Big Deal or No Big Deal:
What to Sweat From the Chiefs
First Preseason Game
by Ransom Hawthorne
Kansas City Chiefs football is finally back and it feels... unsatisfying. A loss is one thing, but the way the Chiefs lost didn’t exactly inspire confidence. Most avid Chiefs fans are suffering from varying degrees of anxiety, at this point, but don’t worry. A lot of what you saw on the field is no big deal. Some of it is a big deal, but just make sure you’re worried about the right things. Here, at ArrowheadOne, we’ll help you sort out which is which.
Bad Run D: Mostly No Big Deal
Chiefs, first string, run D was awful, on Thursday. That tends to happen when you’re missing two starting ILBs and Eric Berry. All of those guys are expected to be ready for the first game of the season. DC Bob Sutton has, wisely, decided not to risk injury, to such important players, in a meaningless game.
Dee Ford’s Performance: Big Deal
Dee Ford’s performance should concern you. Chiefs want to give him chance to build value, this season, if only for a compensatory pick, but he was bad against the run and not great at rushing the passer either. If he hadn’t been injured last year, there’s no way he’d even be on the team right now. If Sutton doesn’t have the stones to relegate him to backup status, Ford is going to allow a lot of easy runs to his side.
Chiefs Secondary Struggles: Conditional Big Deal
Bob Sutton was running a ton of off-man coverage on Thursday night and the Chiefs CBs were getting slaughtered. They’ve have been rumored to be going back to more press man, so I don’t expect to see this defense, for long. However, if Sutton does plan on running a bunch of off-man coverage this year, be afraid, be very afraid… because the Chiefs CBs can’t execute it well.
Offensive Ineptitude: No Big Deal
When the best looking drive of the night is led by your fourth string QB, and doesn’t even lead to a TD, you know it was an ugly night. This is actually pretty typical of the Chiefs preseason experience though. HC Andy Reid has a deep and varied playbook, full of innovative ideas that make DCs pull their hair out. He’s not about to put them on display for the league to see, in a meaningless game. If you hate screen passes, be glad that Reid called so many, because it’s a strong indicator that they don’t plan on doing it much, in the regular season.
Offensive Line Play: HUGE Deal
QB Patrick Mahomes was hit on basically every drop back. If you think he can weather that over the course of the season without getting hurt, or losing his nerve, I admire your optimism, but I can’t replicate it. On Mahomes’ very first play, LT Eric Fisher got smoked by an UDFA and LG Cam Erving was easily swatted aside by a 6th round draft pick. The right side of the line seemed to mostly do okay, but Fisher and Erving struggled all night. If last night was any indication, Mahomes’ blindside is protected by some of the worst starters on the team. That’s a humongous deal.
Situational Play-calling: No Big Deal
Watching Texans backup QB Davis Webb run around, for an eternity was disconcerting, even if poor officiating kept it from being a first down. Watching Chiefs flail on the goal line when they had better plays and players at their disposal was irritating. It doesn’t matter. The Chiefs did zero game-planning for a specific opponent. The entire point of this game is determine things like: what does player X look like in zone coverage? What does he look like in Man coverage. Can he tackle in space? How is this RB as a pass catcher? A short yardage back? A pass protector. It’s entirely possibly that some of the head-scratching decisions the Chiefs made were based on needing something on tape, that they didn’t have yet.
There is zero panic, in the Chiefs’ front office, about what went down, on Thursday. Look to see what adjustments they make to both the depth chart and the practice rotations. I’m a big believer in evaluating the team’s chances, after the 3rd preseason game. At this point, they’re still trying to figure out who they want to keep and how to limit their weaknesses, in the event that a certain backup player has to start. That said, color me concerned about the OL and defense. I think Fisher can get back to average, once he shakes the rust off, but Erving was awful, and I’m REALLY hoping the Chiefs don’t give him the Mike McGlynn treatment. Kansas City’s defense will be put in a better position to succeed, during the regular season, but the depth is sorely lacking at ILB and S. When it comes to CB, the starters might not even be good enough. It’s just one game, but, if I were Veach, I’d call Bashaud Breeland and offer him a multi year deal. Go Chiefs.
Bonus Thoughts
There were definitely some bright spots in this game. Chase Litton looked like a guy with starting QB upside. Ben Niemann played himself into consideration for a roster spot. The pass rush looks a lot better, if the CBs can cover for more than two seconds. Andrew Wylie (LT) and Bryan Witzmann (LG), had really good games. The Chiefs gave Wylie a ton of reps, both at LT and RT: at this point you can expect him to make the 53 man roster. Last, but not least, RB Darrel Williams, my favorite UDFA, looked fantastic.
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