Five Bad Stats from the Chiefs' Loss to the Chargers
by Chris Thorman on Oct 28, 2009 7:20 AM CDT
in 2009 Campaign
13 comments
You knew this was coming after yesterday's good stat post.
Sunday's loss to the Chargers was probably the worst statistical performance by the Kansas City Chiefs, in addition to clearly being the ugliest loss of the season to watch on television.
I know this is going to be beating a dead horse but we've got to do it.
Here are the five bad stats I'm talking about:
- Pass completion percentage
- Solid drives
- Pass rush
- Offensive line penalties
- Big plays, yadda yadda yadda
It's all after the jump.
42%
Sunday was Matt Cassel's worst day in the NFL. He only completed eleven of twenty-eight passes. As the title notes, that's only 42%, solidly Cassel's worst completion rate for the season and his career.
Are concerns about Cassel's accuracy legitimate? Not yet, IMO. Think about the offensive line Cassel has blocking for him and just how many receivers we've gone through. There are plenty of missed passes that are all Cassel but until I have a larger body of work to analyze, I'm not about to write off his accuracy.
Only two decent offensive drives
The Chiefs had fourteen drives against the Chargers and only two of them were worth their effort.
First, the Chiefs drove 42 yards in nine plays near the end of the half. The drive resulted in a missed Ryan Succop field goal but it was still a nice effort by KC.
The second decent drive was at the beginning of the second half. The Chiefs drove 56 yards in ten plays. They also racked up three more first downs. Of course, this drive resulted in the Dwayne Bowe touchdown we all remember.
It's really tough to watch an offensive when they're only interesting two out of fourteen times they have the ball.
Only two QB hurries, no sacks
I think I read a comment on another site about how Phillip Rivers wasn't very good statistically in his career against the Chiefs. Despite reading that, I had a feeling Rivers would tear the Chiefs up.
And of course he did. And a big reason for that was the Chiefs were not able to apply consistent pressure in the backfield. The Chiefs had no sacks and only two QB pressures on Philip Rivers.
And when the Chiefs blitzed and weren't able to get to Rivers, the secondary wasn't able to handle the SD receivers. I can't really blame them for that.
Offensive line penalties
Four of seven Chiefs' penalties on Sunday were on the offensive line. TE Sean Ryan was called for holding; Barry Richardson a false start; Brian Waters holding; and Wade Smith for being an ineligible player downfield.
Brian Waters has six penalties on the season, second only to his '05 season when he had nine. Waters already has more penalties this season than eight of his NFL seasons.
Giving up the big play (again)
The Chargers had 403 yards of offense on 66 plays. 221 of those yards were on the Chargers' five longest plays.
55% of their offense. On 8 % of their plays.
***
Anything stand out to you guys? Or are we sick of talking about this game already?
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It's true
Including Sunday’s game….here’s what Rivers has done against the Chiefs:
59% completion
211.8 pass yds per game
11 TDs
9 INTs
5 fumbles (3 lost)
QB Rating: 79.0
"I did not invent the wheel, I was the crooked spoke adjacent." - Aesop Rock
by John (obviousman) on Oct 28, 2009 8:20 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Cue up the broken record
This post seems to be a weekly thing so you should copy and paste or just say its from the office of redundancy office
by golfbard on Oct 28, 2009 8:41 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Slow to the blitz?
It seemed to me Sunday (and most previous Sundays this season) that the Chiefs blitz is EXTREMELY slow to develop. A blitz relies on quickness to the QB. It just looked like our LB’s were running through quicksand. It you’re still counting to three during a blitz before pressure gets there, a blitz is doomed to failure.
by Ozarks on Oct 28, 2009 9:16 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
part of it is
they TELEGRAPH the blitz…
they are up at the line, showing exactly where they are coming from…
makes it easy to pick up and beat.
maybe if they disguised it better, they’d have a chance of getting there unblocked
* "I doubt anyone will miss Connor Barth except UCrawford"
* the LB corps may become the biggest strength of the Chiefs in 2009
* The OL is NOT as bad as you think it is... give it time, and you'll see improvement this season
by stagdsp on Oct 28, 2009 9:43 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
I remember watching a blitz from Minnesota in a packers game
from the 90’s, The vikings dropped their corners back 10 yards giving Brooks and GB’s other wideout at the time a huge cushion, safeties were deep, backers were off of the line, Favre called an audible, backers moved up, favre went into the snap count and the safeties flew towards the line, and the corners came down on the wideouts, just as the ball was snapped, and the center snapped it early, the safeties broke off and flew into the flats, the corners jammed the recievers on the line and I can’t remember who got through the line, but he beat GB’s center one of the DTs took down Favre.
The play I’m sure was to confuse a young Favre and to get him to throw the ball up, but a sack on 3rd down is a sack. There isn’t a whole lot of creativity on defense in KC.
I don’t care if we ever get that fancy on Defense, as long as they get more creative in their blitz packages.
by mcclanahanman on Oct 28, 2009 10:40 AM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
I have a hard time
criticizing Cassell too much, although, earlier I wasn’t too convinced about him…. I know you mentioned the horrible o-line play, and our carousel at wide reciever…. most nfl offensives use timing routes, and it’s hard to get on the same page with someone when it’s seemingly a new guy each week, or there’s a new guy “protecting” you each week…. part of the reason he takes so many sacks, or is quick to tuck it, is that he also has had little continuity with his o-line, he doesn’t know what they’re going to do if and when they’re beat to one side. he doesn’t know that he can step up or slide step…
by callmesir on Oct 28, 2009 9:24 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
I agree 100%
Cassel IMO is doing fine with everything that has happened with the personnel changes week to week. Alot of people criticize his play but there have been too many changes every game for there to be any continuity to be established. It would be hard for any QB to perfor at the level we want. Also many people are calling for Brodie to be promoted to starter, can you imagine how many body parts would be broken at this point given the same punishment that Cassel has endured? Stick with Cassel, improve the line and receivers and his numbers will get much better.
by Tooner on Oct 28, 2009 11:15 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Clearly last Sunday was Cassel's worst game of the season.
He blew two big play opportunities in the 3rd Quarter, by sailing his passes and basically demonstrating poor deep throw accuracy. Who knows how much the rain and poor weather played into it, but as previously mentioned the limited time working with the same group of receivers along with continual spotty offensive line play is not helping him in his progression. I have complete faith that he can make all the throws when presented with an ideal situation. The missed opportunities on deep throws has me a bit concerned, but I think it’s something that can be straightened out with time and repetition with his receivers. One thing that definitely needs to be figured out, and soon is how he can get rid of the ball quicker. Cassel has a knack for holding onto the ball way too long. Since, we usually don’t get the perspective of what’s happening down field, we would have to assume that these receivers are struggling to get open. (And hoping so, or else this might be a way bigger problem with our QB). Until this all gets squared away, get used to our league low Yard per Pass average.
by Clarry on Oct 28, 2009 12:18 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
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