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Kansas City Chiefs
No Donovan McNabb, No Brian Westbrook…No problem for the Philadelphia Eagles hosting the Chiefs in Week 3.
The absence of two prominent Eagles was not enough for the Chiefs to dent the win column, as replacements Kevin Kolb and LeSean McCoy fared just fine. Kolb finished the day 24-37 for 327 yards and 2 TD’s and McCoy ran for 84 yards on 20 carries, adding a rushing touchdown.
The Chief’s Matt Cassel was pressured all day, but managed to complete 14 of 18 passes for 2 TD’s. However, he threw for only 90 yards and was forced to find hot reads and resort to WR screens all afternoon.
Larry Johnson also struggled, gaining only 38 yards on 19 carries. With the exception of a 14-yard scamper, Johnson found the sledding tough, being met in the backfield on several occasions.
The return of Michael Vick to the NFL was much more hype than substance, as the former Falcon did little to matter in the game. His presence did offer the Chiefs some confusing looks at a Wildcat scheme, with McCoy gashing the middle of the Chiefs line for chunks of yardage.
On the scoreboard and in the statistics, the Chiefs were clearly dominated on both sides of the ball. However, if you watched the game, I’m not sure the lopsided box score do the game justice. The Chiefs were absolutely whipped at the line of scrimmage all afternoon long.
The Eagles managed to be in the face of Cassel tirelessly, sacking him three times, while often bringing only four defenders. Meanwhile, Kolb enjoyed the comforts of a stable pocket, looking like a veteran in his second NFL start.
While the statistical analysis is a mute point, a couple of lines jumped off the sheet. On 3rd downs, the Chiefs were 0 for 11, while the Eagles were 6-13. The Chiefs were penalized 10 times for 90 yards vs. the Eagles 3 for 20 yards. Total net yards favored Philadelphia 420-196.
On the follow-up to a heart-breaking loss at home to the Raiders, the Chiefs looked as if they had yet to recover, and continue to have a long way to go as a team. With the next three games featuring NFC East opponents, it remains to be seen when Todd Haley and Scott Pioli will notch their first win with the Chiefs.
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Any thoughts on the performance of first round pick Tyson Jackson who, in my opinion was somewhat of a controversial pick given the fact Aaron CUrry was on the board when the Chiefs bypassed him in favor of the big lineman out of LSU? Curry has alreayd recorded his first sack of the season, and is part of a defense giving up just 175 passing yards a game compared to Tyson’s 2 total tackles and the Chief’s 243 passing yards per game.
Thanks Randy – there is no doubt these two players will be watched closely as their careers develop, especially by Chiefs’ fans. Will it be another of Pioli’s diamonds in the rough, or will this pick haunt the Chiefs for the next decade? At this point, I still think Pioli made a good decision, and one that is consistent with his methods in NE. He is very much an inside out builder, with the drafting of Norfolk and Seymour as evidence to boot. The 5-technique DE is one of the most difficult acquisitions to make in football, and also one of the most slow to develop – check Seymour’s early productivity. I believe Jackson has the size, strength and speed to eventually be a dominant force in this defense. I’m not surpised to see the early success of Mr. Curry – he’s a fine football player. I feel the Chiefs felt he had a ceiling, one of being a solid guy, but never a great one. Only time will tell. Thanks for the post!