The Good, Bad, and the Ugly (Offense)

[OldSchool]

Here's my thoughts of what I saw tonight, position by position, based off of just the live feed. This should be fun.:


QB:

The Good- It was pre-season.

The Bad- To say that Alex Smith was off his game tonight would be an understatement. He was playing like a QB who didn't want to get hit and, for the most part, tried to get rid of the ball as quickly as he could. The INT on his Kelce throw was a pre-meditated quick pass with a half-assed look-off of the safety; he either didn't expect the LB to drop at the angle that he did or he expected Kelce to take that route in front of the LB, either way he didn't bother making any reads on that play after the snap. The timing wasn't there, he was late on the red zone pass to Hammond and it resulted in an INT to the trailing CB. It was as bad as I've seen Smith play in a while, ever since his loss to the Giants in 2012.

Tyler Bray is not ready to take snaps in a real game much less be in consideration for the back-up role on this team. Chase Daniel's job is safe. He struggled a lot against the backup defense while running with a lot of the same pieces that Smith had to work with against the 1st team.

The Ugly- I wouldn't be concerned about Smith's play in this pre-season game. He played like a QB who wanted to avoid an injury in the pre-season while playing behind one of the league's worst OLs. His consistent level of play is much higher during the regular season, when games matter, than what he displayed tonight. Just judging off of his history in the pre-season compared to the regular season and playoffs since 2011, Smith's play always elevates during the season.

OL:

The Good- Eric Fisher looked much better in this game against some pretty good pass rushers in Griffin, Barr, and Robison (the Vikings move them around and from what I could tell on my somewhat grainy feed, Fisher faced each of them at some point in the game); it was a welcome improvement from weeks 1 and 2 where he got beat badly way too often.

Jeff Allen may have also found his home at RT; from what I could see, his play was significantly better there than it is when he is playing LG.

Our OL, overall, played noticeably better than they did in week 1 and especially week 2: The screen game was working much better, the pass blocking held up much better, and the run blocking wasn't completely atrocious. Our success without having Stephenson in the lineup was much better than I anticipated.

The Bad- Zach Fulton for one. He just plain sucks against anyone who has some measure of quickness to them. He moves like he's stuck in molasses and he's a big part of the reason why we never seem to be able to move the DL along the right side during run plays. How the hell was this guy our best option at RG? He got abused as badly by Robison during a sack as Allen was when he got beat by Star Lotulelei last week; Robison is a good player but he isn't at the level that Star is at. Will Andy consider throwing Kush into the mix at RG or C and kicking Hudson out to RG? That might end up being our best bet at having a decent OL judging from how poorly Fulton has been playing. He's been consistently poor, at least Fisher and the others have shown some measure of improvement over these 3 games.

The Ugly- Of course, all of this could just be a facade due to the drop in level of competition. While Robison, Griffin, Floyd, Joseph, and Barr are all good players in this league, they aren't quite on the same level as the guys that play for the Panthers. You could argue that they are close to the level of the Bengals front 4 (excluding Atkins).

With all that said, it was nice to see our OL step up their level of play and hold their own (excluding Fulton) against a front that is still pretty good. We really do need to replace Fulton if we want a better chance of winning this season.

WR:

The Good: Guys, we have a solid prospect in Frankie Hammond. He showed good speed and pretty solid ability to separate against the Vikings DBs that he faced. It looked like he was playing with more effort and wanted to win more than Avery did in this game. He's going to make this roster and be rewarded for all of the work that he put in.

The Bad: AJ Jenkins, what happened to this kid? The FO had high hopes for him and he's now fallen deeper and deeper behind other young WRs on the roster despite having some history with Smith and a leg up on Wilson in learning this offense. I don't think that Jenkins will be making the final roster if they decide to just go with 5 WRs. At this point, it looks like he's behind Hemingway, Hammond, Wilson, and Williams as far as young developing WRs goes. He also offers nothing in the return game and had a bad flub of a tackle attempt on the long run back today.

The Ugly: Due to the camera angles from the game feed, it's very hard to judge how well a WR played if they didn't receive any targets in the game; you simply can't see much of what's happening down the field unless the broadcast team cuts away from the live feed to look at a replay or something from the coaches tape. Our two QBs who played today also didn't throw the ball well enough for us to get a really good look at the rest of the young WRs either. However, from the limited stuff that I saw, we have a few guys who can play in this league.

Now are they starting caliber players? No, of course not. They're still young and fairly raw prospects who will do fine as the #4-5 option on the team. Hammond Jr. could potentially be a solid #3 this year; he'd be a more likely candidate than AJ Jenkins is and also has more speed and better separation ability than Hemingway does.

TE:

The Good- As much as people, me included, hate on Fasano for being an inferior athlete compared to Kelce; next to Bowe and Charles, he's been the most steady player at a skill position on this offense so far. He has displayed solid hands, recognition of zones, solid blocking, and always fights for more yards after he catches the ball (something that Kelce seems to be learning from him very well). Fasano is the little engine that could.

Travis Kelce has had a pretty stellar off-season coming off of his surgery. He has displayed much better hands and concentration compared to last year and continues to look like he hasn't lost any of his speed and explosiveness. He also plays with the same attitude that Fasano brings to the position. I'm liking this pick a lot more now.

The Bad- Travis Kelce needs to become a more consistent blocker if he wants to push Fasano out of that #1 TE position. Kelce sometimes looks like a rookie who is trying his hardest but doesn't really know what to do when it comes to blocking. The other thing is, for whatever reason, there seems to be very little chemistry between Smith and Kelce in the passing game; when Smith did look his way today, he pre-determined the throw and ended up with an INT.

Demetrius Harris, after a camp in which he was reportedly a stand-out player, seems to have been somewhat out of the offense. He's not going to be a significant contributor this season and, like J. Thomas of the Broncos, will not play a significant number of snaps, baring injury, until his 3rd year. At best, we can expect to see him in on special teams and some goal-line packages as a possible red zone target.

RB:

The Good- Davis and Gray have both remained consistent producers as runners during this pre-season. Neither have put the ball on the ground. Charles is able to rest with the depth of our RB unit. It's good to see some plays designed around DAT. Everyone has remained healthy thus far and Joe McKnight has finally been able to show a little bit of what he can do.

The Bad- Knile Davis still doesn't look great in blitz pick-up. While he does a decent job the majority of the time, there are still moments where he gets blown up and just looks bad; that's not good for a 230 pound RB who should be more than adequate at the job. He was also late coming over to help block on a couple of plays and it resulted in a negative play.

The Ugly- I don't think that our ground game, even with Charles, is going to be as effective as it was last season. Why is that? Our run blocking still isn't up to snuff and we still struggle with running the ball to the right side of the line. Even with the switch of Jeff Allen to RT, the problem still remains with Fulton being unable to keep up with his block and thus allowing his man to blow up the play.

I might do a defensive one later on, but I feel like there was a lot more to say about our offense than our defense.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by TEX

While that may be true my friend, Smith will play worse this year because of the OL. It might not be the only reason, but it will be a factor. Bet the run game will be worse too.

"Get out of jail free" is what this amounts to.

If Alex Smith tanks this year, next offseason's mantra will be "he needs another year with a better line." And then it will be "he needs better WRs."

Pretty soon he will be retiring and we will have nothing to show for it.

Sound familiar?

[Dave Lane]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

Why would anybody read this analysis of Alex Smith when it starts with a thinly-veiled attempt to blame the offensive line for how bad he looked last night?

This place is ****ing hilarious.

Old school is a major idiot or Alej Smith. Bagdad Bob. A Bagdad Bob that was schtupped by his uncle Basrah Bob.

[Sandy Vagina]

Watched it yet again on condensed mode. Really dumb INT throws from Smith. Also a few head-scratchers. There were some good moments, but it's hard to get past the INTs.

The OL wasn't a total fail on pass pro. I was more disappointed with their run blocks. Watching the Vikes chew up good yds on 1st and 2nd down and then watching KC get consistently stuffed for much less. When the pass pro failed? it failed big and instantly.. but it was a mixed bag there.

I thought Linkenbach took major steps back as a LG.. not a good showing from him, as he played much mixed with some Henry there in the 1st half. Fulton was.. yeah.. bad.

Derrick J was either lazy or just incompetent at times. Not a guy you want covering quick TEs or dropping in deep zones. Took some poor angles.

KC is running out of time in getting that OL fixed.. but having Bowe and JC back in games that matter will obviously help the O.

There were 2-3 plays where Smith evades and rolls right, but just threw the ball away. His critics always talk about this, and I'll be honest, on a couple of them, I sure thought he had a target or two to throw to. Wish I had some better down field angles to be sure.

Definitely reminded me of the early years for SF.. awful OL.. awful weapons.. terrible playcalls... and a QB that doesn't look to be able to overcome that... and some of that may be his own limitations at fault.

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by TEX

Fulton isnt ready. Sucks that he's the "best" option at RG...We had a good one who played himself into the starting line up - should have kept him. Would have been one less issue to deal with. The OL is where it is by the Chiefs doing. Gonna be a problem all season which will require addressing next season too.

He has played like shit in New York and he's hurt... again. Story of his career.

We have options at Guard. I get that Reid wants continuity on the line, but he doesn't seem to want to make the right kind of moves. Kush should be playing Center. Between Hudson, Linkenbach, Duvarney-Tardif, and by game 5 Watkins, the Chiefs have some options that are better than Fulton.

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

"Get out of jail free" is what this amounts to.

If Alex Smith tanks this year, next offseason's mantra will be "he needs another year with a better line." And then it will be "he needs better WRs."

Pretty soon he will be retiring and we will have nothing to show for it.

Sound familiar?

It depends on how you view Alex Smith. I want the o-line to play better because I don't think Smith can go far without help. Frankly, unless we get really lucky and snag one of the few QBs who end up elite, probably same is true. Thought Smith played well last year at the end when he had solid even if mostly bad pass protection. So I think that's the minimum bar.

I agree that Peyton basically neutralized a bad offensive line last year with a quick release. We're not going to get that with Smith.

But more than anything... let's again remind ourselves that this is the preseason.

[TEX]

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

He has played like shit in New York and he's hurt... again. Story of his career.

We have options at Guard. I get that Reid wants continuity on the line, but he doesn't seem to want to make the right kind of moves. Kush should be playing Center. Between Hudson, Linkenbach, Duvarney-Tardif, and by game 5 Watkins, the Chiefs have some options that are better than Fulton.

EXCEPT, and you keep missing this point, for HOW HE PLAYED HERE. He played well. Nothing he's done in New York matters because had he stayed in KC everything that has happened there would not have occured. Base your assessment on what he did HERE, in THIS system and build your case.

All options are worse than sticking with a known commodity who played well. And keep in mind all are only options now because the main option going into the off season was your boy Rishaw Johnson - the one game marvel.

This is exactly what you get with a JAG o-line. You should welcome it cuz you wanted it. If you are deficient at QB, WR you need a strong OL to make up for it. Not one made of JAGS who will compound all other weak points on offense. THAT will be a major story of the 2014 Chiefs. Sit back and enjoy your show cuz folks who think like you changed the channel...

[Just Passin' By]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

"Get out of jail free" is what this amounts to.

If Alex Smith tanks this year, next offseason's mantra will be "he needs another year with a better line." And then it will be "he needs better WRs."

Pretty soon he will be retiring and we will have nothing to show for it.

Sound familiar?

Which NFL QBs could thrive with this Chiefs OL and receiving group playing the way they are right now?

[chokeartist]

It seems alex's frustration not only with his own play but also of the constant pressure directly in his face was made extremely evident on his last drive in the third quarter. Hes not a guy that comes out and says things are anyones fault in particular, so IMO this is sort of way his saying 'ive f***ing had enough'. Alex seems to have WILLED his way out of a sure sack and begins to scramble to his right, with no one open, decides not to throw the ball away or run out of bounds, but attempt to run the 10 yards himself despite being closed in on rapidly by two other defenders. He takes the hit and it all winds up being a useless, dangerous effort for a preseason game. But he look flat out disgusted after that play.

Maybe this is all part of the master plan by Dorsey - start over with an OLine that last year already had serious questions (at least early in the season) and let alex smith suffer behind a punishing season to get a better footing come contract negotiations haha. Unfortunately we STILL wouldnt have enough money for justin houston who i am convinced is wanting more money than even alex if the rumors are true that negotiations 'arent even close'

[TEX]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

"Get out of jail free" is what this amounts to.

If Alex Smith tanks this year, next offseason's mantra will be "he needs another year with a better line." And then it will be "he needs better WRs."

Pretty soon he will be retiring and we will have nothing to show for it.

Sound familiar?

I hear ya, but maybe not. It might read," Get the **** out Alex, you suck" and they draft a QB in a QB-heavy draft class. Would go against ALL THINGS CHIEFS but it is an option...

[RINGLEADER]

Did Fisher play better? Sure, but that's not saying much.

His problem is consistency. He's like a bad actor who delivers lines well only 75% of the time but can't act the other 25%. That's what makes a bad actor a bad actor. In this case it's what makes Eric Fisher a bad OT even if he is able to protect Alex Smith the majority of the time.

Fact is his deficiencies will make the entire offense less effective.

The ease at which he gets spun around and ends up either on his azz or chasing after his assignment after they have blown past him is shocking.

[RINGLEADER]

And why does everyone from the coaches to certain members of the media baby this guy? Is his psyche so fragile that he can't be told the truth? He has to know he's terrible at this point.

[TEX]

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

It depends on how you view Alex Smith. I want the o-line to play better because I don't think Smith can go far without help. Frankly, unless we get really lucky and snag one of the few QBs who end up elite, probably same is true. Thought Smith played well last year at the end when he had solid even if mostly bad pass protection. So I think that's the minimum bar.

I agree that Peyton basically neutralized a bad offensive line last year with a quick release. We're not going to get that with Smith.

But more than anything... let's again remind ourselves that this is the preseason.

I'll TRUST my own eyes and remind myself when issues THIS bad show up CONSISTENTLY in preseason, they usually carry over into the regular season and become a priority the following off season..Remeber the _efensive showing during the '04 preseason. Or, how BAD Cassel and the offense looked in '11 & '12. Bet you said the same thing then. I could easily go on, but chose to stick with examples since the turn of the century...

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by RINGLEADER

Did Fisher play better? Sure, but that's not saying much.

His problem is consistency. He's like a bad actor who delivers lines well only 75% of the time but can't act the other 25%. That's what makes a bad actor a bad actor. In this case it's what makes Eric Fisher a bad OT even if he is able to protect Alex Smith the majority of the time.

Fact is his deficiencies will make the entire offense less effective.

The ease at which he gets spun around and ends up either on his azz or chasing after his assignment after they have blown past him is shocking.

The problem is that people nitpick on every single play... because he's Eric Fisher. Fisher played like a passable starter yesterday. He obviously has to play a shitload better but the idea that he's 75% bad is because people on CP selectively choose all the clips where he failed and ignore the other majority where he did fine. If you believe Pro Football Focus, last game's grade, in fact, graded at a below average (but certainly not terrible) -1.4.

Right now, his biggest problem is undoubtedly his shoulder. Hopefully that's just adjustment after surgery. Maybe it's chronic (I hope not).

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by TEX

I'll TRUST my own eyes and remind myself when issues THIS bad show up CONSISTENTLY in preseason, they usually carry over into the regular season and become a priority the following off season..Remeber the _efensive showing during the '04 preseason. Or, how BAD Cassel and the offense looked in '11 & '12. Bet you said the same thing then. I could easily go on, but chose to stick with examples since the turn of the century...

There are a shitload of examples of bad preseasons turning into good when live action starts. We have a lot of years of Alex Smith play to work off of and even the critics know that he isn't usually this bad.

[ViperVisor]

Originally Posted by RINGLEADER

Did Fisher play better? Sure, but that's not saying much.

His problem is consistency. He's like a bad actor who delivers lines well only 75% of the time but can't act the other 25%. That's what makes a bad actor a bad actor. In this case it's what makes Eric Fisher a bad OT even if he is able to protect Alex Smith the majority of the time.

Fact is his deficiencies will make the entire offense less effective.

The ease at which he gets spun around and ends up either on his azz or chasing after his assignment after they have blown past him is shocking.

This is true. Grading is 96% is an A.
But it only takes a 86% for Fail.



Franklin you ignore because Manning passes so fast. But look at Joe Staley. Colin Kaepernick is slow on his passes when #1 is covered. He holds the ball and keeps staring down-field and took 39 sacks last season.

471 snaps.
Only 4 sacks and a couple near sacks which Hits usually are just after a pass because you can't touch QBs.

Overall 1 out of 78.5 pass plays he slipped up and let the QB get sacked or hit.
1 out of every 23.6 if you add in hurries. Hard to know exactly what that is but pressure on a QB matters. This is from 2011.