Kansas City Chiefs Confirm Their Mediocrity

by Chris Thorman on Sep 9, 2007 3:23 PM CDT in 2007 Campaign Comment 23 comments

With a 20 to 3 loss to the Houston Texans this afternoon. The Texans had a 77 yard TD pass from Matt Schaub to Andre Johnson and Mario Williams picked up a Kris Wilson fumble and returned it for a TD. Check out the stats here.

Damon Huard had one more INT in this game than he did all of last year. Larry Johnson didn't break 50 yards rushing. The Chiefs only rushed the ball 17 total times. The Texans had the ball for five and half minutes longer than the Chiefs.

My mind's racing all over the place right now. The Chiefs have a lot to improve. I'll have a full recap up later today or tomorrow morning. In the meantime, use this thread as a clearinghouse for all of your post game thoughts.

There's hope, Chiefs fans. You just have to look hard to find it.

0 recs | Comment 23 comments

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

no there is NO hope for this year

the offense will be every bit as bad through the season as it was in the exhibition season. For all the talk about how good the defense is supposed to be, the Texans didn't find it all that puzzling either. This year has the makings of a true embarrassment written all over it. Just listening to Herm in the postgame tips you off. If Herm thought he REALLY had a team this year, he would have been angry enough to spit molten lead. But listening to him, its just another day at the plant.

by sm7600 on Sep 9, 2007 4:07 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

agreed, sm7600 ...

i know it's easy to overreact to the first game of the season, lose or win.
but it's really distressing to feel Herm doesn't seem willing or able to light a fire under these guys.
getting even a wildcard spot is going to be tough in the NFL this season, and there's really no room to give away winnable games like this.

If everyone is thinking alike then someone isn't thinking. George Patton

by NYChiefsFan on Sep 9, 2007 4:17 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I thought the defense played pretty good

14 of their points were on two plays. They'll get better, especially when Jared Allen comes back.

by Chris Thorman on Sep 9, 2007 4:17 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

this defense is not one person away

from being a good defense.

by sm7600 on Sep 9, 2007 4:19 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Offense and special teams killed us

One of those TDs came when the defense wasn't even on the field. The other was a play action which seems to me to have been a weak spot for the Chiefs for years.

The first Texans field goal came off a bad play on special teams.

The defense was let down by the offense and special teams. They may not be the greatest, it seemed like they were on the field a ton.

Looking forward to your recap.

by AirHead on Sep 9, 2007 4:31 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

stupidest comment ever

14 of their points were on two plays? OMG U R SO SMARTT!!!11!!!

God, you idiot, think before you write.

-cw

by webby37 on Sep 9, 2007 4:46 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

First of all

Chill out. We're all Chiefs fans here. No reason to insult anyone.

To clarify what I meant, most of their points came off of just two mistakes by the Chiefs. We had our mistakes but it wasn't a total meltdown.

by Chris Thorman on Sep 9, 2007 5:06 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Think before you write

Did you just call God an idiot? Because that's what you wrote :) Everybody except you knew what Chris meant...just like everyone knows that you didn't mean that god was an idiot.

by PVChiefsfan on Sep 10, 2007 11:48 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

i agree.

defense played very good. they will improve with jared allen, but before that last 15+ play drive to start the 4th quarter they played excellent. offense is our problem...

by rockchalk on Sep 9, 2007 5:00 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

uh, i thought the preseason was over.

I guess somebody needs to tell Herm and the boys that these games actually count now, and, um, they should like, really try a little -- a LOT -- harder to win a few.

I'm totally at a loss (ouch) to fathom how this team with this talent could perform so terribly against another marginal team. We made the Texans look like Superbowl contenders.

Just where the hell was our "new and improved defense?" The offense? Well, we obviously were fooling ourselves that with Huard and LJ it would spring back to life instantly from the dead.
But you telling me our D couldn't hold the Texans?
Shouldn't we just forfeit the San Diego games (at least) now?

If everyone is thinking alike then someone isn't thinking. George Patton

by NYChiefsFan on Sep 9, 2007 4:13 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I'll give you that there's hope

but I'll also agree with "not for this year". I've been saying this all year and I've taken a ton of crap for it, but this is not a good football team. We signed a TE that's past his prime (it's a business Carl), a QB who is 32 and a career backup, we didn't draft any OL, and we traded away our kicker and gave the job to a damn rookie without competition. If you were looking in your cookbook for a recipe of disaster, I just gave it to you. Can we please sign a real kicker this week? Freakin' Lin Elliot was watching at home saying, "This kid sucks". But, I have to give you the positives. Donnie Edwards is a true leader. It's nice to have him back. Dwayne Bowe looked pretty good. Samie Parker actually caught some passes (The most exciting part of the whole game). Long and short, we suck fellas.

by royaldaddy on Sep 9, 2007 4:27 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Bowe has

definite potential, this year, to be a good WR.

If Justin Medlock misses a kick he should make next week, he'll be cut.

by Chris Thorman on Sep 9, 2007 4:29 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Medlock's filling Tynes' shoe nicely

There were Chiefs fans behind us at the game. We all groaned at the missed kick and one of them said, "missed field goal, things are going to plan."

We watched the second kick in silence, not daring to say a thing until we say the ref's signal.

by AirHead on Sep 9, 2007 4:36 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Also

I had a bad feeling today when I was sitting at this family reunion (one of those where there's a ton of people there and you're not really related to any of them) when I heard a young kid ask his dad, "What time do the Raiders play?" The dad responded that they'll have to watch the Raiders at 3pm when the game starts.

Then, some old guy shows up with a Denver Broncos hat on that says "Alumni" on the back. Turns out, he's some old school Broncos player. I had no idea who he was.

Ominous signs...

by Chris Thorman on Sep 9, 2007 4:32 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

More Ominous signs

I saw way too many people wearing a Texans shirt and a Chiefs hat (or vice versa). It was weird.

by AirHead on Sep 9, 2007 4:38 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Offense is the problem.

Look, the defense got pressure on Schaub (need more sacks, but he's known for his mobility), made a huge pick in the endzone, and played how it needed to.

Every. Other. Facet. of the team let them down.

I can talk about Medlock, but you have to expect that from a rookie kicker. That's what happens when you put him on the field.

Bowe looked great, Parker looks like he can excel. LJ was still comging back , but he showed flashes of what makes him great, and Bennett was good in backup.

So what was the problem?

Damon Huard.

Five yard dump pass. Five yard dump pass. 7 yard slant. Every time he tried to go downfield, it was a duck. The receivers didn't hold onto the ball as well as they could have, but it also would have been nice to hit SOMEONE in stride!

Huard's gotta go. Bring in Croyle.

by Ridiculous Matt on Sep 9, 2007 4:45 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Damn straight

When you've got a dominant runner like LJ, teams will start sneaking up closer and closer. Once they're in close, you bomb one on them and they learn to respect both aspects of your offense. It helps Larry because they know we could bomb on them at any time. With Huard, you can basically cover the middle of the field and wait. That's how the D-lineman got the second pick. We don't have the threat of the deep ball. I'm not saying that Brodie is the next coming of Brett Favre, but he gives us the option of deep threat. I agree with the earlier comment of letting Brodie start in week 3.

by royaldaddy on Sep 9, 2007 5:09 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

i agree with marcusallen...

huard needs to be benched.

and it isnt all his fault either. its just we are going to suck this year, pretty bad too (5-11/6-10) so we might as well build for next year.

same with medlock, we have to give him the ENTIRE YEAR to see if he can kick in this league. its not like a missed FG here or there will ruin our chances to make the playoffs. give medlock all year to prove he is an NFL kicker, otherewise cut em at the end of the year.

bowe looked good, although he needs to improve his hands. same with parker. hopefully kennison can come back and we can have 4 solid options in the passing game (plus TG) besides LJ. LJ ran the ball pretty well, and bennett is a good backup.

of course, once we go to croyle the biggest thing that needs to change is the playcalling. i am sick of EVERY SINGLE TIME we drop back to pass huard dumping the ball off, and it is probably partly on huard and partly on solari. croyle can make tons more throws than huard, and solari has to recognize that and be willing to launch the ball deep. our offense will be much better if they are scared of people running by them, instead of just playing short and waiting for the dump off and watching him get tackled for no yards after catch.

PUT CROYLE IN!!!!

by rockchalk on Sep 9, 2007 4:59 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

What I saw at the game.

The defense played pretty decent until the middle to late third quarter. What happened to running the ball and controlling the clock? Also why does Sapp and Brackenridge play so much? They are two of my favorite Chiefs but they are in the game to much. On offense the shuffle in to many lineman. I know Mcintosh is coming off injury but putting in Terry and Svitek for more then 2 or 3 plays is just begging for trouble. Also if they put Croyle in now, especially after saying to the media that Huard gives them the best chance at victory, will tell the team that the coaches are waving the white flag. If this happens (5-11/6-10) predictions will become more like (3-13/4-12) reality. I say wait until the bye week and if the team is still struggling then put in Croyle.

Sorry Chris the camera was messed up so I could not get any game pictures.

by TXroyal on Sep 9, 2007 6:38 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I Wish It Was More Complicated

But it's not.

I hate pulling the plug on Huard after one game, I really do. I want to give it time. But after what we've seen in the preseason, and given the condition of our offensive line, LJ, and the weapons we have, Huard is not the guy.

We're not going to go anywhere being predictable on every play and throwing five yard slants or check-downs to the running backs on EVERY PLAY. We all know what happens when we do that. People like Mario Williams score touchdowns.

Croyle's got an arm we can stretch the field with. If Huard had used even an ounce of mobility today, maybe I'd be swayed.

But if we're going to have any hope this season, we've got to have an arm on the field. Granted, I'd be fine with going 1-15, getting the no.1, and drafting Brian Brohm. That would work, too.

by Ridiculous Matt on Sep 9, 2007 8:12 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

just to clarify...

i am fine with huard starting next week. it would be hard to start out your career (in all reality, i know he played against pitt last year) on the road against chicago, so just keep huard in there.

but, croyle better start the home opener...

by rockchalk on Sep 9, 2007 8:16 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs