Kansas City Chiefs Laddie Morse

Chiefs: Flexing and Perplexing

LadnerMorse August 16, 2018 No Comments

 

 

 

Chiefs: Flexing and Perplexing

 

by Laddie Morse

 

Safety: Anything But Safe

The Safety position is majorly perplexing. Yes, Brett Veach signed backup Safety Robert Golden away from the Pittsburgh Steelers. Yes, Veach drafted a 4th round Safety in Armani Watts. Those moves appear now to be far too puny to help the Chiefs in 2018. Why? Because even if Eric Berry is able to come back and play this year, it looks more and more like he won’t be 100% and the loss of Daniel Sorensen for what looks like one-third of the season isn’t helping either.

 

Eric Berry’s 2017 hiatus was a notable reason that the Chiefs run defense was ranked 25th in the league in yards allowed in (NFL Team Stats). What many forget to consider is that the Chiefs passing defense was ranked 29th in the league in yards allowed (NFL Team Stats) and it is Berry who is usually given the responsibility to cover tight ends. So, Berry’s replacement in 2017, Daniel Sorensen was awful but now, even Mr. Awful is not available. So let’s catch up on where Berry is at, or where we’re at with regards to his status:

 

 

 

 

Since we don’t know the full story right now, we’re left wondering:

 

 

 

 

It’s important to remember that if there was anything definitive to be known, national reporters like Adam Shefter or Ian Rapoport would have the inside scoop and would have tweeted out about it already… which they have not. When there’s anything to know… we’ll know it. Until then, no need to worry our little heads. 

 

 

It’s been suggested that Safety supreme Earl Thomas could be traded for. Those suggestions have included trading away players like Dee Ford or Demetrius Harris but Seattle isn’t going to take another team’s sack of discarded clothes for their tuxedo. While HC Andy Reid is a coach who likes to let his current players develop, I would think that will have dire consequences as those players are, learning on the job. If Daniel Sorensen was healthy, I’d say throw him in with the Dee Ford to sweeten the pot so that Seattle can replace a Safety with an improving Safety and then let Thomas and Berry flip flop roles as they see fit. Ford’s salary of $8.7M plus Sorensen’s $3.65M <$12.35M> equals more than enough to match the $10M that Earl Thomas is owed in 2018. Sure, Thomas is a free agent at the end of 2018 but it also gives the Chiefs a little breathing room, cap wise, in the meantime. Veach might have to add a late round draft pick to sweeten the deal, to make it work, but in the event that Berry doesn’t return, the team is covered this season and if Berry does come back… whoa… watch out! They could turn out to be the best pair of Safeties in the league.

 

 

Wide Receivers: Flexing Like Arnold

As the old 1970’s Wendy’s advertisement used to ask: “Where’s the Beef?” The first preseason game didn’t give us at least a slider to chew on or even a sense that the Chiefs have a top ranked wide receiving corp. Kareem Hunt, Travis Kelce, Tyreek Hill, Sammy Watkins (who didn’t play), and Chris Conley (who didn’t play) had 5 combined receptions for 33 total yards. Not exactly world beater’s production. So, that’s what we’ll all be looking for this Friday evening when the boys in red & gold cruise on down to the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

 

Head “Chef” Andy Reid may have been stealthy in the past tinkering privately, as if he could smoke up a sandwich to rival Gate’s BBQ — “I’m no Ollie Gates nor do I claim to be but I make a hell of a pulled pork in the smoker” — but can he continue to keep it a secret, that he’s harboring one of the best rosters, if not the best, of wideouts in the NFL? With the first team offense scheduled to play the entire first half, Reid may try to keep his new 2018 playbook schemes under lock and key, but he has got to get all of his new toys out of the closet and dangle them out the window at some point, if only for a moment, so all his K.C. neighbors can see what in the halitosis he’s got.

 

Otherwise, he may have a neighborhood revolt on his hands. K.C. fans don’t like to be barred and never-ed… or you could get… tarred and feathered.

 

 

Vexed and Perplexed

I don’t know what to make of the Chiefs corners… yet. The first preseason game scheme had them all playing 8 to 10 yards off of the line of scrimmage which allows coaches to evaluate… tackling ability! Not coverage skills. Geesh, Marcus Peters may not have known how to tackle but this is ridiculous (as if the CBs need to be evaluated on tackling). What is adding to my “perplex-ability” is the report form Pro Football Focus which has the Chiefs defensive backfield rated as the 28th best in he league. One point they make is that Kendall Fuller, while he may have been the best slot corner in the league in 2018, he’s only played 88 snaps in his whole career on the outside. I certainly won’t be buying stock in PFF any time soon and don’t base my final opinions about football related issues upon their data but… it does add to my having doubts about Fuller’s ability to play on the outside. So, that’s not a helpful bit of info when assessing the Chiefs future ability to stop the passing game overall.

 

Obviously, a CB like Arrion Springs or Tremon Smith or David Amerson… or, or, or… need to step up. The Chiefs need to get at least one of those players to excel for the secondary to not fulfill the PFF’s glib Nostradamus-ish prophesy. Perhaps preseason game two will reveal a savior. Cross your fingers.. and cross your legs… and cross your toes… or just kiss your crosses.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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