NFL Roundup: Credit and Blame Through Four Games – Through four games, we’ve learned a lot about the Kansas City Chiefs, and the NFL. It seems like a great time to engage in some finger pointing and back patting. Credit where credit is due: the Lions’ defense is for real, Deland McCullough is heck of a RB coach, and the Bills are finally showing signs of life. Unfortunately, there’s plenty of blame to go around as well. Mitch Trubisky is wasting a great defense, John Elway is an awful GM, Dave Toub is stuck in the past and the Redskins dysfunction could ruin Dwayne Haskins. Oh yeah, and the Raiders success has overshadowed some truly awful roster management. That, plus a bonus thought about Breeland Speaks… all in this week’s wide ranging NFL Roundup.
Matt Patricia’s Defense Is For Real
Coming into their match-up, with the Chiefs, I’m not sure anyone believed the Lions had the horses to stick with Kansas City. Not only did they do so, but they managed to frustrate the league MVP, maybe a little too much. Don’t make Mahomes angry, you won’t like him when he’s angry. Well, if you’re an opposing Defensive Coordinator, you’re just not going to like him. While the reigning MVP was able to put the team on his back, and carry them to a win, once again, Chiefs learned that they have some work to do. Wide Receivers have to be able to beat press coverage, plain and simple. That should be a major focus during practice going forward. Their speed has forced most teams into playing zone, but Lions physicality, and their ability to redirect routes, will certainly be the blueprint teams follow, until the Chiefs prove they can beat it.
McCullough Making The Most of It
The Chiefs tend to promote from within, when it comes to major positions, but Deland McCullough bucked that trend, and it’s paid off, in a big way. Chiefs had an embarrassment of riches at the RB position, last year. Low and behold, they do again this year. After injuries knocked out starter, Damien Williams, and limited co-starter LeSean McCoy, many expected to see electric rookie Darwin Thompson. Instead, Darrel Williams stepped in and didn’t miss a beat. While he won’t blow anyone away with his yards per carry, Darrel gets the tough yards, when it counts. He does his best work on 3rd downs, and the goal line. In back to back weeks, with the game on the line, Chiefs have gotten the ball into Darrel’s hands. Don’t think that’s a coincidence. The main reason he came here, as an Undrafted Free Agent, in Chiefs’ crowded backfield? Deland McCullough (great story on Deland McCullough –> Here).
Skills To Pay The Bills
The New england Patriots are the universal number one, in league power rankings, and easily outmatched the Buffalo Bills, who were coming off a poor showing, last season. Unfortunately for the Patriots, someone forgot to tell the Bills that. While the ultimate result was another victory for Brady and company, the Bill’s defense harassed the Pats all day, and anything close to competent QB play from Josh Allen, could’ve easily turned the tide. It’d sure be nice to see an actual competitor emerge in an otherwise cupcake AFC East Division. Nice job Bills.
Bad News Bears, Trubisky Terrible
It’s bad enough that the Chicago Bears took Mitch Trubisky over Patrick Mahomes… and Deshaun Watson… but the fact that they traded up to get him, makes it even worse. Despite the loss of Vic Fangio, Chicago’s defense hasn’t missed a beat. They’re on par with some of the greatest defenses in the history of the league. Unfortunately, they seem destined to play out their best years hamstrung by an awful QB. Unless Chase Daniel can earn the starting job, Nagy will eventually have to put Trubisky back in. At this point, I don’t see how that could possibly end well.
John Elway as GM: A Colossal Failure
What do Brock Osweiler, Paxton Lynch, Drew Locke, and Joe Flacco have in common? They looked like competent QBs to John Elway, but proved to be just the opposite. Honestly, when Elway finally gets fired, assuming Denver’s ownership debacle is ever sorted out, he could probably get a job telling teams which QBs he likes. Could save bad teams from drafting a lot of busts. 😲
QBs are hard to find. However, running through coaches at an alarming rate is perhaps the bigger concern for Denver. Vance Joseph wasn’t great, but he produced a watchable product, with poor ingredients. Vic Fangio, hasn’t been half as good so far. You can see why Elway had high hopes for him: Chicago’s defense was otherworldly. Of course, Chicago also has something Denver doesn’t: talent across the board. Denver still has some solid players, but they’re largely aging and the pipeline of new talent has dried up.
Dave Toub Dinosaur?
The NFL is cruel place. You have to adapt or die. Bob Sutton went from a good DC, to a laughing stock, in just a few years. Far be it from me to suggest that legendary special teams coach, Dave Toub, suffer a similar fate, but it is time to talk about him. When the NFL started toying with eliminating the kickoff, Toub, and a group of Special Teams coaches, intervened, to save this aspect of the game. While their solution seems to have done a good job of eliminating severe injuries, it’s also failed to be a realistic alternative to taking the ball at the 25. If the NFL really wants to save the kickoff, they need to move the touchback spot back to the 20. At this point, the best kick returner, in the league, is averaging just over 30 yards, per return, the second best sits at just 26 yards. The risk reward calculation there is obvious. The potential gain of five yards just isn’t worth the risk of a penalty dropping you deep in your own territory. Dave Toub is a great coach, but it’s time for him to face reality and take the touchback. His stubbornness isn’t just costing Chiefs, in terms of field position. Last week, thanks to Mecole Hardman’s fumble, it almost cost them the game.
Redskins Rumblings
Thanks heavens for the stability of Chiefs ownership, coaching and front office. That’s a group that had a star QB, in Mahomes, and were willing to sit on him, for a year, so he could have a successful debut, and solid career. Not everyone is that lucky. In Washington DC, Dan Snyder, Bruce Allen, and Jay Gruden haven’t worked in sync, at all, this season, and it shows. Dwayne Haskins probably isn’t a QB Gruden wanted, in the first place, but he’s worked with the kid and protected him. A lackluster start to the season changed that. Haskings was pressed into service and predictably, sucked. Everything Gruden has said would lead you to believe that Haskins was far from ready. Why did he see the field then? Almost certainly because the front office wants to see what they have in him. Hopefully they saw enough to realize they should’ve listened to their head coach, but, with all the dysfunction there, I doubt it. Gruden will probably end up fired, and the next coach will be saddled with a QB whose confidence got obliterated by being pressed into playing a game he’s nowhere close to ready for.
Raiders Roster Roaster
It’s hard to be too down on the Raiders when they’ve actually wracked up a couple wins for once. Then again, their whole off-season has been marred by some truly head-scratching moves. Antonio Brown was an obviously toxic mess who never should’ve been traded for, tolerated, or summarily dismissed, without consequence, but Raiders did all three. The only thing remotely surprising, about Vontaze Burfict’s full season suspension, is that it didn’t happen years ago. Incognito has yet to implode, but you’ve got to figure it’s coming right? A reckless rebuild has produced results, but only time will tell if the positives outweigh the negatives.
In Conclusion…
In a surprisingly eventful season, one thing is clear: it’s good to be a Chiefs fan. While Chiefs do have some work to do, particularly on special teams, they have a competent front office and coaching staff to get the job done. The only thing that really stands in their way is the Patriots, perhaps the Bills can give an assist, by beating their arch rivals, in round two. The best possible news, for Chiefs fans, is that John Elway remains the general manager of the Broncos. With RB Damien Williams finally back, it’ll be exciting to see what Deland’s group can do against the Colts on Sunday Night Football. Should be a fun watch. Go Chiefs.
Bonus Thought: Chiefs Miss Breeland Speaks
What’s really been killing the Chiefs in the run game, has been the defensive line. Okafor, Jones, Nnadi and Williams have all been lackluster, in executing their assignments. Speaks, while not the fastest guy, is very stout, and very strong. He generally gets movement after contact. Adding him into the rotation, at both DT, and DE, would certainly have been an asset, to the run defense this year.
Ransom Hawthorne — ArrowheadOne
See you at noon today for Michael Travis Rose’ piece called,
“Ramblings of a Rose: Chiefs in Week 5”
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