The Kansas City passing offense under Matt Cassel gained 74 more yards than the Brodie Croyle led Chiefs. Yet, the Chiefs still have not taken many shots downfield. Take a look at the chart below, specifically the right side where the Chiefs rank in the bottom third of the NFL in all deep categories.
Short Left | Short Middle | Short Right | Deep Left | Deep Middle | Deep Right | |||||
Plays: 21 | Plays: 19 | Plays: 18 | Plays: 2 | Plays: 1 | Plays: 2 | |||||
Rank: 11 | Rank: 6 | Rank: 24 | Rank: 27 | Rank: 29 | Rank: 25 | |||||
Avg: 4.52 yds |
Avg: 8.21 yds |
Avg: 5.17 yds |
Avg: 14.5 yds |
Avg: 0 yds |
Avg: 25 yds |
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Rank: 24 | Rank: 9 | Rank: 19 | Rank: 13 | Rank: 26 | Rank: 2 |
The Chiefs passers have favored shorter passes to the middle of the field. The flats have been getting a workout too as the running backs have caught 15 of the 40 completions in the first two games. It's only two games, so this isn't necessarily indicative of how the rest of the season will fare, but it's more evidence that the Chiefs have some work to do at quarterback (starting two consecutive games is a start) and wide receiver.
Here's a chart of how the Chiefs opponents have fared against them passing the ball:
Short Left | Short Middle | Short Right | Deep Left | Deep Middle | Deep Right | |||||
Plays: 16 | Plays: 12 | Plays: 18 | Plays: 5 | Plays: 8 | Plays: 8 | |||||
Rank: 22 | Rank: 12 | Rank: 25 | Rank: 9 | Rank: 2 | Rank: 3 | |||||
Avg: 2.5 yds |
Avg: 7.33 yds |
Avg: 5.61 yds |
Avg: 9.2 yds |
Avg: 9.63 yds |
Avg: 6.75 yds |
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Rank: 3 | Rank: 20 | Rank: 20 | Rank: 12 | Rank: 15 | Rank: 17 |
Different, isn't it?
Take a look at the short passes across the middle. After being burned by Todd Heap in week one, the Chiefs held Raiders TE Zach Miller to zero catches. I know he's not a household name (yet) but he's becoming one of the better young tight ends in the NFL so that's a good stat for the Chiefs.
Overall, though, Chiefs opponents are going deep on them more than the league average.