Due to being out of town last weekend, I didn't get to sit down and watch the Chiefs/Eagles game all at one time. I had to bite it off a piece at a time, which was about all one could handle in that game anyway.
I had originally hoped to go deeper on one key stat in the game: the Chiefs were 0/11 on 3rd down. The deeper was to see how often they were in third and long. I didn't have time to go back and count specifically, but I know it happened the majority of the time. So that tells me that what has been happening to the Chiefs on 3rd down is really the byproduct of what has not been happening on first and second down.
Another problem that's mounting is making more and more mistakes. Penalties hurt us big time last week, and as I've said before we're not talented enough at this point to overcome very many mistakes.
Today they play the Giants, another gift of their brutal opening schedule. Outside of the Chiefs' locker room I'm sure no one is giving them a chance to win. For the record, I am not. But last week's game proved what is beginning to become a regular problem for the Chiefs: dealing with that guy who throws the ball. We can't protect our quarterback and we can't get to theirs.
If the Chiefs are to have any hope of winning today, they have to do a few things. First off, they have to gain more than one or two yards on first down. Ideally it would be great to see them throwing more on first down rather than being so predictable with the run. I expect the Giants to do like the Eagles did and pack their defense close to the line of scrimmage. It sure would be nice to see us take some shots down the field early to exploit that. No, we don't have the greatest receiving weapons in the league, but can we at least try?
Second, our defense has got to create some turnovers and give the offense a short field to work with. Our return game is not good and our offense will very rarely be able to go 80 yards for a TD. Unfortunately we're not good at the thing that often leads to turnovers: putting pressure on the QB. Perhaps today will be the day that we get something figured out there. Playing at home may help a bit.
Third, we've got to continue to be strong against the run. This has been one bright spot so far this season and was something that really surprised me against the Raiders. We're doing a good job overall here but haven't been able to get off the field enough on 3rd down. While the QB pressure needs to increase, we can't afford to get soft against the run.
So in the end I guess I'm saying the same thing all over again: we've got to protect our QB and get to theirs. There's not a real convincing reason why that will happen today, so try and have some realistic expectations as you watch the game and don't let a frustrating loss ruin the rest of your day!
I wanted to get this out quick before the game today so I can come back with some postgame thoughts later this evening.
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