A historical progression of fan involvement in the process of their favorite team’s business moves has increased ten-fold over the past couple of decades. Take the very idea of Peter King’s “Monday Morning Quarterback.” The internet has given everyone a voice and for some, a certain amount of influence. It’s akin to giving a “back seat driver” Presidential Pardon power… or at least a power equal to those directions that Siri often gets so wrong (I nearly ended up in south K.C. on Thanksgiving day when I’d asked Siri for an address in NKC). For Kansas City Chiefs fans, we spend most of our time playing the what-if game as in, what-if I was the the GM or… what-if I was the Head coach.
To take this a step further, fans in Kansas City don’t reach the place they’re at now, very often. What place might that be? The “what-if-I-was-the-owner” place. Many are prepared for owner Clark Hunt to fire head coach Andy Reid even though Reid’s contract was extended last summer making the duration of his contract nine years in all, with four more to go. Perhaps an even greater number of fans are ready for Reid to fire Defensive Coordinator Bob Sutton… which is one of the reasons they’d like Reid fired, because he hasn’t fired Sutton.
So, let’s assess some blame here for some specific events and or performances. Let’s begin by…
Assessing Blame for Bob Sutton
The Run Defense- everyone agrees the Chiefs inability to stop the run was a major contributing factor in the team’s overall won-loss record but more importantly, their early exit from the playoffs, again. So, what changed from 2016 to 2017? First of all, let’s get some stats correct. The Chiefs were 25th in total yards allowed rushing in 2017 and 15th in total points allowed rushing. In 2016 they were 7th in total yards allowed rushing and 7th in total points allowed rushing. The pass defense went from 15th in 2016 to 29th in 2017 (yards allowed). So, yes there was a significant fall-off in 2017.
1) Safety Eric Berry was lost for the year to injury. Yes, Berry does help keep other teams from running away with the game, literally and figuratively. NOT BOB SUTTON’S FAULT.
2) Inside Linebacker Derrick Johnson returned from an Achilles injury but was a shadow of himself. NOT BOB SUTTON’S FAULT.
3) Nose Tackle Dontari Poe was released in part because the team could not afford him. They signed Bennie Logan to be their run stopper. NOT BOB SUTTON’S FAULT.
4) New GM Brett Veach traded for second year rookie Reggie Ragland (because he was injured his real rookie campaign) and it took him three-quarters of the season to become an effective run stopper. NOT BOB SUTTON’S FAULT.
5) The RCB position was a musical chairs game this season ending with the signing of Darrelle Revis because the other 19 guys who’d played there were useless.NOT BOB SUTTON’S FAULT… MAYBE.
6) The choice to go into ‘prevent-defense” mode whenever the Chiefs had the lead (this coincided with the Chiefs ‘sitting on the lead” offensively and running the ball when everyone knew what they’d do). YES, IT WAS BOB SUTTON’S FAULT.
7) Using Justin Houston in coverage at critical times in the game instead of having him rush the passer. YES, IT WAS BOB SUTTON’S FAULT.
8) Choosing to not draft a CB, early in the draft, one who might have been able to help with the pass defense. NOT BOB SUTTON’S FAULT.
9) OLB Dee Ford was placed on IR following week 8 after only starting 6 games this year.NOT BOB SUTTON’S FAULT.
10) Slot CB Steven nelson was out the first 7 weeks of the season.NOT BOB SUTTON’S FAULT.
11) The defense consistently failed to get pressure on he QB. MAYBE THAT WAS BOB SUTTON’S FAULT.
I’m going with a “Maybe” on number 11 because when you have less to work with… you usually get less.
Let is be known that when I set out to write this piece, I had no idea that so little of the blame would be given to Bob Sutton. I’ve been of the opinion that he should have been fired two weeks ago. After all, someone needs to take the hit for the continued lack of success in the playoffs… right?
Well, maybe that person is not Bob Sutton.
Assessing Blame for Andy Reid
Since Andy Reid has been involved in the offensive play-calling — and some consider him an offensive guru — let’s begin with his offense’s performance. They went from 20th in total offense (yards gained) in 2016 all the up to 5th in 2017.
1) The team spent draft picks and moved up to draft RB Kareem Hunt who became rookie of the year. CREDIT IS GIVEN WHETE CREDIT IS DUE
2) WR Tyreek Hill was promoted to the #1WR position and he gained over 1,000 yards. CREDIT IS GIVEN WHETE CREDIT IS DUE
3) TE Travis Kelce targets have gone up every year since he became a regular starter in his second season plus his targets per game also increased from 7.3 per game in 2016 to 8.2 per game in 2017. CREDIT IS GIVEN WHETE CREDIT IS DUE
4) In QB Alex Smith’s first four seasons in K.C. he averaged 3,319 yards passing per season but in 2017, his total passing yards jumped to 4,042. That’s almost an 18% increase (in only 15 games). CREDIT IS GIVEN WHETE CREDIT IS DUE
5) The brand of West Coast offense that Andy Reid has created is so complex that many players can’t assimilate it all within a one year period. THIS IS REID’S FAULT
6) With such a broad choice of play-calls at his disposal, Andy Reid’s offense gets dull and predictable at times. THIS IS REID’S FAULT
7) When Andy Reid gets ahead on the scoreboard by more than one touchdown, he goes into “run-the-clock-out” mode and tends to “run-the-ball-at-all-costs” which in deed, ends up costing him the game. THIS IS REID’S FAULT
8) By not keeping his foot on the offensive-gas-pedal when he has the lead, he sends a message to his players tht: I don;t trust you to exectute the plays that got us the lead in the first place. THIS IS REID’S FAULT
9) Andy Reid allowed Clark Hunt to believe that the success of the team in the first four years was primarily due to him thus John Dorsey was expendable.THIS IS REID’S FAULT
10) Failure to confront the behavior of his players… in a timely way... that is detrimental to the team (eg: Travis Kelce, Marcus Peters). Reid allows situations to fester unnecessarily. THIS IS REID’S FAULT
11) Following losses, this whole jargon of, “Tis was my fault, I should have prepared the guys better… the time is yours” is a pitiful excuse for taking real responsibility. THIS IS REID’S FAULT
While I certainly didn’t expect to find this much that would be decidedly swayed towards Andy Reid being at fault… his record speak for itself… and I’m not talking about his won-loss record.
The whole question of whether or not Andy Reid or Bob Sutton have reached their ceiling may be another story. It’s hard to tell with Sutton because his wagon is hitched to Reid’s. Reid on the other hand, appears to be a similar place he was when he was with the Philadelphia Eagles… a very good regular season coaching record but a dismal playoff record. However, I read somewhere the other day that Reid’s playoff record is something like 1-9 since parting ways with his first Defensive Coordinator Jim Johnson but had a decidedly winning record prior to that. That might indicate that Sutton has reached his ceiling as long as he’s with Andy Reid. Plus, it could indicate that Reid must have a top level DC who is independent enough to run his own ship while Reid runs the offense. If not, it may look like Reid has reached his ceiling as well.
Now, if you’e the owner of the K.C. Chiefs, these are exactly the kinds of questions you should be answering for yourself because if you think that Andy Reid has reached his ceiling… why would you continue down this path… at any cost?
What do you think? What did I forget to mention? Those of you who want Sutton fired… do you still feel as strongly about that? I, for one, am looking at him differently.
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