Kansas City Chiefs Scoring By Field Position - Week 7

There are many factors that go into why teams score points in the NFL.  One of those factors is the starting field position on each drive.  The further away a team is from the end zone the less likely they are to keep a drive going long enough to score.

Against the Jacksonville Jaguars the Kansas City Chiefs demonstrated that they can not only run the ball but also be a little bit more aggressiveness throwing the ball down the field.  Matt Cassel came alive this week to throw 7 passes for 15 yards or more.  That is a Matt Cassel that fans should be willing to embrace. 

Here are some interesting observations regarding field position scoring this past week.

• The Chiefs had at least one 15 yard play in 7 of the 10 KC drives.  The Chiefs scored in four of those drives and moved the ball at least one zone in the other three. 
  
• In the three possessions that did not have a 15 yard play, the Chiefs only scored in one (Interception return to the Jax 12)
  
• On the next to last possession the Chiefs started from zone 5 and Cassel got the call and delivered down-field with completions of 16 and 13 yards.  The drive ended in a KC touchdown.
  

Let's check out the rest of the numbers.

• The NFL averages are only approximates since I have grouped the starting field position into zones.

Scoring by Field Position:  Jacksonville Jaguar Game Comments:

Matt Cassel, like most NFL quarterbacks,  is not Peyton Manning or Drew Brees.  What Matt Cassel can be is a quarterback that manages a football team that can take 6-8 confident throws down field for 12-18 yard gains (intermediate throws).  With this running attack...Cassel becomes one of the final pieces of the 2010 offense.

Matt Cassel showed Kansas City fans this past Sunday that he can be that guy.  Not just a guy that hands it off, a guy that simply dinks and dunks the ball so the running game can go, but a true NFL quarterback that even though the Chiefs might not beat you with the bomb they can still hurt you with the pass.

Going forward we will see if Matt Cassel can play confident, play within himself, be himself.  Matt Cassel is the guy that can hurt you with the pass if he is all of these things.  He's not Peyton, not the savior...but he can be a weapon.  The weapon that KC needs to take the next step.

Scoring by Field Position:  Zone 5 Comments:

Chiefs score!  Chiefs score!  That's right.  The Kansas City Chiefs score their first touchdown of the season when starting from zone 5.   Last week I wrote...

Looking at the above information it would appear that the Chiefs scoring problems from zone 5 is tied to the passing game and the number of successes down the field.  It is no surprise that coordinators are hesitant when deep in their own territory for fear of turning the ball over and giving the other team some easy points.  So winning the field position battle is first priority.  However, if the Chiefs want to score more (or at all) from zone 5 they are going to have to throw that ball a little more down field.

In the Jacksonville game the Chiefs started from zone 5, twice.  The first series went like this...

1. Cassel incomplete short.
2. McCluster 11 yard run.
3. McCluster 15 yard run.
4. Cassel sacked, -3.
5. Jones 5 yard run.
6. Cassel incomplete short left.
7. Punt.

The Chiefs got one play for 15 yards and moved the ball 1 zone but failed to score.  Who knows what Weis was thinking on the play that Cassel got sacked.  Maybe they were going to the intermediate route.  Regardless, no score.

Let's look at the second possession from zone #5.

1. Charles 2 yard run.
2. Cassel incomplete.
3. Cassel 16 yard completion.
4. Jones 2 yard run.
5. Charles 7 yard run.
6. Cassel 13 yard completion.
7. Charles 11 yard run & 15 yard penalty added on.
   
8. Charles 18 yard run.
9. Jones no gain.
10. Cassel 6 yard completion...TOUCHDOWN.

The Chiefs got the ball down field into the intermediate areas and, yes, they scored.

Scoring by Field Position:  Zone 4 Comments:

• The Chiefs are right at the league average at 20% when scoring touchdowns from zone #4 and slightly below the average when scoring field goals from zone #4.
• It is good to be at least at the NFL average for zone #4 because most drives start from zone 4.

Scoring by Field Position:  Zone 3 Comments:

• The Chiefs started on drive at zone 3 after a Jacksonville kickoff.  The Chiefs didn't disappoint as Cassel his Dwayne Bowe for he 53 yard catch and run. 
  
• By scoring from zone 3 against the Jags, Kansas City improved their scoring percentage from this zone to 50%.

Other interesting stats based on field position:

• The Chiefs won the time of possession battle by holding onto the ball 34:00 to the Jags 26:00.

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