The Kansas City Chiefs have had the best offseason in memory. As David Bell often says, Brett Veach had the best two month swing ever when he completely rebuilt the offensive line. I don’t know if any of you have been attempting to watch NBA Summer league games, but I find them completely unwatchable, and I’m a pretty big NBA fan (the Dallas Mavericks are my team). While I used to feel that way about NFL preseason games, nothing could be further from the truth now. Every snaps is important to understanding how the Chiefs put this team together.
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Andy Reid likes to remind his players, that if you don’t make the team, this is an opportunity to put some good tape out there. That makes the third and fourth quarters of these so-called “meaningless” game highly meaningful to those who have their bubble burst. Or, in the case of many wide receivers or offensive linemen – areas where the Chiefs are now loaded – it’s the chance of a lifetime to show the league what they’ve got. The first thing I want to look for are…
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The Gamers vs. The Suicide Squad
If you read my recent piece on Orlando Brown, then you know I’ll be watching him to see if he indeed is the Gamer we all believe him to be and will step up his game on game day. The flip side of the fence is, there are some players who never do rise to the occasion, and that’s the end for them. They may be good in practice, but it never seems to translate to games. Anyone who can take that step is likely going to find his way onto the roster. Of course, the Chiefs usually give their own draft picks an extra year, sometimes two, to figure it out. However, in the end, if they can’t make it happen in these “practice” (preseason) games, then they, in all likelihood, aren’t going to see their name on the 53 man roster come September.
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Special Teams Specialists
Some players can only ever get as far as Dave Toub vouching for them. A few years back, K.C. drafted wide receiver Tremon Smith in the 6th round, and he made his impact on Special teams as a return man, but eventually never made his presence felt as a wideout. Then… poof… he was gone. He has seen time at Green Bay and in Indianapolis, and now is a member of the Texans (if he’s on the Texans roster, that should tell you all you need to know). However, he’s never played one snap of offense for any of the teams he’s been on.
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There are plenty of roles on Special Teams. Many of those roles are already defined, or in the case of players, the role is taken. Like the punter, the kicker (of field goals), and the long snapper. However, many roles are open for audition and that’s what I’ll have my eyes on tomorrow when the Chiefs travel to the 49ers.
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Those open auditions on Special Teams include: Jammers, Gunners, Blockers and Returners. The “returner” role is especially important because in the recent years, K.C has had some of the best return men fielding the ball. However, when Dave Toub and Andy Reid settle on a return man, he usually has his role reduced elsewhere so he can be ready as a returner. Since we anticipate Mecole Hardman having a bigger role in the offense, it’s critical to see who else they send back there to return Kickoffs and Punts.
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Two years ago, in Mecole Hardman’s rookie season, he made the Por Bowl as a returner. Prior to that, Tyreek Hill was one of the league’s most dangerous and shiftiest return men in the NFL and has only taken on the returners role in limited situations. Consequently, it’s going to be a dog fight to see who grabs that role and runs with it. Literally.
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Practice In Action
Preseason games are like live action practices, only the players look forward to hitting players that aren’t on their own team. There’s an unspoken code among players on the same team that you don’t hit a player so hard in practice that you cause them injury. This is one big reason players look forward to preseason game. The free will to… damn the torpedoes!
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Hitting is Not Tackling
Steve Spagnuolo has said he’s looking out for players who can do more than just hit the opponent. Since all the Chiefs players have been limited to only “hitting”… as opposed to completely wrapping up to finish a tackle, it’ll be interesting to see who can make that transition easily. In other words… it’s time to jack somebody up! While wrapping up of course!
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UDFA or Players That Stick
These are the games when players like Daniel Sorensen and Ben Niemann have made their mark. Now, we’re looking at the Chiefs most recent batch of UDFAs a=to see who will break out. Those players include:
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Others to Watch
There are plenty of others to watch out for… for one reason or another. Some of those include:
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Naturally, I’ll have my eyes fixed on the men in the trenches, at least in the first quarter. Everything starts up front and since the Chiefs have a newly rebuilt OL, and a vastly improved DL, it’ll be interesting to see just how good each can be… especially early on, which is when I expect the Chiefs to use their starters. Game Day, it’s almost here. It may only be a preseason game, but we finally, finally, have Chiefs football to watch. This past offseason has seemed like the longest ever, when in reality, anytime your team plays in the Super Bowl, the offseason is truncated. One more day! We can make it. I think. Go Chiefs!
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Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne
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