Cardinals @ Chiefs Post-Game Report: Turk Terrorizes
Who is that…Neil Smith?
(Phew, what a night. I’m still catching my breath from watching Michael Phelps win his eighth gold. After he made his turn it was like he wasn’t even human. It was like he ws sent back in time to kill John Connor or something. We don’t need an Aquaman movie–we got the real underwater superhero right here with us! Congrats to an American hero and one of the greatest athletes ever.)
Now, back to Chiefs football. I’m going to keep to the free-flowing form that I adopted after the first game. Here…we…go…
Larry Johnson. What more can I say? You know, I read these articles were he’s ranked in the teens among NFL running backs, and it boggles my mind. Look at what happened to him last year: A.) His line sucked; B.) His offensive coordinator sucked worse; C.) He played against great front sevens; D.) His two quarterbacks were a glorified rookie and a career back-up; E.) He held out almost all of the preseason; and F.) He got hurt. Even considering all of that, the Chiefs were 4-3 and beating Green Bay when he went down. People just don’t think when they evaluate L.J. nowadays. Nothing has changed. Well, except that he didn’t miss any of camp, and we have a better line, O.C and quarterback (Brodie Croyle has improved, it’s just unclear how much). Iron Man is back folks, and he’s possibly better than ever. If Dwayne Bowe would have just blocked on that 18-yard run, he might have taken it to the house. 2-7 is silencing the haters!
Turk McBride was my first-half star of the game. I’m sure I’ll get blasted for one of my other favorite players having a forgettable night tonight. I may drive that bandwagon, but I also drive the Turk bandwagon. I love it when our guys play well. It makes us Addicts feel like proud parents. Anyway, Turk was working against Levi Brown for most of the night from what I could tell (with my two Internet streaming options–choppy or fuzzy), and he came away with two sacks. We knew he had a great motor, but he also looked quick and strong. I think Turk nailed the coffin shut on the Alfonso Boone-LDE experiment. Rest in peace!
It’s too early to judge this entire rookie class, but I’ll go out on a limb (not really) and say that Brandon Flowers is a player. Flowers Power was all over the field tonight. He’s got a chance to be a lock-down corner. Getting him in the second round was a major, major steal.
Boy, was it nice to see both of our safeties come up and make good, strong, fundamentally sound tackles on consecutive plays. When your coaches yell at you to wrap up, they aren’t talking about the dame you take home from Blonde. Hopefully, Bernard Pollard and, especially, Jarrad Page will keep tackling like that.
Maurice Price is a baller. People think I’m just obsessed with Bobby Sippio, but half or more of that obsession is due to how much disdain I had for the departed Samie Parker, and currently have for Jeff Webb. As long as Webb doesn’t crack our top four receivers rotation-wise, I’m walking on sunshine. Devard Darling and Will Franklin were training camp dandies, but Price has been peerless and priceless in the preseason thus far. Price was my second pick for break-out player. Just thought I’d add that.
The offensive line looked great early on, but those guys better stay healthy. We have absolutely no depth there.
What about Chan Gailey’s direct snap to L.J.? Gotta love an O.C. with a little bit of an imagination. It will sure take some getting used to again.
Dimitri Patterson, another long-time A.A. fave, belongs on this team. The kid has as much heart as anybody on the roster. Great special teamer. I also think he can be a guy who plays defensive back in certain packages.
Glenn Dorsey is a space-eating legion. Running on Swamp Thing is going to be like running through a swamp with cinderblock shoes. I can’t wait to see more of No. 72.
The linebackers continued to struggle for the most part. So did the reserves in the secondary. Just awful coverage and tackling back there.
What about Johnny Dingle coming off the edge like he’s been watching Derrick Thomas highlights all his life? Maybe the kid wants to make the team?
Unlike the Arizona announcers, I wasn’t impressed with Tyler Thigpen. Great legs, very mediocre arm. There’s absolutely no progression with him either. You almost wonder if he locks on because he’s so short he can’t see. I mean, he does throw a ton better on the run out in the flat, so maybe he just can’t see? I’m not sure, but I don’t think he’ll ever be a capable pocket passer.
Dontrell “Macho Man” Savage was my second-half star of the game (hey, somebody had to be). Cut B.J. Sams now. Watching Savage return after we’ve been watching Eddie Drummond and Sams struggle to pick up anything, is like watching Baryshnikov dance after Chris Farley. Kid’s got moves. If Macho Man gets cut I will be pissed. Just having a guy who looks like he might break something is a breath of fresh air.
The part I’m not looking forward to. Bobby Sippio. Caught one pass out of four. The other three were poor passes, and one was tipped, but he should have hauled in at least two balls tonight. He got his hands on all four balls. I think he was pressing a little bit for the home fans, but he will need to rebound next week in a major way. He’s still got plenty of talent and a decent shot. But, hey, Sippio’s lost opportunity was Kevin McMahan’s gain. Check out these highlights of Maine’s finest. Maybe there is another dark horse on the roster?
I’m taking a break when it comes to talking about our other quarterbacks, due to being drawn and quartered and spit on yesterday. I’ll let you guys dissect those situations for now.
Let’s hear it, Addicts, what did you think of the second preseason game?
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all im hearing is that brodie played horrible!! no way herm and company wanted to run the ball tonight and thats wat they did and did a damn good job of it too!! but, brodie is a whole new quaterback hes not forcing the ball he’s playin smart he will get it together he’s managing the game really well and hes movin offense down the field i give my hats off to him hes proving me wrong
August 17th, 2008 at 12:46 amThe fans tonight were really excited and on the way to the parking lot heard the chant that I hadnt heard in a long time. One fan remarked that we will have an awesome team next year with some more luck in the draft and I have to agree.
August 17th, 2008 at 12:52 amDarn it we broke the losing streak I sure hoped we would break the AT HOME losing streak.
August 17th, 2008 at 12:53 amAm I the only one who is scratching his head about the whole Devard Darling situation..We’ve been hearing this guy is great (although he was a ravens scrub, and was let go without a fight, made 28 catches in four years) (that is as many as Webb had last year) hasn’t made 1 single catch in a pre season game..Listen I want the guy to succeed and feel bad about his bro dying but he is still completely unknown at this point..I don’t care ahow good he is at camp, he is the only rec to not have 1 damn catch
So far it seems the receivers are Bowe, Franklin, and Price then darling or webb or sippio..
I forgot how good Kolby Smith is..The guy is really quite impressive..I’m looking forward to watching smith and charles play a great supporting role in this offense.
August 17th, 2008 at 1:03 amPrice really has been a great surprise..And having bowe, franklin, and price as our top three would be huge since all three of these recievers are between 22-24 years of age..
August 17th, 2008 at 1:04 amWell, great 2nd half for us. I was a little worried there at the end. Pass defense made Thigpen look like Favre. Our run defense was poor. However, we won, so I’ll take it no matter how it happens. Go Cards!
August 17th, 2008 at 1:18 amu a little lost buddy lol jk
August 17th, 2008 at 1:25 amI didn’t get to watch the game…thanks for all the great thoughts on it…Except Boone and McBride are playing Left Defensive End…very glad to hear he did so well, he is definately built perfect for that side…
Price is in, i think…Sippio will likely be cut…McMahan to practice squad.
August 17th, 2008 at 2:07 amActually they were flopping the DEs tonight, so they played both sides. Hali actually took a snap at DT too.
August 17th, 2008 at 2:11 am
August 17th, 2008 at 2:11 amWhitlock gives it to Brodie and names Damon Huard “The Fire Extinguisher”
http://www.kansascity.com/sports/chiefs/story/752296.html
August 17th, 2008 at 2:17 amuh oh…i am pretty sure you just bitch-slapped me…
HOWEVER, my comment was in reference to the “Boone RDE Experiment” it was at LDE truly…but good to hear they moved them all around…
sweet pic by the way.
Also, I am glad other people notice crap like that, when I watch the Chiefs I tell my friends about changes in line-ups and whatnot and they think im a loser…I was at the Chiefs/Chargers game last year and informed everyone in my section that 69 was in as eligible…before his TD, of course
August 17th, 2008 at 2:18 amBtw guys, NFL Network is airing the game at 2′oclock A.M. (central time) on Monday morning. (Subject to scheduling changes.) I know that’s inconvenient, but other than a local station, that’s the only place I saw it on TV, in the next 3-4 days. And I read that some of you hadn’t watched it, so if you have DVR, can record it, or whatever, definetly get that set up, because (at least the first half) it was worth watching.
August 17th, 2008 at 2:57 amI already have it set
thanks for the heads-up
August 17th, 2008 at 3:03 amTurk was kickin a$$ and takin` names.
Another great outing for Herb Taylor.
Cox did GREAT. Awesome lead blocker for LJ.
Colquit is… in the words of the immortal Johnny Guitar Watson… “A REAL MOTHER FOR YA” That 65 yarder dead inside the 10 was pure poetry!
Brodie was just ok - not as good as last week. Pigster is… uh, let me be nice and say ‘a work in progress’ - but I do think he’s too short to be a starter, and maybe that’s why Chan was calling all of those bootlegs for him… now… if he could learn to bootleg AND look off a WR before he goes to the checkdown rcvr… Could it be Chan is going to bring Tyler in to run the sprint outs so he doesn’t risk Brodies legs, or so they can spell him while at the same time get Tyler some reps at game speeds?
If I were Herm, I’d cut Sams tomorrow and give Savage the rest of the reps in preseason. He at least runs north and south and is not afraid to put his head down and flummox some poor ba$tard.
RB’s: LJ, Kolby, Charles, & Battle with Savage nailing down the KR/PR gig. If Battle doesn’t play ST’s, he goes to the taxi squad.
WR’s - if it were me, I’d give Franklin the #2 gig NOW and make the rest of those guys vie for snaps at #3. Depth chart: Bowe, Franklin, Price, Webb & Sippio. DVD is toast (tho he’ll probably start in Herm’s world - arghh!) I’m not sure where Mcmahan fits if he does - maybe the taxi squad.
It looks to me like Gunner is getting his dline rotations and schemes dialed in… and once he has it all straight in his own head… the guys will start catching on faster. They looked loads better than last week… secondary was absolutely hammer and anvil all night - amazing what can happen when your line gets pressure and stuffs the running game. And while they still looked rough, even the LB’s looked better tonight.
On the whole I’m feeling better about a lot of things particularly the Dline. I’m worried about our Oline depth - but I think we’ll be ok once Albert comes back. We should start Richardson over Damion from day one… or move him inside to guard and put Herb over there when Albert comes back. Jones did not impress.
August 17th, 2008 at 3:33 amI could have swore that Whitlock was complementing Brodie last week? Now, after what wasn’t even a bad game, he’s saying he’s not cutting it? I just don’t understand that dude sometimes.
August 17th, 2008 at 10:18 am- I think we should all take into account that preseason games, essentially, don’t mean shit. You get the picture of the real season from preseason games about as much as you get the story of a movie from the previews. Maybe less.
- Also, “Pigster” (I like that, CMZ
) is the same height as Drew Brees, who is an excellent pocket passer. It’s not the height. It’s the fact that he didn’t play quarterback until college. He’s very underdeveloped for an NFL QB. And is it just me or does he completely lack touch, or even varying speeds on his balls?
- Brandon Flowers was very impressive for any rookie DB. I can’t wait until he actually starts making some big plays. And it will happen.
- LJ has been pulling out stiff arms a lot more. Think he got that from LT? They’ve both said they watch eachother.
August 17th, 2008 at 11:13 amActually, Whitlock wasn’t very high on you know who (still on my vow of silence) even last week.
And Richardson got beat like he stole something on one play last night. Thiggy Smalls nearly got decapitated. Not sure that would have been a bad thing for the Chiefs, but still.
And we need to cut DVD some slack, ya’ll (I’m in Texas now). The guy hasn’t been in for very many snaps, and Yao Ming couldn’t have caught the two balls that have been thrown to him so far–on stilts! Dwayne Bowe only has one catch for seven yards, is he struggling, too? Those first-string guys haven’t received that many reps.
August 17th, 2008 at 12:06 pmOH… Nice call on Bowe only having one catch, Adam. I’ll give Darling some more time.
August 17th, 2008 at 12:17 pmOh yeah, I forgot to address the idea of Richardson starting over McIntosh.
As much as I dislike McIntosh, that will not happen any time soon. The Chiefs like Richardson for his physical abilities and potential, but he apparently needs a good bit of development. Here’s to hoping he’ll be a good plyer for us someday.
But yeah, starting him now would be a major mistake.
Adam:
Texas is NOT the South, it’s the Southwest. MAJOR difference.
August 17th, 2008 at 12:23 pmI’m glad it’s not the South actually
But people do say ya’ll here. Still, Austin is about as cool of a place as you’ll find, totally different from the rest of TX.
Gotta give Darling more time, and more targets. And hopefully ones he can at least get his fingertips on.
August 17th, 2008 at 12:36 pmOh yeah, I know y’all is a Texas word, too. I was just clarifying.
And I’m reserving my judgment on Devard Darling until the regular season.
August 17th, 2008 at 1:01 pmIn other news, Michael Turner had 113 yards on 4 carries against the Colts yesterday. And you people called my crazy when I put him in my top 5 running backs.
People should start listening to me more.
August 17th, 2008 at 1:02 pmMississippi is the South though right? I loved that place.
August 17th, 2008 at 1:09 pmLooks like Nick Athan agrees on the whole Sippio-Thiggy thing…
http://kan.scout.com/2/780196.html
August 17th, 2008 at 2:00 pmSBC - We might if you would listen to others too
August 17th, 2008 at 2:31 pmAustin is an incredible place..Abs love Texas..
I realized Bowe hasn’t done much or gonz( and of course it doesn’t matter) however all I’ve been hearing is that DVD is the second coming of Eddie Kennison (even tho the guy caught 28 catches in four seasons, come on webb caught 28 last year adam and you hate him) but he doesn’t have 1 catch..Why is the front office so high on him when Baltimore had four years to spot his potential.
I admit I can’t make a educated decision on this for a variety of reason but Price has my voice for the #3 spot right now..Plain and simple that guy has shown up to make plays in both games..Seems like Sippio is gonna get cut..However the WR corps have proven to be very competitive and will be much more impressive this year than years past..I think with bowe, franklin, price (all between 22-24) we’re gonna build something special..We already know Bowe is gonna be a star, but franklin and Price can only get better from here
August 17th, 2008 at 3:01 pmI’d like to see Richardson at RG, Herb T at RT, and Alberts at LT with D-Mack backing them up. I did read that Alabi is actually producing well.
From all I’ve read of the game, I am proud of the team and what the coaches are doing. I see improvements in every aspect of the game. We can have hope, we just need patience. I don’t want to write off anyone until the end of preseason game 4. Gametime and experience will prove who is the best. I am wary of the Defensive depth.
And yes Adam, Austin is cool, but nothing like the beauty of El Paso!
August 17th, 2008 at 3:09 pmI think you are putting too much stock in Baltimore’s passing game, but I hear you. The difference between Webb and Darling last year is that DVD had three TDs and a handful of explosive plays, despite playing in a lousy offense. He showed that he could potentially be a guy who could stretch the field and hit homeruns.
“You know who” didn’t complete a pass longer than seven yards last night. Kind of hard to evaluate a speedy No. 2 when we dink and dunk down the field during the only quarter he played. Let’s take a deep breath and give him some more time. With all the clamoring about Brodie and Sipp getting fair shots, we need to give DVD one, too.
August 17th, 2008 at 3:11 pmEl Paso sure is beautiful. I guess I just got too much city boy in me. Growing up in Missouri and living in L.A., I think I’ve finally found my happy medium in Austin.
And I know we are all ready to bench McIntosh, but I don’t think Richardson is ready yet. He got embarrassed Svitek-style on one play last night.
August 17th, 2008 at 3:13 pmSean, you just got done saying pre-season doesn’t mean shit, essentially, and then you proclaim Turner to be a men among boys because of it. We all know he’s good, but he’s not proven to be a 20-25 snap a game kinda guy.
Richardson shouldn’t start yet, but I’m thinkin about mid-season he should be finding a way to at least rotate in at times, or if D-Mac is injured, plug him in. I also wanna see Svitek over there, assuming he doesn’t still look like a girl. I’d hoped he would come along and at least be a nice RT, but bleh. Doesn’t look like it. Again I’ll compare him (unfavorably) to an 8 year old girl with spinal menengitis.
I still can’t believe how many people didn’t like Savage last week. For being 180 lbs, he was lowering his pads and plowing into piles, and still making something. It was a good thing to watch. He WANTS to be on this team. Eddie Drummond looked like he was going through the motions. He didn’t wanna be here, he just wanted a paycheck. Savage is just that, savage. He deserves to be here, from what we’ve seen so far. He’s one of our best returners by quite a bit.
Overall, I’m immensely excited about how our team is going to look in 2-3 years. We’re already young, but A LOT of guys are showing A LOT of promise. Just imagine in 2-3 years when our O-line is settled and gelled together. Buncha young receivers, that show alot of heart. RB is probably our deepest position as far as depth, and they’re all young too. If Brodie comes along, look out for our O in a couple years. If Turk, Tank, Bruiser and Hali can hold down the D-line, they’ll just be hitting their primes of their careers at that time. We’ll have a chance to pick up new backers (Lauranitis!) We have a young and so far, very talented-looking secondary. We could very well be SB contenders in a few years, and that’s not being a homer, that’s just looking at the talent we have and the coaching we’ve got.
August 17th, 2008 at 3:48 pmAdam, Sippio looked like crap last night and chances are he would of dropped that pass just like he did all the others. It was a bad pass but it still hit his hands. From where i come from if you touch it you should catch it.DVD hasn’t gotten much pt yet this pre-season and when he did last night they didn’t get him the ball. Price has been our best receiver so far this season. I could see him being our number three guy. My hats off to Mr.Savage this guy can flat out play.
August 17th, 2008 at 4:22 pmWhen have I said that Sippio shouldn’t have caught a few of those balls, especially the last one. Let’s be fair, though, the near TD pass was to his ankles and the INT was tipped at the line of scrimmage, high and behind him. He didn’t play well, but let’s not hang the guy. Thiggy Smalls didn’t exactly set him up for success.
August 17th, 2008 at 5:23 pmI’ve like what I’ve seen out of Price so far, but I think some people being pretty generous thinking the guy will end up as our number three receiver. Let’s not forget he’s playing against back-ups, and he’s getting some good looks. There’s guys all over the league that are fourth and fifth on peoples depth charts who have numbers that match Price’s. I’m high on the guy too, but I don’t see him ending up at number three.
August 17th, 2008 at 6:59 pmI’m not happy that Croyles longest pass was 7 yards. The o-line is improved and I can’t wait until Albert makes his mark on the o-line. I was most impressed with Flowers, Warner tested him on his very first pass and Flowers make a great play against Bolden. Turk is making me think he can play DE as a good starter.
August 17th, 2008 at 9:18 pmxxxlp:
OK, talk to me again when I prove you wrong about Turner
August 18th, 2008 at 12:41 amAdam: you broke the vow >.<
“With all the clamoring about Brodie and Sipp getting fair shots, we need to give DVD one, too.”
And Sean; I already know he’s a beast. You don’t average 5 yards a carry + in the NFL without being a stud. A bad O-line and a rookie QB are going to hurt his stats this year, as he faces many 8-9 man fronts, but he should still log at least 1k this year. I’m just saying; don’t be hypocritical.
August 18th, 2008 at 3:23 amAnd as far as the line goes, I’d rather have our O-line look like this if Taylor or Albert gets injured. Taylor or Albert (whoever is not injured)/Brian Waters/Niswanger/D-Mac/Svitek.
I don’t like seeing Svitek on the left side. He can’t hang with those boys. They’re faster, stronger, and ultimately, better athletes over on the left. Either way, we still have a solid LT, LG, and C (by all accounts Niswanger is doing a bang-up job,) RG, and RT will be a little shady, but I think it’d be better than Adrian Jones/D-Mac. For God’s sake Barry, hurry up and step up. We need you brotha.
August 18th, 2008 at 3:27 amI’m not being hypocritical. Preseason really does not mean anything, but you don’t rush for 113 yards on 4 carries against a starting defense if you’re a scrub. That’s in spite of the fact that it’s only preseason.
August 18th, 2008 at 3:39 amok 1-i love herb taylor. im a huge tcu fan and i remember this guy on the sidelines off all the games casue i have 2nd row tickets. he was a stud there and im glad to see him go to the chiefs
2-i like thiggy. i think he has a better chance than croyle. everyone says hes too short, well hes a inch taller than brees and brees seems to be making somethin of himself right? also thigpens mobile. with the horrible (but still improved) o line, that might be what we need. i say we give him a shot to start a preseason game
3-sippio. i wish he could do something up here. i remember him in a dallas desperado uni down here, granted that was the afl, but he was a stud here. i want him to regain his form
4-kevin robinson. i hope the chiefs hang onto him, he could prove very valuable along with savage on kick returns in deadly. no one to kick to!
5-this is a solid team. i like the defense,excellent job. the o line is god awful and the qb situation is kinda a mess, but the wr and rbs and te are solid. i say we give thiggy a chance, and make it open competition between him and brodie. i think with the bad o line, thigpen will do better bc he seems to scramble better
August 18th, 2008 at 2:51 pmWhen Pigster can make EVERY throw an NFL quarterback needs to make as well as Brodie, then we make it an open competiion. The Pigster has YET to complete a pass from the pocket - who CARES if he can run? We will never win with Pigster as he is right now.
He might have a chance to develop into a decent sprint option shotgun type QB - but neither of those offenses are winning games in the NFL anymore.
Even Vince Young who is taller, faster and has a cannon for an arm is having to adapt his physicality to become a low risk, game managing pocket passer. Pigster needs to grow into something more than he is just to become a decent backup in the NFL.
August 18th, 2008 at 4:17 pmI did break the vow, xxxlp! Damn. In all fairness, I really wasn’t talking about him, though.
And Thiggy Smalls better start working on his hands. Someone called him Vanilla Vick somewhere, and I shook my head. More like Vanilla Brad Smith. The guy’s best chance to do something in the NFL is as a Chris Horn-type receiver.
August 18th, 2008 at 4:32 pmCroyle just had an average game. They were clearly focusing mainly on running and were just passing enough to keep the running lanes open.
If you break down the incompletions, 3 were purposeful, two were just regular incompletions that weren’t great passes but hit the receivers in the hands and they couldn’t bring them in.
Then you had the Devard Darling incompletions, the only ones where they attempted to throw deep. Its clear Darling isn’t in sync with Croyle the way the other WRs are.
If Savage continues to perform well on returns, they will take him on the squad as a 4th RB (which I think is a good idea anyway), they will put Robinson on the PUP, which will give Savage 6 weeks to see how he can do in the return game, and probably only carry 4 WRs. I’m guessing Bowe, Darling, Franklin and Price.
August 18th, 2008 at 8:43 pm