CHIEFS CONTINUE TO DAMPEN OUR ENTHUSIASM
So who's psyched about Chiefs' football? Let's not kid ourselves, we're staring another losing season right in the face.The Bucs lost their starting QB Josh Freeman after one series, but that didn't slow them down as they beat Kansas City 20-15.
Once again the defensive front seven made little impact, but then we knew going into the draft the front seven was the biggest problem spot. So why did Scott Pioli wait until their very last selection to address it? Jeez, even Brandon Flowers blundered on a short out route & Michael Spurlock turned it into a 53-yard catch & run. Tampa lost starting running back Derrick Ward to a concussion, but that didn't stop the Bucs from running the ball. Zero sacks against a shaky offensive line & against a backup quarterback they were unable to rattle at all. Tamba Hali is the only Chief who came near the 2 Tampa QB's, knocking the ball loose on one occasion.
Offensively, the news wasn't much better. Dwayne Bowe caught 3 passes, Jamaal Charles continued to look like a real weapon & Matt Cassel was better than last week. That sums up the good news on offense, except Jackie Battle had the game of his professional life, 59 yards rushing caught a pass for 9 & made a special teams tackle. Thomas Jones fumbled to kill a drive, I wish Haley would stop this charade of starting Jones ahead of Charles. Jamaal does have blitz pickup issues, he whiffed on a linebacker up the middle & Cassel was sacked on 3rd & 2. Tony Moeaki didn't play again, Barry Richardson gave up a sack, Colin Brown was continually beat with inside counter moves & Kansas City's long completion in 2 preseason games is 17 yards. That's 50 freakin' completions & the longest one went for 17 yards. Anybody see a problem?
A true bright spot is rookie return man Javier Arenas, he took a kickoff back 54 yards in the first half. Then after halftime we were subjected to Quinten Lawrence & his patented 15-yards & a cloud of field turf. He will not be on the roster come September. The guy I touted while we were at training camp, wide receiver Jeremy Horne, caught a touchdown pass for Kansas City's only touchdown.
The Chiefs were facing a 4th & less than a yard at the Bucs 11-yard line with 23-seconds left in the half. Instead of asking for a measurement which would have stopped the clock, they raced to the line & tried to pull Tampa offsides to no avail & Cassel called timeout with 4-seconds left in the half. I didn't like the clock management, the strategy or execution, they weren't fooling anybody. It was pretty pathetic.
The only good news to come out of this game was cornerback Maurice Leggett has movement in all his extremities after taking a brutal shot to his neck. He laid on the field for about 15 minutes before being strapped down to a backboard & onto a cart. He was hospitalized overnight in Tampa.
The big Arrowhead open house is Wednesday, two nights before the Philadelphia Eagles come in to play the Chiefs. You should see the starters play the better part of 3 quarters & if they continue to struggle, they might play longer than that.
I desperately want to return to a time the Chiefs are competitive every Sunday but honestly, this team is a long way from that.
Once again the defensive front seven made little impact, but then we knew going into the draft the front seven was the biggest problem spot. So why did Scott Pioli wait until their very last selection to address it? Jeez, even Brandon Flowers blundered on a short out route & Michael Spurlock turned it into a 53-yard catch & run. Tampa lost starting running back Derrick Ward to a concussion, but that didn't stop the Bucs from running the ball. Zero sacks against a shaky offensive line & against a backup quarterback they were unable to rattle at all. Tamba Hali is the only Chief who came near the 2 Tampa QB's, knocking the ball loose on one occasion.
Offensively, the news wasn't much better. Dwayne Bowe caught 3 passes, Jamaal Charles continued to look like a real weapon & Matt Cassel was better than last week. That sums up the good news on offense, except Jackie Battle had the game of his professional life, 59 yards rushing caught a pass for 9 & made a special teams tackle. Thomas Jones fumbled to kill a drive, I wish Haley would stop this charade of starting Jones ahead of Charles. Jamaal does have blitz pickup issues, he whiffed on a linebacker up the middle & Cassel was sacked on 3rd & 2. Tony Moeaki didn't play again, Barry Richardson gave up a sack, Colin Brown was continually beat with inside counter moves & Kansas City's long completion in 2 preseason games is 17 yards. That's 50 freakin' completions & the longest one went for 17 yards. Anybody see a problem?
A true bright spot is rookie return man Javier Arenas, he took a kickoff back 54 yards in the first half. Then after halftime we were subjected to Quinten Lawrence & his patented 15-yards & a cloud of field turf. He will not be on the roster come September. The guy I touted while we were at training camp, wide receiver Jeremy Horne, caught a touchdown pass for Kansas City's only touchdown.
The Chiefs were facing a 4th & less than a yard at the Bucs 11-yard line with 23-seconds left in the half. Instead of asking for a measurement which would have stopped the clock, they raced to the line & tried to pull Tampa offsides to no avail & Cassel called timeout with 4-seconds left in the half. I didn't like the clock management, the strategy or execution, they weren't fooling anybody. It was pretty pathetic.
The only good news to come out of this game was cornerback Maurice Leggett has movement in all his extremities after taking a brutal shot to his neck. He laid on the field for about 15 minutes before being strapped down to a backboard & onto a cart. He was hospitalized overnight in Tampa.
The big Arrowhead open house is Wednesday, two nights before the Philadelphia Eagles come in to play the Chiefs. You should see the starters play the better part of 3 quarters & if they continue to struggle, they might play longer than that.
I desperately want to return to a time the Chiefs are competitive every Sunday but honestly, this team is a long way from that.
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