The Chiefs' offensive players were inept, as I mentioned in part II of this series. However, there's a lot of reason to also blame the Chiefs' unimaginative offensive playcalling for the Chiefs' offensive struggles.Even a 2-year-old can predict the Chiefs' offensive strategy:
-Run
-Run
-Pass
And it goes on like this....
One can't help but wonder how much more effective the Chiefs' offense would have been if they had spread the Colts' defense out with a few surprise first or second down passes. It is very difficult to run plays effectively when the defense knows exactly what you are going to do.
Now, in the coaching staff's defense, there are a few things to keep in mind. The offense had plenty of chances to complete first downs, if only the receivers would have caught their wide-open passes. Secondly, given that Freeney handled Jordan Black all day, would it really have helped the Chiefs to get sacked on first down and force constant 2nd and 20's? But it doesn't excuse the lousy playcalling. The only hope is that the Chiefs will adjust for next year, and there's lots of reason to believe this is the case.
Still, no matter which way you slice it, the Chiefs must change their playcalling. There is simply no excuse to create a scheme that predictable. I think the Chiefs are taking the right steps toward doing that. Most notably, I truly believe that once Herm Edwards starts running a system he feels comfortable with and getting players that are equipped to play in a modern offense, the Chiefs will start to see some improvement on offense. However, that's only speculation. He'll need to prove it on the field first.
Unlike a lot of fans, I'm willing to give Herm time to change. But there is no doubt that a chance must come soon.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-17-2007 @ 9:50AM
Charles said...
LOL...I told you about this 4 months ago and you thought I was crazy. The Chiefs are a f***in joke. South Lake Carroll's high school team in Texas has a better football team. The Chiefs need help in EVERY position.
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1-17-2007 @ 9:57AM
Kevin said...
Q: What do you call 47 millionaires around a TV watching the Super Bowl?
A: The Kansas City Chiefs.
Q: What do the Kansas City Chiefs and Billy Graham have in common?
A: They both can make 70,000 people stand up and yell "Jesus Christ".
Q: How do you keep a Kansas City Chief out of your yard?
A: Put up goal posts.
Q: Where do you go in Kansas City in case of a tornado?
A: To Arrowhead - they never get a touchdown there.
Q: What do you call a Kansas City Chief with a Super Bowl ring?
A: A thief!!
Q: Why was Herm Edwards upset when the Kansas City Chiefs play book was stolen?
A: Because he hadn't finished coloring it.
Q: What's the difference between the Kansas City Chiefs and a dollar bill?
A: You can still get 4 quarters out of a dollar bill.
Q: How many Kansas City Chiefs does it take to win a Super Bowl?
A: Nobody knows and we will never find out.
Q: What do the Kansas City Chief and possums have in common?
A: Both play dead at home (and get killed on the road).
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1-17-2007 @ 10:50AM
Nasty M said...
Jon:
I appreciate your continued hope for the future (you and my oldest son are on the same page) but I am concerned about comments that Herm Edwards has recently made. The entire NFL knows how predictible our offense is - run twice, throw once and punt - but now Herm states that he wants to "dummy down" the offense so that the younger players can contribute. How can you dummy down any more than give the ball to LJ twice and then throw to receivers how can't catch?
Where the defense was the laughing stock of the NFL and the offense was a well oiled machine we have now flipped and the offense is the worst I can remember in recent Chiefs history.
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1-17-2007 @ 10:36AM
Jon Yoon said...
Kevin--I disagree. This is a team that did pretty well this season even when they had minus an offense. the defense is ascending. The defense will likely improve next season, and it looks like the Chiefs recognize the need to improve on offense, at least, from a personnel standpoint. Remember, these new look Chiefs need only be mediocre on offense, not explosive. And that should only take a few patchwork fixes.
Mike, that's a terrific point and it's one I intend to address in the coming week. I actually think that dumbing down the offense will be a huge benefit to the Chiefs. The Chiefs were very good on offense w/Huard in and I think it has more so to do with the simplified offense we ran rather than the QB.When Green went back in, Solari used the passing game as if we still had Willie Roaf.
But more importantly, Herm should have a chance to run an offense he's comfortable with, even if we don't like it. I tend to think that if we had a playbook with easy, quick slant routes that we can run on first down, Herm would feel a lot more comfortable passing on 1st down. Just a thought.
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1-17-2007 @ 6:00PM
Jim said...
"Most notably, I truly believe that once Herm Edwards starts running a system he feels comfortable with and getting players that are equipped to play in a modern offense, the Chiefs will start to see some improvement on offense."
???
A modern offense? That's what the Chiefs had BEFORE Herm arrived, and he placed his stamp all over the offense and decided to reinvent 'MartyBall.' No, not present-day MartyBall that we see in San Diego. I'm talkin' Old Skool MartyBall. You know: DeBerg and Krieg at the helm, handing the ball off to Okoye and Word, dumping a screen pass to McNair and occasionally throwing a safe pass to Robb Thomas, JJ Birden or Jonathan Hayes. Lining up for a Nick Lowery field goal. Catch the Excitement. Can you feel it? Yawn.
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1-17-2007 @ 6:27PM
Jon Yoon said...
Jim--
While you bring up some decent points and your frustration is understandable, you have to realize a few very, very important points:
#1 - the offense we had a few years ago was younger, fresher and more dominant. Tait is gone. Willie Roaf is gone (huge loss). T-Rich is gone. Will Shields has aged in a big hurry. So the talent just doesn't match up.
#2 - the offense in the past wasn't winning us games. In many ways, it disabled our defense.
I'm going to make a point here that I think everyone will agree with, even if the conclusion surprises you: the Chiefs' biggest problem on offense is that when Trent Green was in the game, the Chiefs tried to hard to run the Al Saunders offense. Without Willie Roaf and superior blocking from the rest of the o-line, even Al Saunders couldn't run that scheme effectively--if you need any further proof, take a look at how well he did in Washington.
The offense needs to change. That's a tough pill to swallow, but it's true. And unless we somehow find a stud left tackle and some solid replacements at the other o-line positions, we have to wave goodbye to the electric offense we're so used to seeing.
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1-17-2007 @ 6:27PM
Jim said...
I'm not saying we have to return to the Vermeil "three ring circus." However, "three yards and a cloud of dust, don't turn the ball over, and hope to win the game in the end" doesn't cut it in the NFL anymore.
Herm needs to show the ability to adapt and be willing to compromise and change. It doesn't appear as though he is willing to do that. His "my way or the highway" rhetoric is like nails on a chalkboard.
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1-18-2007 @ 8:32AM
Scott said...
You have to go no further than Herm Edward's record in NY with the Jets.
Pennington was his fall guy and look in 2006, he is comeback player of the year. Edward's does not give the passing came any momentum and is entirely to predictable.
I am surprised Gonzolez did not move out of KC with the poor game plan Edwards puts forth for offense. He doesn't need many personnel changes other than looking in the mirror. He played right into the media's hand of the run, run, run on Indy....ANd when he ran and it did not work, he could not, would not adapt. He is an ego idiot and I have been a fan for 35 years and he took the sparkle out of the defensive effort by being totally clueless on offense.
That was not effort for Lamar Hunt....
He needs to go, already....
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1-18-2007 @ 4:23PM
drum said...
Finally someone who is not afraid to speak the truthI agree 100 percent with scott, Too bad jon is on the herm edwards payroll!!!!! The only way for Herm to improve his coaching is to stop coaching since he cant see past himself!!!!!!!!
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1-21-2007 @ 10:57AM
Beverly Martin said...
I am through waiting. We have listened to Carl for a number of years and he keeps on making horrible mistakes. The worst he has made so far is hiring Herm Edwards and his sidekick Solari. Herm has showed me nothing except an arrogant attitude which the true KC fans doesn't need. He can fool himself that everything is fine with our offense but it isn't.And this is not the same offense we have run the last 3 years, Bull Sh-----t. we are not stupid in Kansas City and he needs to realize that.I have been a true Chiefs Fan since they have come to Kansas City and I have stuck with them through thick and thin but the ice is getting rather thin lately and I am not alone a lot of my friends feel the same way. GO CHIEFS..Bev
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1-23-2007 @ 9:13PM
Mike in Ft. Collins, Co said...
I was so delighted to know that Herm had won a bet with Tony Gonzalez, & let everyone know about it during the Indy game in lieu of paying attention to the action on the field. The game was secondary wasn't it? Why don't the Chiefs show Herm, Trent & the football "genius" Carl Peterson the door? I've been a fan since the days of Dawson, Arbanis, Bell & all of my other heroes, & this downright embarassing
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