Laddie Morse
While we’ve all been waiting for football to begin after a long offseason, the Kansas City Chiefs didn’t disappoint with a game on Sunday at noon in New Orleans. The only thing that could have been better was the final score, but since we all know that Preseason Games count on no one’s score card, we’ll take the game as it was. Now, all that’s left to do if holler “Hey” if we go back and watch the game and happen to notice if a specific player balled out… even though we may not have noticed it during the game. One such player is –> Left Tackle Donovan Smith.
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The picture above shows the Chiefs new Left Tackle — Donovan Smith — blocking 6-foot-4, 315 lbs. Nathan Shepard until he gets a pancake (a popular term for a block that ends with a defensive player on his back). Watch the second part of this video beginning at 0:05 (0:11):
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Here’s another angle of the same play by Donovan Smith (0:11):
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Of course, the only thing that could make me smile more right now, is hearing that Chris Jones has been extended, but this is not about that possibility. Of course, with only nine (9) snaps in this game, LT Donovan Smith had it easy… some might reason — but here’s another look at one of his blocks where the defender ends up in a pancake position (0:11):
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Brad Henson had good things to say about this game, even though the good guys came out with a loss:
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“I am actually feeling okay there was a lot of bright spots in that game. Sure the starters looked mid, but that is because they don’t want to show anything on tape. Ross and Rice are going to be a problem. Also I dunno if anyone noticed but [RT, Jawaan] Taylor and [LT] Donovan Smith looked great!”
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Chiefs.com
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Rocky Magana of ArrowheadPride put out an article called: “5 things we learned from the Chiefs’ meaningless loss to the Saints” in which he noted that:
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1. The Chiefs need Chris Jones
2. The Chiefs are good at scouting defensive backs
3. The Chiefs have some interesting options at wide receiver
4. Not all camp crushes had good days
5. There should be a battle for the backup quarterback job
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In another piece for ArrowheadPride, Smith revealed in a piece called: “Donovan Smith Says Not Much Difference Blocking for Brady and Mahomes“:
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“It’s definitely an adjustment here. We definitely work our tails off here — but it’s great. Any time you’re going against a good defensive line like that, you know you’re just able to hone in on your skills and get better each day: make the man across from you [better] and you get better.”
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Looks like the Left Tackle position is in good hands with Donovan Smith on board this year. While we can’t learn much from the Preseason Games, at least we can learn a little bit from the minimal snaps these first stringers play.
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Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne
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