Laddie Morse
The way the currently Kansas City Chiefs roster is constructed is not good enough. Not good enough to win the AFC West. Not good enough to win the Lamar Hunt trophy, and not good enough to host another Super Bowl parade. Not this year anyway. I’m not even sure these Chiefs are good enough to end the year with a winning record. Of course, I hope I’m completely wrong, but I’m also sure my hoping, is not enough.
While many Kingdom fans are thinking these Chiefs can be fixed, I have serious doubts about that happening this year. Lyle Graversen at ArrowheadAddict said on Monday,
“I love this team and I still believe in this team and that is why I refuse to accept the play that we’ve seen through five games. They are capable of better…. I just really hope the Chiefs season isn’t.”
I’m afraid to tell you this, but it looks like the Chiefs 2021 season is over. Consider all that needs fixing to make this club into a big time winner:
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The Defense First
The Defense is forcing fewer turnovers this year than in years past, by far.
The Defensive Line is perhaps the worst in the NFL. Here are here current bottom 9 teams in the NFL in sacks per game:
Chris Jones is the only keeper in this bunch and he may be playing out of position at DE. IOW, K.C. needs two defensive ends, good ones, not a Mike Danna, an Alex Okafor, a Josh Kaindoh or even a Tim Ward (it was a mistake to let him go). The popular offseason idea that the addition of Jarran Reed would help Frank Clark regain previous glory, has vanished into thin air. Now, K.C. needs to rid themselves of both players as soon as the offseason arrives. Which, may be a lot sooner than any of us cares to admit. Every other defensive lineman is just an average rotational piece. Tershawn Wharton may turn into something more. Maybe.
The Linebackers have been shoddy at best. Hitchens, Bolton, and Gay might be a good threesome but until the DL is fixed we’ll never know. In the meantime, Willie Gay is having off field issues that have kept him out of games. Anthony Hitchens is one of the worst starting LBs in the league. His 39.9 PFF ratting is given context by the ratings of LBs like: A.J. Johnson (86.6) of the Broncos (UDFA in 2018) or Matt Milano (90.4) of the Bills, or Josey Jewell (86.5) of the Broncos (4th rounder in 2018), or even Shaq Thompson of the Carolina Panthers (71.4). Anthony Hitchens making tackles 15 or 30 yards downfield is not the answer. Bolton is he only keeper of this bunch. Gay is still a total “wait-and-see” guy. Hitchens has reverted to the worst version of himself. Neimann? Oh please!
The Cornerbacks have not been able to play close man coverage and have been less than good in zone. Much of this has to do with the front seven not placing pressure on opposing QBs, but part of it is due to having no depth, or a veteran presence, like they had with Bashaud Breeland. IOW, K.C. is thin at CB.
The Safety position is in flux. With Tyrann Mathieu not re-structured, and the coaching staff not placing enough belief and support in Juan Thornhill — he’s averaging 28 defensive snaps per game in 2021 — the future of the position is an unknown. Daniel Sorensen has had a terrible year and not only misses tackles (leading the league in missed tackles at one point) but is incapable of man coverage. An AO faithful blogger, Priest-Mahomes, said yesterday: “Daniel Sorenson played 100% of the snaps so that tells you what the coaching staff thinks about him and I don’t see any changes going forward….” Therein lies the problem: until the coaches change their approach to game day starters, as far as who they utilize most, the fixes can’t, and won’t, make a difference.
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Offense Next
The Chiefs are ranked #31 in the league in the Take Away/ Give Away (Turnovers) battle with -7. FYI, the Jets and 49ers are tied for 30th with -5. The Jags are last with -10.
Quarterbacking has been sloppy. This of course all falls on the usually dependable shoulders of Patrick Mahomes. This season Mahomes has averaged 1.2 interceptions per game. Prior to this year, in all his previous campaigns combined, he average 0.4 interceptions per game. 6 of the Chiefs 11 turnovers are due to Patrick Mahomes interceptions. He also has one lost fumble.
The Offensive Line has been inconsistent. It’s hard to imagine the Offensive line playing this good when there was 100% turnover in the starting five. While some gelling still needs to take place, the dominance we have seen in one game… hasn’t carried over to each game. In the first five weeks the Chiefs have passed the ball more than they’ve run the ball, four out of five times:
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W – Browns Game – 36-to-23 – Pass Dominant
L – Ravens Game – 31-to-18 – Pass Dominant
L – Chargers Game – 44-to-30 – Pass Dominant
W – Eagles Game: 30-to-32 – Run Dominant
L – Bills Game – 54-to-23 – Pass Dominant
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The Chiefs have traditionally been a Zone Blocking team. However, now that they have the giants to blow defensive linemen over with a Power running approach, so the Chiefs coaches need to take advantage of their new found strength. That means using more Pull-blocking plays as well as Trap blocking plays, while being mindful of speedy DEs who can blow a play up if they’re running up the middle (like Gregory Rousseau did in the Bills game).
Finding more than Hill and Kelce for primary receiving options. The Bucs in SB LV, and now the Bills on Sunday evening, have shown that their DBs can remain sound in their zone approach to stopping Tyreek Hill’s deep patterns, while simultaneously mugging (literally) Travis Kelce underneath.
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That means, for K.C. to be successful this year — because every team and their grandmother’s fantasy team — will try and do the same to the Chiefs. Now, will they be successful? Not always, but the blueprint is out there now and teams will have enough success vs the Chiefs if they can continue to pressure Patrick Mahomes and force him into bad decisions.
Bad decisions like hitting Tyreek Hill in the hands (Hill was targeted 13 times while holding onto it 7 times). No, I’m not suggesting that Mahomes stops throwing the ball to Hill, he just needs to hold onto it whenever possible (Hill is have his best catch rate for the year so he’s not the problem). Travis Kelce is not the problem either and is presently the receiving yards leader for tight ends in he NFL:
Josh Gordon may be the answer. Maybe, maybe not. Mecole Hardman doesn’t look any different than he did in years past so, I doubt he’s the answer either. Until Eric Bieniemy and Andy Reid can come up with another realistic offensvie threat, their offense looks solvable. Enough so, that a long playoff run looks in serious doubt. That is, if they make he playoffs.
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The Chiefs next 6 games include: @WFT, @TEN, vNYG, vGBP, @LVR, vDAL. Even if K.C. wins all of those games (which seems unlikely if they play the way they have been), their record will be 8-and-3. The New York Giants appear to be the only for sure win, so it’s anyone’s guess beyond that. Lose one game and they’re then 7-and-4. Lose two and they’re 6-and-5. Three and it’s a 5-and-6 record. While I’m still not in the “must-win” games camp, for mathematical reasons, the options through the next six weeks should tell us all we want to know about how this season plays out.
There’s been talk now that the Chargers have the best QB in the league in Justin Herbert. Some even follow that up with Josh Allen as next best. I still believe Patrick Mahomes is the best at processing and adjusting on the fly, and that means he will likely outlast each of those others in the long run. My concerns are for the rest of the roster, the GM’s decisions, and coaching as well. The Chiefs won a lo of close game in the pas year and many have believed that was a positive sign. Now, we might see those close calls as just that: close calls. Too close for comfort. Now that the Chiefs are not only on the other side of some of those close games, they’re also on the losing end of what could be called, blowouts. That has me thinking, these Chiefs are not enough. As I said before, I hope I’m completely wrong, but I’m also sure my hoping, is not enough.
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Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne
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