Keys to Chiefs vs Texans - Divisional Round

[jetlord 10,209]

20 minutes ago, moons314 said:

I agree.  In this situation though, I think run defense means keeping Watson contained.  There's nothing more frustrating than watching blanket coverage rendered pointless by a QB scrambling for 15 yards and a first down.  My concern isn't them running, because I don't think Hyde is all that impressive, it's broken pass plays that turn into runs.  We can score enough to make their traditional running game a non story, Watson has to be the focus.  

Maybe Suggs, just because of his experience, will help contain Watson on his end.  Same with Clark.  Surely has to be better at containing the running QB than Ford was. 

[Mloe68 1,521]

25 minutes ago, moons314 said:

I agree.  In this situation though, I think run defense means keeping Watson contained.  There's nothing more frustrating than watching blanket coverage rendered pointless by a QB scrambling for 15 yards and a first down.  My concern isn't them running, because I don't think Hyde is all that impressive, it's broken pass plays that turn into runs.  We can score enough to make their traditional running game a non story, Watson has to be the focus.  

Exactly right. Every game presents its own unique challenge and it’s never correct to make generalizations on what those are. For the Texans it’s keeping Watson in the pocket as much as possible. I’d use a James White type defensive philosophy on Duke Johnson. And get Ward help with Watkins. If other people beat you, so be it. Just keep your GAP responsibilities in the run game and finish plays and we will be fine vs Hyde. Last game we didn’t do that.  
 

if you are playing the Titans it’s a different plan.  Focus 1,2,3 is on slowing down Derrick Henry. 

[ClarksvilleChief 193]

So, play this like we will be playing Baltimore and Lamar?

[Holmes4six! 968]

awesome thread. here’s my opinion and why on the run game.

its crucial to,stop the run for a couple of reasons. first it sets up long distances on the consecutive downs which is huge. can force teams to do what you know is coming...pass. also our d doesn’t get worn out. the better you stop the run the higher chance you will get a third down stop. it’s that simple. 

its also crucial for us to run the ball for same reasons but flipped. sets us up for shorter consecutive downs, the d doesn’t know what’s coming pass or run, keeps there offense off the field and most of all we wear them down. now with mahomes it appears lately that reid has used more of a short passing game like a run. i believe people on this thread commented on that. 

chiefs d has played very well lately on early downs which has allowed them to get the stops they needed. 

i think the most important keys for this game will be third down on both sides of the ball, no metal mistakes like penalties turnovers and as people have mentioned Reid himself. 

im nervous and it’s only monday. if chiefs play mentally tough no mistakes they can win the whole tourney. 

 

[xen 1,010,220]

2 hours ago, Calichief said:

For me, it’s the threat. It’s the Alex Smith thing, if you can’t do it then there’s no fear of it. they can load up other places.

Correct.  You have to balance those defensive sets or they'll just load up the back end.

Of course that's much easier if you can dictate the defensive personnel, which we can.

Our inrlterior oline just kinda sucks right now and our running backs are kinda meh.

[dhitter 1,424]

10 hours ago, xen said:

Our inrlterior oline just kinda sucks right now and our running backs are kinda meh.

The biggest weakness on this team is the interior Oline in my opinion. Definitely needs to be addressed in the off season. But the backs aren't horrible. I think they suffer because of the poor Oline. Inside runs get little to nothing. Not sure why Andy even calls them. But Williams and Shady can be effective given the right run sets.

[reesebobby 5,662]

4 minutes ago, dhitter said:

The biggest weakness on this team is the interior Oline in my opinion. Definitely needs to be addressed in the off season. But the backs aren't horrible. I think they suffer because of the poor Oline. Inside runs get little to nothing. Not sure why Andy even calls them. But Williams and Shady can be effective given the right run sets.

Our O-Line is not the greatest for sure.  But Damien Williams, who I guess is our feature back, spent 4 years in Miami where he averaged 119 yards per SEASON and 3.6 per carry.  Our other "feature back" is 31 and in serious decline with a fumble to touchdown ratio that makes him hard to trust.  I'd say meh is a fair description of our backs.

[Mloe68 1,521]

17 minutes ago, reesebobby said:

Our O-Line is not the greatest for sure.  But Damien Williams, who I guess is our feature back, spent 4 years in Miami where he averaged 119 yards per SEASON and 3.6 per carry.  Our other "feature back" is 31 and in serious decline with a fumble to touchdown ratio that makes him hard to trust.  I'd say meh is a fair description of our backs.

I think we all agree upgrading that interior line should be a priority this offseason. If I was gonna pick the most disappointing player on the roster it’s probably LDT.  
That said Andy’s offenses are always better with a true RB1. Much like the QB Andy knows how to get those guys in space and making plays especially in the red zone.  I think based on who we were heavily scouting Veach was looking RB on day two last year.  I expect him to pull trigger this year.  

[dhitter 1,424]

53 minutes ago, reesebobby said:

Our O-Line is not the greatest for sure.  But Damien Williams, who I guess is our feature back, spent 4 years in Miami where he averaged 119 yards per SEASON and 3.6 per carry.  Our other "feature back" is 31 and in serious decline with a fumble to touchdown ratio that makes him hard to trust.  I'd say meh is a fair description of our backs.

Fair points. The fumble thing with Shady is not his MO. He fumbled 19 times in his career. About an avg of 2 per season. That isn't horrible. As far as age? Frank Gore is 36 and played a key role for the Bills this year. Shady has some gas. And Williams sure looked like a different back against the Chargers. No one is suggesting we stand pat with our running game moving forward..but they can be an effective compliment to the passing game.

[Calichief 3,016]

12 minutes ago, dhitter said:

Fair points. The fumble thing with Shady is not his MO. He fumbled 19 times in his career. About an avg of 2 per season. That isn't horrible. As far as age? Frank Gore is 36 and played a key role for the Bills this year. Shady has some gas. And Williams sure looked like a different back against the Chargers. No one is suggesting we stand pat with our running game moving forward..but they can be an effective compliment to the passing game.

Somehow it wasn’t more. Surprised he doesn’t have 100 fumbles the way carries it.

[reesebobby 5,662]

20 minutes ago, dhitter said:

Fair points. The fumble thing with Shady is not his MO. He fumbled 19 times in his career. About an avg of 2 per season. That isn't horrible. As far as age? Frank Gore is 36 and played a key role for the Bills this year. Shady has some gas. And Williams sure looked like a different back against the Chargers. No one is suggesting we stand pat with our running game moving forward..but they can be an effective compliment to the passing game.

Frank Gore is the exception to the rule.  Shady still contributes.  I'm glad we have him, but he's not currently better than meh.  And he won't be playing when he's 36. 

[Mloe68 1,521]

Red zone TDs.....

Chiefs offense     20th - 54%

Texans defense   32nd - 71%

[Mloe68 1,521]

33 minutes ago, dhitter said:

Fair points. The fumble thing with Shady is not his MO. He fumbled 19 times in his career. About an avg of 2 per season. That isn't horrible. As far as age? Frank Gore is 36 and played a key role for the Bills this year. Shady has some gas. And Williams sure looked like a different back against the Chargers. No one is suggesting we stand pat with our running game moving forward..but they can be an effective compliment to the passing game.

Its hard to believe the way McCoy handles the football (the Billy Sims loaf of bread technique) that he hasn't fumbled more in his career. 

[reesebobby 5,662]

2 minutes ago, Mloe68 said:

Its hard to believe the way McCoy handles the football (the Billy Sims loaf of bread technique) that he hasn't fumbled more in his career. 

That really did help prepare Sims for his BBQ business. 

[Adamixoye 604]

I just don't understand Damien at this point.  I'm willing to ignore his history in Miami up to a point - I know you can't really compare RBs to QBs but look no further than Tannehill to see how being in Miami can be a hindrance.  At times he does everything you could want - finds holes, runs hard, has burst, catches the ball, runs well in space, etc.  I don't really pay attention to his blocking but I presume he's not actively bad at it.  Honestly, I think the version of him we saw down the stretch was easily a top 15, maybe top 10 back in this league.  This year I don't know if it's the line or injuries or what but he's just been so inconsistent.  We get flashes like the 91-yard run against the Vikings or the Chargers game.

I'd like to believe it is mostly the line.  We know it needs to be fixed regardless, so maybe we can solve multiple problems at once.

[Iluvhouse24 1,808]

1 hour ago, Mloe68 said:

I think we all agree upgrading that interior line should be a priority this offseason. If I was gonna pick the most disappointing player on the roster it’s probably LDT.  
That said Andy’s offenses are always better with a true RB1. Much like the QB Andy knows how to get those guys in space and making plays especially in the red zone.  I think based on who we were heavily scouting Veach was looking RB on day two last year.  I expect him to pull trigger this year.  

Interesting that Hunt was able to be as effective as he was with Witzmann, Fulton, and LDT on the interior in 2017. That's still a pretty sub par group.

Just goes to show 2 things. Talent at RB can overcome mediocre line play. And Reid will run the ball more when he has a back he trusts.

[reesebobby 5,662]

28 minutes ago, Adamixoye said:

I just don't understand Damien at this point.  I'm willing to ignore his history in Miami up to a point - I know you can't really compare RBs to QBs but look no further than Tannehill to see how being in Miami can be a hindrance.  At times he does everything you could want - finds holes, runs hard, has burst, catches the ball, runs well in space, etc.  I don't really pay attention to his blocking but I presume he's not actively bad at it.  Honestly, I think the version of him we saw down the stretch was easily a top 15, maybe top 10 back in this league.  This year I don't know if it's the line or injuries or what but he's just been so inconsistent.  We get flashes like the 91-yard run against the Vikings or the Chargers game.

I'd like to believe it is mostly the line.  We know it needs to be fixed regardless, so maybe we can solve multiple problems at once.

It's not just his lack of production in Miami, it's where he was on their depth chart and his production relative to others there.  Two backs, Lamar and Ajayi, had 1000 yard seasons during his time there so it's not like they weren't capable.  He played 4 seasons there.  Not until Cutler arrived did he outrush the quarterback.  In 4 years there he was their 5th, 6th, 4th and 3rd leading rusher.  I don't hate the guy, but I think he is who he is at this point.

[Mloe68 1,521]

17 minutes ago, Iluvhouse24 said:

Interesting that Hunt was able to be as effective as he was with Witzmann, Fulton, and LDT on the interior in 2017. That's still a pretty sub par group.

Just goes to show 2 things. Talent at RB can overcome mediocre line play. And Reid will run the ball more when he has a back he trusts.

A good RB is important in Andy’s offense and not having a guy who remotely qualifies has directly impacted our scoring. I think you hit the nail on the head with trust.  
What do we need to do to get that red zone TD% back into the 70s. That would be my simple offseason approach other than adding another cover guy.  A RB Andy trusts at crucial times seems important in that. 

[Adamixoye 604]

21 minutes ago, reesebobby said:

It's not just his lack of production in Miami, it's where he was on their depth chart and his production relative to others there.  Two backs, Lamar and Ajayi, had 1000 yard seasons during his time there so it's not like they weren't capable.  He played 4 seasons there.  Not until Cutler arrived did he outrush the quarterback.  In 4 years there he was their 5th, 6th, 4th and 3rd leading rusher.  I don't hate the guy, but I think he is who he is at this point.

Fair points.  I will add that there have been plenty of guys in the history of the league who had a lack of production and/or were buried on a depth chart for reasons that really had nothing to do with talent, or maybe they were late bloomers or didn't find the right fit until later.  I would say I think he's better than the player you're describing with that history.  How much better?  I don't know.

[Mloe68 1,521]

1 hour ago, reesebobby said:

That really did help prepare Sims for his BBQ business. 

By the way Billy is killing it with all those franchises opening up in Oklahoma. But he fumbled trying to go up against big boy BBQ in KC.  

[Mloe68 1,521]

10 minutes ago, Adamixoye said:

Fair points.  I will add that there have been plenty of guys in the history of the league who had a lack of production and/or were buried on a depth chart for reasons that really had nothing to do with talent, or maybe they were late bloomers or didn't find the right fit until later.  I would say I think he's better than the player you're describing with that history.  How much better?  I don't know.

Priest Holmes comes to mind.  But even there he was productive when given the opportunity in Baltimore. Williams was a nice value signing for Veach who’s good in space as a receiver. His overall vision and ability to break tackles as a pure runner are very suspect. Especially running between the tackles. 

[reesebobby 5,662]

6 minutes ago, Mloe68 said:

By the way Billy is killing it with all those franchises opening up in Oklahoma. But he fumbled trying to go up against big boy BBQ in KC.  

There's one in Hays.  It aint bad for fast food bbq

[reesebobby 5,662]

14 minutes ago, Adamixoye said:

Fair points.  I will add that there have been plenty of guys in the history of the league who had a lack of production and/or were buried on a depth chart for reasons that really had nothing to do with talent, or maybe they were late bloomers or didn't find the right fit until later.  I would say I think he's better than the player you're describing with that history.  How much better?  I don't know.

He saved our bacon last year.  And he looked pretty good doing it.  I am not saying he sucks, but I don't think he's the solution at RB. 

[xen 1,010,220]

2 hours ago, Mloe68 said:

Red zone TDs.....

Chiefs offense     20th - 54%

Texans defense   32nd - 71%

So basically it's the "quite movable object vs the entirely resistable force".

[xen 1,010,220]

1 hour ago, Mloe68 said:

By the way Billy is killing it with all those franchises opening up in Oklahoma. But he fumbled trying to go up against big boy BBQ in KC.  

nobody eats his crappy BBQ here except the lame ass Sooner fans.  Granted that's half the state, but still...