Monday
Morning QB:
Personnel doesn't fit the offense
10/22/2001
by C.K.
Rairden
Landmark columnist
Arizona 23-Kansas City 3.
No that wasn’t the final score. That was the number
of plays run from scrimmage in the third quarter on one
series by the Chiefs and two drives by the Cardinals.
The 25th play of those two drives came on the second play
of the fourth quarter and resulted in a TD for Arizona.
The Cardinals came out of the locker room
at halftime trailing the Chiefs 9-3. They started with
an 80-yard drive for a TD and a 10-9 lead to begin the
quarter. On the opening series of the half the Cardinals
moved the ball well until a 3rd and 14. The Chiefs defense
had held on that third and long but DE Eric Hicks hit
Cards QB Jake Plummer late and was flagged for a personal
foul. First down Cards. Later a TD. On the next possession
a TD. On the next possession a TD. 24-9 Cards over Chiefs.
• • •
The Chiefs put forth a desperation effort to make an
attempt to tie the game trailing by 15 points. In the
4th quarter they had a 2-play drive for 75 yards that
resulted in a TD and left them trailing by 8.
They then had a miraculous 97-yard drive that left them
at the Cards 1-yard line with a try for the win. Five
seconds remained. Green threw the ball into traffic into
the endzone the pass was intercepted and that was the
game.
Don’t believe for a minute that’s where the
game was lost. It was lost when the Chiefs ran up 232
yards in the first half and once again failed to produce
a TD. Once the game was out of reach, the Chiefs offense
finally woke up a bit and produced a TD. It was too little
too late.
• • •
There are several problems glaring from the offense but
let’s concentrate on what is produced on the field.
—Six straight games with no offensive TD’s
in the first quarter.
—Three straight games with no offensive TD’s
in the first three quarters.
—Two games with no offensive TD’s period.—0-4
in the red zone vs. the Cards.
—QB Trent Green’s 1-2 ratio of TD’s to
interceptions.
Abysmal numbers.
• • •
Reading those stats it’s not hard to figure out
why the Chiefs are in the AFC West cellar at 1-5. The
personnel doesn’t fit the offense and the offense
doesn’t fit the personnel.
The Chiefs seem to have found the one back they wish
to use in Priest Holmes and he has given the team a solid
season thus far. However he is not being utilized early
in games and the offense is constantly playing catch up.
It will likely get worse before it gets better as adjustments
seem to be out of the question. What does this all mean?
—Hang on Chiefs fans—
The stubbornness shown so far in refusing to adjust may
make this bumpy ride a possibility of a straight dive
over a cliff and a season where a poor record is not the
worst part.
That could be a lack of any progress on the offensive
side of the ball and little to build on.
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