Chiefs: Release the Hounds!

Chiefs: Release the Hounds! – in a bizarre set of circumstances on Sunday after one quarter, the Kansas City Chiefs found themselves behind the Houston Texans 24-to-0. What did they do? Did they panic at the disco? Did they hide their heads in the sand? Did they cry for mommy? Nope to all of the above. I’ll tell you what they did: the Chiefs released the hounds.

If the Chiefs can apply the same game plan to the coming contest against the Tennessee Titans this coming Sunday in Arrowhead Stadium, they should be well on their way to winning the Lamar Hunt trophy for the first time ever and then on to Miami in February to play the NFC representative in the Super Bowl.

As many of you may know, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid likes to script the first 15 plays of a game. Which really just means he likes to give his inner-control-freak an early birthday present each week. After that, he makes adjustments to his offensive game plan according to how they’re doing of course. Reid has been attempting to implement a balance between the running game and passing games but when he went down by 24 points after one period of play last Sunday, he locked his Dr. Jekyll in the injury tent and then let his Mr. Hyde out to play havoc on the opposition. The result paid huge dividends.

That’s the unbridled offensive approach the Chiefs need to take this Sunday if they want to whip the Titans: IOW, release the hounds! How do you get the hounds to go crazy? Sometimes, all it takes is a spark:

Am I saying to take the, “Out score them approach?” Yes. Now, to do that, Reid will have to allow his defensive coordinator to hang In the wind, in a sense. If the defense has to spend most of the first half on the field, and allow a higher time of possession to go to the Titans, so be it. The reason for that is simple. By the middle of the third period, by using this approach, the Chiefs should be so far ahead that the Titans will have to abandon their running game and go to a pass first attack… which they don’t really have. In the Titans last two games, their QB, Ryan Tannehill has thrown for 72 yards vs. the Patriots in their Wildcard game and then threw for 88 yards vs the Ravens in their divisional contest. That’s not good. In fact, it’s epically bad.

If the Chiefs offense can do the road runner thingy and leave their Wily Coyote opponent in the dust, it won’t even matter if they bring Marcus Mariota back in to try and save their ship. Reid I’m sure is aware, Mariota will continue to be in Titans HC, Mike Vrabel’s, game plans:

The reason I think the Chiefs need to go aerial-postal is also simple. Once the Chiefs offense forces the Titans into a come from behind position… the Chiefs defense can also: release the hounds. It’s much easier for a defense to plan their attack when one of the offensive options their going against have been eliminated.

If the Chiefs try to slug it out and run the ball to control the game, just like the Titans do, they’ll put the result in great jeopardy. The Titans have averaged 138.9 rushing yards per game, while the Chiefs have averaged 98.1 ypg so using an approach that attempts to beat them at their own game would likely be disastrous. The Chiefs need to do what they’re good at — passing the ball –even if it means throwing their defense back out on the field repeatedly, early on. Just remember, sooner or later, the defense will get a stop and the Chiefs will play their version of “Gone in 60 Seconds.”

In 2019, the Chiefs offense finished 5th in the NFL in passing yards per game with 281.1. The Titans offense finished 21st in the league and produced 223.9 passing ypg.

The Chiefs defense finished 8th in the league allowing only 221.4 ypg while the Titans defense finished 24th in the league allowing 255.0 ypg. 

Consequently, the Chiefs approach should be to pass the ball deep and wide, over the the river and through the woods, iow, as often as possible, until they create a huge lead… then… pass it some more. Reid should be able to see that turning on the offensive hyperdrive on Sunday is what won the day. Hopefully he carries that realization forward. He certainly respects what it takes to win the AFC championship:

The Chiefs will also need to go for it more on 4th down, especially in the red zone. The Reason? Because the Titans don’t kick many FGs once they get to the red zone themselves.

That’s likely due to the fact that they run the ball so well. However, once the Chiefs take a sizable lead like they did last Sunday, that should all change. So, I say, release the hounds… and after that, you can plan your trip for Miami.

Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne

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