ALL RAVENS 30-7 AS CASSEL OF 2009 RESURFACES
Before we get into this loss, I'm patiently waiting to hear Todd Haley or Matt Cassel give their explanation of why Dewayne Bowe wasn't thrown even one pass today. Not one.
The offense was absolutely dreadful. How about two completions for 8-yards to the wide receivers? Really? I can't say anything remotely positive about a single member of the offensive unit. The line was decent early on but was overwhelmed from midway thru the third quarter. Jamaal Charles had 7 carries for 87-yards in the 1st half but only 2 carries in the second half for minus 5-yards & he lost a fumble. Dexter McCluster did absolutely zip other than one decent kickoff return. He had 17-yards on 4 receptions & 5-yards on 2 carries plus a lost fumble. WR Chris Chambers was inactive while Kevin Curtis, signed on Wednesday, started just like I told you, That's how dysfunctional their wide receivers are as a group, a guy off the street can be signed on Wednesday & start in a playoff game come Sunday. Then your guy(Bowe) who caught 15 touchdowns is invisible for all 4 quarters.
When on 4th & 1 at the Baltimore 33, Kansas City went for it, which I didn't have a big issue with, but the play call was destined to fail from the snap. Jamaal Charles was trapped by 4 Ravens for a 5-yard loss on a toss play. The Chiefs never threatened after that. Then the Matt Cassel of of 2009 reappeared. Just like last week against the Raiders, Cassel looked like deer in the headlights the rest of the way. Cassel held the ball & held the ball, he just couldn't pull the trigger. This is the playoffs man, there's no tomorrow, you're out-manned by the Ravens, you have to take chances, especially when you're behind. Somehow the Chiefs' QB didn't get that message. He threw 3 interceptions but was saved twice, a fumble on one of the picks was recovered by Charles & the tuck rule overturned a Cassel fumble. He hit TE Tony Moeaki for a 22-yard gain & Charles for 15-yards & that pretty much sums up Matt Cassel's day. First 15-weeks of the season Cassel threw a total of 5 interceptions, he's thrown 5 in the last two games. I'd be remiss if I didn't say Cassel hasn't looked the same since Haley yanked him out of the game late in the 3rd quarter of the Tennessee game. I'm just sayin'.
The Chiefs' offense has shown it can be productive against the bottom-feeders of the league but when they step up in class, they look completely overwhelmed. They ran the ball semi-effectively in the first half but once the Ravens made a few adjustments, that was gone along with any semblance of a passing attack.
Other than Todd Heap having a field day over the middle against the Chiefs' defense, this unit played well. They got no help from their offense, they were put back out there in horrible field position time after time in the 2nd half. With no help from their offense, the Chiefs had only 18-minutes of possession while the Ravens had 42. In total yards, it was also a landslide, Ravens 390 to Chiefs 161. One-hundred-sixty-one total yards, that's pitiful. The Ravens had 78 offensive plays while Kansas City could only muster 40.
Tamba Hali is a star, if Kansas City could get a productive bookend for him, this defense would be dramatically better. They need an unmovable nose tackle & someone other than Tyson Jackson or Shaun Smith at left defensive end. No more John McGraw at safety please, good special teams player but let's leave it at that. This could be a pretty decent defense if they aren't put out there for 40+ minutes.
I just listened to Todd Haley's news conference & he was cheerful, wouldn't say one negative thing about his team's performance, "we came a long way this season, had a lot of fun & I told the team I don't want to dwell on the last two weeks, I'm proud of our guys." Finally someone asked about Bowe & his response was "I don't know, we'll have to look at the film, but uh, we have to do a better job getting the ball to one of the guys who got us here." Ya think?
What's really sad about this game was Baltimore let the Chiefs hang around for nearly 3 quarters. A good part of that was Kansas City's pass rush & outside pass coverage. Without Todd Heap's catches on 3rd down, the Ravens wouldn't have had much going for them. But it was the Chiefs' offense that let them down & that offense will need a lot of attention in the off-season. It will start with replacing Charlie Weis who is leaving for the Florida Gators.
Please don't make the mistake of blaming Weis' departure as the reason for losing so badly today & last Sunday. Truth be told, they don't have the horses, I told you that way back when we were at training camp. While playing a schedule chock full of stiffs, the difference in personnel was so obvious but today it became crystal clear. The Chiefs need another draft as good as the one they had in '08 & last April. They need a high quality offensive coordinator. Just as importantly, that new coordinator, Todd Haley & Scott Pioli will need some serious analysis & conversation to determine if Matt Cassel really is K.C.'s franchise quarterback. I think anyone who watched the last two games will question that if they're completely honest. The Chiefs will draft 21st thanks to Seattle's win yesterday, let's find that bookend for Tamba Hali or maybe a QB, whatta ya think?
The offense was absolutely dreadful. How about two completions for 8-yards to the wide receivers? Really? I can't say anything remotely positive about a single member of the offensive unit. The line was decent early on but was overwhelmed from midway thru the third quarter. Jamaal Charles had 7 carries for 87-yards in the 1st half but only 2 carries in the second half for minus 5-yards & he lost a fumble. Dexter McCluster did absolutely zip other than one decent kickoff return. He had 17-yards on 4 receptions & 5-yards on 2 carries plus a lost fumble. WR Chris Chambers was inactive while Kevin Curtis, signed on Wednesday, started just like I told you, That's how dysfunctional their wide receivers are as a group, a guy off the street can be signed on Wednesday & start in a playoff game come Sunday. Then your guy(Bowe) who caught 15 touchdowns is invisible for all 4 quarters.
When on 4th & 1 at the Baltimore 33, Kansas City went for it, which I didn't have a big issue with, but the play call was destined to fail from the snap. Jamaal Charles was trapped by 4 Ravens for a 5-yard loss on a toss play. The Chiefs never threatened after that. Then the Matt Cassel of of 2009 reappeared. Just like last week against the Raiders, Cassel looked like deer in the headlights the rest of the way. Cassel held the ball & held the ball, he just couldn't pull the trigger. This is the playoffs man, there's no tomorrow, you're out-manned by the Ravens, you have to take chances, especially when you're behind. Somehow the Chiefs' QB didn't get that message. He threw 3 interceptions but was saved twice, a fumble on one of the picks was recovered by Charles & the tuck rule overturned a Cassel fumble. He hit TE Tony Moeaki for a 22-yard gain & Charles for 15-yards & that pretty much sums up Matt Cassel's day. First 15-weeks of the season Cassel threw a total of 5 interceptions, he's thrown 5 in the last two games. I'd be remiss if I didn't say Cassel hasn't looked the same since Haley yanked him out of the game late in the 3rd quarter of the Tennessee game. I'm just sayin'.
The Chiefs' offense has shown it can be productive against the bottom-feeders of the league but when they step up in class, they look completely overwhelmed. They ran the ball semi-effectively in the first half but once the Ravens made a few adjustments, that was gone along with any semblance of a passing attack.
Other than Todd Heap having a field day over the middle against the Chiefs' defense, this unit played well. They got no help from their offense, they were put back out there in horrible field position time after time in the 2nd half. With no help from their offense, the Chiefs had only 18-minutes of possession while the Ravens had 42. In total yards, it was also a landslide, Ravens 390 to Chiefs 161. One-hundred-sixty-one total yards, that's pitiful. The Ravens had 78 offensive plays while Kansas City could only muster 40.
Tamba Hali is a star, if Kansas City could get a productive bookend for him, this defense would be dramatically better. They need an unmovable nose tackle & someone other than Tyson Jackson or Shaun Smith at left defensive end. No more John McGraw at safety please, good special teams player but let's leave it at that. This could be a pretty decent defense if they aren't put out there for 40+ minutes.
I just listened to Todd Haley's news conference & he was cheerful, wouldn't say one negative thing about his team's performance, "we came a long way this season, had a lot of fun & I told the team I don't want to dwell on the last two weeks, I'm proud of our guys." Finally someone asked about Bowe & his response was "I don't know, we'll have to look at the film, but uh, we have to do a better job getting the ball to one of the guys who got us here." Ya think?
What's really sad about this game was Baltimore let the Chiefs hang around for nearly 3 quarters. A good part of that was Kansas City's pass rush & outside pass coverage. Without Todd Heap's catches on 3rd down, the Ravens wouldn't have had much going for them. But it was the Chiefs' offense that let them down & that offense will need a lot of attention in the off-season. It will start with replacing Charlie Weis who is leaving for the Florida Gators.
Please don't make the mistake of blaming Weis' departure as the reason for losing so badly today & last Sunday. Truth be told, they don't have the horses, I told you that way back when we were at training camp. While playing a schedule chock full of stiffs, the difference in personnel was so obvious but today it became crystal clear. The Chiefs need another draft as good as the one they had in '08 & last April. They need a high quality offensive coordinator. Just as importantly, that new coordinator, Todd Haley & Scott Pioli will need some serious analysis & conversation to determine if Matt Cassel really is K.C.'s franchise quarterback. I think anyone who watched the last two games will question that if they're completely honest. The Chiefs will draft 21st thanks to Seattle's win yesterday, let's find that bookend for Tamba Hali or maybe a QB, whatta ya think?
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