Chiefs: Nothing is Perfect

Chiefs: Nothing Is Perfect

by David Bell | November 16,2018

I think fans are spoiled. Suddenly the offense doesn’t score 35 points. Mahomes found it difficult to make plays but still did. Enough to win the game and score 26 points. It’s true that Andy Reid went to clock management at the end of the game and yes they might have scored at least twice in the fourth Quarter.  When the offense took a step backwards due to the oppositions game plan and in a game where the offense was only in sync for the first score, having a defense that could turn out a good performance was crucial to adding a win to the book.

Team Stability and Andy Reid

I have written about the 3’Cs in my various articles over the years but with one exception the team has. The exception is stupid 5 yard penalties and that drives me to total distraction.

What Andy Reid has brought to the franchise is “Stability” and he has taught the team to believe they will win. No matter how much critique I level at him, Reid is a damned fine Head Coach. It’s time he gets to the Super Bowl and gets a win. The Chiefs have had 5 winning seasons since Reid’s arrival. All but one of those five seasons ended up in the playoffs. We have one playoff win though, in those four trips. It’s time to kick that albatross in the ass and say good bye to that one.

Additional Tidbits on Cards at Chiefs

Arrowhead Pride had a good article on the Chiefs defensive line – gelling at the right time. I could rave about Chris Jones, but Allen Bailey had a very good game. He didn’t get a sack but made significant plays in the pass rush and run defense. Special recognition should also go to Derrick Nnadi. He is doing well stopping the run but also is occupying blockers and shoving a single opponent into the bottom end of the pocket. That’s good stuff. This was observed by AP and also by The Athletic.

Xavier Williams garnered attention from Seth Keyser in his piece at the athletic, observing that he used quickness and his feet  to put put pressure on opposing blocks. Both observations are valid.

I like the contribution of Nnadi as it fits the Chiefs need to have that plug in the middle who can fend off blocks(uses his hands very well). Nnadi is stout enough to take on a double team. He is not a pass rushing nose tackle but plays well in the one-technique role. That aids the Defensive ends and helps the ILBs stay clean to make plays. That factor alone is valuable.

ILB play was improved in this game from the framework of Reggie Ragland having an aggressive game against the opposition, picking the hole to get to and stopping the runner – this is how Ragland is best suited to playing the ILB. Sutton used both Niemann and O’Daniel to play next to Ragland.

The O’Daniel Slash Sorensen Combo

Bob Sutton went with using O’Daniel and Sutton on the field at the same time. This worked well in both stopping the run and covering passes in the short and intermediate levels. Of course it help that Rosen was under pressure so much of the time as well.

Daniel Sorensen and Dorian O’Daniel offer a lot of moxie in pass coverage and attacking the run game outside. That was beneficial to the Chiefs holding the Cardinals under 100 yards rushing for the game. Sorensen had a re-learning curve in his first outing back but looked comfortable in play after a bit of uncertainty. I noted that he was making tackles (6 total) in this game and that was important. He was back in a comfortable role in run-defense support, especially outside and open field and making those tackles is important… getting the angle and forcing the runner to go the way you want him to go and then making the stop. Sorensen did well at this.

Eric Berry, where are you?

Oh. here it is again: When will Eric Berry Be back?

Reid in Reid’s Head

I do think Andy Reid gets too much in his head in play-calling and this was evident much in the 2^nd half stalls. Instead of calling plays that get Mahomes strength on short field passes to get the ball out quick, Reid went to the run at the wrong time and called pass plays that took time to set up while Patrick was under an onslaught by the Cards pass rush. My bottom line is… this was Reid’s first poor game at play-calling. I think that this is true of the game in the 2^nd half. In the first half, the players themselves shot themselves in the foot if anything.

On to the Rams but, it won’t be in Mexico

The Rams are not in Mexico, rather they are home in LA. But all of you knew this was the case so it is merely an observation.

“ I want to die in Mexico, with two senoritas right and left and a handful of margaritas… It should be ‘Under the Volcano’ at any rate.” ~David Bell, 2018

The Rams now have a home game. I had originally decided that I would project this as a Chiefs loss. I am not sure that it will be the shootout that everyone thinks it will be either. Oh, I think the total points will be about 50 but that is not 100 or more. I was pleased enough with the defense to think that during the game the Chiefs would get 4 or 5 stops—like that. The Chiefs showed they could be stopped as well so we will see what happens.

This is a game I have looked forward to since early out of the gate. I have now concluded that this game is a toss-up but that the Chiefs win. How else do you think I should have predicted the outcome?

My Prediction: Chiefs 38, Rams 34.

David Bell – ArrowheadOne

If you are viewing this in Apple News and would like to join the Discussion, [GO HERE.](http://arrowheadone.com/chiefs-nothing-is-perfect/#disqus_thread)