-----------------
This is a post I never imagined I'd make.
Bob Gretz posted a commentary on his site about yesterday's once-in-a-generation woodshed beating in Charlotte.
I think its a very good read, and here is the link:
(the link: http://www.bobgretz.com/chiefs-football/commentary-no-explanation-for-bad-like-this.html)
However, unlike Bob, unlike Herm, I don't sit around and wonder what happened. I know what this team's problem is.
Its offense is, uuh, offensive. Especially in the first half.
Let's begin.
First, for Herm to say "I can't explain it ... our staff and I didn't see that coming at all. Its puzzling to me"? While I agree that nobody could have foreseen how bad it was going to be yesterday ... are you serious Herm? You really can't explain it?
I can. Your offense is HORRENDOUS in the first half of games this year. Here's the ugly, relevant stats:
How can Herm claim he's taken aback by what the numbers show is a trend? Its simple Herm: your offense doesn't move the ball in the first half. As a result, your team is usually trailing at halftime. As a result, you then have to ditch the run, become one dimensional, and the end result is another loss.
Gretz notes that "The oakland performance was bad, but this was worse because last week the Chiefs showed what they are capable of doing on the field?
Really? A further look inside the numbers from the denver first half possessions:
Outside of the opening drive ... no possession gained more than 23 yards. And if you ignore LJ's 65 yard run, the other 8 plays on that drive netted 19 yards.
(Granted, one of those 8 plays was the FG attempt ... so we got 19 yards on 7 plays. Wow. Just ... wow. That's wretchedly awful, whether you use 7 or 8 as the dividing point for those 19 yards).
Gretz notes that "In the Herm Edwards era, the Chiefs have scored three or more touchdowns 3 times in 19 games away from Arrowhead Stadium. They are 1-2 in those games".
I agree with Gretz' 3 of 19 ... however, I believe he has the road record inverted. I know we scored 3 TDs in our week 4 win at San Diego last year. I know we scored 4 TDs in our week 13 loss at Cleveland in 2006. I believe the other game we scored 3 plus TDs was at St. Louis in 2006, which was a win.
Of far greater concern than using "accurate and timely numbers", to borrow a worn out phrase from work, at far greater concern to me than that ... is the fact that we're 5-14 in those 19 road games. And just as appalling, and probably the reason behind the 5-14 record ... is the fact that we have scored 1 touchdown or less in 12 of those 19 games! That is insane:
I mean, as I like to say, "the numbers don't lie folks". We have lost 3 overtime games on the road under Herm. Only one of them did we manage multiple plunges into the end zone. 9 of the 19 games, have been decided by a touchdown or less. We are 2-7 in those games, and in 7 of those 9, we failed to manage multiple plunges into the end zone.
Finally, Gretz gets into his viewpoint of where this team is right now:
"I think the next two weeks will make or break this team’s season. This team must get a lot of work done over the bye week. There must be some serious soul searching on the offensive and defensive coaching staffs on the way they are handling this group. At a time where they probably need a break from the game, these players need to dive head first into what’s happened and what’s going to happen.
"All this is necessary because the Chiefs are capable of so much more than what they showed against the Panthers.
"Although the answers may not have come to mind in the moments after the game, Herm Edwards, his staff and his players have to find them. More importantly, they must make sure that complete breakdowns like what happened on Sunday never happen again."
And its here that Bob loses me.
Look at the numbers, Bob.
This season is already broken. It done hit the iceberg. It done burst the levee. Its ... its "done". While I appreciate his optimism, given that usually I'm the one drinking the Kool-Aid ... its over Bob.
What really bugged me though was his final paragraph.
As clearly, reasonably, and (in a stunner for once) coherenly laid out by me so far in this post ... Herm isn't going to find the answer.
Because he's the problem.
His outdated, ass backwards approach to offensive football has crippled this team. The stats don't lie. Again, the stats don't lie.
There is no way you can manipulate these stats into anything positive. (Save for maybe the TOP stat. Other than Carolina, we've held onto the ball for a while in the first half. That one really stunned me ...)
Look it, I like Herm. I like Chan Gailey. But something ain't working. I'm not trying to absolve Gun and his defense of any blame; they certainly have struggled as well. But so far this year at the half, we've trailed 3-7 (at NE), 0-6 (vs oak), 7-24 (at Atl), and 0-21 (at Car). We also led 13-10 against denver. The defense has done its job in 3 of the 5 games (and I throw Atlanta out the window, Thigpen was so horrid that the defense had no chance in that one). Whatever you think of Gun and his unit's showing so far, they haven't LOST the game for us.
The offense has.
Fix the offense if you want this team to get better. It sounds simple, sure. It sounds obvious. But sometimes, a thing is obvious ... because its just obvious. "Drinking and driving" = bad. "Night that lives in infamy" = questionable.
"Removing head coach whose outdated offensive philosophy is literally handicapping the team"?
(steve sighing heavily in frustration).
Its called "stating the obvious" for a reason ...
No comments:
Post a Comment