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Great game to watch yesterday, wasn't it? I haven't been entertained like that in a long time when watching the Kansas City Chiefs. I'm still waiting to see if patterns or trends of success develop from this game but like DJ said, the Chiefs lost in a good way yesterday. Here's a few things I took away from the game yesterday.
Three straight rushes wasn't that crazy
I've read more than a few things already this morning about Herm being responsible for the three straight runs by the Chiefs with 5:00 minutes left, which gave the Jets the ball with 3:01 left.
First, I don't think Herm Edwards has as much influence over play calling as many fans think he does. Chan Gailey is a legit, respected and experienced offensive coordinator. This isn't first timer Mike Solari in there anymore. Do you really think Herm said to Chan Gailey, "Rush the ball three straight times"? I don't believe he did. It's possible, and Gailey said it was all his call after the game, but as you'll see I don't think who called it matters much.
Regardless who made the call to rush the ball three straight times, I'm going to defend it as not as an insane idea as some fans want to make it out to be. Before those three rushes, the Chiefs had 20 offensive plays in the second half (not including kicks) and they had passed the ball on 17 of those plays. I'm guessing part of the logic of those three play calls was doing something unexpected, which is exactly what three rushes was at that point in the game. The Chiefs had only rushed the ball two times in a row twice so far that entire game, making three rushes in a row (hypothetically) one of the few things expected by the Jets' defense.
If the Chiefs gain three yards on that 3rd and three, this conversation is of course moot. I think that a lot of fans, feeling bitter about the loss, needed to find something in this game to bite back on and those fateful three plays by the Chiefs are it.
You can make the argument that Tyler Thigpen could have rushed for those three yards (if the pass had broken down) but I suspect people would have been angry at that call as well if it didn't result in a first down. Thigpen could have thrown a short pass too, which he was successful at for most of the game. Still, you don't know if he would have made it. Rushing the ball on 3rd and 3 isn't crazy by my football standards.
Including this game, on the season, the Chiefs have had 34 3rd downs between 3 and 5 yards to go, rushed on 7 of those and passed the other 27. They've converted first downs almost equally as much on the pass v. the run. So, if you want to say Herm has a tendency, the stats say it's to pass the ball on 3rd and short. Here's a bit more to support that.
| Yards to Go | % Rushing Plays, All | % Passing Plays, All | % Rushing Plays, Red Zone | % Passing Plays, Red Zone | % Rushing Plays, Goal to Go | % Passing Plays, Goal to Go | % Rushing Plays, Own Side of Field | % Passing Plays, Own Side of Field | % Rushing Plays, Opp. Side of Field | % Passing Plays, Opp. Side of Field |
| 1 | 88.89% | 11.11% | 100.00% | 0.00% | 0 | 0 | 75.00% | 25.00% | 100.00% | 0.00% |
| 2 | 33.33% | 66.67% | 0.00% | 100.00% | 0.00% | 100.00% | 33.33% | 66.67% | 33.33% | 66.67% |
| 3 | 18.18% | 81.82% | 0.00% | 100.00% | 0 | 0 | 25.00% | 75.00% | 0.00% | 100.00% |
It's one of those calls in a football game that if you make the right call and you get the first down, of course you made the right call. If you don't get it, then the call is immediately over analyzed and blown up as if the alternative was so clearly superior.
Come on DJ!
Still shaking my head over Derrick Johnson dropping that possible interception.
Pretty good run defense but with a fatal flaw
You almost feel bad for the Kansas City Chiefs defensive line after a game like yesterday's. They put on a pretty good show for most of the game but gave up a long run (almost at the end of the first half no less) to Jets RB Leon Washington. If the Chiefs simply hold the Jets for a bit, the first half runs out and we can forget about a gift touchdown that gave away points in a close loss.
Ah, that's what a passing game looks like
I had been wondering what the Chiefs had planned to do with their 3rd round pick out of Tennessee Brad Cottam. He looked big, fast and added four catches in his first significant action of the year.
You'd be hard pressed to find a free-agent acquisition that has done less with more potential to make an impact on a team than Devard Darling. The Chiefs added WR Mark Bradley earlier this month and he's already a better player than Darling.
I won't say much about Tyler Thigpen. I've never seen him throw the ball like he did yesterday- with accuracy and power behind his throws. Very few of his passes made me gasp as they have so many times before this season. He played very well, deserves to be the Chiefs starter for the rest of the 2008 season and may end up being a good backup in the NFL. For those ready to anoint him the QBOTF, ahem, let's see if he can (a) win a game and (b) play that well twice in a row. Crazy, I know.
A decent pass rush helps so much
The Chiefs only registered one sack in the box score but if you watched the game, Brett Favre was pressured for a good portion of the game. This is Brett Favre and interceptions are part of the package but don't let that discount the contributions made by the Chiefs' pass rush.
Other stuff
The Chiefs had scored 23 points in the first half all season long and yesterday they scored 14 in the first half. It's amazing what not playing from behind will do for this team, or any team for that matter.
I'm cheering the Chiefs effort yesterday but I will point out how a team that is +3 in turnovers should almost never lose. The Chiefs played markedly better on offense but with one turnover a pick-six and another leading directly to a Thigpen passing TD, you still have to shake your head a bit that the offense didn't do more.
This was a fun offensive strategy to watch by Chan Gailey. No-huddle offense (which I'm always a fan of), mixing up receivers and a fight in the offense I hadn't seen this year made this fun to watch. The Chiefs went no huddle over a dozen times this game after using it only sparingly earlier in the season.
What I am going to take away more than anything from yesterday was how much fun this game was to watch. I watch football ultimately to be entertained and yesterday was a blast to cheer for the Chiefs.
0 recs | 26 comments
"A decent pass rush helps so much"
Absolutely right…
Hali only had the one sack, and three pressures, but on both of Favre’s first two interceptions, Hali was right there, half a second from a sack. On the third INT, it was the blitzers up the middle (and great coverage by Flowers) that forced the turnover.
PVChiefsfan - October 27, 2008
TIVO
some of the things I picked up from watching the game in fastforward with TIVO.
Yards after, the number of times players pushed hard for those extra yards
Laser arm, hard flat throws with accuracy
The players looked like they were enjoying themselves
What worries me of course is that this was a one off and that we were effectively backed into a corner through suspensions and injuries. Is that the only reason we changed our game plans? Will we revert to type when injuries heal?
sir eccles - October 27, 2008
Good point
Lanier63 - October 27, 2008
I forgot to mention
The number of different people thrown to, what was it 7, 8 different receivers.
sir eccles - October 27, 2008
Can someone give me a reasonably intelligent explanation
on why Darling is still wearing a Chiefs uniform? Bradley has played three games now, according to the stats, and has already outplayed him.
Lanier63 - October 27, 2008
I think if you look at that picture
it says it all for Pat Thomas. “I’m behind you guys all the way!” A middle linebacker should stand out every game with his tackles, play disruption and leadership. Poor Pat has none of those qualities.
Lanier63 - October 27, 2008
some things
A. Why does everyone keep saying “For the people that want to anoint him as the QB of the future…”? Who has said that? Ever? I’m the biggest Bones (affirmed! Via FanPost) fan out there, and even I say if he struggles in the first half next week we can yank him. It just makes me sad that one of the few good things to happen to us and everyone just has to go out and say that it has to be a fluke.
B. "Let’s do something totally unexpected! Let’s do what everyone in the building knows we’re thinking about doing since our ass has puckered up tight enough to make diamonds in the fourth quarter and Herm is a conservative coach that stresses running the ball. Furthermore, we’ve been completely ineffective with the run all day! This should catch them off guard!
Please. If he’d used Tyler and we hadn’t got it, I wouldn’t have blamed him. You dance with the one who brung you.
Ridiculous Matt - October 27, 2008
Thigpen
We have seen how BAD he can be. Now we have seen how GOOD he can be. His true talent level is probably somewhere in between. He’ll probably never play that good again (which, lets face it, it was good for a Chiefs QB, but not really a standout performance for an NFL QB) but its likely he’ll never play as bad as he did in his first start against Atlanta either.
I don’t think he has starter potential long term (and I don’t think anyone really does), but it is gratifying to see a young player stand up to all the hating he was getting from the media and fans and give them a big middle finger with a game like the one against the Jets. I like seeing that.
ChiefDJ - October 27, 2008
It's true.
But in a season with so little to be happy about and even to hope for, I’m going to latch on to this with everything I have.
I like everything about the kid. I hope he keeps proving everyone wrong. That said, yes, I expect him to throw three picks and get yanked next week.
Ridiculous Matt - October 27, 2008
For those who were fortunate to watch the game
was there any changes to the O line?
Lanier63 - October 27, 2008
More bootlegs
Made them look less worse.
Joel Thorman - October 27, 2008
Holy crap dude
that was funny.
PVChiefsfan - October 27, 2008
Thigpen looked good
You can’t deny it. He at least the start next week. His passes weren’t arrent. One problem was the line still wasn’t as good as it should have been.
CBaller13 - October 27, 2008
A real head coach in defeat
I think everyone should watch this video and listen to what this coach had to say in defeat. I will try to FedEx it to One Arrowhead Drive for Herm and Carl.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYaDJ-WuuSY
Lanier63 - October 27, 2008
oopps!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYaDJ-WuuSY
Lanier63 - October 27, 2008
your going to have to cut and paste it, sorry.
Lanier63 - October 27, 2008
That's what I'm talking about
I’ll take a coach like that over the prissy one we have. I’ve stated numerous times I want a smash-mouth coach and it’s funny how Singletary stated that similarly.
Coaches today coddle their players and are in it for extending their time with a team by showing glimpses of greatness and not wanting to ruffle feathers so they can have a future in the NFL. Herm is a good example.
Singletary is the antithesis of that. A coach’s coach and if he gets the boot from SF he can come here and instill THAT type of attitude into our team.
THE_TRUTH - October 27, 2008
Great Passion
I think Singletary is going to make a very good HC. He has been knocking on that door for a while and I am glad to see him get a chance.
tevans96 - October 27, 2008
I haven't felt that good after a loss in a long time.
I said back at the start of the season that I’d judge this team’s success not on the numbers in the wins and losses columns, but by whether or not the were better at the end of the season than they were at the beginning of it — whether they were showing progress from month to month.
Yesterday, even with the loss, I saw a helluva lot of progress out there.
We never looked like we felt like we were out of it. It never looked like anyone out there conceded to defeat after getting down a little. Everyone gave their best efforts and, while there were still a few mistakes made and the final numbers on the scoreboard weren’t in our favor, it was a really fun game to watch.
Nothing to be ashamed of in that loss.
JacinB - October 27, 2008
making progress, that is what this team has to do every week. as you stated it, they moved in the right direction yesterday.
gap - October 27, 2008
The 3 Straight running plays
It is a possibility that they were trying to use the element of surprise, but, who was really surprised? Like you said, it wasn’t insane, it was pretty standard.
Normally, i’m all for pounding it in there on 3rd and 3. But Kolby Smith is NOT LJ. And I hope everyone can admit that now. If you watch that run, i am willing to guarantee LJ does NOT go down from that hit. Even if he did, it would have been 3 yards later. Not to mention he tried to get through the gap before the block developed. I know he is really good a creating his own gaps but in that case it didn’t help. He was in too big of a hurry. That play didn’t look like it was designed to be a quick hit to the hole…
As said above (previous post)… It was pretty obvious we didn’t have the run going what-so-ever. So why put the game on what hasn’t been working instead of what EXACTLY has us WINNING?
With thigpen rushing for those 3 yards, that would have been an option with a waggle / a short dump off to Tony on a 5yd hook or out. Thiggy’s obviously capable of scrambling. We would have had more options instead of putting the game on kolby’s shoulders.
I know it may not sound like it, but I’m not bitter about the decision. I may disagree but we very easily could have made the first down running. I just think we should have stuck with what was going for us.
Side bar, Turk looked really good at RE. He was applying pressure Constantly and Tamba looks way more comfortable and productive at LE. I swear that when i saw turk on the sideline during the preseason after a great play, I had this “vision” of him being a really great Defensivemen in a couple years… ( i promise I’m not a hippy or weirdo or anything : )
Dustin SLO,CA - October 27, 2008
My take on the 3 runs
First off… what the hell do we have to lose? Grow a pair Herm, Chan and whoever else is playing this conservative BS at this point in the season. What’s the worst thing that happens? We turn it over on downs and they are in position to tie/win. What’s the second worst? Well, we saw it… we went 3-and-out and punted resulting in a score.
What is the potential upside? We get a 1st down and at least run some more clock. But we stay alive. Not only that but it gives our offense some confidence and it shows that our coach has some confidence in them.
Like Dustin said, we would have been better off giving Thig a run/pass option at some point in that series. He was burning them all day with short scrambles.
I just don’t understand why we completely abandon ship and start doing stupid stuff that is completely contrary to what has been working the whole game. We had no run game after Charles left in the first half. Why would you think that suddenly we could run the ball? It blows my mind.
The way our defense had been playing I would rather have put it in the offense’s hands to lose. It’s not like we are in playoff contention anyway. Just go out there and try to win a damn game any which way you can.
Ochophosphate - October 27, 2008
Something I noticed about the game yesterday
Thigpen seemed to command respect in the huddle. It seemed like the guys believed in him and everyone was feeding off the energy. Those are the kind of intangibles that are intriquing. I do hope he can provide some consistency at the QB position.
TheQ - October 27, 2008
I've got to hand it to him
I was very vocal about kicking him to the curb, and he really surprised me in this game.
I didn’t see him forcing the ball in to double and triple coverage – which before it seemed like he loved to do that… like he would rather do that than throw to an open player.
He hit a lot of different receivers – to me that means he went through his progressions and found the best option.
Not a single INT – granted there was one that the CB (Coleman?) meat-fisted that would have been a pick-6, but still, I’m impressed.
He ran smart – lots of scrambles to the sideline that kept him safe while picking up good yardage.
I’m not going to change my opinion too much until he does this with some consistency. But that game did a lot to improve his standing in my book.
Ochophosphate - October 27, 2008
True
I couldn’t believe how accurate he was. The touchdown to Tony was a thing of beauty! I was like “where did that come from!?”.
TheQ - October 27, 2008
The Chiefs actually looked
like a football team for a change. We played some offense, we played some defense and we were never out of the ball game. The last three running plays are not going to get any criticism from me. It might have worked, but didn’t. The rest of the game was much improved over what we have been seeing. The “spread” offense or whatever you want to call it was obviously designed by Chan Gailley to take advantage of the players he has. This has been Chan’s strength in the past. We didn’t win, but gosh it was fun to see the Chiefs right in there competing and making a game of it. Although I don’t always see eye to eye with ChiefDJ, I think he is exactly right in saying that Tyler Thigpen’s talent level lies somewhere between his Atlanta game and this game. BUT, it’s a start. And, man, what an improvement. If Thigpen comes back with a game which is not quite as good as this one, it will be something to aspire to. We know what he CAN do when the conditions are right.
G.L. - October 28, 2008
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