Like many Kansas City Chiefs fan and Kingdom comers, I was not happy with the loss they suffered in Baltimore this past Sunday evening. Not happy at all. I came away with far too many questions beginning with the defense and ending with the ending of that game on offense. However, I’m not so sure that the loss, or the way the Chiefs lost, amounts to enough for me to feel, panic. High hopes have become the rallying cry for far too many Chiefs fans who appear to be stuck in a panic at the disco vortex.
Panic or Chill #1: Mahomes’ INT
Should fans be worried that Grand Master QB Patrick Mahomes, who had previously become impervious to losing in September, is now a fallible human. I have news for you: he always was. Our expectations have grown so incredibly high for this man that even a one-point loss has skewed our vision and we see through a glass darkly. Too darkly.
Panic or Chill #2: Edwards-Helaire’s Fumble
Even though Clyde Edwards-Helaire had never fumbled before, he’s been the target of a lot of hurtful comments since Sunday night. I refuse to castigate a player who hasn’t shown the slightest proclivity for fumbling. I agree with what Daniel Harms has said about the fumble and the INT mentioned above:
“What are the odds Mahomes throws his first September pick and CEH has his first NFL fumble in a game the Chiefs lose by one?”
The timing of that fumble is disturbing none the less. CEH has to learn to wrap up, especially, in critical situations. Nevertheless, remember what Travis Kelce said after this game: “We’ll never point a finger and say, It’s one person’s loss. That’s not how we roll in Kansas City.”
Panic or Chill #3: Ravens 251 Rushing Yards
There’s no getting around the fact that the Chiefs defense was abysmal vs the run. However — and this is not intended to be a sliver lining‘s playbook statement –> were you really shocked by this? IOW, it wasn’t an unfamiliar stat for the Chiefs defense. They have traditionally been bad vs The Run for years now. It’s been since week 10 of the 2019 season that the Chiefs lost to an opponent in an away game. Ironically, that was against the Tennessee Titans in Nashville. Why is that significant here? Because following THAT game — when the defense allowed 225 yards rushing — everyone was calling for the Chiefs to get tougher vs the run, and they rode that mantra into a Super Bowl victory, not losing the rest of the season. The point? DC Steve Spagnuolo appears quite capable of making adjustments to minimize the damage an opponent can do on the ground, while maintaining a terrific pass defense.
Panic or Chill #4: Bad, Really Bad, Tackling
I’m as concerned about this one as the next guy, but I also understand that defenses start the season slower than many offenses and specifically because during the offseason, and preseason: defenses can’t practice what they must do (tackle), while offenses can. Here’s what I mean by that: an offense can practice the running game and more than that, they can practice the passing elements of their attack completely, 100%. All the while, the defense is told to “simulate” tackling. Sure, they practice tackling dummies, but that’s nowhere near the same as game action when they’re asked to follow through and drive through a runner or wideout and take them to the ground, to completion. There’s just no way to practice that. It’s all faux football for the defense, which means the most violent part of the game is missing for them in every part of the offseason… and until the bullets are really flying in actual games, they can’t get back in the habit.
Part of the problem may be the personnel that Spags is sending onto the field. From Charles Goldman at ChiefsWire:
“According to Pro Football Focus, [Daniel] Sorensen leads the NFL in missed tackles with nine missed tackles through the first two weeks of the season. That’s three more missed tackles than the next closest defender and seven more missed tackles than anyone else on the Chiefs.”
What may be more disturbing about Sorensen’s playing 100% of the defensive snaps is Andy Reid’s take on Juan Thornhill’s 11 snaps in the game vs the Ravens, when he said:
Sure, they know more about a player’s health and ability to jump back into games following an injury, but Thornhill looked great in preseason games and that included two INTs, one a diving grab, a sensational play. So, why would Thornhill play on 54 (95%) of the snaps agains the Browns, but only 11 snaps vs the Ravens? Not only that, but Thornhill put his hat on the ball in the Browns game forcing a timely fumble.
“Lucy… er, Spags… you got sum splainin to do!”
Panic or Chill #5: The “No Willie Gay” Excuse/Reason
I’ll not debate the difference between an excuse and a reason here, but it’s hard o see that one individual could make such a huge difference in a game like that. Although… also not that hard to see that — WIllie Gay — could have made a one point difference disappear. While I don’t like to fall into the trap of “woulda-coulda-shoulda”… it does seem like adding Willie Gay will make a difference in the future, should the Chiefs meet the Ravens in the playoffs.
Panic or Chill #6: Chris Jones is not a DE
Yes, I’ve heard that one. I also heard that he should be moved back into the DT position permanently, because he’s extremely successful there and the Chiefs could have used his push there vs the Ravens and Lamar Jackson. Chris Jones is a straight ahead, downhill rushing monster, whether he’s lined up at DE or DT. The challenge for him is when he is asked to set the edge vs a shifty RB or QB. He doesn’t have the same ability to crouch down low, flip his hips, and mirror a back as that back attempts to make his fake. Frank Clark does have the ability and skill level.
When setting the edge, CJ becomes a stranger caught in a strange land and looks frozen in space. His usefulness vs. mobile QBs running the RPO to his outside shoulder will continue to be a problem for him, especially against QBs like Jackson, Cam Newton and maybe Russel Wilson or Teddy Bridgewater. The league is mostly filled with stationary QBs, like Justin Herbert, so CJ’s utilization at DE should be effective moving forward, mostly. However, if Brendan Daly and Steve Spagnuolo can’t see what I can see, they’re in big trouble in little china.
Panic or Chill #7: The Rushing Disparity
This oen is not just about the ineffectiveness of CEH, bu this play is certainly part of it. Many believe “The Way” to beat the CHiefs is to control the clock and run the ball effectively. The Ravens did both. The Ravens won the Time of Possession battle: 35:59 to 24:01. That’s one second shy of Baltimore dominating the ball 60% of he time. While I’m not pooh-poohing that stat, we’ve seen these CHiefs win without winning the ToP battle. That means, the rushing disparity is even more critical in this case. The Ravens had 18 first down runs while the Chiefs had only two.
Now, I’m not saying K.C. needs to run the ball more on first down, heavens, that’s one of Andy Reid’s most typical — and more importantly, predictable, play calls. Part of the problem is, Reid doesn’t mix the play calling up enough to keep the defense guessing, and that’s exactly what the Ravens accomplished against the Chiefs on Sunday evening. If I told you, before the game, that one team would rush for 251 yards and the other team would rush for 62 yards, who would you have predicted the winner to be?
It took what CBS Sports called a “glittering performance” by Lamar Jackson to beat the Chiefs by one point.
“Jackson became the fifth player and fourth quarterback in league history to reach 3,000 career rushing yards in fewer than 500 carries, via NBC Sports.”
It took a many situations going right for the Ravens to come out with a one point win. Perhaps Lamar Jackson is a better quarterback than many have given him credit for being, especially those in Chiefs Kingdom. However, Chiefs Kingdom has been starved for a premiere QB for decades so when he appears — in the form of Patrick Mahomes — it’s hard to see that any other QB could also be very good. Which, Lamar Jackson is. No, he’s not Patrick Mahomes good, but he’s excellent at what he does — like using his legs — and K.C. allowed him to use his legs to win this one.
Panic or Chill: Summary
Andy Reid has often said before that a game comes down to a few plays and that’s exactly what happened this time around, only K.C. came out on the losing end of the equation. While the loss was hurtful, it was just one loss and nothing to get panicked about. With LB Willie Gay back in the future… plus more snaps for Juan Thornhill… plus the proper usage of Chris Jones, inside as well as outside… plus improved tackling on defense (I hope, I hope, I hope)… plus 15 more games under this Offensive Line’s belt… plus improved play by Clyde Edwards-Helaire… pus adjustments to the defense by Steve Spagnuolo… plus a possible home crowd at Arrowhead… it appears this game will long be forgotten by the time the playoffs role around. In the meantime, other teams need to watch out, starting with the Chargers.
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Ladner Morse — ArrowheadOne
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