KC Chiefs Preseason Game 3: A Few Observations

Just got done watching the game on NFLN and let me tell you I came away impressed.  Another thing I'd like to say, I hate NFLN.  I'm in the middle of watching the game, just got home from work, I'm relaxing eating some food.  I hadn't looked online for the score yet so I could watch the game.  It goes to commercial, I skip forward and it lands on some highlights of the day's games.  Not really paying attention until, she starts talking about the Chiefs. Before I could change it she tells me we lose 20-17 and let me tell you I WAS PISSED.  But we were close so I continued to watch the game.

Although we had yet another loss this preseason, to those who watched the game we had the Eagles beat.  We had their number, and if it weren't for some late heroics from Mike Kafka we would've won that game.  But I digress there were some other reasons besides that which I'll explain through this slideshow.

Our team was out for revenge last night, and I know it definitely surprised a lot of people(Raider Haters) how we played.  We opened up the playbook a lot more and it showed.  Our defense stopped the "almighty" offense that is the Eagles at almost every chance they got, and the offense although disappointing at first showed up and got us a couple of touchdowns.

We brought the heat, the rookies shined and the team overall performed 1000x better than the last time these teams played against each other.  Here are a few observations I saw from last night.

Mistakes, Mistakes, Mistakes

To start lets talk about this big ugly.  Stupid mistakes cost us the game last night.  No matter how you look at it that was the biggest if not the only reason we lost.

First we lost the ball on the first play of the game.  JC fumbles the ball after getting the ball from Cassel and Trent Cole recovers.  Don't know if Charles had butterfingers or it was just a bad handoff or what but I'm blaming both of them for it.  This gave the Eagles great field position and two plays later McCoy runs it in for a TD with missed tackles all over the place.

We get the ball back again and Cassel seeing no one, runs and loses the ball, we recovered but ending up punting. Then in the third series Cassel forces the ball into coverage and throws an interception.  Tried to get Moeaki the ball, but he was covered, and with Chambers and his man there as well it ended up getting tipped for an easy interception. This then led to a Philly FG hmmmmmmmmmmm...for some reason I feel like I'm getting deja vu.

Then later in the 2nd quarter, the Chiefs are trying to bring the ball up the field.  They're making completion after completion and when DexFlex makes a huge play for 20+ yards and right when you start thinking we'll score again the yellow flags are up.  Lilja got called for holding, gave us a 2nd and 20 at the 49.  Effectively stopping our momentum and going into the half behind by three.

These ridiculous mistakes have to stop now.  I'm tired of them and after seeing them the past few games I ain't laughing.  These mistakes cost us games and will not be tolerated by the time regualar season rolls around. The Chargers will have a field day with second chances as well as any competent team, and it'll be a long year for everyone if they continue.

Rookie Report

Eric "5th Dimension" Berry: Was making plays all day today and led the team in tackles.  Almost had an interception, he jumps a route on a Kolb-to-Maclin pass and slaps the ball out of bounds.  Although he had one bad play, on McCoy's 18 yard run, he whiffed on a tackle(as did about the whole D) that led to the TD.  I wouldn't look to deeply into this because it won't happen very often and he made up for it the rest of the night.

Dexter "DexFlex" McCluster: All I have to say is wow this kids a player. Can I get a Josh Cribbs 2.0 from the crowd?  He showed today why we picked him up so early on Day 2.  He had 47 yards on 8 carries, 3 kickoff returns for an average of 37 yards, and although on NFL.com it says he has 3 receptions for 0 yards and a long of 3 yards(seriously? somethings wrong here) I know for a fact he had a 23 yard catch called back for holding.  He showed explosiveness, he showed versatility,  and showed he may not have been such a bad pick after all.

Javier "Habanero Hotstepper" Arenas:  Had an ok game although it wasn't his best.  Didn't really ever hear his name much, and he didn't make any tackles.  Had an ok night returning, and DexFlex had to step in for him.  This plays into the "play who's hot" way that Haley was saying.  

Jon Asamoah: DIdn't really notice him although I need to look at the film a couple more times.  I don't think he got any penalties, and as long as he keeps that up I'm fine with it.  I don't expect to much from him just yet and hope once the time comes and he develops further he will take over the RG spot.

Tony "Mr. Glass" Moeaki: Didn't make a catch but I believe he started which is a good thing.  He was target a few times, but after he was targeted and the ball was intercepted didn't hear his name mentioned again. None of the TEs caught a ball either so I don't see it as a bad or good thing.  He will eventually have a good game, maybe even next week. 

Kendrick Lewis:  Had a rather good game and although he didn't make a tackle, I don't remember anyone beating him either.  I don't know if he started, I think he did but I'm not sure.  He did have one big play though: an interception that led to a TD.  Kolb under pressure(love saying that) throws deep to Maclin, Lewis intercepts it and brings it back to the Philly 26.

Cameron Sheffield: Here's the bad news of the game, on a tackle he hits Mike Bell helmet to helmet, and I believe he hit his head again on the way down.  He then lays out on the ground and Demorrio Williams was quoted to have said "It was kind of weird because I looked at him and he ain't even moving, his eyes and stuff like that...he's just looking."  He was carted off the field with a neck injury, and its reported that he's doing a lot better.  The Chiefs of course are staying tightlipped as always.

Running Game Still Going Strong

So far we've had a great preseason running the rock.  I was surprised to find we've averaged the most out of any other team.  According to NFL.com it adds up to about 150 yards a game.  We actually exceeded that last night with 168 yards.

Have we found our identity finally? I believe so.  With the 3 headed monster in the backfield consisting of JC, TJ, and DexFlex we might have one of the best, if not the best, running attack in the NFL.  

JC gives you that playmaking ability that rivals CJ2K.  He could score at any moment and defenses have to game plan around, because if they don't...well you saw what he did to the Broncos.

Thomas Jones is intriguing in that its a mystery why no one wanted him.  They guy stays in peak physical condition(have you seen his arms!) and has proven himself time and time again. Sure he may be another year older, but I think he's the perfect compliment to Charles.  He can get us those short yardage and goal line situations, and he just make our offense that much better.

DexFlex grabs your attention every time he touches the ball.  He may not be the biggest guy around, but he is elusive.  His ability to make plays when there are none is astounding to say the least, and it even rivals JC's skills.  

Battle I think has taken the 3rd/4th RB spot and will pretty much have it on lock.  He proved himself with these past couple of games and I don't see anyone challenging him.  He's shown the power to break tackles and some elusiveness as well, and he's a pretty good ST player. Which is what makes or breaks a roster spot for those on the bubble guys.

Jamaal Charles...Started??

Yeah you heard it right, and no I'm not lying.  He started and didn't even disappoint all that much.  Although that first play was a doozie(how can we lose the ball on the first play...AGAIN?!) it can easily be blamed on Cassel as much as Charles.  He made up for it though running for 40 yards on 6 carries and a reception for 20 yards. 

However on that 20 yard play, as he was going out of bounds he was hit by an Eagle in the elbow and limped off the field.  At first I thought it was his leg(since you know he limped) but later it was confirmed as the elbow. Everything's fine, don't worry Fantasy fans.  He came back later no worse for the wear, and wasn't even wearing a wrap on his arm.  He didn't end up playing for the rest of the night, and apparently all he did was hit his funny bone.

This just proves what I've thought all preseason.  There was never any controversy, and JC's been the real starter since Day 1. TJ only started because: 1)he needed to learn the offense, 2)JC needed to prove he still had it, 3)he just came off surgery so 4)why waste his talents and health on useless preseason games?

Defense Showed Up

Our defense played extremely well last night.  I know its still preseason but during the time the starters played for the first three quarters they were rockin.  We applied constant pressure, and were giving the Eagle's line and Kolb fits all game.  That same first team, that destroyed us last season only got one TD and thats again because of a huge mistake that we made in the red zone.

We registered 5 sacks in the game: 2 from DWill, 2 from Stud, and 1 from Dion Gales(against the 2s).  We were doing a wide variety of blitzes, and Crennel probably didn't even use the full playbook against them.  Stunts, delays, overloads, you name it.  A huge difference from the last two games.

Pass coverage was excellent, i don't believe they had one penalty all night.  Lewis(Pictured) mad our first interception of the season, and Berry was lighting people up all night.  

RunD was bad in the beginning, but after that first drive they played a lot better.  We held them to 106 yards, and although thats not shut down status, its still pretty good considering they're second in rushing averaging 147 a game.  Plus did anyone see that huge hit by DJ on Bell, priceless.

One complaint I have though is we allowed to many 3rd down conversions, too many to my liking.  Including a Kolb run for 7 yards on the 3rd, which was a disappointment.  However we stopped them from scoring most of the game and that I'm happy about.

Rushing the Passer, Isn't It A Great Idea?

We had a great night in pass rushing, and it came from people not named Tamba Hali.  Demorrio Williams had 2 sacks, Studebaker had 2 and Dion Gales had 1.  Overall though our pass rush played exponentially better than at any other time this preseason.

I think now Stud has a lock on the Nickel OLB spot. His motor was unstoppable last night and the more playing time he can get the better he can become. Vrabel is a good teacher, and its seriously been paying off for him.

The ILB spot now just got more confusing though.  Currently DJ and DWill are fighting for the same Weakside ILB spot.  Both had good nights, and it might take till next week till the very first game to decide.  Belcher and Mays are also both in a neck and neck race, the same goes for them as well.

Cassel Was Average

He didn't look very good today.  He only threw for 83 yards, and completed 14 of his 23 passes.  He made plenty of mistakes today, and although he didn't stink the place up he very, very close.

All of our mistakes seem to revolve around him in some way.  Whether its a botched handoff that leads to a Philly TD.  Or an interception that leads to a FG, the loss is basically on his shoulders

He still shows a lot of the same mistakes, that never got corrected while sitting on the bench since High School.  He's been showing a steady improvement but this is a "what have you done for me lately" league.  Fans are impatient, and if he doesn't at least start playing above-average there will be an uproar

A Good Day For The Lines On Either Side

Our stellar play though has to be given its proper dues.  If it wasn't for the big uglies up front good games aren't possible.  Our OL nearly led us to a 300 yard game, while the DL kept the Eagles to 271 with 80 of those coming against scrubs with late game heroics from Mike Kafka.

The OL didn't allow a sack, and although one is counted because Cassel felt the need to run the ball up the gut the OL performed great.  The Eagles have a good pass rush so its great to see that they did good against them. 

They had the usual penalties, including a huge one that cost us another scoring opportunity overall they did pretty good.  For and OL that so "terrible" they've lead us to the highest rushing avg of the Preseason, and that is something that we can look forward too

The DL did its job today and thats all I need to hear.  How do I know this, because we finally started sacking the QB.  When the three guys up front are going on all cylinders it frees up the LBs to make the play.  The LBs were making plays all night, and showing up the highly touted Eagles.

As long as this can carry on into the next game and season beyond, we might just have ourselves a good team on our hands.

Officiating...

...was terrible.  Its still Preseason so we're going to have to deal with that, but its becoming widespread in the league culminating in Peyton Manning yelling at some ref last night. A couple of calls went our way, a couple went the other which is to be expected.  

Here's a few I noticed:Chiefs were punting the ball, and the Eagles got a flag for Delay of Game, no explanation was given as to why and this led to a drive that ended in a Bowe TD.  Andy Reid's expression is hilarious during the whole thing.

Pierre Walters gets called for taunting a guy he threw down on a kick off return fine(what is this college), but then a few plays later DexFlex gets laid out by Asante Samuel who then proceeds to flex his muscles in what could have been perceived as a "taunting" manner.  Haley gave an earful to the Refs but they weren't buying it.

Maclin goes long and Edit:Flowers provides good coverage and stops the TD.  Although I swear it looked like Pass interference a Ref standing nearby saw the entire thing and didn't throw a flag.

This has got to be the biggest one though.  Its the 4th quarter just before the 2 minute mark.  The Chiefs lead 17-13 and Jackie Battle has just ran the ball up the gut for some good yardage. Then the clock stops, no time outs, no passes or runs out of bounds not even a first down yet.  Haley starts yelling at the officials, but they do nothing. This effectively gave another 45 seconds to Kafka who led them 80 yards to a game winner.

Answering Questions

What does Keeley Hazell have to do with Football, absolutely nothing.  Just after seeing a bunch slides of guys, a change of scenery seems about right. Now back to football.

Some questions were asked earlier in the week by correspondent Dan Kelley, and although its only been a game l will try my best to answer them now granted real answers won't come till near the end of the season.

1. Can the Offensive Line Protect Cassel?

They proved that against a good pass they have what it takes to keep Cassel on his feet.  Only allowing one sack, that came from Cassel running up the gut for negative 1 yards.  If they can continue on this success, and fix up the mental mistakes we might be okay this year.

2. Can Matt Cassel return to his 2008 form?

I don't know because unless we can recreate the Patriots system and OWs I don't know if we can.  Time will tell, and I'll reserve judgment until I can see him play some more games.

3. What Impact Will Charlie Weis and Romeo Crennel Have?

Well if that game was any indication, our guys are performing much better already.  Defense stepped it up, and although Offense was sputtering, the Running game is as strong as ever.

4. Can The Defense Step It Up?

I say it can, we kept the 2nd best rushing offense of the Preseason to 106 yards, and showed great pass coverage all game long.  Kolb was under continuous pressure and got sacked 4 times.  I think if we can keep this momentum going against the Packers, and then the Chargers the Defense could have a good year.

Only time can tell how well we'll do.  Thanks for taking the time to Read. Comments and Constructive Criticism are always welcome.  This does not mean Trolling however.

To send you off here's a great gif on the future of Chiefs D Enjoy

http://cdn1.sbnation.com/imported_assets/530067/2viqvte_jpg.gif