Chiefs MNchiefsfan breaks down the OL from Preseason Game 1

**DaFace** · 08-18-2017, 12:15 PM

Blah, blah, AP homers, blah, blah, blah...

I always love this guy's breakdowns of the game. But it's a pain to embed here (and probably isn't fair to take away clicks to their site anyway). So here's a link. It's worth the read.

https://www.arrowheadpride.com/2017/...-the-preseason

In short, the starting OL kicked ass last week, albeit against a poor defensive front in San Francisco. Obviously depth is a real concern, so let's hope we can keep these guys healthy.

milkman · 08-19-2017, 06:24 AM

I don't remember hearing about Schwartz's ankle.

I thought, two years ago, that LDT could be the best O-Lineman on this team, and he appears to be approaching that.

This line really has the potential to be a top 5 unit.

Direckshun · 08-19-2017, 06:58 AM

They're a top five unit when they're blowing holes open in the run game.

pugsnotdrugs19 · 08-19-2017, 07:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaFace

In short, the starting OL kicked ass last week, albeit against a poor defensive front in San Francisco. Obviously depth is a real concern, so let's hope we can keep these guys healthy.

SF is young up front on defense, but loaded with talent.

Solomon Thomas, Reuben Foster, Navarro Bowman, DeForest Buckner, Arik Armstead, Aaron Lynch.... it's actually pretty damn salty if they alll put it together.

milkman · 08-19-2017, 07:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pugsnotdrugs19

SF is young up front on defense, but loaded with talent.

Solomon Thomas, Reuben Foster, Navarro Bowman, DeForest Buckner, Arik Armstead, Aaron Lynch.... it's actually pretty damn salty if they alll put it together.

There is a lot of talent there.
If they get it together, they could be a surprise team.

**RealSNR** · 08-19-2017, 08:02 AM

Some fans like to to bitch about the OL just to bitch about the OL. They played a pretty damn good game.

That being said, we'll see what happens tonight against a defense that's NOT San Francisco

CoMoChief · 08-19-2017, 10:58 AM

running game still sucks.

I hope they're able to improve in that area, and for the chiefs sake, it makes alex smith's game better.

If the Chiefs can run the ball well this season, Alex Smith uses his legs to extend plays/drives, and they find ways to get the ball to kelce/hill A LOT, then they're going to be a very deadly team regardless of who they play. Just not sold on Conley yet. Mostly because due to sample size so that's not entirely his fault. But he'll have the chance to produce better numbers than Maclin did last year, and when you compare the salaries vs value/production, it'll be a good thing for the Chiefs going forward. But if Hill explodes onto the scene in the #1WR role in a way Antonio Bryant did for PIT, then the Chiefs are going to have to pay the man a ton of money, same w/ Peters. How ****in sweet would it be if the Chiefs lured Megatron out of retirement and linked that ****er up w/ Mahomes in 2018? Hey we can dream.

I have much faith in the Chiefs D to put this team in positions to win games. As we saw last year, points allowed and takeaways are the only thing that matter at the end of the day, and the Chiefs were VERY effective in both areas. They allowed some yards between the 20's but they clamped down inside the red zone. Hey, if you keep teams out of the endzone you'll win in this league. If you take the ball away, you'll win in this league.

However I do hope the Chiefs can stop the run a little better this year. Hopefully getting back certain players to full health will help. More passing situations mean more chances for Ford and Houston, and they'll be very important this year. There are some what ifs on defense. Will DJ show any significant signs of aging or slowing down, esp coming off a major injury? Same goes w/ Houston. He was great for a better portion of that CRAZY @Denver game last year (prob craziest back n forth Chiefs game I've ever seen in my life) and then he disappeared. And Ford decided to disappear at the same time too. Then DJ went down. Chiefs D was limping into the playoffs last season. In a perfect world all of these guys are 100% and can do what they're capable of and this team ends up being a true elite unit that acts as a catalyst to a SB run, but we're gonna have to wait and see. Man it would be HUGE if Houston can come back to life. 2nd CB is iffy. I don't think Nelson should be playing CB2. Can Mitchell build on what he did the last few games when he was first picked up? Haven't heard much about him in camp. All I know is Nelson hasn't been good at the position in the past, and certainly didn't against SF. Doubt that's his strong suit.

I expect Berry to be a monster (again) this season. He may or may not put up similar numbers, but the dude is a baller and he's going to make some plays this years in many capacities because he's that good. Same w/ Peters. Needs to improve on giving up the big play a little but I guess when you play a gamblin man's game, you lose some and that just unfortunately comes w/ the territory. He's a playmaker though as he proved once again last year. If not for certain plays by Hill, Berry, and Peters this team probably wouldn't have made the playoffs last year. Makes you think about the margin of error in the NFL. An entire season can come down to 5-10 plays, which is what happened last yr. But this is why the offense has to improve scoring TD's in the redzone and stop going 3 n out. You can't rely on winning games by defense and ST. That was evident in the playoff loss to PIT. If you don't score pts you're not going to win very much. That's the ONLY job of the offense. Put the ball across the goaline, that's the 1 and only goal each time the offense steps onto the field. Alex Smith certainly doesn't play that way and I think that's what pisses most people off about him. The odds of a team winning an NFL game dramatically increases if they're able to win the TO battle and/or scores a TD on ST. Again the Chiefs did a lot of both last year and it's a big reason why they won as much as they did. It's great when it happens, but you can't count on it.

But, if healthy the Chiefs should make serious noise this year. Not too concerned about Alex Smith's passing stats as long as he's taking care of the ball, moving the chains and putting the offense in position to score TDs. The 3 and out shit has to stop though. But again if he does what I mentioned before he can be the most effecient QB in this league. He probably knows this is his last season as a Chief and there's enough talent to really go deep into the playoffs possibly SB if some things fall our way so maybe...JUST MAYBE he'll have a really good productive year. TD passes aren't as important if the team is running the football into the endzone. Running game IMO is the nucleus of the offense's success. They have to run the ball well and create big plays from the running game. Theyll be tough to stop if they can achieve that, because everything else will fall in place.

Either way, can't wait for season to start. wish preseason was only 2 games max. If they (owners/NFL) wanted to make more money they should only have 1 preseason game. Use the other 3 weeks to play the other NFC teams w/ equal standings from the previous season. So ex Chiefs play NFCE teams this year. If they have a 20wk season they use those other 3 wks to play the other 1st place teams from the NFC south, west, and north. No need to for team expansion and it doesn't effect current playoff struture.

**Ming the Merciless** · 08-19-2017, 11:12 AM

Awesome write up. Thanks for sharing the link, and thanks MNchiefsfan for taking the time to write it up. Very very cool...

**Ming the Merciless** · 08-19-2017, 11:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CoMoChief

running game still sucks.

.

This is my single biggest area of concern...i know it can be kind of a chicken / egg argument but there's no question in my mind the running and passing game are symbiotic.

I'm really hoping that 1) our running game is good enough to consistently get 3rd and 1 or 3rd and 2...and 2) it's good enough to be a threat to open up play actions and relieve pressure off of our TE or FB in the flat etc... and 3) our passing game is good enough and multi dimensional enough to make stacking the box difficult and relieve pressure off the run.

It is nice to hear that the OL seems Solid enough to allow for all of this

Simply Red · 08-19-2017, 11:21 AM

sorry to interrupt - is this the same guy who posts here?

**DaFace** · 08-19-2017, 11:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Simply Red

sorry to interrupt - is this the same guy who posts here?

Nope

Hammock Parties · 08-19-2017, 11:26 AM

Best Chiefs OL since the Vermeil days.

jspchief · 08-19-2017, 11:26 AM

Would really like to see this Oline improve in short yardage situation, but I believe a big part of the issue Reid not emphasizing running between the tackles. This offense could benefit a lot from the ability to grind clock on the ground.

ILChief · 08-19-2017, 11:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CoMoChief

running game still sucks.

I hope they're able to improve in that area, and for the chiefs sake, it makes alex smith's game better.

If the Chiefs can run the ball well this season, Alex Smith uses his legs to extend plays/drives, and they find ways to get the ball to kelce/hill A LOT, then they're going to be a very deadly team regardless of who they play.

Our running game was doing OK last year until Parker Ehinger got hurt. After that, it went to crap. I'm hoping his return along with Kareem Hunt make the running game better.

CoMoChief · 08-19-2017, 12:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ILChief

Our running game was doing OK last year until Parker Ehinger got hurt. After that, it went to crap. I'm hoping his return along with Kareem Hunt make the running game better.

I can guarantee you a 5th rd rookie OL was not the anchor, or glue that held this oline together. cmon man. The guy had zero live NFL playing exp. Lets wait a little before we call this guy king.

08-18-2017, 12:15 PM
DaFace Kind of a mod Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land Casino cash: $2076899	MNchiefsfan breaks down the OL from Preseason Game 1 Blah, blah, AP homers, blah, blah, blah... I always love this guy's breakdowns of the game. But it's a pain to embed here (and probably isn't fair to take away clicks to their site anyway). So here's a link. It's worth the read. https://www.arrowheadpride.com/2017/...-the-preseason In short, the starting OL kicked ass last week, albeit against a poor defensive front in San Francisco. Obviously depth is a real concern, so let's hope we can keep these guys healthy.
Posts: 51,735

08-19-2017, 06:24 AM	#2
milkman Dumbass! Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Leading the Marty bashing Casino cash: $10029395	I don't remember hearing about Schwartz's ankle. I thought, two years ago, that LDT could be the best O-Lineman on this team, and he appears to be approaching that. This line really has the potential to be a top 5 unit. __________________
Posts: 70,769

08-19-2017, 06:58 AM	#3
Direckshun __ Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Springpatch Casino cash: $4423447	They're a top five unit when they're blowing holes open in the run game.
Posts: 59,254

08-19-2017, 10:58 AM	#7
CoMoChief Mahomes Dynasty Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Parts Unknown Casino cash: $8052254	running game still sucks. I hope they're able to improve in that area, and for the chiefs sake, it makes alex smith's game better. If the Chiefs can run the ball well this season, Alex Smith uses his legs to extend plays/drives, and they find ways to get the ball to kelce/hill A LOT, then they're going to be a very deadly team regardless of who they play. Just not sold on Conley yet. Mostly because due to sample size so that's not entirely his fault. But he'll have the chance to produce better numbers than Maclin did last year, and when you compare the salaries vs value/production, it'll be a good thing for the Chiefs going forward. But if Hill explodes onto the scene in the #1WR role in a way Antonio Bryant did for PIT, then the Chiefs are going to have to pay the man a ton of money, same w/ Peters. How **in sweet would it be if the Chiefs lured Megatron out of retirement and linked that *er up w/ Mahomes in 2018? Hey we can dream. I have much faith in the Chiefs D to put this team in positions to win games. As we saw last year, points allowed and takeaways are the only thing that matter at the end of the day, and the Chiefs were VERY effective in both areas. They allowed some yards between the 20's but they clamped down inside the red zone. Hey, if you keep teams out of the endzone you'll win in this league. If you take the ball away, you'll win in this league. However I do hope the Chiefs can stop the run a little better this year. Hopefully getting back certain players to full health will help. More passing situations mean more chances for Ford and Houston, and they'll be very important this year. There are some what ifs on defense. Will DJ show any significant signs of aging or slowing down, esp coming off a major injury? Same goes w/ Houston. He was great for a better portion of that CRAZY @Denver game last year (prob craziest back n forth Chiefs game I've ever seen in my life) and then he disappeared. And Ford decided to disappear at the same time too. Then DJ went down. Chiefs D was limping into the playoffs last season. In a perfect world all of these guys are 100% and can do what they're capable of and this team ends up being a true elite unit that acts as a catalyst to a SB run, but we're gonna have to wait and see. Man it would be HUGE if Houston can come back to life. 2nd CB is iffy. I don't think Nelson should be playing CB2. Can Mitchell build on what he did the last few games when he was first picked up? Haven't heard much about him in camp. All I know is Nelson hasn't been good at the position in the past, and certainly didn't against SF. Doubt that's his strong suit. I expect Berry to be a monster (again) this season. He may or may not put up similar numbers, but the dude is a baller and he's going to make some plays this years in many capacities because he's that good. Same w/ Peters. Needs to improve on giving up the big play a little but I guess when you play a gamblin man's game, you lose some and that just unfortunately comes w/ the territory. He's a playmaker though as he proved once again last year. If not for certain plays by Hill, Berry, and Peters this team probably wouldn't have made the playoffs last year. Makes you think about the margin of error in the NFL. An entire season can come down to 5-10 plays, which is what happened last yr. But this is why the offense has to improve scoring TD's in the redzone and stop going 3 n out. You can't rely on winning games by defense and ST. That was evident in the playoff loss to PIT. If you don't score pts you're not going to win very much. That's the ONLY job of the offense. Put the ball across the goaline, that's the 1 and only goal each time the offense steps onto the field. Alex Smith certainly doesn't play that way and I think that's what pisses most people off about him. The odds of a team winning an NFL game dramatically increases if they're able to win the TO battle and/or scores a TD on ST. Again the Chiefs did a lot of both last year and it's a big reason why they won as much as they did. It's great when it happens, but you can't count on it. But, if healthy the Chiefs should make serious noise this year. Not too concerned about Alex Smith's passing stats as long as he's taking care of the ball, moving the chains and putting the offense in position to score TDs. The 3 and out shit has to stop though. But again if he does what I mentioned before he can be the most effecient QB in this league. He probably knows this is his last season as a Chief and there's enough talent to really go deep into the playoffs possibly SB if some things fall our way so maybe...JUST MAYBE he'll have a really good productive year. TD passes aren't as important if the team is running the football into the endzone. Running game IMO is the nucleus of the offense's success. They have to run the ball well and create big plays from the running game. Theyll be tough to stop if they can achieve that, because everything else will fall in place. Either way, can't wait for season to start. wish preseason was only 2 games max. If they (owners/NFL) wanted to make more money they should only have 1 preseason game. Use the other 3 weeks to play the other NFC teams w/ equal standings from the previous season. So ex Chiefs play NFCE teams this year. If they have a 20wk season they use those other 3 wks to play the other 1st place teams from the NFC south, west, and north. No need to for team expansion and it doesn't effect current playoff struture. __________________ Last edited by CoMoChief; 08-19-2017 at 12:07 PM..*
Posts: 39,155

08-19-2017, 11:12 AM	#8
Ming the Merciless Emporer of Mongo Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Milky Way Casino cash: $2997556	Awesome write up. Thanks for sharing the link, and thanks MNchiefsfan for taking the time to write it up. Very very cool... __________________ ---- 2018 Adopt-A-Chief : Chris Conley 2017 Adopt-A-Chief : FRANK ZOMBO Click here-->*The Holy Chiefsplanet Lexicon **
Posts: 44,480

08-19-2017, 11:21 AM	#10
Simply Red You Sweetie! Join Date: Sep 2005 Casino cash: $2021206219 VARSITY	sorry to interrupt - is this the same guy who posts here?
Posts: 71,691

08-19-2017, 11:26 AM	#12
Hammock Parties I'll be back. Join Date: Nov 2002 Casino cash: $4760478	Best Chiefs OL since the Vermeil days.
Posts: 277,610

08-19-2017, 11:26 AM	#13
jspchief BAMF Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Your Face Casino cash: $9998710	Would really like to see this Oline improve in short yardage situation, but I believe a big part of the issue Reid not emphasizing running between the tackles. This offense could benefit a lot from the ability to grind clock on the ground. __________________ Courage is not the absence of fear but rather the judgment that something is more important than fear. The brave may not live forever but the cautious do not live at all.
Posts: 27,207