Week 1 Thoughts: Red Herring

* Before I get going, I just want to say that I really really enjoy having DVR. I didn't start watching the Chiefs game until 1:45 or 2:00, and yet I finished just a little after 3pm. There were several sweet plays that weren't shown a second time, so it was a wonderful bonus to go back and watch them as many times as I wanted. DVR FTW!

Saying I am going to try and blog more is probably pointless, as I've said it before and it didn't necessarily work out that way... but a guy can hope. One of those will be sharing my brilliant, insightful, thought-provoking opinions about my favorite football team. I picked the title Red Herring this week because I think a few key plays distracted us from what was really going on. Here are random thoughts:

• We sure missed Brandon Flowers. Wow, who knew the Ravens would come out all pass-happy like they did? Not the Chiefs. Mike Vrabel admitted, "I would say we had planned for a running game." The person most affected in this aerial assault was Maurice Leggett. It seemed like the Ravens either A) didn't want to throw Brandon Carr's way or B) Didn't need to even THINK about it. Flowers may not have made enough of a difference, as Todd Heap was also torching our linebackers, but he sure would've helped. I like Leggett as a third corner, and in his defense at least he improved as the game went on. But boy was he giving their receivers a big cushion.
  
  
• Our 3rd down defense was rough. Wow. I don't know much about the Ravens, but I think the commentators talked about them having a very good o-line. I hope so, because our pass rush was non-existent. Even when we blitzed we had a hard time getting through.
  
  
• He's not as irrelevant as some thought. Ryan Succop is gaining fans by the boatload. His 53 yard FG was fantastic and might have gone in from 60. But even better than that in my book was his kickoffs. One of them landed nine yards deep in the end zone! Yay for not dropping the kickoff just inside the ten!
  
  
• Special teams were half special. The coverage units were great, the return units were awful. Leggett muffed a punt and the kick returners didn't look much better. I sure do miss the Dante Hall days.
  
  
• Great job limiting mistakes. We had very few penalties (just 3 for 15 yards) and no turnovers. That's how you stay in the game when playing on the road against a team like the Ravens. We have to do this week in and week out, we're not talented enough on offense to overcome very many mistakes.
  
  
• Mark Bradley needs to move the chains! On third down, he twice ran a route across the middle, made the catch, and ended up about a foot short of the first down. Why do players do this? I realize I don't have any experience as a receiver, but it just seems like a simple thing to fix. I hope he gets it right next week. In his favor, his 50 yard reception was pretty impressive, since he was getting completely mugged by the d-back but didn't get the call.
  
  
• Sigh. Our o-line just isn't very good. I know the Ravens have a great defense, but I'm afraid things aren't going to get much better. It will probably just be a tough season with the line, at least on the right side. 29 yards rushing for the game is abysmal, Ray Rice nearly had that much in one play. In a related note, I also think it's going to be another tough year for Larry Johnson.
  
  
• The offense managed to make some adjustments. The first half was terrible for the offense, not getting their first first down until late in the first half. I'm not sure what changes were made exactly, but Haley was able to get Brodie Croyle going a little bit and put some points on the board. The offense even had an 80 yard TD drive in the second half. Good work, even if it wasn't enough in the end. On a QB-related note, I think the Chiefs would love to trade Tyler Thigpen.
  
  
• The bottom line: I think a few key plays (blocked punt for TD, INT + long return by Derrick Johnson) are the red herring. Without those plays the Chiefs absolutely get crushed in this one. Sure it was tied 24-24 late in the game, but that was really a fluke. If they played this one 4 more times, I expect the Ravens would win each of those in a blowout. Our offense isn't very good, which is going to consistently leave our defense on the field far too long. Time of possession was 2:1 in favor of Baltimore, which is nuts. The defense didn't help themselves by giving up third down conversions, but they're going to be facing this same challenge all year. It could be another long season, but at least they played with fire and intensity and were fun to watch. I'll definitely tune in again next week.