effect, everything the Chiefs had planned to do on offense was now up for debate, because the mismatches, the situations that offensive coordinator Al Saunders had prepared for and nurtured all the way back to the off-season, were now out the window. “Of all the games we’ve played here in the last five years, I can’t remember a game offensively where we had to work so hard from series to series to get ourselves on track,” Saunders said. “They had five new starters in the game on defense. All the mismatches, all the shifting and motion that we use to try and get match ups in our favor; they all evolved in a different way. “After every series, we had to evaluate where we were going, what we wanted to do, how we were going to alter our attack.” There were other factors as well. Willie Roaf wasn’t on the field at left tackle. Another veteran offensive lineman John Welbourn wasn’t a factor because of a league suspension. Kevin Sampson had not played since the opening pre-season game. Tony Richardson, a key part of the Chiefs running game as the blocking fullback was available on a limited basis because of a knee injury. Then, in the first half, tight end Jason Dunn went down with a knee injury. Dunn is a huge part of the Chiefs running game and though he came back and played in the second half, he wasn’t close to being 100 percent.. Key players were missing or limited in their participation. Not only was the opponent fired up and extra-motivated, but they were playing a style of defense completely different than the one they played 10 days before. The crowd was loud and hostile, and that doesn’t include Sterling Sharpe in the broadcast booth. It was a recipe for disaster. It was anything but; it was the offense’s finest hour. Saunders and offensive line coach Mike Solari, who handles the running game, made changes on the fly, throwing out plays that had been practiced and going with plays that had never reached the game plan. “We had several passes there in the second half that we haven’t repped on the practice field since training camp,” said Saunders. On the field, the players adapted. “It took us awhile, but we finally just told them to tell us what to do, and we would do it,” said guard Brian Waters. “There was nothing out there that was anything that we had prepared for. We were adjusting from the first play. “The best part was that nobody got upset, nobody got ticked off. We had some penalties and we had things that got in our way. “I’ll tell you, Trent did a great job of keeping everything together in the huddle.” If you wonder why Trent Green received the offensive game ball for the Oakland game – when he didn’t throw a touchdown pass and barely broke 90 in the passer rating – it’s because of how he orchestrated the offensive madness. “It was a constantly stream of adjustments,” Green said. “We had to change our approach. We had to change our passing game.” Instead of relying on the play-action game, Green came out in the second half and started throwing quick passes on slants to Eddie Kennison. Bang, bang, bang, for 14 yards, then another 14, and another 14. Woodson, a cornerback talented enough to jump those slants and bust them up, was out of the action around the line of scrimmage, because he was generally concerned with covering Tony Gonzalez in the middle of the field. Ever so slowly, those passes started opening up holes to exploit in the new Raiders defense. Penalties (back-to-back holding calls on Jordan Black at left tackle in the red zone), dropped passes (Samie Parker), a fumble (Parker) kept the Chiefs out of the end zone. They had to settle for a pair of field goals. But they did what any team with a 17-10 half-time lead on the road would want: they dominated the clock. The Chiefs held the ball for 19 minutes, 56 seconds in the second half. When the Raiders scored to tie the game in the third quarter, the Chiefs then kept the ball for the next nine minutes. Yes, they got only a field goal out of the possession, but they stopped any momentum that was building in the Raiders favor. By then, Saunders and Solari had figured out the right combinations against the new Oakland look. Green kept everybody together in the huddle. “I’m so proud of the players, the way they stuck together, the way they had patience and confidence in what they were doing,” said Saunders. “They kept working, and working, and working. They didn’t get frustrated, they just kept working.” It was a performance that called for the Chiefs to reach for something extra on offense. Thanks to their scheme and the creativity of the coaching staff, thanks to their maturity as a group and thanks to the level-headed nature of their quarterback, they had that something extra. The opinions offered in this column do not necessarily reflect those of the Kansas City Chiefs. http://www.kcchiefs.com/news/2005/09...n_the_victory/
Posts: 42,490

09-23-2005, 07:29 AM	#2
dirk digler Please squeeze Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Clinton, MO Casino cash: $64644	Awesome article and something that as fans we may have never known.
Posts: 67,128

09-23-2005, 07:33 AM	#3
teedubya Most Valuable Poster Join Date: Oct 2003 Casino cash: $8993042	thats very interesting... good to know that we can adjust. A Marty led team would have folded and whithered away into patheticness.
Posts: 36,832

09-23-2005, 07:34 AM	#4
SCChief Starter Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: South Carolina Casino cash: $10004900	The most impressive thing I saw in that game was the time of possession in the 2nd half. Even if those two drives only netted field goals, they didn't leave a lot of time for the Faiders to score.
Posts: 836

09-23-2005, 07:38 AM	#5
Mr. Kotter Self Ban Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: In some's minds... Casino cash: $3194285	Thanks for the article, Lzen. It's a side of the game that most fans never even consider; and even those who are watchin' it, never see. __________________ Movin' On...
Posts: 46,966

09-23-2005, 07:43 AM	#6
jynni Starter Join Date: Oct 2003 Casino cash: $-1413669	Even more impressive that they did it on the road in front of a very hostile crowd. That Raidersland crowd sounded nasty.
Posts: 884

09-23-2005, 07:44 AM	#7
Rukdafaidas lifelong Chiefs survivor Join Date: Mar 2003 Casino cash: $3849900	This explains a lot! I was worried about our offense after that game. It looked as though there was some confusion between the receivers and Trent. I thought they all looked a little confused. I also wondered why Trent got the game ball. I thought it was one of his worst performances in quite some time.
Posts: 2,673

09-23-2005, 07:47 AM	#8
Mecca Hockey Town Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Kansas City, Missouri Casino cash: $-782950	That would explain why we called 2 timeouts in the first 5 minutes of the game, while all of us wondered what the hell they were doing.
Posts: 115,406

09-23-2005, 08:03 AM	#11
Fish Ain't no relax! Join Date: Sep 2005 Casino cash: $-1521081	I really thought we had something special going in this game. We had some long drives that were hard fought on every down. There were some huge 3rd down plays by many different guys. Johnson struggled a little, but Holmes showed that no matter who we play, I'm still gonna do what needs done. I've never been more proud of Holmes than I was when he got that 14yd 1st down to put the game away....
Posts: 48,905

09-23-2005, 08:05 AM	#12
Kylo Ren Grandson of Darth Vader Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Starkiller Base Casino cash: $10015175	Instead of relying on the play-action game, Green came out in the second half and started throwing quick passes on slants to Eddie Kennison. Bang, bang, bang, for 14 yards, then another 14, and another 14. Woodson, a cornerback talented enough to jump those slants and bust them up, was out of the action around the line of scrimmage, because he was generally concerned with covering Tony Gonzalez in the middle of the field. Ever so slowly, those passes started opening up holes to exploit in the new Raiders defense. -- Why didn't Sterling Sharpe talk about this? __________________ Forgive me. I feel it again... the call from light. Supreme Leader senses it. Show me again the power of the darkness, and I'll let nothing stand in our way. Show me, grandfather, and I will finish what you started. I will fulfill our destiny.
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09-23-2005, 08:10 AM	#13
Red Dawg Going home eventually Join Date: Dec 2002 Casino cash: $1142858	VERY VERY INFORMATIVE. No wonder it looked crazy. __________________ If you're not first you're last!
Posts: 33,181

09-23-2005, 08:12 AM	#15
Skip Towne Supporter Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: T-Town Casino cash: $10004900	I give all the credit to Rich Scanlon.
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