Who Are the Kansas City Chiefs?
To be honest, I haven’t watched much of the Chiefs since Trent Green, Priest Holmes, Eddie Kennison and Dante Hall skipped town. Back in those days, they were an offensive juggernaut.
In 2009, they are a work in progress with new coach Todd Haley at the controls. I actually dig Haley. He seems like one of those fire and brimstone guys who doesn’t accept guff from anybody. Kinda the opposite of Wade Phillips, who doesn’t even hold himself accountable for missteps.
Of course, Haley is sitting where he is today because of the prolific offense he engineered in Arizona last year. The same offense that flattened the Eagles back in January. Fortunately, Haley is not blessed to have the gifts of Warner, Fitzy and Boldin in KC. That’s not to say he doesn’t have players who the Birds should fear.
I combed through footage from the Chiefs first two games the other night. Not unlike the Birds, they have played two Jekyll-Hyde games thus far. The Ravens racked up 501 yards in week 1, but in week 2, the Raiders could only muster 166 total yards. Much of this disparity had to do with the opposing quarterbacks. Joe Flacco is fast becoming one of the league’s best, while JaMarcus Russell has yet to grasp even the basics.
On the flip-side, the Chiefs offense netted 409 yards last week, but only 188 on the opening Sunday. They have scored 27 offensive points in two games and committed only two turnovers. All three of their scores have come via the pass. You want to see them? Well, here you go:
Clearly, Dwayne Bowe can be a problem. He’s built in the same mold as TO and Boldin. Big, physical and deceptively quick. He will align himself all over the formation, and as you can see, is a the red zone threat. Mark Bradley is another physical receiver who has a penchant for the big play. Sheldon and Asante better leave their tricks and treats home this week and get ready for B&B.
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Defensively, the Chiefs are lacking when it comes to impact players. Two guys stand out. ILB Derrick Johnson and OLB Tamba Hali. Want to see them in action? Well, here you go:
Johnson has natural ball instincts. He will look to bait Kolb into making mistakes. Hali is a feast or famine player; he was active in game one, but invisible in game two. Nevertheless, Jason Peters – who struggles against speed rushers – will have to be aware of Hali, especially on passing downs.
Tank Tyler gets a nice push up the middle from his nose tackle position and cornerbacks Brandon Flowers and Brandon Carr are young and aggressive.
Again, Kolb must take care of the ball. I would anticipate the Chiefs defense coming after him early and often to rattle him and prevent him from establishing a rhythm. With the Birds receiving corps beat up, looks for the Chiefs to pay extra attention to Celek, who is developing a reputation around the league.
The Ravens ran wild against their 3-4 alignment. It would be nice if Reid would get Shady and even Weaver involved in the game plan early. Will it happen? No, Air Reid will attack the only way he knows. He wants that first quarter lead. For that to occur, the defense will have to actually stop the Chiefs on their opening drive. Spotting them a touchdown will give them hope that they can hang.
It would be nice to know who exactly will be available on Sunday. Don is out, but both Westy and DeSean are question marks. I think they both will go, but who knows how effective they will be, or how long they will last. This could be an ugly offensive game with so many guys dinged. That’s why it’s doubly important the defense and special teams play clean, smart football.
The Eagles continue to remain an enigma. They should handle the Chiefs, but this team is anything but predictable. Tomorrow, I’ll give a prediction.