CHIEFS' FANS, THAT WAS THE DEFINITION OF UGLY
I had a bad feeling all week about this game, yes it could be a "look ahead" game for Kansas City with San Diego next weekend. But I also thought considering the ass-whippin' they took in Denver just three weeks ago would be fresh on their minds, help keep them focused. Wrong. Chiefs' fans, that was the definition of ugly. Thank goodness the Denver Broncos were uglier than the Chiefs. That was a tough 3 hours of really lame football, regardless of who you were rooting for, but in the end, it was win #8 for the Chiefs.
I want to thank the Oakland Raiders for making San Diego look & play awful. The Chiefs now have a 2-game lead in the AFC West with four left to play. San Diego has the easiest remaining schedule, K.C., Frisco, at Cincy & at Denver. Kansas City has road games in San Diego & St. Louis plus home games against Tennessee & Oakland. The Raiders face a really tough game next week playing at 1st place Jacksonville. Home games against Denver & a very desperate Indianapolis climaxing in Kansas City for the season finale. A two-game lead is huge with just 4 to play, but that doesn't mean the Chiefs are a lead pipe cinch to win the division. As horribly as they performed today, you can't count on anything.
I've been pretty cool with my criticism of the Chiefs' play, but no way can I spin today's game in a positive fashion, except that it was a win.
Cornerback Brandon Carr played well, except for dropping two interceptions, Jamaal Charles ran for 116-yards & Thomas Jones chipped in with 53 more. I think that just about covers it. They played with little passion for being pitted against a division rival that humiliated them three weeks ago. The Broncos blew up the middle of the Chiefs' defense, RB Knowshon Moreno carved out 161-yards on just 23-carries. It should be noted Moreno has just 2 100-yard performances in his career, both against Kansas City. Nearly every yard was between the tackles. Ron Edwards, Glenn Dorsey, Shaun Smith, Derrick Johnson & Jovan Belcher were devoured by Denver blockers. Edwards didn't record a tackle all day while team-leader Derrick Johnson had but three stops, easily his worst game of the season.
Tamba Hali & Javier Arenas had two sacks apiece, but there was little pressure put on Kyle Orton. Thankfully, the Chiefs' secondary played a decent game when coupled with Orton's crappy performance, made the Bronco passing game almost non-existent. They could only manage 86-net yards thru the air.
Now I'd like to vent on the offense, I'm about to blow a gasket keeping it in all evening. Matt Cassel was awful. He took two sacks you can't take. How do you take a 16-yard sack on 4th & goal from inside the 2-yardline? Tony Moeaki failed to notice the left tackle was uncovered as he lined up wide. A five-yard penalty on 2nd & goal from the 2-yardline. Barry Richardson, another Chief who had a horrible day, was flagged twice for false starts, both in the redzone. The second one drew the ire of Todd Haley who jerked Big Barry out of the game on 3rd down. Big Barry had a meltdown, cursing & screaming all the way to the Chiefs' sideline & then he shoved special teams coach Steve Hoffman. Barry should have saved that aggressiveness & anger for Justin Bannon & Mario Haggan, two defenders he failed to block all day long. When he whiffed on Bannon, he stripped the ball from Dexter McCluster. Big Barry had a miserable day. Casey Wiegmann snapped a ball past Cassel. A holding penalty on Terrence Copper negated a 55-yard run by McCluster on a reverse. A bogus offensive pass interference penalty on Dewayne Bowe brought back a 25-yard gain, Bowe was shutout by crafty veteran corner, Champ Bailey. The offense was out of sync all afternoon, they were fortunate to be playing the Broncos. After watching this offense hit on all cylinders the last few weeks, Sunday's performance was disheartening.
The Chargers looked very beatable today, the Raiders completely shut down San Diego's running game. That managed just 21-yards on the ground. The Raiders jumped out to a 21-0 lead & it was all she wrote, San Diego was beat & it was obvious to every person in attendance & watching on television. The Chiefs can effectively end all speculation about the AFC West next week with a win in San Diego. But honestly as bad as the Chargers were today, they weren't as bad as the Chiefs, they just played a tougher opponent.
I want to thank the Oakland Raiders for making San Diego look & play awful. The Chiefs now have a 2-game lead in the AFC West with four left to play. San Diego has the easiest remaining schedule, K.C., Frisco, at Cincy & at Denver. Kansas City has road games in San Diego & St. Louis plus home games against Tennessee & Oakland. The Raiders face a really tough game next week playing at 1st place Jacksonville. Home games against Denver & a very desperate Indianapolis climaxing in Kansas City for the season finale. A two-game lead is huge with just 4 to play, but that doesn't mean the Chiefs are a lead pipe cinch to win the division. As horribly as they performed today, you can't count on anything.
I've been pretty cool with my criticism of the Chiefs' play, but no way can I spin today's game in a positive fashion, except that it was a win.
Cornerback Brandon Carr played well, except for dropping two interceptions, Jamaal Charles ran for 116-yards & Thomas Jones chipped in with 53 more. I think that just about covers it. They played with little passion for being pitted against a division rival that humiliated them three weeks ago. The Broncos blew up the middle of the Chiefs' defense, RB Knowshon Moreno carved out 161-yards on just 23-carries. It should be noted Moreno has just 2 100-yard performances in his career, both against Kansas City. Nearly every yard was between the tackles. Ron Edwards, Glenn Dorsey, Shaun Smith, Derrick Johnson & Jovan Belcher were devoured by Denver blockers. Edwards didn't record a tackle all day while team-leader Derrick Johnson had but three stops, easily his worst game of the season.
Tamba Hali & Javier Arenas had two sacks apiece, but there was little pressure put on Kyle Orton. Thankfully, the Chiefs' secondary played a decent game when coupled with Orton's crappy performance, made the Bronco passing game almost non-existent. They could only manage 86-net yards thru the air.
Now I'd like to vent on the offense, I'm about to blow a gasket keeping it in all evening. Matt Cassel was awful. He took two sacks you can't take. How do you take a 16-yard sack on 4th & goal from inside the 2-yardline? Tony Moeaki failed to notice the left tackle was uncovered as he lined up wide. A five-yard penalty on 2nd & goal from the 2-yardline. Barry Richardson, another Chief who had a horrible day, was flagged twice for false starts, both in the redzone. The second one drew the ire of Todd Haley who jerked Big Barry out of the game on 3rd down. Big Barry had a meltdown, cursing & screaming all the way to the Chiefs' sideline & then he shoved special teams coach Steve Hoffman. Barry should have saved that aggressiveness & anger for Justin Bannon & Mario Haggan, two defenders he failed to block all day long. When he whiffed on Bannon, he stripped the ball from Dexter McCluster. Big Barry had a miserable day. Casey Wiegmann snapped a ball past Cassel. A holding penalty on Terrence Copper negated a 55-yard run by McCluster on a reverse. A bogus offensive pass interference penalty on Dewayne Bowe brought back a 25-yard gain, Bowe was shutout by crafty veteran corner, Champ Bailey. The offense was out of sync all afternoon, they were fortunate to be playing the Broncos. After watching this offense hit on all cylinders the last few weeks, Sunday's performance was disheartening.
The Chargers looked very beatable today, the Raiders completely shut down San Diego's running game. That managed just 21-yards on the ground. The Raiders jumped out to a 21-0 lead & it was all she wrote, San Diego was beat & it was obvious to every person in attendance & watching on television. The Chiefs can effectively end all speculation about the AFC West next week with a win in San Diego. But honestly as bad as the Chargers were today, they weren't as bad as the Chiefs, they just played a tougher opponent.
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