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ESPN's Adam Teicher has written a couple of articles raising questions about the Kansas City Chiefs rushing attack in 2013. After watching four preseason games, there are good reasons to start wondering about the Chiefs running game. Jamaal Charles is still there so there's nothing to worry about at this point but I did find a few preseason stats worth passing along.
In years past the Chiefs have been one of the run-heaviest teams in the league (except when they're getting blown out, which was a lot). This year, obviously, things will change.
Here are a few reasons why folks are wondering about the Chiefs rushing attack:
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No team rushed less in the preseason than the Chiefs 89 rushing attempts. Andy Reid has acknowledged that he was working on the Chiefs passing game during the preseason. At least that's the reason he gives behind this stat.
On first-and-10 this year, the Chiefs ran it 41 percent of the time and passed it 59 percent of the time. Again, Reid said he was focusing on the passing game.
The Chiefs were 9th in passing attempts during the preseason. You gotta think this is close to where they end up, right?
Of five third-and-2 situations, the Chiefs passed it three times. They ran it all five times on 3rd-and-1. Small sample size here so not much to glean but I found the former especially interesting.
What this doesn't talk about is Jamaal Charles' work catching balls out of the backfield. That will obviously be a factor. And the caveat that this is the preseason and things won't match up to how they go in the preseason.
But I found these preseason stats interesting regardless. (Whoa. I just said I found preseason stats interesting.)
With all that said ... I don't really know what to expect out of Jamaal on Sunday. Just depends on how many touches he gets. What do you expect?