"The NFL is better when Kansas City is good."
-Jim Rome
It rained, it was freezing, it was wet, it was miserable, and it was totally worth it. I haven't been this pumped on the Chiefs in a long time, they came out and did what they had to do which was win a big time game against a division rival on prime time Monday Night Football to open the New Arrowhead with a victory.
The Chiefs are in sole posession of first place for the first time in a long time and they deserve it. The Chiefs had a plan for what they want to do, and they did it to get a victory. This will be the Chiefs mantra all season, "Defense, Special Teams, Offense give us enough to win."
As always, here are my evaluation of the good and bad things that I saw this game.
Good things:
Derrick Johnson – DJ played out of his mind. I have never seen him play that good since he was drafted. The man was a beast, he was all over the field, blowing up screens, chasing down defenders, making plays in the backfield, forcing fumbles, general awesomeness. DJ had 12 tackes (11 solo) and showed why Haley gave him the start and gave us all hope that he can FINALLY realize his potential. It is only one game, but I will admit that, at this point, I was wrong with this recent post.
Glen Dorsey – I Called it last year, Dorsey is a STUD. Dorsey was owning all night and manhandling the opposing offensive linement. He's gonna take another big step forward this year and become a complete 3-4 defensive linement.
Tyson Jackson – T-Jack played well and looks like he might be taking a big step forward similar to the step Dorsey took last year. I tell you, if these two end up coming around, we're looking at a stout defensive line. If we get a nose tackle in there, it's a real solid D-line.
Jamaal Charles – What do I really need to say. He proved that last year was not a fluke, that he has legit big play, homerun ability, and he NEEDS to get the ball more, he's the closest thing this team has to a superstar.
Dexter McCluster –He's the real deal folks. Run DMC can play, the kid is a jitterbug who can make people miss and has ridiculous speed. He makes everyone else look like they are in slow motion.
The Secondary – Brandon Flowers didn't get thrown at nearly at all and had his receiver on lockdown. He is well on his way to becoming a top elite CB in this league. Brandon Carr got picked on all night and played great making some big time defensive plays. Eric Berry had a tough time dealing with Antonio Gates and Javier Arenas had some growing pains and there are more to come for both of them, but they showed flashes and will make plays as the year goes on.
Bad Things:
Matt Cassel – I am not usually a QB hater constantly calling for his head like some Chiefs fans have done in the past (Steve Bono, Elvis Grbac, Trent Green, etc.) but we have a seriously problem with Matt Cassel. He looked awful. He was uncomfortable back in the pocket, danced around, held on to the ball too long, didn't make good decisions, and had only 1 or 2 decent throws all night. I know weather was a factor but it was a factor for Phillip Rivers too and he played fine. I don't think we can win with Cassel as our QB.
The Secondary - Our secondary is young and they showed it as there were some huge lapses. Eric Berry will be a player be he got destroyed by Antonio Gates on their first touchdown drive. There was a blown coverage that led to a WIDE open 59 yard touchdown. Mistakes that need to be fixed going forward.
"Starting" Receivers - The starting receivers did absolutely nothing. Dwayne Bowe and Chris Chambers were nonexistent and need to find a way to make plays. I know weather was a factor, but you still gotta get more out of your top two wideouts than that.
Jamaal Charles - This has nothing to do with his play, Charles was great, but my question is WHY IS JAMAAL CHARLES NOT PLAYING???? For some reason Todd Haley feels the need to give our most exciting offensive player only 12 touches in a night. Haley is displaying a level of arrogance here that I cannot comprehend. Why in the world is he not playing more, if not for him our offense had no life at all and my guess is it will be that way the rest of the season. I, for one, am sick and tired of this act by Todd Haley, if the "best players will play" then why doesn't Charles play? Nothing wrong with Thomas Jones, but Charles is better. Fact.
Good and Bad:
Crowd noise – Arrowhead Stadium was as loud as it was in it’s hayday, but it still didn’t FEEL like it did back then and didn’t seem like the Chargers felt it. The noise caused a coupe of false starts and some timeouts to be taken, but in the 90’s when it was 3rd down or another scenario and the crowd was going nuts, the other team looked scared because they felt like something was going to happen, the D was gonna get pumped by the noise and make a play (sack turnover, etc.). There is no longer that fear, the noise is a nuisance but doesn't make the other team run scared. I can't wait for the days when our defense is back to dominant level and that combined with the noise is the scariest venue in the league.
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