From the Observation Deck Over K.C.
by Paul Pulley
The biggest question for pre-season game 3 might be, will we see the complete starting defense take the field for the first time? Even if it’s just for a series or two. The defense the Chiefs put on the field to start the game Friday didn’t fare very well against one of the most high powered offenses in the league. With one starting defensive lineman, both starting inside linebackers and both starting safeties not participating, the Chiefs starting D was overmatched. Hopefully Saturday afternoon we’ll get to see all of the starters on the field together at last, with the exception of Dan Sorenson.
I’ve seen several roster projections lately and none of them have included either Jordan Devey or Ryan Hunter. To the best of my knowledge, James Murray, Devey and Hunter are the only three offensive linemen to play the backup center position in the pre-season, so it would make sense to me to have one of those guys make the 53 man roster. Murray was injured after only a few snaps in game one and I am not sure of his status. Devey has done a decent job but Hunter and Murray are both seven years younger with more upside. I think Murray is more NFL ready than Hunter if he is healthy.
Andrew Wylie has been getting a lot of work on the OL. Not only has he been working at both tackle spots with the second team, but he also got the nod for starting RG in place of the injured Duvernay-Tardif. I believe Wylie is a lock to make the 53. Hunter is seeing a lot of snaps at both right guard and center but appears to get pushed around by defensive tackles. I think if he could be stashed on the practice squad for a year he will make a good addition to the line next year.
If the final cut to 53 comes down to choosing 2 from: Witzmann, Ehinger, Devey, Murray, or Hunter for the OL, it might be worth noting that Witzmann is by far the highest paid of that group. Moving on from him would save about $1.2M on the cap.
A few days ago, Ransom Hawthorne wrote an excellent article on the youth movement and some UDFA’s that could make the roster. Ransom listed 5 possibles and I would like to add two more.
Arrion Springs: Springs came into game two of the pre-season at the right cornerback position in the 3rd quarter with the second team. By the snap counts, Springs only played 10 snaps in this quarter, but the second team defense did such a good job against the Falcons offense, those 10 plays were all they needed to be on the field the entire 3rd quarter. Of the 10 plays, 3 were rushes and the Falcons QB was sacked on one. Of the 6 pass attempts, the receivers Springs was covering had zero targets. Springs made 2 tackles, one on a running play and the other on a short pass to a RB that probably should have been Speaks responsibility to cover. I have read that Springs worked some at safety but I haven’t seen that, he did play two snaps in the slot, so I’m wondering if that’s what was meant. Either that or he has been getting work at safety in practices.
Coincidently, Tremon Smith, the LCB was targeted 4 of the 6 pass attempts, with two completions and two well defended.
Chase Litton: While Litton didn’t see any playing time in pre-season game two, he played the 4th quarter of pre-season game one and looked very good. Litton is a 6-5 and 233 lb UDFA QB with a strong arm and completed 7 of 13 passes in that quarter, which is not exceptional, but he was able to move the ball almost the entire length of the field on this final drive. He only had 2 off target passes and one drop. Two of the other incomplete’s could have been called for pass interference. Some have projected Litton makes the 53 man roster but I am wondering if he will get the Bray treatment and end up on IR after stubbing his toe or breaking a nail.
Saturday’s game versus the Chicago Bears will be interesting. I’m sure the Chiefs will play most of their starters into the 3rd quarter. While the Houston Texans (their preseason game one opponent) have one of the best defenses in the league and the Atlanta Falcons (game two opponent) have one of the best offenses in the league, the Bears should be a little closer to average on both sides of the ball. Getting quality play from the starting defense should be paramount and getting big money free agent Sammy Watkins involved should also be a priority.
The players that don’t get any playing time in this game could give us an idea of who might be on the cut list on September 1st.
Since the Bears participated in the Hall of Fame Game, this will be their 4th pre-season game with still one more to play on the 30th, so I don’t know if their coaching staff will approach the game the same way the Chiefs will as far as the playing time for their starters.
One final thought; it looks like my faith in David Amerson to provide a quality upgrade to the cornerback position may have been misplaced. I’m not sure yet if he is as bad as most are thinking but if he is, with the emergence of Arrion Springs and Tremon Smith, hanging on to Amerson with his $2.25M contract, may not be worth it.
One more final thought; If the young players like Ben Niemann, Jimmy Murray, Arrion Springs, Darrel Williams, Chase Litton, Ryan Hunter, Gehrig Dieter and Andrew Wylie make the 53 man roster, it would save a considerable amount of cap space as all of these are signed to a league minimum salary.
Enjoy the game Saturday everyone, and remember, this game starts at noon K.C. time.
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