[gblowfish]

Ten Things About Today’s Game: Week 2

10. I’d rather be lucky than good. That saying was never truer than in today’s giant banana peel slip and slide contest. It was one of those days where the Chiefs couldn’t find their ass cheeks with either hand, and the Texans had everything go their way -including getting a mystery holding penalty on a 105 yard KC kickoff return and having a blocked FG do a dying quail over the crossbar to put the game out of reach. Maclin hadn’t dropped a ball in over 50 some odd games, dropped a bushel basket full, ended up pulling in only six of fifteen targets, most of the receptions in catch up garbage time. Smith and Ware hadn’t fumbled in over a year; both lose fumbles at critical times. Harris gets hit in stride with a perfect pass for a game changing play….fumbles -or drops the ball says the inconsistent crappy NFL officiating crew. We’ll look at both sides of the ball and at specials, but ultimately it comes down to what my dear old dad used to say when he’d scream at the Chiefs offense back in the early 1980s: THREES DON’T BEAT SEVENS!

9. Let’s start with the offense. The offensive line was a patchwork, missing our two starting guards, and their quality of play was uneven. Alex was sacked four times. Morse sets the tone for the game by hiking the ball over Alex’s head for the first turnover that played itself into the game’s only TD. Schwartz had his hands full with JJ Watt, who got the best of the matchup, and caused several critical false starts. KC had 77 yards in penalties, most of those on offense. Fisher holding. Fisher false start. And because of the inconsistent line play, Smith averaged less than five yards per pass and KC was 3 for 14 on third down. Despite all that, KC was in the game until about four minutes left in the fourth quarter. Hard to fathom.

8. Smith had a lousy day. No TDs, few passes over 10 yards completed, but some of that was on his butterfingered receiving corps. This team sleep waked through the first and third quarters again this week. First three possessions in the third quarter were three and out. That’s a sure way to wear out your defense, and is a reason Houston went to the hurry up offense in the second half; to literally grind our D into the ground. Most of Alex’s passing yardage was in garbage time in the last four minutes of the game. Kelce disappeared for most of the game. Conley was a non-factor. Harris gets one ball thrown at him for a momentum changing play and puts the ball on the ground. KC only got into the red zone twice, and withered and died there both times. Just one of those days were nobody stepped up to make a play.

7. Was it just me, or did it seem like our players were slipping and sliding all over the damn field? Ware gets hit with a pass down the seam -one of our few big plays- and he tackles himself. Maclin was falling down on cuts constantly in the first quarter. Our defensive backs were slipping and sliding in coverage. Why can’t we do a better job equipping our guys with the right cleats for the playing surface? Seems like a basic chore for a professional football equipment crew. And there still seems to be confusion on both sides of the ball getting plays called in, and defenses set. On a critical third down play with about five minutes left, the Chiefs defense was hopping around trying to figure out coverage. The Texans put two guys on on the edge. Gaines was waving his arms wildly because he couldn’t cover both guys. DJ noticed it too late; sprinted over that direction; Texans quick snapped the ball, threw out to the uncovered receiver, Gaines got chipped, missed the tackle, and instant first down; Chiefs lose another critical two minutes in game time bleeding away. That's purely bad communication.

6. Spencer Ware’s fumble was a killer. If he goes down with that football in hand, it changes the entire momentum of the game. I guess on the bright side, perhaps he’ll learn from this experience, and get better at ball security. I know Bienemy gave him an earful on the sideline afterwards. West is improving at blitz pickups. For a little guy, he’s not afraid to stick his nose in there and pancake a linebacker. Small consolation, but perhaps a positive we can build on.

5. The defensive front played mostly better today. Poe and Howard had a much better game this week; Alan Bailey is still MIA. I think Bailey needs to sit, and Chris Jones needs to play in his place. In the fourth quarter, Jones’ rush draws a hands to the face penalty which pushes Houston out of field goal range; then Hopkins catches a pass across the middle missing a first down by half a yard; then Jones gets a hand on the field goal attempt that quacks like a wounded duck barely over the crossbar. Play this guy. He’s a game changer. Still not getting much pass rush or sacks. Tamba got one, DJ got one. Mr. Ford….paging Mr. Ford….

4. Oh PETERS PETERS PETERS. The Peters giveth, the Peters taketh away. This kid is the Chiefs version of Yordano Ventura. Sometimes brilliant; sometimes a Bone Headed Dipshit. I’m going to say this; and you may or may not agree with it: But when you go all John Carlos for the National Anthem, you’re going to have a negative spotlight on you. And deserved or not, when you start to get the reputation as a hot head and a trash talking taunt-tongued punk, you’re going to draw attention from the zebras. I can’t help but think Peters focus is not all there. Hopkins for the most part, ate his lunch today. Both Peters picks were off target throws from Osweasle. Hopkins had over 100 yards receiving, most of that on Peters. Peters is supposed to be our number one corner, but teams are choosing to pick on him as the primary target. And he’s a candidate to get kicked out of every game on Personal Fouls. And the Personal Foul he drew today was because of his punk ass reputation. JJ Watt can wag fingers at people all day long and never gets called. But he’s JJ Watt, poster boy for the NFL; versus Marcus Peters, poster boy for the prototypical NFL Hood Rat. My advice to Peters: Strap Up, Shut Up, let your play do the talking. Zip it. Go back to the huddle, concentrate on doing your job.

3. Special Teams: This game reminded me a lot of our loss to Cincy last year where the Brazilian Midget kicked seven field goals and we still lost 36-21. Santos was on target; but after his third FG; which got the Chiefs back into the game, he kicks the ball OUT OF BOUNDS which gives the Texans the ball at the forty. Texans won field position battle all day long. And of course, the other play that could have put KC back in the game, a 105 yard kickoff return by “Probation” Hill gets called back on a mystery hold by Nelson. I watched that play three or four times; and that call is dubious at best. And did Hill injure himself by dancing in the end zone afterwards? Looks like he went to the bench in a slow and gingerly manner?

2. If the Chiefs continue to only play half of games, they’re going to be playing from behind week after week. It’s easier to get away with that at home than on the road. If you look at the last five minutes of this game, and how many times our line false started for noise issues, it’s just too much of a hole to overcome. And although Alex has led us to a big comeback, well, ONCE…LAST WEEK, he can’t be expected to be Jesus Christ and Aaron Rodgers every time we get down by ten or more. Most of this was back to lucky vs. good; Today Houston was lucky and good, Chiefs were neither.

1. Well, you didn’t expect to go undefeated, did you? Me either, but still, games like this are always ones you wish you had back later in the year. I don’t think we had any major injuries -hopefully Ware and Hill are OK- and KC now comes home against a Jets team that looked good against Coach Foot Fetish’s Bills. Jets will get a couple extra days to prepare for this game, which will be to their advantage. So, HOLD ON TO THE BALL, PETERS SHUT THE HELL UP AND JUST PLAY, GET A PASS RUSH ON FITZ, and most of all, PLAY ALL FOUR QUARTERS! See you guys at the yard next Sunday.