The Brett Veach Game: New Acquisitions Loom Large vs Denver – Chiefs have had a rough few weeks. Rather than dwell on the negative, let’s talk about something positive. The Chiefs defense had a hella of a bounce back. What’s more, their offense was able to muster enough, with Mahomes sidelined, to keep Denver guessing, and the game out of reach. This was a particularly big night for recent fan scapegoat: Brett Veach.
Leading Up to Denver
After losses to the Colts and Texans, some fans were openly calling for his firing. Frank Clark hadn’t been as productive as hoped, the pass rush was nowhere to be seen, linebackers looked awful and the OL was a leaky sieve that couldn’t pass block or run block. On Thursday Night, in Primetime, the Chiefs looked like a new team. The defense was fantastic, and the OL looked significantly better. This improvement came, largely, on the shoulders of guys Brett Veach brought in.
Tyrann Mathieu
Mathieu had five tackles in the game, all solo. He played an excellent game, but his biggest contribution came in the locker room, leading up to the game. He and Frank Clark were signed to be the heart of this defense, and that heart was beating with fury, on Thursday. The defense played without hesitation. They played physical, and they made tackles in the open field. That was no easy feat for a group that played a ton of snaps, against the Texans and was coming in on short rest. Nice to finally have some leadership… when things get tough.
Frank Clark
Clark finally looked like the player Chiefs paid. He forced multiple holds, collected two sacks, and had a QB hit. Aside from an accidental face-mask penalty, Clark was all over the field making big plays. Even when he wasn’t, he was freeing up Emmanuel Ogbah, Alex Okafor, and Tanoh Kpassagnon.
Trade Acquisitions
Charvarious Ward, Martinas Rankin, Reggie Ragland, Emmanuel Ogbah: every one of those guys was acquired, by Veach, via trade, at minimal cost. Ward is finally finding his feet, and looking like a solid #2-3 CB. Rankin has been an upgrade over Andrew Wylie and should stay at the LG spot, going forward. Ragland was an absolute revelation. He finished with a sack, a tackle for a loss, a QB hit and a touchdown, but his impact on the game was even bigger than the numbers indicate. Ogbah has killed so many plays, by batting the ball down. Since Chris Jones’ injury, he’s been an excellent rotational guy, on the inside and a killer value. Can’t believe the Browns gave him up for Eric Murray.
Anthony Hitchens
Hitchens may never fully live up to his contract, but he had a phenomenal night, against Denver: two sacks, a TFL, and two QB hits. When he and Ragland were on the field, Denver could not run the ball. The fact that they kept trying, anyway, finally put Chiefs in some obvious pass rushing downs, and allowed them to tee off on Joe Flacco.
Matt Moore and LeSean McCoy
When Patrick Mahomes went down, Chiefs had to trust two guys that weren’t with the team, most of the off-season, to get the win. Both Shady and Moore stepped up, in a big way. McCoy averaged 5.3 yards per carry and was key to salting the game away, once Chiefs had the lead. Moore wasn’t terribly impressive, but he took care of the football, and was able to hit Tyreek Hill for a big touchdown deep, as he got more comfortable. Moore didn’t try to make something out of nothing. He took what the defense gave him, and didn’t turn the ball over. For a guy who’s basically never practiced with the first string offense, he did a fine job.
The Cornerbacks
Every CB on this roster was brought in by Brett Veach and surprisingly, given the little invested, they look pretty good. With Fuller out, Chiefs gave some snaps to rookie 6th round pick Rashaad Fenton, and you know what? He looked pretty good too.
Claiborne had a great tackle, in the open field and Breeland continues to be solid, outside a penalty here and there. This whole secondary is shaping up to be a lot better than fans expected.
Conclusion
Fans are often too quick to jump to conclusions. It would be foolish to get overly high, on Brett Veach, after one game, just like it was to call for his head, last week. There’s still a ton of football to be played, and the question of how much of it will be led by Mahomes. For now, I’m going to enjoy what I can, a dominant win, over a division rival, that finally puts Veach in a very positive light. Go Chiefs.
Ransom Hawthorne — ArrowheadOne
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