Happy 4th of July to all. As we celebrate Independence Day across the US, I thought it might be fun to take a look at how new our team is in the Andy Reid West Coast Offense. The year 2013 brought Chiefs Kingdom a brand new Head Coach/General Manager combination and we began a new era of KC football.
As this fledgling team was restructured and retooled, many of us thought it would be years more of losing games as the team leadership got the pieces into place and installed their system. But, much to our surprise, we came out of the gate winning games and getting into the playoffs. So, where are we now? Are we ready to assert ourselves as a league super power? Let’s take a look.
I was thinking about all I have heard and read about the complexity and depth of Reid’s playbook, as well as Bob Sutton bringing in his own. This will, of course, mean that it can be tough to learn it all. For many players, they really have to learn multiple positions in the system. It would naturally lead us to the conclusion that it would take a couple of seasons to have it gel and become effective as a team.
While I can’t say for certain this is the case, I can remember many time where I thought a player missed an assignment/route/etc. They were usually young players, so I chalked it up to being a rookie, but it might also have been learning the system. So, if this is the case (and I hope it is), then are we in for a pleasant season?
Here is a look at what I think the starting lineup will look like opening day. For sake of this article, I am not really trying to justify these players, so don’t read too much into that part. I do list a couple of positions that I think we may see some competition over the rest of the summer and into the start of the season.
Team Experience
As you can see from the table above, we sit at about 2.5 seasons of experience in the current coaching system. We even have 8 of 22 O/D starters (36% in Green) that have been here all four seasons. Only 6 of 22 have 0 or 1 years (27% in Red/Gold) in the system.
Personally, I think this is a year we can take that major step forward and go deep into the playoffs. I really like the stability of the team and think this will help in a couple of ways. Besides the obvious learning of the system, they will have gelled more as a team. Getting to know each other better will help them know what each other might do and the friendships will give them that little extra for which to play.
I am also excited by this year’s draft class and how they will fit into the scheme. Putting Patrick Mahomes aside, as I really hope we don’t see him in a game this year, we should take a look at Kareem Hunt (RB), Tanoh Kpassagnon (DE), and Ukeme Eligwe (LB). Each of these guys (in Orange) could see some quality playing time this year. What is nice is that each of them are in positions where each of their reps helps keep the starter a little fresher for the end of the season and/or playoffs.
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Offense & Defense
Going back to the lineup and the experience in the system, the offense has 2.45 out of a possible 4 years of experience in this system. This is important with that complexity I mentioned. The more you know about the other 10 players assignment on a given play, the better.
For the defense, it is slightly better at 2.64 years of experience out of the possible 4. While I won’t say it is more important for them to have the experience together, I will say that it is important in a different way. As a defender, they have a defense called, but it is setup to react to what the offense is doing. Knowing what your teammates will do is critical in not giving up big plays.
One question mark with all of this is if the players that got injured last year will comeback to form. The biggest names are all on defense (Justin Houston, Allen Bailey, and Derrick Johnson) with 4 years of experience each.
Well what do you guys think? Will the stability of this coaching system and this team payoff? Will we see a team that clearly wins games or one that causes AED (Automatic External Defibrillator) shockout around the country?
Until next week, there’s The Rub!
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