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Kansas City Chiefs
Contain Albert Haynesworth
Haynesworth is a force to be reckoned with, for sure, and in past years, guard Brian Waters probably could have taken him on by himself. The aging veteran though will need help on every snap from center Rudy Niswanger in order to hold the behemoth Haynesworth in check. Registering at 6’6” and 350 lbs. he is by far one of the biggest players in the entire NFL and is extremely strong as well.
He may not be playing as dominantly as he was this time last year with the Titans, but he has the ability to be a quarterback’s worst nightmare on any given Sunday. Keeping him under wraps will greatly aid in keeping quarterback Matt Cassel comfortable, and give him more time to make his throws.
Double-Team Santana Moss
Moss is still one of the fastest and shiftiest guys in the NFL, even at the ripe-old age of 30. Chiefs No. 1 cornerback Brandon Flowers will have the difficult assignment of trying to control him, and will more than likely receive help in doing so.
Flowers has the quickness to keep up with Moss in his short routes, but does not have the top-end speed to run stride for stride with him down the field. Given that Moss really is the only receiving threat the Redskins have, safeties Jarrad Page or Mike Brown should have an eye on him at all times.
Dial up the Pressure
Jason Campbell is not a good NFL quarterback. He is easily in the lower half of starting QBs, and is not close to playing up to his first-round-pick potential. He seems to have problems reading defenses and diagnosing exactly what they are planning to do, and the Chiefs need to take advantage of this.
Chiefs defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast needs to dial up the blitzes early in order to shake the confidence of Campbell, and force him into making bad decisions. A turnover or two early in the game will not only quiet the hostile crowd for the Chiefs, but do wonders for the player’s confidence as well.
Get Jamaal Charles Involved
Starting running back Larry Johnson loves to run up the middle and hit people, but with Haynesworth sitting right there for most of the game, this will be especially difficult. Getting the running game going is key to most teams in every game, and in order to do that, the Chiefs will have to use the speedy Charles.
Getting him out in space with toss sweeps will prove to be to the Chiefs advantage. Another way to get him involved is to motion him out from the backfield to a wide receiver spot. This will force either a linebacker or safety to cover him, both of which favor the faster Charles, especially if rookie linebacker Brian Orakpo is the one covering him. Orakpo is a gifted pass rusher, but he played on the defensive line in college, and is now forced to play out of position with the Redskins. Exposing this coverage deficiency could lead to big plays for the Chiefs.
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TJ – funny how we think alike – I see Charles being a big part of the game plan Sunday, or at least, he should be. I also see Moss being the key to our defensive game plan. Great breakdown!
I think Charles definitely has to have a big impact in this game for us get the W.
Also, if Pendergast doesn’t have blanket coverage on Moss for the entire game he should be fired. The ‘Skins don’t have anybody else that we need to worry about in the passing game.
I can’t believe they are -6.5 in this game, it’ll probably come down to 3 or 4 points either way, although maybe just with a backdoor cover with a late drive (like last weeks).
It’ll be a good game, for sure.