You Play to Win the Game!

Okay, so it's a little less than original to quote Herm in the title of this blog post. Before things get too far out of my head, I want to throw some thoughts out there on the latest Chiefs loss.

A lot has been said about Herm deciding to go for two, and I think it was the right call. We can argue the play call, but deciding to go for the win was definitely the way to go. The defense was decimated with injuries (really, I couldn't tell you the names of three or four of those guys) and San Diego had marched up and down the field all game. We did a decent job of stopping the run - especially not giving up the big run - but Rivers was completing passes all over the place. And we continued to struggle putting any pressure on the quarterback.

Given all of that, what are the chances our defense would've stopped them if they had gotten the ball to start overtime? Some say that the Chiefs might have won the toss, which is true. However, they had three straight three-and-outs in the second half and weren't moving the ball until that last drive. Even then it took a lucky pass interference call (sorry, Chargers) to set up the touchdown. If you can get two yards, you win the game and avoid all the rest of that. Herm played to win. He put the game in the players' hands, which they all expected him to do. It just came up short.

Something I don't hear anyone talking about it is the play of the Chiefs offensive line. The Chargers usually only rushed four, but even when they blitzed the line gave Thigpen plenty of time to throw. That's a welcome change from how they did when Huard was back there earlier in the year. They even opened up a few running lanes, but it's tough when you're down to your fourth string running back. Not having LJ or Kolby Smith really hurt in short yardage situations, and I'd love to see what a healthy Jamaal Charles could do in this spread offense.

Mark Bradley continues to look like a solid number two option, and Bowe and Gonzalez were nothing short of fantastic. I am really liking the routes that have Bowe dragging across the middle - once he catches the ball with the defender trailing he is very tough to bring down. He just needs to make sure he catches it before he runs with it.

Once again the Chiefs were plus in turnovers (+2) and couldn't pull out the victory. That's +8 for the last three games. Ug. And the Chargers had several unforced errors in there, like Rivers missing a wide open Tomlinson on a key third down play close to the Chiefs' end zone.

After watching our punter (forgot his name) constantly booming punts into the end zone last week, it was nice to finally get Colquitt back yesterday. He did a good job of pinning them inside the 20 several times and limiting what they did in the return game.

Too bad there was the botched extra point in the second quarter. If that is taken care of, the game winning drive just requires another PAT for the win. It seems like this team just can't catch a break. But they keep playing hard, which speaks well for Herm. They're definitely showing progress, which means Herm's job is secure. Sounds good to me, even though some of you are less than thrilled about that possibility.