Chiefs Ten Things About Today's Game - Page 2

**gblowfish** · 10-31-2010, 06:53 PM

Ten Things About Today's Game

10. Somebody needs to slap Katie Horner around -in a way she wouldn't enjoy, I mean. What happened to sunny and 63 degrees today? We had a little sun, but apparently she forgot to mention the howling 30 to 40 MPH winds. It may not have been quite as bad on the sunny side of the field behind the Buffalo bench. On the Chiefs side, it was downright chilly. And the wind was playing havoc with the kicking game. Colquitt had several squirelly punts. Luckily, Mr. Irrelevant got a chance to redeem himself today, where Lindell did not. I was glad Succop got his second chance and made it count, or he would have been masquerading as "the kicker who shall remain nameless" for Halloween. I wouldn't wish that on anyone.

9. Since it's Halloween night, I had to rush home and get the house ready for the little trick or treaters. I'm in the bat cave writing this while the lovely Mrs. Blowfish is upstairs handing out fist fulls of Kit Kat Bars to the little neighborhood hoodlems. I have not read through the CP board, and I'm sure there will have been mucho discussion about many of the things I'm going to point out, but maybe without that filter you can let me know if you feel the way I do. Arrowhead had a few more empty seats today, not nearly as loud as previous weeks. Sam Mellinger wrote about that today here:

http://mellinger.kansascity.com/

8. First of all, why in the HELL are the Chiefs killing their own drives? There must have been five or six times where Charles and Jones were gashing the ball right up the field. Then Cassel would throw, mis-fire, put it into 2nd and long, then 3rd and 5 or 6, then incomplete on third down. WHY STOP RUNNING??? It's like Weis didn't figure that out until the overtime period. Charles ended up with 177 yards today -that's eight yards per carry friends-, Jones had 77 yards, and no turnovers. This game should have never, ever, EVER been this close. And the reason it was, was because the offense stalled its own drives by abandoning the run for no good reason, and for lapses on defense and in coaching.

7. Two unsung heroes on offense today: Moeaki and Asamoah. Let's start with #81. Moeaki has impressed me very much with his blocking ability. The Chiefs run left a bunch, especially with Moeaki on that side, so the line is Waters, Fat Albert and Moeaki. They are destroying people when we run. He also had some clutch catches in the OT, and you wonder why it took so long to find him. The guy simply catches everything that is thrown to him. If, and a big if, he stays healthy, he could be the Mack Lee Hill winner this year out of an incredibly talent crop of rookies. He's just been excellent.

6. Asamoah started his first NFL game today for Lilja. He did a fine job. Cassel was sacked three times today. At least two of those were his own fault for indecision with the football. Since the Chiefs only had given up five sacks all year before today, three was a lot, but you can't blame it on Asamoah. He helped the team rush for over 250 yards. Big props, because our O-line has some depth this year, and guys are stepping up and not embarrassing themselves when they get a chance to play.

5. I thought the Chiefs won today despite Coach Haley, who went full reerun in the first half. You never, ever, EVER pass up point opportunities, even against a winless team, at home, and especially in less than ideal weather conditions. Haley passed on a mid-30's range field goal in the first half, going on 4th and 3, for absolutely NO REASON. This was just rookie head coach stupidity. Luckily, it did not cost us a win today, but it very well could have. The Chiefs played a first half filled with blown opportunities, then failed to make any meaningful adjustments in the second half. We lucked out that Lindell missed his OT field goal opportunity. That guy is a good kicker, and the wind and distance, and a bit of a tip at the line of scrimmage, was just enough to foul up the attempt. Hopefully Coach Haley will learn something from having to squirm through an entire second half, plus a full overtime, thinking about passing up that one little field goal that could have made all the difference in second half game strategy today.

4. I think we missed McCluster today, although Charles was used a bit like McCluster at times with swing passes. I saw Dexter on the sidelines today in his warmups. He looks like he could play for a high school team. He's a little dude. Hard to believe he's endured the kind of NFL hits he's taken so far this year. It will be nice to have him back vs. Oakland next week. We need his versatility. He seemed to be moving around on the sidelines OK.

3. DJ was killing me today. He dropped one sure pick six in the first quarter, and dropped another sure pick in the fourth quarter that would have prevented the game tying drive. You HAVE to make those plays. Seemed like every fumble or tipped pass or pick-able ball went Buffalo's way this game. Except for the pass that hit Berry right between the 2 and the 9. Even with that, he almost lost it, and fell down when he caught the ball. That was a big pick. Berry is playing better as each week has gone by. He lead the defense with ten tackles today. He's excellent on run support. He still has some coverage issues, but I think he's smart enough to overcome that eventually. I believe he could be another Deron Cherry.

2. I'm going to play Mr. Pessimistic Chiefs fan here for just a minute. I don't believe the Chiefs have beaten a team with a winning record. It was a goal line stand to survive San Diego, a first down made by the nose hair of the football to ice the game in Cleveland, and today we let a winless team take us to the final three seconds of OT before eeking out a home win. Well, better lucky than good, I suppose. But the win today does bode well for the long run, as now there's a bit of a cushion going on the road vs. Oakland and Denver. If KC can can gain a split, we'll still be in pretty decent shape in the AFC West. Makes me wish the defense could have held onto that ten point lead with seven minutes left in Houston. How huge would have been to be 6-1 right now? I'll take 5-2. Game pics from KC Star website are here:

http://tinyurl.com/2bol6cp

1. Today was Military Appreciation Day at Arrowhead. Everybody got a little American Flag upon entering the stadium. At halftime they swore a bunch of kids into the Marine Corps, and showed the cameo pictures of dozens of service men and women from Kansas and Missouri who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan. I always get a lump in my throat when we have a military fly over, today it was a big tanker jet. Nothing better than the Arrowhead crowd chanting U-S-A for all the guys in uniform on the field today. It always makes me thankful to have those guy protecting our freedom so we can enjoy our way of life, including our Chiefs games.

**DaKCMan AP** · 10-31-2010, 07:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LaChapelle

They need to find someone to rotate with Arenas on returns until Dex returns
He has got to be one tired mother****er

He returned kicks & was a starting CB in college.

Deberg_1990 · 10-31-2010, 07:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gblowfish

He got lit up major on one punt. He should have fair caught the ball. He hasn't fumbled, though, and that's been very important for a rookie. Ball security on punt returns is crucial.

Yea, his ball secruity has been excellent. He always looks like hes just on the cusp of breaking one, but never does.

Coogs · 10-31-2010, 07:17 PM

One thing stood out to me big time today. We left 21 points on the field in the first 8-10 minutes of the game, and still managed to win. That would have never happened in the past few years.

A recap of the 21 points.

It would have been a tough catch, but Bowe had a TD catch within his grasp on the first drive.

DJ followd that up with the easy walk into the endzone drop of again a tough catch, but one that could have been made.

Following drive, Cassel misses a wide open Charles down the right hash marks.

Then throw in on top of that the bypassing of the FG in the early 2nd quarter, and by all rights we could have/should have been up by 24-0 and game would have been over.

To win inspite of those miscues... outstanding!

**gblowfish** · 10-31-2010, 07:19 PM

Buffalo was very fortunate. Every loose ball, every reviewed call seemed to go their way today. Their fans are going through the kind of crap we went through last year.

Sucks to be them

**Shogun** · 10-31-2010, 07:19 PM

Ive said it once, but I reallllllly want to see Berry Return a punt, just once. Even though hes not the very fastest, it seems both times hes gotten the ball, he just wrecks people left and right and has fast footwork.

Mr. Laz · 10-31-2010, 07:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deberg_1990

Dude relax....we only gave up 10 points today. Good grief.

which has exactly NOTHING to do with it, douch dick.

so take your relax,stick up your ass and die from internal bleeding.

**Bwana** · 10-31-2010, 07:20 PM

As always...GREAT. Rep

keg in kc · 10-31-2010, 07:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gblowfish

Buffalo was very fortunate. Every loose ball, every reviewed call seemed to go their way today. Their fans are going through the kind of crap we went through last year.

I don't think it was ever that bad here, not even with herm.

And they have Chan Gailey as HC.

Ouch.

Deberg_1990 · 10-31-2010, 07:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gblowfish

8. First of all, why in the HELL are the Chiefs killing their own drives? There must have been five or six times where Charles and Jones were gashing the ball right up the field. Then Cassel would throw, mis-fire, put it into 2nd and long, then 3rd and 5 or 6, then incomplete on third down. WHY STOP RUNNING??? It's like Weis didn't figure that out until the overtime period. Charles ended up with 177 yards today -that's eight yards per carry friends-, Jones had 77 yards, and no turnovers. This game should have never, ever, EVER been this close. And the reason it was, was because the offense stalled its own drives by abandoning the run for no good reason, and for lapses on defense and in coaching.

The Chiefs cant run on every single down. NO team can do that.

Im not gonna dump on Cassel too much because he did have a nice game winning drive at the end.....But the guy is waaay too inconsistant on 3rd downs and it absolutely kills nice drives. Heck, Fitzpatrick was better on 3rd downs today i would guess...

**gblowfish** · 10-31-2010, 07:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deberg_1990

The Chiefs cant run on every single down. NO team can do that.

Im not gonna dump on Cassel too much because he did have a nice game winning drive at the end.....But the guy is waaay too inconsistant on 3rd downs and it absolutely kills nice drives. Heck, Fitzpatrick was better on 3rd downs today i would guess...

My good pal Mr. Doggity went to the game with me today. He still supports Cassel. I think Cassel is somewhere in the caliber of Bono/Grbac. He thinks he's more like Huard or Krieg.

Remember last week the two TD catches by Bowe? On the stat sheet, Cassel gets two TD passes, but both TD's were all Bowe. The first one was under thrown by five yards. Bowe had to wait for the ball, adjust to it, then beat two guys trying to tackle him. A good pass and he waltzes into the end zone untouched. On the second TD, it was high and way outside. Bowe manages to go up, get the ball, and drag his toes. Again, a TD, and all Bowe. Accuracy is Cassel's biggest issue. He just isn't accurate.

chiefzilla1501 · 10-31-2010, 07:27 PM

I get that we have to pass every once in a while.

What kills me is how many freaking times we pass on a running down. Stop getting cute--when it's 3rd or 4th and short, run the damn ball. Even worse that on many of those plays, we lined up in the shotgun.

**DaKCMan AP** · 10-31-2010, 07:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

I get that we have to pass every once in a while.

What kills me is how many freaking times we pass on a running down. Stop getting cute--when it's 3rd or 4th and short, run the damn ball. Even worse that on many of those plays, we lined up in the shotgun.

That was another thing. Until the final drive, when we wanted to pass we didn't use play action. More play action would greatly increase the effectiveness of our passing game.

milkman · 10-31-2010, 07:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

I get that we have to pass every once in a while.

What kills me is how many freaking times we pass on a running down. Stop getting cute--when it's 3rd or 4th and short, run the damn ball. Even worse that on many of those plays, we lined up in the shotgun.

I disagree with the idea that you should run the ball on every third or fourth and short.

I do think, however, that lining up in a shotgun is not a good idea.

SPchief · 10-31-2010, 07:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaFace

Thanks, George. I always appreciate your takes. Disagree on the 4th down thing, but I'm a stats geek. I know it's a somewhat radical approach and hasn't really been "tested" in the NFL.

Albiet it is being tested right now and its working whether some people agree or not

RINGLEADER · 10-31-2010, 07:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deberg_1990

Dude relax....we only gave up 10 points today. Good grief.

True but they had to have completed something near or north of half their third downs -- and a lot were third and long. That has to be tightened up to really move this defense up a notch. Other than that and some of the missed opportunities (the aforementioned DJ interceptions, the Vrabel almost-fumble recovery, etc.) they played well enough today.

My biggest problem was all the stupid trickery when we're averaging 10 yards a carry on the ground. Why empty the backfield on a 4th and 1 and throw it? Why not go for it on the first drive rather than punt? Almost going for it on 4th and 1 from deep in our territory there at the end almost proved fatal. Just some really bizarre play-calling at times.....

10-31-2010, 06:53 PM
gblowfish Be Kind To Your Pets Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Glorious Independence, MO Casino cash: $16856178 VARSITY	Ten Things About Today's Game Ten Things About Today's Game 10. Somebody needs to slap Katie Horner around -in a way she wouldn't enjoy, I mean. What happened to sunny and 63 degrees today? We had a little sun, but apparently she forgot to mention the howling 30 to 40 MPH winds. It may not have been quite as bad on the sunny side of the field behind the Buffalo bench. On the Chiefs side, it was downright chilly. And the wind was playing havoc with the kicking game. Colquitt had several squirelly punts. Luckily, Mr. Irrelevant got a chance to redeem himself today, where Lindell did not. I was glad Succop got his second chance and made it count, or he would have been masquerading as "the kicker who shall remain nameless" for Halloween. I wouldn't wish that on anyone. 9. Since it's Halloween night, I had to rush home and get the house ready for the little trick or treaters. I'm in the bat cave writing this while the lovely Mrs. Blowfish is upstairs handing out fist fulls of Kit Kat Bars to the little neighborhood hoodlems. I have not read through the CP board, and I'm sure there will have been mucho discussion about many of the things I'm going to point out, but maybe without that filter you can let me know if you feel the way I do. Arrowhead had a few more empty seats today, not nearly as loud as previous weeks. Sam Mellinger wrote about that today here: http://mellinger.kansascity.com/ 8. First of all, why in the HELL are the Chiefs killing their own drives? There must have been five or six times where Charles and Jones were gashing the ball right up the field. Then Cassel would throw, mis-fire, put it into 2nd and long, then 3rd and 5 or 6, then incomplete on third down. WHY STOP RUNNING??? It's like Weis didn't figure that out until the overtime period. Charles ended up with 177 yards today -that's eight yards per carry friends-, Jones had 77 yards, and no turnovers. This game should have never, ever, EVER been this close. And the reason it was, was because the offense stalled its own drives by abandoning the run for no good reason, and for lapses on defense and in coaching. 7. Two unsung heroes on offense today: Moeaki and Asamoah. Let's start with #81. Moeaki has impressed me very much with his blocking ability. The Chiefs run left a bunch, especially with Moeaki on that side, so the line is Waters, Fat Albert and Moeaki. They are destroying people when we run. He also had some clutch catches in the OT, and you wonder why it took so long to find him. The guy simply catches everything that is thrown to him. If, and a big if, he stays healthy, he could be the Mack Lee Hill winner this year out of an incredibly talent crop of rookies. He's just been excellent. 6. Asamoah started his first NFL game today for Lilja. He did a fine job. Cassel was sacked three times today. At least two of those were his own fault for indecision with the football. Since the Chiefs only had given up five sacks all year before today, three was a lot, but you can't blame it on Asamoah. He helped the team rush for over 250 yards. Big props, because our O-line has some depth this year, and guys are stepping up and not embarrassing themselves when they get a chance to play. 5. I thought the Chiefs won today despite Coach Haley, who went full reerun in the first half. You never, ever, EVER pass up point opportunities, even against a winless team, at home, and especially in less than ideal weather conditions. Haley passed on a mid-30's range field goal in the first half, going on 4th and 3, for absolutely NO REASON. This was just rookie head coach stupidity. Luckily, it did not cost us a win today, but it very well could have. The Chiefs played a first half filled with blown opportunities, then failed to make any meaningful adjustments in the second half. We lucked out that Lindell missed his OT field goal opportunity. That guy is a good kicker, and the wind and distance, and a bit of a tip at the line of scrimmage, was just enough to foul up the attempt. Hopefully Coach Haley will learn something from having to squirm through an entire second half, plus a full overtime, thinking about passing up that one little field goal that could have made all the difference in second half game strategy today. 4. I think we missed McCluster today, although Charles was used a bit like McCluster at times with swing passes. I saw Dexter on the sidelines today in his warmups. He looks like he could play for a high school team. He's a little dude. Hard to believe he's endured the kind of NFL hits he's taken so far this year. It will be nice to have him back vs. Oakland next week. We need his versatility. He seemed to be moving around on the sidelines OK. 3. DJ was killing me today. He dropped one sure pick six in the first quarter, and dropped another sure pick in the fourth quarter that would have prevented the game tying drive. You HAVE to make those plays. Seemed like every fumble or tipped pass or pick-able ball went Buffalo's way this game. Except for the pass that hit Berry right between the 2 and the 9. Even with that, he almost lost it, and fell down when he caught the ball. That was a big pick. Berry is playing better as each week has gone by. He lead the defense with ten tackles today. He's excellent on run support. He still has some coverage issues, but I think he's smart enough to overcome that eventually. I believe he could be another Deron Cherry. 2. I'm going to play Mr. Pessimistic Chiefs fan here for just a minute. I don't believe the Chiefs have beaten a team with a winning record. It was a goal line stand to survive San Diego, a first down made by the nose hair of the football to ice the game in Cleveland, and today we let a winless team take us to the final three seconds of OT before eeking out a home win. Well, better lucky than good, I suppose. But the win today does bode well for the long run, as now there's a bit of a cushion going on the road vs. Oakland and Denver. If KC can can gain a split, we'll still be in pretty decent shape in the AFC West. Makes me wish the defense could have held onto that ten point lead with seven minutes left in Houston. How huge would have been to be 6-1 right now? I'll take 5-2. Game pics from KC Star website are here: http://tinyurl.com/2bol6cp 1. Today was Military Appreciation Day at Arrowhead. Everybody got a little American Flag upon entering the stadium. At halftime they swore a bunch of kids into the Marine Corps, and showed the cameo pictures of dozens of service men and women from Kansas and Missouri who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan. I always get a lump in my throat when we have a military fly over, today it was a big tanker jet. Nothing better than the Arrowhead crowd chanting U-S-A for all the guys in uniform on the field today. It always makes me thankful to have those guy protecting our freedom so we can enjoy our way of life, including our Chiefs games.
Posts: 41,023

10-31-2010, 07:17 PM	#18
Coogs In Search of a Life Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Northern Kansas Casino cash: $-2305651	One thing stood out to me big time today. We left 21 points on the field in the first 8-10 minutes of the game, and still managed to win. That would have never happened in the past few years. A recap of the 21 points. It would have been a tough catch, but Bowe had a TD catch within his grasp on the first drive. DJ followd that up with the easy walk into the endzone drop of again a tough catch, but one that could have been made. Following drive, Cassel misses a wide open Charles down the right hash marks. Then throw in on top of that the bypassing of the FG in the early 2nd quarter, and by all rights we could have/should have been up by 24-0 and game would have been over. To win inspite of those miscues... outstanding!
Posts: 21,910

10-31-2010, 07:19 PM	#19
gblowfish Be Kind To Your Pets Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Glorious Independence, MO Casino cash: $16856178 VARSITY	Buffalo was very fortunate. Every loose ball, every reviewed call seemed to go their way today. Their fans are going through the kind of crap we went through last year. Sucks to be them
Posts: 41,023

10-31-2010, 07:20 PM	#22
Bwana It's Five O'Clock Somewhere Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Billings, Montana Casino cash: $2135790532	As always...GREAT. Rep
Posts: 70,499

10-31-2010, 07:27 PM	#26
chiefzilla1501 In Search of a Life Join Date: Aug 2008 Casino cash: $-1805503	I get that we have to pass every once in a while. What kills me is how many freaking times we pass on a running down. Stop getting cute--when it's 3rd or 4th and short, run the damn ball. Even worse that on many of those plays, we lined up in the shotgun.
Posts: 51,678