Chiefs Upcoming Opponent - Charger Tendencies
by Bewsaf on Sep 9, 2010 9:30 AM CDT
in 2010 Kansas City Chiefs Season
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PrintEvery team in the NFL has strengths and weaknesses, tendencies, and go-to guys. They have plays they like to call during tight situations or directions they like to run when in the middle of the field.
The Chiefs meet up with the Chargers on a Monday night showdown in Arrowhead. Look for KC to be well prepared and ready to prove that the Kansas City Chiefs can no longer be considered the doormat of the AFC West.
After preparing all week, the Chiefs have at the very least noticed that the Chargers have two major tendencies during the preseason:
- They like to pass deep left.
- They like to run the ball right at the center.
Let's find out how the Chargers preseason tendencies match up with Kansas Cities Strengths and weaknesses.
Chargers Rushing Offense
| Left End | Left Tackle | Left Guard | Up the Middle | Right Guard | Right Tackle | Right End | ||||||
| Plays: 11 | Plays: 10 | Plays: 13 | Plays: 40 | Plays: 8 | Plays: 8 | Plays: 15 | ||||||
| NFL Rank: 17 | NFL Rank: 23 | NFL Rank: 7 | NFL Rank: 8 | NFL Rank: 22 | NFL Rank: 28 | NFL Rank: 8 | ||||||
| Avg Gain: 2.36 | Avg Gain: 3.00 | Avg Gain: 4.00 | Avg Gain: 3.03 | Avg Gain: 3.13 | Avg Gain: 1.75 | Avg Gain: 5.20 | ||||||
| NFL Rank: 28 | NFL Rank: 26 | NFL Rank: 10 | NFL Rank: 26 | NFL Rank: 19 | NFL Rank: 30 | NFL Rank: 10 |
Chargers Rushing Observations:
- The Chargers love to run the ball right up the gut: 40 times right at the center. That is exactly where most of the teams in preseason ran the ball at the Chiefs. Opponents ran up the gut against the Chiefs 45 times (2nd most in the NFL) for 3.27 average. Look for the Chargers to continue testing the Chiefs middle.
- The Chargers have had the most avg gain success running at the right end. The Chiefs gave up a whopping 6.28 average to opposing teams running at the right end.
- The Chargers did not look like a great running team in the preseason. Ranks based on average gain per carry ranged from 10th to 30th in the NFL, not great numbers. But don't be surprised if the Chargers challenge the Chiefs new defensive coordinator in the run game.
Chargers Passing Offense
| LEFT DEEP |
MIDDLE DEEP |
RIGHT DEEP |
||
|
Plays:14 Avg Gain:7.9 NFL Rank: 22nd |
Plays: 05 Avg Gain: 21.4 NFL Rank: 2nd |
Plays: 08 Avg Gain:12.2 NFL Rank: 13th |
||
| LEFT SHORT |
MIDDLE SHORT | RIGHT SHORT |
||
|
Plays: 49 Avg Gain: 5.4 NFL Rank: 18th |
Plays: 24 Avg Gain: 5.9 NFL Rank: 21st |
Plays:46 Avg Gain:3.9 NFL Rank: 29th |
||
| Chargers Passing Zone Frequency Chart |
||||
Chargers Passing Observations:
- The Chargers like to take the long ball down the field to the left side. That plays right into what teams have been doing to the Chiefs in the preseason. Opponents have attacked Carr and the short left side of the Chiefs secondary without mercy: 53 times or 2nd in the NFL.
- Don't expect to see many long plays down the middle of the field. The Chargers would seem to prefer going deep on the right or left side and the Chiefs, with the addition of Berry, were only attacked 5 times (rank 23rd) deep down the middle of the field.
Click On "Bewsaf Past Posts" for more past articles
| *Chiefs Preseason: Breaking Down The Back Up O-Line - Packers | *Chiefs Preseason: Breaking Down The O-Line Tape - Primer | *I Wish I Had A Dollar (Bewsaf Uncaged) |
|
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Comments
Another stellar job! Rec'd
Great breakdown! FYI, in the 2nd to last paragraph, under Charger Passing Observations, you left in a “Packers”…
This is why I love AP
this place is great, and has really opened up my mind to the Chiefs and football in general. Rec’d Bewsaf and keep them coming, its great knowing the enemy in depth like this!
The picture is a Chiefs pumpkin, yeah that is right a Chiefs pumpkin.
I expect the Chargers
to throw a deep bomb their very first play of the game.
Jamaal Charles...Enough said.
and it get picked by #29
Chiefs will be competing for a division title in 2010
by Bleedzredngold on Sep 9, 2010 9:58 AM CDT up reply actions 3 recs
The Chiefs
have all that adrenalin going and want to make an impression on the first series. They are all hyped up to stick it to the Chargers on the run…and…bomb on the first play.
Seen it before.
Bewsaf@comcast.net
agreed hopefully romeo has too
Chiefs will be competing for a division title in 2010
by Bleedzredngold on Sep 9, 2010 10:04 AM CDT up reply actions
i actually hope our offense hits the field first
for those same reasons but on the chargers defense and it would help settle a lil of that adrenaline before our defense hits the field
Chiefs will be competing for a division title in 2010
by Bleedzredngold on Sep 9, 2010 10:07 AM CDT up reply actions
I think it's extremely important to get off to a good start.
Our offense getting on the field first for a long TD Drive, would really set the tone for the defense and Special Teams.
I know that you're afraid... you're afraid of us. You're afraid of change. I don't know the future. I didn't come here to tell you how this is going to end. I came here to tell you how it's going to begin.
HOLY SHIT
REAL ACTUAL FOOTBALL IS BEING PLAYED TONIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
For ya’ll who that don’t want a 18 game schedule, just think…that’s 2 less weeks of meaningless, painful offesason.
by craig in calgary on Sep 9, 2010 10:14 AM CDT reply actions
When does the CFL kickoff?
Opinions are like A--holes, everyones got one.
by aPacificChief on Sep 9, 2010 10:30 AM CDT up reply actions
Chiefs win the toss, elect to receive...
Arenas take the ball from the 2. He darts left, then back right, he finds a lane up the middle of the field, he just has the kicker to beat… he side steps the kicker, he’s in open space. He’s at the 20, the 10, the 5, TOUCHDOWN, KANSAS CITY!!!! TOUCHDOWN, JAVIER ARENAS!!!!
That’s how the game starts… That’s how the season starts….. And that’s how the Chiefs take control of the game from the opening kick!
Chiefs 24 Chargers 17
Touchdown Machine: Dexter McCluster
Football Prodigy: Eric Berry
The revival of Derrick Johnson
The Manimal: Tamba Hali
AFC West Champs 2011
Our New Kansas City Chiefs!
Considering
we havent had a good returner since the Great Dante Hall…
We had to suffer with the likes of Bobby Wade for crying out loud.
I know that you're afraid... you're afraid of us. You're afraid of change. I don't know the future. I didn't come here to tell you how this is going to end. I came here to tell you how it's going to begin.
3:10 to Yuma?
Opinions are like A--holes, everyones got one.
by aPacificChief on Sep 9, 2010 11:06 AM CDT up reply actions
No...that's Ben Wade LOL
2010 Prediction: Chiefs go 10-6 and make playoffs
Twitter: @GiftNate
Nate Gift
by giftedchiefsfan on Sep 9, 2010 2:33 PM CDT up reply actions
"Remind me never to play poker in this town."
Opinions are like A--holes, everyones got one.
by aPacificChief on Sep 10, 2010 6:47 AM CDT up reply actions
Deep Left of Defenses or Deep Left Offensively Bewsaf?
Because if it’s Rivers’ deep left that would be Flowers on the right side of the defense, correct?
Clear this up for me please.
Our deep right...
their deep left. The Chargers went deep left (our right side of the defense which would be Carr) 14 times and short left (our right side, or Carr and LBs) 59 times.
Bewsaf@comcast.net
I'd expect that to change
Flowers isn’t the corner out of our pair that you want to test a great deal.
They’ve seen him enough to know that even at his height he can cover the deep ball. I’d expect them to change it up a little and test Carr more (although he’s been playing better the last few weeks).
I love my wife, my kids, and the Chiefs. In that order. Except on game days.
Deep left if you are throwing the ball
The spot where you put your best WR, and the spot where it’s easiest for a right handed person to throw
IMO
Let them run it up the middle at a 3.03 ypc all day long.
They won’t win that way.
"Success is never ending, failure is never final."
I agree!
This is gonna be a T.O.P. game. We’re gonna try to keep the ball AWAY from Rivers, and the more clock THEY use, the better for us, really. This Charger team is NOT coached by Marty Schottenheimer. They will not suddenly turn into a Run First team. They’re gonna throw the ball, we need to just be sure to stop it.
I know that you're afraid... you're afraid of us. You're afraid of change. I don't know the future. I didn't come here to tell you how this is going to end. I came here to tell you how it's going to begin.
The key is a high performance Carr
I am hoping Carr is revved up and ready as they will come after him all night Burn rubber and don’t get burned.
by paulredfish on Sep 9, 2010 11:51 AM CDT via mobile reply actions
That's my take on it too...
SD’s preseason stats show Carr and the LB’s have their work cut out for them. I’m pulling for Carr to have a breakout year (we NEED this)! While improved, so far he’s just scaring me. That stunt in the preseason where he was facing the receiver and used his (receiver’s) outstretched hands as a key to swat his arm is dangerous. All a receiver has to do is outstretch his arms early, and Carr swats them before the ball is there. Receiver falls down (like the punters fake it)…PI and 1st down. We just can’t give up the big play. If they get a couple on Carr early and get into his head, it’ll be a looong night.
I’m hoping the reason they start DJ is for pass protection over the middle. If he can lay another hit like he did earlier, wowzer! Get those GD, er, SD receivers hearing footsteps early…This will be a tremendous test for our D, and how well they listen to Romeo to correct early mistakes. Romeo’s a pro, and he’s got 5 rings to prove it. There’s nothing he hasn’t seen, lets hope the young D have an open ear and are able to utilize his wisdom. Vrabel helping out with the reads on the field will be invaluable. We need him to stay in the game and not get hurt. If we could only find a way to get Studebaker, Williams, Belcher, Vrabel, and DJ on the field at the same time… Somehow I just get a feeling Romeo will have something pretty cool cooked up for the GD, er, SD Chargers. Why do I keep doing that? …
I believe this game belongs to our D. If they answer the call, play tough on 2nd and 3rd down, don’t give up the big play, we can sneak out a W. All our O has to do is put up 21 points—maybe our D can help with that too!!
I can see it now…DJ HAMMERS Gates coming over the middle, the ball pops up and out, ending up in Arenas’s hands! Cutting through the opposing linemen, he stiff-arms Rivers as he takes it to the house! PICK 6…and WHAT? Rivers is still down? oops…
they need to...
stay in the game in the first quarter. They can’t get behind. Once the game drags on, our running game will have the chance to take over.
FYI: Black text against a dark blue background is lost on these poor eyes of mine.
"I ain't lyin' 'bout nothin'."
"Oh? So what exactly are you lying about?"
Magic eye stereogram
You just have to refocus. (I suspect it’s in Charger blue.)
More to your point, Bewsaf…
Opponents have attacked Carr and the short left side of the Chiefs secondary without mercy: 53 times or 2nd in the NFL.
So we just need that Cub fan to reach over the stadium railing and tip any long passes along that sideline. The 12th man.
you're too kind
Keep up the great analyses. Adds a lot of depth to the site. (humor ain’t bad either)
out of curiosity, have the chargers been playing 3-4 defenses in thr preseason?
also, any numbers on the starting defense, not just all units?
same for sd’s offense. where has rivers thrown to?
" It was great for me to get out of that city, because it was just a lot of jealousy, envy and hate that came with being a part of that city."
- LJ, after taking denial lessons from our current President
Lets see...
Broncos, Patriots, Browns, Chargers, Chiefs, Cowboys, Jets , Packers, Dolphins, Ravens, Bills, Cardinals, 49ers and Steelers all run a form of the 3-4. (Bewsaf wipes his forehead)
The Chargers have played (preseason) Bears, Cowboys, Saints, and 49ers.
So that would be two 4-3s and two 3-4s.
Starters vs backups…not of the top of my head. :) And yes, preseason numbers are not as useful as regular season numbers.
Bewsaf@comcast.net
no I know that wasn't the point of the post.
It gives us a somewhat useful of ideas of the big picture of our enemy.
I was just curious…
" It was great for me to get out of that city, because it was just a lot of jealousy, envy and hate that came with being a part of that city."
- LJ, after taking denial lessons from our current President
by chief Stevie_k on Sep 9, 2010 4:10 PM CDT up reply actions
Last season is probably a poor indicator, but ...
The Chargers played 10 games against 3-4 teams, and went 6-4. They played 7 games against 4-3 teams and went 7-0.
The Ravens beat the Chargers by shutting down their goal-line and short-yardage offense, taking advantage of the absence of Nick Hardwick and LT. The Chargers came out very sluggish against the Steelers, gave up a 28-0 lead, then scored 28, but couldn’t hold off the Steelers’ offense in the fourth quarter. Both the Steelers and Ravens ran and passed very well, largely because the Chargers hadn’t accounted for the loss of Jamal Williams. Since then, the Bolts have replaced most of their D-line, and their opposing YPC dropped precipitously, from “bad” to “average.”
The Broncos did basically the same thing; they couldn’t keep San Diego off the scoreboard in the first half, but they did manage to disrupt the Chargers quite a lot in the fourth quarter with timed blitzes up the middle, which were a bit above Mruczkowski’s pay-grade. That stuff don’t work on Hardwick, though, so I don’t know what to tell you.
The Jets have just a killer pass defense, though they couldn’t really shut down the San Diego passing game. The Chargers, sans run game, were able only to keep it close, and Nate Kaeding freaked out under pressure, going 0-for-3. That’s not going to happen consistently, sorry. And now the Bolts have a big, nasty halfback, and are just itching to try him out.
I don’t really know that there’s a model revealed there, or at least applies this year. I think both teams have to go into this contest without too much film. The San Diego offense is no longer a known quantity, because LT and VJ have been replaced with Ryan Mathews and Legedu Naanee (who in turn is replaced by a committee of Patrick Crayton, Randy McMichael and Buster Davis), and because the line is now geared more toward blocking for the run and less toward protecting the passer (I think this is a better fit with Mathews and the fullback collection). The San Diego defense will probably be beatable, but I don’t expect great things in the air from the Chiefs. They have to keep it close by getting good first down yardage, especially early in the game. Two consecutive stuffs in the first quarter could lead to a blowout.
An autumn Sunday,
Perched in front of the big screen,
Beer in white knuckles.
by Neoplatonist Bolthead on Sep 11, 2010 4:54 PM CDT up reply actions
The run stats above are meaningless
LT didn’t have the speed to get to the edge in 2009. That is, if he didn’t trip on a blade of grass on his way there first. There was no room in the middle for LT because the ends and LBs could cheat in.
No such luck this year. Ryan Mathews best runs were to the edge this preseason. He broke off a few big ones out running everyone to the corner. I guarantee he’s going to injure a few DBs this year out on that edge, too. The kid hits harder than he really should if he wants to have a long NFL career. He’ll eventually learn to use the sidelines, but not in his first NFL game on prime time. Watch for how many blows this kid is going to deliver Monday.
After Eric Berry knocks his helmet off dropping Matthews in his tracks, the rookie from SD will start using the sidelines.
2010 Prediction: Chiefs go 10-6 and make playoffs
Twitter: @GiftNate
Nate Gift
by giftedchiefsfan on Sep 9, 2010 2:36 PM CDT up reply actions
Have you seen Mathews run?
Berry will be awesome, but that Ryan Mathews isn’t going to be intimidated by nuthin’.
An autumn Sunday,
Perched in front of the big screen,
Beer in white knuckles.
by Neoplatonist Bolthead on Sep 11, 2010 2:56 PM CDT up reply actions
The above stats are from 2010 preseason.
But one could argue that the preseason stats are meaningless as well.
Thx for the response.
Bewsaf@comcast.net
Tendencies, especially, sorry.
Preseason tendencies are really more than anything a question of what you’re unsure about. If you’ll notice, the Chargers, a team with two unproven left tackles and an expensive rookie RB with a hard-charging style, are the team with all the runs to the left (behind the unproven tackles) and the runs up the middle less likely to yield injury to the RB).
Preseason passing tendencies are mostly about who needs to be on tape getting the ball. Malcom Floyd? Yeah, we know what to expect. Seyi Ajirotutu? Buster Davis? Legedu Naanee? Not quite so much.
An autumn Sunday,
Perched in front of the big screen,
Beer in white knuckles.
by Neoplatonist Bolthead on Sep 11, 2010 5:01 PM CDT up reply actions
Excellent job as per your usual Bewsaf. Rec'd
Interesting their tendency to run up the middle. To be perfectly honest, their run game doesn’t scare me that much. For all the raving done about Matthews, he’s looked mostly “OK”, averaging less than 4.5 ypc. Compare that to our backs… you get the picture.
Maybe he’s really is the next big thing, but I don’t see it when he runs. He looks decently fast and decently strong, but he’s not elite in either of those categories.
I think he’ll pan out just fine, but I wonder; would he be getting all this “superstar” hype had SD not traded up for him? Spiller has looked far more impressive IMO…
Now their PASSING game… That’s actually scary.
I love my wife, my kids, and the Chiefs. In that order. Except on game days.
Bewsaf, I forgot to ask...
What’s YOUR take on Matthews? Based on whatever game tape of him you’ve seen, that is.
I love my wife, my kids, and the Chiefs. In that order. Except on game days.
Nice
Acceleration and decent change of direction. Has speed (wouldn’t be in the NFL if he didn’t) but not like Charles. Nice pad level and running through the tackle skills.
The guy is going to be a good back. Don’t let him get to the second level without putting a pad on him or he will run through a few of the Chiefs d-backs.
That means no huge hole to run through and the LBs have to fill hard and up field.
Bewsaf@comcast.net
Sounds like a younger Jones almost
Fast, but not that fast. Strong, good acceleration.
I suppose I can’t count it against him that he doesn’t have JC speed. No one but CJ does (accept maybe McCluster from the looks of it).
I love my wife, my kids, and the Chiefs. In that order. Except on game days.
That's basically it.
Very aggressive, nimble, great balance, excellent strength, hard to take down. In the preseason, against starters whose names I recognized but forget, he bulldozed a Chicago linebacker head-on while off-balance and still keeping his feet to pick up another 15+ yards, and against both Dallas (I think) and New Orleans he threw DBs into each other in the open field, taking out two guys without breaking his stride.
But he doesn’t have great vision. For instance, he kept running up on his linemen. In maybe one game’s worth of plays, he flattened both Clary and Hardwick, and once knocked Hardwick into a defender hard enough to take them both down. A few times he ran to the wrong side, including that one New Orleans play that keeps cropping up on BFTB. LT never did that kind of stuff; he always knew exactly where to go.
An autumn Sunday,
Perched in front of the big screen,
Beer in white knuckles.
by Neoplatonist Bolthead on Sep 11, 2010 3:07 PM CDT up reply actions
*ran to the wrong side
I meant, made poor decisions after executing the play. I don’t mean, didn’t run the play that was called. In the NO case, he could have gone to the sideline and probably made the house, and went inside (and right into a DT’s belly) instead.
I was supposed to edit that before submitting. Oh well.
An autumn Sunday,
Perched in front of the big screen,
Beer in white knuckles.
by Neoplatonist Bolthead on Sep 11, 2010 3:10 PM CDT up reply actions
This is good stuff.
Bolts from the Blue // "It is what it is." - A.J. Smith
Bloody Elbow // "Richard is a jewel." - Kid Nate
Great post
Where did you get the gamecharting info from?
by Brendan Scolari on Sep 11, 2010 2:15 PM CDT reply actions
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