Creative, Aggressive Andy Reid Is Exactly What Chiefs Need for Deep Playoff Run
That is the Andy Reid you want to see. Thank you, Andy. Please keep calling plays like that. Pleeeeeease.
With the game out of hand, 346-pound Dontari Poe lined up in the backfield. He took the snap from the shotgun and threw a jump pass for a touchdown.
A 346-pound dude. Jump pass. Creative as hell.
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Was it cheap running a play like that with the game out of hand? Yes. Was it a little over the top? Yes. Will the Broncos remember it? Hell yes.
But was it creative and fun as hell? Oh yes. Yes it was.
Who are you and what have you done with Andy Reid?
I know Poe has been used as a running back before, but a jump pass? A fat boy throwing a touchdown? From Andy Reid? Are you kidding me?
There are times when you watch Reid coach, and you are mesmerized at his skill and smarts. Then there are times when you watch him, and you want to punch yourself in the face.
Reid is the kind of coach who could amaze NASA engineers by building the Apollo spacecraft, but then would mistakenly send it to Mars instead of the moon.
We saw both Reids against the Broncos on Christmas Day. The Poe jump pass was beautiful. The scripted opening series was a wonder of coaching, precision and imagination, all against a solid Denver defense. The Chiefs jumped to a comfortable lead and feasted on the jumpy and inaccurate Trevor Siemian. This game should have been 30-0 at the half.
Instead it was 21-10 at the half because the alternate universe Andy Reid kicked in: lacking in imagination, so conservative that a turtle in its shell would look at Reid as his idol.
In one moment, we see a 300-pounder passing touchdown. In another, Reid coaches frightened. If we see the former Reid, this team will be hard to beat.
I know I've written that the Chiefs can beat anyone in the postseason, and I still believe that's true, but for that to happen, Reid will have to do something he's not used to. Reid will have to open up his playbook, take more chances and develop a killer instinct. The Poe play was a step in that direction.
The Chiefs beat Denver, 33-10, and the team should be commended for winning, yet that isn't the story. Kansas City is in the playoffs, and it will be a threat, but the story is Reid. I believe whether or not the Chiefs can beat a Pittsburgh or New England depends on how much Reid loosens up.
Reid has many personalities. We've seen him allow Terrell Owens to become an explosive receiver in Philadelphia, but we've also seen him not consistently and fully take advantage of Owens and Donovan McNabb.
The Chiefs had 393 yards of offense against Denver with four minutes left in the third and still only led by 11. That's Reid ball. Last week, Kansas City had a 14-0 first-quarter lead against Tennessee. Then Reid went conservative, and the Chiefs lost to the Titans. That's Reid ball. There were six passes completed to wide receivers against Denver. Reid-a-licious.
As NBC reported on its broadcast, in Kansas City's last three games before the Broncos contest, the Chiefs had scored 35 first-quarter points, 24 second-quarter points, zero third-quarter points and zero in the fourth. That is Reid just sitting on a lead and crossing his fingers Kansas City's defense will bail him out.
Yet Reid has developed good player/bad human being Tyreek Hill into a great weapon and worked Travis Kelce to the bone, which he should do, since Kelce is a top-three tight end. He throws Poe into the mix. That's where Reid is smart and talented.
Good Andy, bad Andy. They fight like two entities locked in an eternal battle for galactic supremacy.
I know what some of you are going to say. He can't trust Alex Smith, and Smith is the reason Reid goes conservative. I don't think that's it. I just think Reid gets scurred.
There's also the fact that Kansas City's defense is so outstanding and so fierce (another reason Kansas City can beat the best in the playoffs) that Reid feels his instincts of going conservative are correct. That's just a dangerous way to live. That's what Reid did against the Titans, and it didn't work out so well.
The Chiefs are a complete team. They can beat anyone, at any time, and yes, that includes the best in the AFC. The conservatism can also destroy them.
Reid and the Chiefs deserve credit for beating the Broncos and getting into the postseason. This is what Reid does and always has done. He builds a solid foundation and provides smarts and hope.
He is a highly talented coach. One of the best I've ever seen. But this game should have been 40-0, and it wasn't because that same Reid genius can hold the team back.
Do that against Pittsburgh or others, and it will be a short playoff run.
It's time to loosen up, Andy. With more plays like the Poe jump pass, more creativity from Reid and less rigidity, this could be a scary team.
So, yes, more Poe, please.
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.jpg?w=480 "49ers Eagles Football")
