Eye in the Sky Report with John Cooney

Eye in the Sky Report

2016 Kansas City Chiefs

August 15, 2016

By John Cooney

Senior Staff Writer for Fantasy Football Mastermind

We have a game versus a hostile hoard in the books and the “L” hung on the Chiefs by Seattle is far from important here.

I saw more than a few encouraging positives from the tilt against the Seahawks. QB Alex Smith looks incredibly comfy and confident now in Coach Reid’s playbook. This truly is Smith’s offense now and he has a field presence that just screams, “MINE!” The KC passer is still a game manager and far from a fantasy football weekly contributor; he’s still barely QB2 material. But on the real turf Smith flat-out knows every route, every read, makes every adjustment at the line and gains just enough yards to keep drives alive and get his offensive unit within scoring proximity for Coach Reid to maintain his blueprint scheme.

Alex Smith’s top stand-in is already clear and unquestioned; Nick Foles. Foles jumped in under center and looked as if he’s been wearing a KC uniform for 3-seasons. The former Coach Reid pick in Philly also showed poise and an obvious comfort zone in his first pre-season session for the Chiefs. The one bugaboo that has killed Foles the past 2 seasons and still is quite present is his propensity to sail his passes high, hit or miss. He tends to hang his receivers out to dry and potentially get waxed by closing DBs or charging LBs. The missed throws sail dangerously past his intended targets and are fair game for opposing ball-hawks. Watching the game film from his first season in Philly under Coach Kelly, the one where Foles was razor sharp tossing 27 TDs and just 2 picks, Foles was quick with his delivery and at worst chest-high in ball placement. No doubt Coach Reid will be working on Foles’ footwork to get the ball delivered with better trajectory. Aaron Murray, Tyler Bray and Kevin Hogan were adequate (Murray), wild (Bray) to kinda woeful (Hogan). There is a feeling of relief and confidence now with Foles backing up Smith.

Another big plus was the rushing attack, even without Jamaal Charles (sat out this one). Spencer Ware and Charcandrick West bulldozed and blazed through the usually rough-n-tumble Seattle defense. Yes, some of the work was against the ‘Hawks 2-stringers, but the RBs, and the O-line, dominated play, as they should versus an opponents’ subs. Fanballers got a clear look into the blueprint for the backs here. Spence Ware burst through the line between the tackles with fire and power. His game-capper was a 1-yard burrow up the middle into paydirt. Ware IS the ground game grinder inside the 5 and will be all season. West dodged, darted and dashed his way to chunks of yards between the 20s. Ware may have the upper hand on West in depth chart seeding, but in a Charles-less attack during the real season, my money is on West getting the majority of touches; his toolbox most resembles Charles’. Add in an eager and ready Jamaal Charles and the backfield is a winner. Fantasy GMs can make hay with Charles as a RB1, Ware as a TD-making fill-in with a tad of stand-alone value some weeks, and West as Charles direct handcuff.

The receiving group, WRs and TEs, is now chocked full of talent and able to challenge most defensive backfields this year. Jeremy Maclin is completely in-sync with QB Alex Smith. They are a natural pitch-n-catch tandem. Maclin becomes especially “hot” when Smith starts breaking out of the pocket, extending a play. No one wideout has separated from the pack to become the clean WR2 for the Chiefs, but it’s not for a lack of performance. On the contrary, each wideout has had his training camp moments to make a case for snaps.

On the field of play that is a wonderful problem for Coach Reid to have, but for fanballers it’s just a murky muddled mess.

It is already evident that rookie Tyreek Hill draws the attention of DBs as soon as he steps onto the field. Hill’s speed is remarkable and he is a slicker route runner than projected. More astonishing is his strong and sure hands. You’ll miss Hill’s stat line in the box-score if you skim too fast — 1 catch-4 yards — but just seeing his game nuance along with the threatening wheels is enough to know he’s got something special going on. The racing rookie may be set for kick returns for most of his 2016 campaign, but it will be darn hard for the KC coaches to keep Hill confined to that role if he continues to stand-out as consistently as he has since donning a Chiefs’ jersey.

Another WR stand-out in the game is mostly forgotten De’Anthony Thomas. DAT was fast, super-sharp in cutting his tree, fluidly and sure-handed against the Seahawks. I had to do a double-take to make sure it was DAT snagging the ball and ripping through his breaks like a seasoned, savvy wideout. One more WR note to smile about; Rod Streater. The former dark-sider (Raider) uses his impressive size well and knows how to get behind DBs. He’s a better router than I expected. As Ladner Morse of ArrowheadOne.com (great site for K.C. fans, check it out) describes,

“Rod Streater made the play of the game.” Ladner goes on, “That play made me think, “We’ll, Rod Streater just made the roster.” After all, those were exactly the kinds of plays missing from the wide receiving corps last season.”

It’s only the 1^st game of the pre-season, and the stats were nothing to jump and shout about, but the ‘scouting tape’ shows real good work here. And we’re not even seeing what Chris Conley or Albert Wilson are to do this season. Just a few seasons ago the Kansas City’s WR unit couldn’t sniff the endzone, closing 2013 with a big, fat “0” in the receiving TD column. This group is so far removed from that disaster…. it’s a thrill watching them work.

TE is all about Travis Kelce; end of that evaluation.

How ‘bout that offensive line! The front 5 opened gaping lanes for both Ware and West to bolt through, while also displaying excellent mobility kicking out the edges when West looked to pop into the 2^nd level towards the sidelines. RBs West, Ware, Darren Reaves and Knile Davis rushed a combined 27 times for a popping 4.9 YPC, and the Ware score. It was an impressive performance by the grunts, from starters to reserves. Yes there were a couple of hiccups. Center Mitch Morse shotgun snaps were off target and could have been disastrous. He’ll have to get that cleaned up. For now, KC’s offensive trenches are settled and the line is working like a cohesive unit.

The defensive play was erratic and choppy. Guess we can expect that until the return of stalwarts like S Eric Berry, OLBs Justin Houston and Tamba Hali, and they get Philip Gaines back to speed. CB Steve Nelson was the target of the Seahawk passers when they needed a play. Nelson had a good camp and off-season, but the real stuff is what counts, and that wasn’t a great impression by a DB. LB Ramik Wilson did impress. He is a “motor” guy that gets after the ball-carriers in a hurry, and relentlessly. I want to see more of Wilson this year, for sure. And why do QBs now try to test CB Marcus Peters? His pick of Russell Wilson at the 1 was absolutely beautiful. From the snap, you can see Peters gain the outside shoulder of ‘Hawks WR Jermaine Kearse, influence Kearse to take an inside path in his pylon route while staying between the WR and QB. Peters broke to the flag effortlessly but with great closing angle and… INT! He is a pass-defending craftsman.

Dee Ford? Paging Dee Ford.

Kicker Cairo Santos was accurate and powerful in his field goals, nailing 3, with one from 58 yards out (his best ever).

On paper this wasn’t a great effort, but on the field it was obvious Coach Reid and his staff were working through “things.” Yes, they lost on a wing and a prayer from a rookie QB to a rookie WR, and a 2-point run by an undrafted RB (Troymaine Pope, who I scouted at PASS about 3 months ago). But there’s good tape in there, and don’t be surprised to see an abundance of points in the next turn.

Ah, football is back! Let’s roll!

John Cooney is a Senior Staff Writer for Fantasy Football Mastermind.