Chiefs Teicher: Confidence growing in Chiefs offense

**Tribal Warfare** · 06-08-2010, 11:03 PM

Confidence growing in Chiefs offense
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star

There are days that lead Matt Cassel to believe the growing pains are mercifully over for the Chiefs offense, and Tuesday was one of them.

Cassel completed his first six passes in full team practice to four different receivers. Dwayne Bowe was a threat in the scoring zone drills, grabbing a pair of touchdown passes. Chris Chambers made several catches. Dexter McCluster beat triple coverage down the field and hauled in a long scoring pass.

And Jamaal Charles isn’t even practicing yet because of offseason shoulder surgery. So it’s little wonder that Cassel was upbeat about the Chiefs.

“We’re coming together as an offensive unit,” Cassel said. “We’ve had a tremendous amount of production during the offseason. Look at what we have in terms of established personnel. Jamaal established himself last year as a big-time running back. We know what Dwayne can do and Chris, too. Dexter McCluster has come in and added something. He can play multiple positions. We added Thomas Jones. Jerheme Urban is giving us depth at receiver.

“We’ve got a collection of guys who will immediately make us a better offense.”

That was the idea behind the offseason offensive shopping spree that brought McCluster, Jones, Urban and starting guard Ryan Lilja, not to mention new coordinator Charlie Weis.

The Chiefs are building their program with an offensive bent. The transition hasn’t always been smooth. The defense, for instance, dominated in Monday’s practice.

While that may happen more often than the Chiefs would like, they’re planning to get off to a stronger offensive start than last season. After taking over as offensive coordinator during the preseason, coach Todd Haley spent the season’s first half unsuccessfully searching for things that might work for the Chiefs from week to week.

The Chiefs found a running game at midseason when Charles replaced Larry Johnson as the featured back. They then became a competent offensive team as the season concluded.

“There’s a lot of carryover from last year,” guard Brian Waters said. “Little things have changed here and there. We’re getting used to Charlie and the way he does things. We’re still getting a feel for who we are and what type of team we’re going to be. It’s part of Todd’s job and Charlie’s job to figure out what we do best and what they feel most comfortable with.

“It’s difficult to see what kind of team you’re going to be when you haven’t put the pads on.”

The Chiefs are counting on the diverse abilities of Charles and McCluster to help forge their identity. Charles not only rushed for almost 1,000 yards over the last half of last season but proved to be an effective receiver out of the backfield and lined up as a wide receiver.

The Chiefs have looked at McCluster in a variety of places, including as a running back and as a slot receiver.

“We understand we can be effective with multiple personnel groups,” Cassel said. “You go into the season and you can have a different identity from one week to the next to take advantage of what the defense is doing.

“The NFL is a game of matchups and mismatches. You have to take advantage of those mismatches. From one week to the next, if Charlie sees we can run the ball really well this week and thinks it’s advantageous for us as an offense, then I’m sure we’ll run the ball 25 times. He told us just the other day, ‘I’m not afraid to run the ball 20 times in a row if that means we’re doing the right things and moving the ball.’ He’s also not afraid to throw the ball 25 times. I think he mentioned a game last year (at Notre Dame) when they threw the ball 25 straight times because he thought that was advantageous.

“We’ll have the ability to go with multiple personnel groups. We really do have some diversity and some options as far as what we want to do week in and week out. We spent a lot of time last year figuring out what we had. We were all just trying to learn the new offense. We didn’t have this time of year to go through and try different personnel groups. That’s what we’ve been able to do in these (practices).”

McCluster has been a nice addition so far, but the Chiefs have yet to practice in pads or do any serious hitting. Once they do, the 170-pound McCluster will have to prove he can be as effective.

Even if he’s not, the Chiefs are confident they have other options.

“I wouldn’t be surprised at some point if you see Jamaal, Thomas and Dexter on the field at the same time,” Waters said. “As a defense, what do you decide to do? Do you decide this is a regular set and you’re going to have your regular defense out there, or do you decide that this is a passing set and you’re going to have more (defensive backs) out there?

“You just put the defenses in some bad situations, and you’re able to take advantage of those things. If you can throw all these different things from week to week at a defense, there’s no way they can be prepared for everything.

“You want to have as many options as you can.”

06-08-2010, 11:03 PM	Topic Starter
Tribal Warfare The Boom Boom Room Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Far Beyond Comprehension Casino cash: $662813	Teicher: Confidence growing in Chiefs offense Confidence growing in Chiefs offense By ADAM TEICHER The Kansas City Star There are days that lead Matt Cassel to believe the growing pains are mercifully over for the Chiefs offense, and Tuesday was one of them. Cassel completed his first six passes in full team practice to four different receivers. Dwayne Bowe was a threat in the scoring zone drills, grabbing a pair of touchdown passes. Chris Chambers made several catches. Dexter McCluster beat triple coverage down the field and hauled in a long scoring pass. And Jamaal Charles isn’t even practicing yet because of offseason shoulder surgery. So it’s little wonder that Cassel was upbeat about the Chiefs. “We’re coming together as an offensive unit,” Cassel said. “We’ve had a tremendous amount of production during the offseason. Look at what we have in terms of established personnel. Jamaal established himself last year as a big-time running back. We know what Dwayne can do and Chris, too. Dexter McCluster has come in and added something. He can play multiple positions. We added Thomas Jones. Jerheme Urban is giving us depth at receiver. “We’ve got a collection of guys who will immediately make us a better offense.” That was the idea behind the offseason offensive shopping spree that brought McCluster, Jones, Urban and starting guard Ryan Lilja, not to mention new coordinator Charlie Weis. The Chiefs are building their program with an offensive bent. The transition hasn’t always been smooth. The defense, for instance, dominated in Monday’s practice. While that may happen more often than the Chiefs would like, they’re planning to get off to a stronger offensive start than last season. After taking over as offensive coordinator during the preseason, coach Todd Haley spent the season’s first half unsuccessfully searching for things that might work for the Chiefs from week to week. The Chiefs found a running game at midseason when Charles replaced Larry Johnson as the featured back. They then became a competent offensive team as the season concluded. “There’s a lot of carryover from last year,” guard Brian Waters said. “Little things have changed here and there. We’re getting used to Charlie and the way he does things. We’re still getting a feel for who we are and what type of team we’re going to be. It’s part of Todd’s job and Charlie’s job to figure out what we do best and what they feel most comfortable with. “It’s difficult to see what kind of team you’re going to be when you haven’t put the pads on.” The Chiefs are counting on the diverse abilities of Charles and McCluster to help forge their identity. Charles not only rushed for almost 1,000 yards over the last half of last season but proved to be an effective receiver out of the backfield and lined up as a wide receiver. The Chiefs have looked at McCluster in a variety of places, including as a running back and as a slot receiver. “We understand we can be effective with multiple personnel groups,” Cassel said. “You go into the season and you can have a different identity from one week to the next to take advantage of what the defense is doing. “The NFL is a game of matchups and mismatches. You have to take advantage of those mismatches. From one week to the next, if Charlie sees we can run the ball really well this week and thinks it’s advantageous for us as an offense, then I’m sure we’ll run the ball 25 times. He told us just the other day, ‘I’m not afraid to run the ball 20 times in a row if that means we’re doing the right things and moving the ball.’ He’s also not afraid to throw the ball 25 times. I think he mentioned a game last year (at Notre Dame) when they threw the ball 25 straight times because he thought that was advantageous. “We’ll have the ability to go with multiple personnel groups. We really do have some diversity and some options as far as what we want to do week in and week out. We spent a lot of time last year figuring out what we had. We were all just trying to learn the new offense. We didn’t have this time of year to go through and try different personnel groups. That’s what we’ve been able to do in these (practices).” McCluster has been a nice addition so far, but the Chiefs have yet to practice in pads or do any serious hitting. Once they do, the 170-pound McCluster will have to prove he can be as effective. Even if he’s not, the Chiefs are confident they have other options. “I wouldn’t be surprised at some point if you see Jamaal, Thomas and Dexter on the field at the same time,” Waters said. “As a defense, what do you decide to do? Do you decide this is a regular set and you’re going to have your regular defense out there, or do you decide that this is a passing set and you’re going to have more (defensive backs) out there? “You just put the defenses in some bad situations, and you’re able to take advantage of those things. If you can throw all these different things from week to week at a defense, there’s no way they can be prepared for everything. “You want to have as many options as you can.”
Posts: 42,152