Out Of Nowhere: The Offense Chiefs Fans Have Been Waiting For

For all that Andy Reid has done for KC, fans have still had their beefs with him. The frequently ineffectual screen pass, and the perennially maddening throw three yards outside the end zone on 3^rd down are just the most egregious examples. It’s my hope, however, that what we saw against the Patriots was more than just a game plan, it’s a total overhaul of the mediocre offense that’s been holding Chiefs back in the playoffs for years. Without writing 10,000 words, I’m going to do my best to highlight what’s different, why, and how it changes the outlook for the Chiefs.

Chiefs Have The Players To Make It Work

Since Reid got here, Chiefs have had the pieces to build an elite offense, but never all at once. They began with a solid OL, elite RB and good QB, but their WR core was awful and they had no good TEs. By the time they fixed those issues, Charles had torn his ACL, and never really recovered. What’s more, Chiefs OL was giving opportunities to guys like Mike McGlynn, Paul Fanaika and Jah Reid. In 2017, all the pieces are finally in place. Chiefs have a phenomenal OL, a good QB, an elite RB (yep no hedging here), an elite WR and an elite TE. This is important, because a lot of Reid’s goofy play-calling was necessary to cover up personnel deficiencies.

Same Alex Smith, Different Production

The temptation when you see an outlier performance, especially for a QB, is either to call it a fluke, or wonder if he’s changed. Neither is actually true. This is the same Alex Smith we’ve been watching since 2013. The only thing that’s changed, is his ability to set his feet. Patrick Mahomes can get away with bad footwork, because of his tremendous arm strength. Alex Smith can’t. For Smith to throw an accurate deep ball, he has to be able to set his feet and step into the throw. If Chiefs can keep Smith as clean in the pocket as they did last Thursday, he can throw the deep ball with accuracy and consistency. This, paired with his ability to read defenses and beat the blitz, makes the Chiefs offense way harder to stop.

Play Calling: A Different Direction

Players aren’t the only thing that’s changed, Reid’s play-calling, against the Pats, radically diverged from his previous tendencies. Gone were the quick hitters for short gain and the dreaded bubble screens, in their place, sideline to sideline reads that were usually designed to go for at least eight yards. Thursday’s offense held much more in common with college spread offenses than the classic West Coast Offense. Even when Smith would throw a check-down, he waited long enough to do it that the rest of the receivers had carried the coverage down the field. That leaves a lot more space for the short routes to operate. This play to Demetrius Harris demonstrates that well. Reid spreads the field, Smith goes through his reads, and finally checks down to Harris. Ross Travis’ defender has to pass him off to take Kareem Hunt, who filters through the line. This means Malcolm Butler has to take Travis, or he’ll be wide open, but Butler was covering Harris. Once Butler shifted to cover Travis, Smith threw to Harris who had plenty of room to run for eight yards, because the single high safety had to filter through a ton of traffic to get there.

An Offense That Strikes Fear

The bottom line is, the combination of new players, better play-calling and enhanced production from veterans, due to better support, has drastically improved the offense. Andy Reid and Alex Smith finally have the weapons at their disposal to strike fear into the hearts of Defensive Coordinators. I think Chiefs fans are about to see what the vaunted Andy Reid pass offense is really supposed to look like. As long as Hunt, Kelce, Hill and the OL stay healthy, I think we’re in for an incredible season. Go Chiefs!

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