David Bell
This is brief, with worries, concerns, as well as positives. So here it goes, it’s a, “Gee! I don’t know, kind of day.”
- Injuries: the Chiefs are in good shape, with only CB Rashad Fenton sitting out practice on Friday. That worries me because it means the young guys need to pick up the slack. A lot hit the net about Joshua Williams over the past week. It appears to me to be invalid criticism. Williams was tossed into the fray as raw as a newborn. He got beat by two of the best WRs in the NFL. He will grow from that experience, I’m confident of that. The 49ers have had their own injury woes. They will still be missing key personnel, but had significantly good news about their players being available after so many injuries.
- Three Defenders are back: three players who have missed time are at least back at practice: LB Willie Gay, Jr (suspension) and CB Trent McDuffie (Hamstring). It remains to be seen whether they will suit up on the active roster on Sunday (see below). Neither was listed on the depth chart published Thursday. Safety Brian Cook was in concussion protocol, but practiced both Thursday and Friday, that’s good news.
- The Offensive Line: last week vs. the Bills, the OL struggled off and on during the game. The worst came from the right side: Andrew Wylie and Trey Smith did not play well. When Seth Keysor broke it down, Wylie had eight pass-block failures, and Smith 5. Over on the left side, Orlando Brown fared better, yielding only 1 PB failure. Worse yet, blocking for the run game was not stellar.
- The Offensive firepower: it failed us again. That may have been because the OL had problems throughout the game. Mistakes cued up and added to the burden. In the end, the Offense did not live up to its bona fides. Patrick Mahomes suffered two interceptions, the run game never unfurled, and penalties compounded that. In his tape analysis, Seth Keysor found that Mahomes was flushed 21 times in the game.
- The Chiefs: they could only manage 20 points? C’mon man!
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- The Defense Failed: the “bend but don’t break” game plan didn’t work in the end. On the other hand, with so many rookies in starting roles, they played well despite losing, only allowing a potent Bills offense 24 points. The highly potent Chiefs offense was the factor that broke that camel’s back. This game was one in which Willie Gay and Trent McDuffie on the grass would have made a difference, but they were not active. I am not busting Darius Harris in writing this. Harris has played some excellent football in Gay’s absence. That is good stuff. This fact bodes well for the LB Corps.
- Play-calling: once again, OC Eric Bieniemy or HC Andy Reid did poorly with the scripting of plays in the initial game plan and sequencing plays.
Notes above summarize what I saw reviewing the game tape in the Coach’s view. Too many things contributed to break-downs on offensive drives, including penalties. Simultaneously, as the players observed themselves, it was another game they “coulda“ and “shoulda“ won.
49ers Game
Leave the rest to Sunday vs. the 49ers. I don’t think the Frisco team can match scoring with the Chiefs, assuming that the above mentioned factors are corrected. Mahomes & Co. must move the chains and score six on their possessions. A good 49ers defense, in their turn, will face a potent offense. The Chiefs must establish success with the ground game.
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Veach Remains Hot
A question has came up about the success of the Veach era? I respond to the question this way:
I can’t tell how that works out as a prediction so early in the new season. I looked at the records over the years preceding 2022. It’s too early to tell me that the league and other teams have superseded the Chiefs. They are still one of the best teams in the NFL. They also have faced one of the toughest schedules imaginable in 2022. I have been unhappy with the OL play for three games. It appears to me that the connection between Mahomes and his receivers has not come to fruition. The Run game has caused the aerial game to face defenses which has been a detriment to the passing attack. Let’s take a look at the Chiefs record over the past five (5) seasons:
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- 2022 so far, 667 4-2 (In 2021, at the 7-game mark, they were 3-4).
- 2021: 12-5, .706 AFC Championship Lost to the Bengals 24-27 (4th AFC Championship game in a row).
- 2020: 14-2, .875 AFC Championship: Won vs the Bills, 38-24
- 2019: 12-4, 750 AFC Championship: Beat the Titans 35-24 then lost the Super Bowl LV to the Bucs
- 2018: 12-4, .750 Won the AFC Championship and won the Super Bowl LIV vs. 49ers
- From 2018 to 2022, you then have to look at players drafted, are they still with the Chiefs? Are they still in the NFL? That’s a different project. Veach became GM in July 2017.
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The Chiefs Defense must put 49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo under pressure. If they do, he will make mistakes. At this time, we don’t know if Gay and McDuffie will both be active for the game [Editor’s Note: Gay will, McDuffie won’t, see Activations below]. If they are, the Defense should hold the fort and keep the 49ers from scoring much over 20 points. At the same time, it is up to the Offense to regain form and score 30 or more.
I think the Chiefs get a bit of both:
Chiefs 31, 49ers 23
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Levi Stadium Weather
Looks like the football Gods have dialed up another picture perfect day for playing with the pigskin.
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Referee Crew
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From ChiefsWire.com comes this info on Alex Kemp’s crew:
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With just five games officiated this season, Kemp and his crew have called the fifth-fewest penalties in the NFL with 63 total penalties for 503 yards of penalty yardage. Kemp also has the second-most dismissed penalties in the NFL with 16. This crew also officiates the home and away teams pretty evenly with 31 penalties called on home teams and 32 penalties called on away teams.”
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Activation: Notices
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David Bell — ArrowheadOne
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