Chiefs: Grading the Rookies After Week Two – Alan Haupt and David Bell – PART 1 – Both Alan and David believe that they should examine the performance of the Chiefs rookies and their impact on the team. In doing so, it was decided to wait until the numbers were in for week 2. It would give them a larger sample size and see how well the players did in being consistent in their play and contribution. Week Two will likely see increased snaps or shifts in player assignment. Within this framework we examine and “Grade” the individual players, their snap counts, and plays which are worthy of note and their overall performance.
This is PART 1 and PART 2 will come tomorrow morning.
Brett Veach may just have had his best draft yet. After the draft was ended, Laddie Morse and David Bell reviewed the draft and then wrote a joint set of articles examining the Offense, Defense, Special Teams, as well as the Coaching Staff. That was summarized with additional observations by Alan Haupt interspersed with each draft pick as shown. Recently, Ransom Hawthorn wrote a very good piece on the Chiefs Rookie Class. If you have not read it, please refer to the article here, “Right Out The Gate: Chiefs Rookies Show Promise, Yet Will Be Tested.“
The Rookies: Two Games In
David’s Take on Clyde Edwards-Helaire – If you recall, I stayed up late analyzing Clyde’s numbers, videos, pundit and scout advocacy and the day after I pronounced that he was a steal at position 32 in the draft. At that point, Laddie chipped in believing the same thing. This was viewed by both of us as an improved position group and stronger with greater depth. CEH’s first week informed us that CEH had all that was required in order to excite Patrick and to scare the rest of the league. In the 2nd game we saw average stats from CEH but you must note that he had several runs that were called back on penalties as well as a significant pass reception. We are glad to see Clyde get the pass reception done. He won’t fret about it in the future. In the 2nd game versus the Chargers, Clyde’s first carry of the game went for 18 yards. The rest of the game’s status are from the next nine attempts for total of only 38. He did have several runs that gained significant yards called back due to penalties as well. The Chargers defense kept him bottled up, or rather the defensive front four controlled the line of scrimmage. CEH also had a 25 yard catch, late in the 4th quarter, similarly to the big runs, this was negated by a penalty. That reception though demonstrated his prowess as a receiver. DC’s around the NFL will have to make a decision about how to stop the Chiefs Offense as Clyde expands that prowess.
In his post game comments following the Houston contest, Andy reid said, “It was good to get our young backs some carries and experience.”
Alan’s take on Clyde Edwards-Helaire – Andy Reid said he wanted to establish the run threat early in the game against Houston. I truly believe The Chiefs wanted to draft a RB that would give them a legitimate run threat, so that they could once again establish a play action threat. A part of Reid’s philosophy that they have not truly had since moving on from Kareem Hunt. In 2018, Patrick Mahomes had 37 TDS in his first 11 games, for a per game average of 3.3 (with Kareem Hunt). In the last 5 games that year, Patrick’s TDs went down to 13, for an average per game of 2.6 (after Kareem Hunt left the team). In just 1 game we saw enough from CEH:
Game 1: 25-for-138 yards – most yards ever by a RB with Mahomes
Game 2: 10-for-38 yards – plus 6 receptions for 383 yard
That should excite Patrick and simultaneously scare the rest of the league. In the 2nd game we saw average stats from CEH. His 1st carry of the game went for 18 yards, then the remaining carries of the game the Chargers defense kept him bottled up. He had a 25 yard catch, late in the 4th quarter and while a Chiefs penalty negated it, that showed his potential as a receiver. Now, the Defensive Coordinator’s around the league must decide whether to contain the Chiefs speedsters and the quick scoring long game or… attempt to stop CEH in rushing and short passes.
David Bell’s Take on Willie Gay, Jr. – A view of Willie Gay is limited due to the fact that he has not been used on defense save 6 snaps in week 2. His S/T’s play in week 2 came up with a block on a punt. This view about Gay is that he possibly could have been a round 1 selection but non-football behaviors cost him most of his Senior year. Those histrionics ended in his dismissal from the football team. This however, was key to Brett Veach being able to make Gay his 2nd round selection. Gay was a second steal in the draft for Veach, and I’m very high on his talent, skill and especially: speed and nose for the ball. Please see Laddie’s article about Linebackers published on September 22nd. His view is that the current LB’s are almost “Fraudulent.” Review the article here, especially for his remarks about he Linebackers.
Our difficulty in assessing Gay in the first two games is that his snaps are limited on defense. He had none in week one and only 6 in week two.
Alan’s Take on Willie Gay Jr. was that: we had seen a few good highlights of Willie in training camp, and he showed his pass coverage abilities. He got no snaps with the defense in week 1, but did have Special Teams snaps. He had 6 defensive snaps and some reps on special teams in week 2, showing his athleticism while blocking a punt. Multiple media personnel have led us to believe that Willie does not yet know the defensive schemes of Spagnuolo. Also, the Linebacker position can be more difficult to learn than other positions. Pundit’s have written that, too much too fast would be harmful to his development. We must remember he did not play much in college — only 5 games his last year. As a 2nd round pick we expect to see results quickly but my perspective on Gay leading into week 3 is that the Chiefs would be well served to use him as an option on 2nd and 3rd down (passing downs).
On Monday, David and Laddie discussed the play of the starting linebackers. Both of them believe that Gay should be a player who should get many more snaps. According to PFF, Hitchens had a rating of under 30% effectiveness. When compared to the top LB in the NFL, he is trailing by more than 70%. Damien Wilson had a bit better rating but was very lowly ranked as well which was 48%. This is poor linebacker play to say the least. Willie Gay and Dorian O’Daniel would certainly provide better coverage in the pass game than either of the starters… or Ben Niemann to boot. Their ability to pursue laterally is superior also and both possess the “speed factor” which the other players in the mix do not have. I’m more reserved than David or Laddie, but watching the snaps in game two for the 3rd time tells me in general that the use of both O’Daniel and Gay will expand in week 3. Note that the deficit learning the defense is crucial to the fit of players on the field, but that on passing downs, that natural instinct and ball play will be adequate to the task of getting more snaps.
Each of us view Gay as a future linebacker as a starter and would be the best among the players before the end of his rookie season.
David’s Take on L’Jarius Sneed – Sneed was a versatile player and I saw him as a good pick later in the draft. He was heavily discounted to the school and conference he played in. I decided that he was a round 2 type talent and a total steal in round 4. Laddie and I discussed selecting Sneed at the time and again a few days ago. His speed and versatility makes him the perfect fit for the Spagnuolo hybrid or base defense. Among the first four picks, Sneed should be a good choice for the All-Rookie team. When Alan reviewed Sneed’s play in the first two game his viewpoint buttressed the pre-season outlook that Ladner and I had.
Alan’s Take on L’Jarius Sneed – In game 1, Sneed only allowed 2 catches for 19 yards on 7 targets of his 33 coverage snaps. When lined up outside, he didn’t allow a single catch. Most of Sneed’s reps came playing press coverage, and he has already shown the ability to cover WRs in press/man coverage from the line of scrimmage. Sneed also had an interception. This was due to the pass rush of Tyrann Mathieu which forced an errant throw from Deshaun Watson (in game one). To note this is to observe the way the secondary feasts on errors, errant passes and hurried throws. Over all, Sneed allowed just a 3.5 passer rating when targeted.
Tomorrow morning we’ll present to you PART 2 of: “Grading the Rookies After Week Two“… see you then.
Alan Haupt and David Bell — ArrowheadOne
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