The Chiefs Achilles: Offensive Efficiency, Part 2
An excerpt from Part 1 of “Chiefs Achilles Heel: Offensive Efficiency:
“[Andy] Reid hasn’t really replaced anything in this playbook, he’s just expanded it.
Why is that important?”
Simplify the Offense
From a website called, bloggingtheboys.com comes this,
“One of the concepts of the West Coast offense is to get five skill players involved in the passing game. While the run plays use the standard two digit numbering system, the pass plays are not numbered but have to be memorized by their route types. Initially the primary receiver had route names that were easy to remember, such as X-In or Z-Hook, etc, but the names have become much more cryptic such as “Green Right Strong Slot Spider 2 Y Banana.” This makes them very difficult to memorize.”
Explaining the complexities of the West Coast offense is not only daunting but requires time, dedication and a commitment to the entire depth, breadth and intricacy of the scheme and so it’s natural to question if “some” players are up to the task. The Chiefs offensive players may be dealing with jargon too confusing to sort out in the split second that a play is called.
There have to be reasons why this collection of offensive players aren’t performing on a more consistent basis — or producing more — and so let’s take a look at what might help. However, let’s first look at the number of first downs the Chiefs have per drive.
First Downs to Drives Efficiency
What I’d like to do now is go back and tally the number of failed drives the offense has had this year. Remember we’re not that far removed from 2014 when every time you tuned into FOX Sports or ESPN and the subject of the Chiefs came up, the fact that no Chiefs wide receiver had scored a TD in like, forever, came up like vomit-ad-nauseam. So, looking at the number of failed drives, while painful, is an accurate reminder that things may not have changed as much as we’d like to believe. Even though the talent pool appears to be much deeper.
A big part of the problem is related to first downs, or the lack thereof. When analyzing the past three games — the Colts, the Jaguars, and the Panthers — the Chiefs have 16, 10 and 18 first downs in those games, respectively. The number of drives the Chiefs had in those games was: 13, 14 and 10. That’s an averaged 1.2 first downs per drive. That’s below their season average so at the moment they are on a bit of a downslide. To see this information better. let’s look at it in a graph of the whole season.
If you’re averaging 1.6 first downs for every drive, how can you sustain a drive? The best you can hope for is… a good punt runback, good field-position and a field-goal. This appears to explain why we see so much of exactly that. That is, IF they score at all. Without Dave Toub’s excellent special teams units, and coaching, this team would be up a creek without a paddle. If you’re of the opinion that the defense has been carrying this team, think again. Sure, the defense has delivered in timely ways and without them the team would likely be 2-7 instead of 7-2. However, we’re talking strictly about the offense here and it’s the special teams that have taken the defensive stops and turned them into good field position and it’s that good field position that the offense can’t seem to survive without right now.
So, what will help?
Promoting Demarcus Robinson
Of course, the majority of this discussion has focused on the negative outcomes of the offense and not necessarily on the solutions. One fix I’ve stated previously, is to promote WR Demarcus Robinson and demote (or release) Albert Wilson. Robinson has had a positive impact on special teams but I see no reason that he can’t do both jobs: WR + STs. There’s no reason not to allow Robinson to step up and become the threat I believe he will one day become and do it now instead of later. The Chiefs not only need his yards after catch but his hands, period. There are so many balls he would have caught, that Wilson dropped. This is one sure-fire way to increase the efficiency of the offense and keep drives alive.
Getting Beyond the First Down Markers
Another efficiency issue is to make sure all wide receivers are running their third down routes BEYOND the first down marker. This is Pop Warner Football 101 and for some reason, the Chiefs still employ the tactic of trying to trick the defense by running shorter hook pattern routes then attempting to make up the rest of the yardage, after the catch. They might as well just slap the ball to the ground because it makes no sense at all and I don’t know that I have ever seen a WR on the Chiefs make that play work (that’s an over statement of course, but dealing with this issue can not be overstated).
Go Up-tempo
It’s no surprise to me that when the Chiefs have gone to an up-tempo offense, trying to score as fast as they can, that the offense has experienced some success. What happens when the offense is in an up-tempo situation? The playbook is narrowed… they are attempting to drive the ball down the field more quickly and score asap. Reid may still call a screen or a draw but those kinds of plays are no longer the central focus during an up-tempo session. From a player’s standpoint, the up-tempo approach gets them more focused and the adrenaline is free-flowing stemming from a sense of urgency. The senses are heightened and so is the goal.
The late 1980s-early1990s, the Buffalo Bills with Marv Levy ran an up-tempo offense with great success. WR Andre Reed turned an average of 53 catches per year in his first three years… into a Hall of Fame career and although he’s presently 16th on the all-time list for reception yardage, there are plenty of players on that list with more yards. Of course going to 4 Super Bowls doesn’t hurt, but neither did playing in an up-tempo system.
You have to wonder why more teams don’t go up-tempo and the answer may be that you have to have the right players — players who are in top condition — to run that offense. You may have noticed, the Chiefs offense and defense have become more effective late in games (especially Dee Ford who has become a little Beastie Bro, but I digress because this is not about the defense) and I think the reason for that is: the Chiefs are a team that has superior conditioning. It does lend a clue to the reason for the late game heroics. If you’re in better overall condition than your opponent it’s going to show up in the fourth quarter. So, why not take advantage of what the Chiefs already have, then they can take advantage of the mismatches they may get when the other team’s defensive personnel is stuck on the field. Think of the cerebral players the Chiefs have, they’re quite capable of memorizing four or five plays at a time. Also, in an up-tempo system many plays are altered when players are lined up at the line of scrimmage or even called at the l-o-s. Players like Travis Kelce, Tyreek Hill, Chris Conley, Jeremy Maclin and Spencer Ware — basically all their core skill players except you-know-who — would all benefit from a fast-paced attacking scheme. You can’t go up-tempo all game long but starting out each quarter that way could help jump-start this team.
Optimize the Talent
That’s what often befuddles me… that the Chiefs have the aforementioned collection of very talented skill players and only 17 TDs in the first 9 games to show for it. I say, “Release the Hounds” before this Achilles Heel kills the whole dang show. “Show,” you ask? No, I’m not even remotely hinting that there is enough talent to match the “Showtime” Lakers or the Greatest “Show” on Turf. What is clear though, is that this offense is not maximizing the skilled offensive Chiefs players who are on the roster right now.
Cutting Edge or Cutting His Throat?
I have to question whether or not Andy Reid’s inner wish is to be so “cutting-edge” ends up cutting his own throat in the process. By altering his offense so often he may feel that he is keeping other teams on their heels but the challenge is keeping his own players informed as opposed to confused. If a lineman has to pull and knows who he’s supposed to take out an ILB the next level but the running back doesn’t know that and doesn’t wait for that block, a play is dead in the water before it begins. For example, by changing up the blocking schemes within the context of the offense, Reid may feel like his very cerebral set of linemen can handle it, but keeping everyone on the offense aligned with the ever-changing minutia may be keeping the whole offense from operating in sync. Even if this is only happening 5% of the time, it’s too much and contributing to the overall reasons why the offense is not as efficient it needs to be.
I’m sure there are those who would like to cite the poor officiating in the NFL as a contributing factor in the Chiefs declining offensive efficiency. However, since all teams are getting the same officials, I’m not going to list that as a reason here unless someone has facts to support the idea that the referees have it in for the Chiefs. Neither did I address the issue of QB Alex Smith simply because I beleive there are too many other issues involved to turn this into a discussion about a quarterback. While I didn’t focus at all on the offenisve line, there’s certainly issues they need to fix and I consider them part of the offensive breakdown in the grand scheme.
Perhaps you’re like me in that you have been living in the “Waiting For Godot” groundhog day vortex, which reaches back over several seasons, when it comes to anticipating that the Chiefs offense would… take off… jell & propel… set sail or just plain start clicking. You could almost always count on the “clicking” in each and every game when Dick Vermeil was in town. With the talent this offense has on it, there’s no reason they can’t approach those kinds of polished performances on a regular basis.
What do you think Chiefs fans? Have any ideas about how to improve offensive efficiency?.