The Plot Thickens

by Chiefs

Smith. Perv Smith. (source: kcchiefsblog.com)

So wait, the Chiefs actually are a good team now?  When did this happen?  I feel like this team totally re-writes its story every few weeks.  It’s like one of those choose-your-own-adventure books.

After the Buffalo/Oakland/Denver three game stretch, I thought any delusions about us being a legit team could be safely put to rest.  I chided myself for letting this team trick me into thinking they were ready to contend.  A win over Arizona at home didn’t change anything for me.  That was a game almost every team in the NFL would’ve won.

This week was different.  Seattle may not be good, but they’re not terrible either.  I think we can safely call them average.  Beating an average team on the road doesn’t make you a Super Bowl contender, but it does mean something.  You know who scores 42 points against average teams on the road?  Good teams.  Yesterday, the Kansas City Chiefs showed they can be a good team

This was Matt Cassel’s best game of the season.  I know some of you have been clinging to your bizarre insistence that he was great against Denver, but you’re probably the same people who think Tyson Jackson is right on track.  We can all get on the same page about what we saw yesterday.  Cassel was damn-near perfect.  When he escaped from trouble and rolled out to find Dwayne Bowe on third down, I felt like I was seeing a new man.  That was the best play I’ve ever seen him make.  He looked like a pro bowl quarterback.

Before the season started I wrote that the Chiefs’ best chance of success would be to turn back the clock not to the halcyon days of the 90s, but to the early-to-mid 2000s.  I thought this team would have some similarities to the Vermeil years.  Then the season started, the defense carried a bumbling offense, and I looked like an idiot.

Redemption for your boy Big Matt after the jump

Now I look like less of an idiot…..about that prediction anyway.  In particular, my Cassel to Trent Green comparison seems to have some validity.  Cassel will never have a great deep ball or laser-like precision, but that doesn’t mean he can’t be effective.  Green was very good without either of those things.  He played smart, limited mistakes, and won the respect of his teammates.  It now appears Cassel can do all of those things.  And I’m not just singing that tired “manage the offense” song.  When you put up 42 on the road, you did a hell of a lot more than just manage the offense.

Cassel/Green isn’t the only comparison I want to make here.  Jamaal Charles runs a lot like Priest Holmes.  Yes, he is much faster and more explosive.  But what really makes him great is the way he shifts and uses blockers, much the same way Holmes did.  That’s the ability that enabled him to pick up 8 yards per carry yesterday.  Behind the same line and against the same defense, Thomas Jones looked old and bad (3.4 yards per carry).  If the Chiefs running backs were Batman, JC would be Christian Bale and Jones would be Adam West.  I heard West was a great locker-room leader.  Intangibles through the roof.

But hey, I’m not here this week to talk about Thom Jones’ low YPC or Mike Vrabel’s recently developed allergy to quarterbacks.  I’m here to talk about the players that are actually responsible for this win.  Namely, my man D-Bowe.  Another week, another explosion.  Think how good he’d be if he was actually a “#1 receiver”!

I’m not trying to go all “I told you so” here with Bowe.  I happen to love the guy.  He’s exciting, hilarious, and puts up big numbers.  Still, I understand why some of you don’t like him.  He’s made some costly drops, and he’ll probably make some more.  As far as I’m concerned, a fan’s feelings on Bowe are a matter of preference.  For some of us, the positive outweighs the negative.  For others, the drops are just too frustrating.  Neither opinion is “right” or “wrong”.  Bowe isn’t perfect; I understand that.  But ask yourselves where we’d be without him.  Or better yet, ask Matt Cassel.  In our quarterback’s best game of the year, Bowe accounted for almost 75% of his yardage.

Here’s a question: should we have tried to spread the ball around more?  Personally, I was thrilled to see Weis calling so many plays for Bowe.   I was clapping my hands, struttin’ around like Gob Bluth doing his chicken dance.  My boy Big Wing, on the other hand, wasn’t feeling quite so giddy.  His contention was that we should’ve been trying to get other players involved.  Verran Tucker, Tony Moeaki, Terry Copper, whoever.  Create more threats, or at least the appearance of more threats, for future games when we may actually need them.  I could see his point, but was too happy to care.  Instead I filed it away under “ask the Addicts.”

So what do you think, gang?  Was the Bowe show our best option, or should Weis strive for a little more balance?

More questions for the Addicts before I hit the old dusty trail:

  1. It was nice to see Kendrick Lewis get his first pick, although it was a bit of a gift.  What have we seen from him so far? Is he our FS of the future?
  2. Would anyone else like to see a little more of my man Perv Smith at fullback?  Silly gimmick, or a great example of thinking outside the box?
  3. Who should be our nickel-back, Arenas or Daniels?
  4. Which of our defensive linemen (other than specialist Wallace Gilberry) will end the season with the most sacks?  Sweet Ron is currently in the lead with two.  But he’s tired.  So very tired.
  5. RT: Richardson or O’Callaghan?
  6. Do we like Haley better angry, or with that new pained expression on his face?  I’m gonna go with the latter.  It looks like he’s imitating someone from a renaissance painting.

Big win, people.  I haven’t felt this good since the San Fran game.  Time to celebrate.  The McRib is still back, right?

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2. i don't think that's the last ball we'll see perv carry this year! hey-ooh! but seriously, folks...as long as battle doesn't see any goal line carries i'll be alright. they finally gave charles some touches in short-yardage. that was a good sign.

I love Haley's pained expression. Like he has a gremlin or something in his belly that's waiting to get out.

I am not as hot on Lewis as you guys are. Did you see him jump that route on obmandama after Carr got beat. That was a HUGE mistake. Granted he's a rookie, and as far as I can tell he's been solid, but being overaggressive like that could cost you games. Berry's impact as been in stopping the run. Seattle didn't have any first downs in the first half. We wouldn't have that with Pollard or Mike Brown. Keep in mind we didn't have DMC out there. When he gets back, we should have more options. But, if they can't stop Bowe, why not feed him the ball? Im seriously worried about the chargers game. I hope we don't have a let down at arrowhead against the two mules of the division... Love your articles Big Matt.

Thanks for the dap, Big Schef. I, too, cannot wait for McCluster to come back. I knew that ankle injury was trouble when I first heard about it. We need any weapons we can get at this point to take some pressure off Bowe and Charles. I think I agree with you about Bowe though. If they can't stop it, and he's getting open, why not? Yesterday was just such a one-dimensional attack through the air. I've never seen that be so effective, especially not for us. At the very least, you gotta think teams know they have to double-team Bowe now.

A balanced offensive attack is a wonderful thing to behold. If defenses start focusing too much on Bowe, someone else is going to be open. Also don't forget Charles (and Jones!) are catching balls too. I agree with Trey (above commenter) that I couldn't tell what they were going to call a lot of them time, and neither could the Seahawks. Second and short is also a wonderful thing. Football should be fun, and to that end I hope to hell Smith can catch the ball, too. ;-) You know Haley's crazy enough to do it, right? OK, congrats to Arrowhead Addict, been fun following the Chiefs since pre-season and watching this season unfold. Lots of sad Seahawk fans today!

I didnt mind all the targets to Bowe. Hes finally looking like what we drafted him to be. The rest of the offense should benefit from his recent play. Kendrick Lewis needs more time. Getting hurt didnt help. I think him Eric Berry and the Brandons can be a pretty dangerous secondary.

Smith went crazy when he got that "sack"

I think Louie Louie cares enough to want to be really good. He did bone that play though. I liked how he was straight up talking with all of the head coaches after that play...not skulking on the sidelines or something. What are they, 7-1 when he's playing and 0-3 when he's out?

Okay, to be perfectly clear, I'm not comparing Bowe to the following recievers. With that being said, can you remember the other recievers lined up with Michael Irvin, Jerry Rice, Terrel Owens, or even Andre Johnson? You kind of see faces, but you can't remember the names. I say if he keeps playing like this, throw it to him every play. But if he starts dropping passes or gets double coverage, then throw it to Moeaki, Copper, or anyone else. The other thing we have is the run threat. When I saw the stats in Qwest field and saw 200 passing yards and 200 rushing yards, I had no clue what the next play was going to be. And then when I saw Cassel shove the ball in Charles' gut (play action), I watched him run up the middle and the next thing I knew, Bowe caught a 12 yard pass. But I have no problemo watching Bowe catch every pass for 12 yards.

My man d bowe! Im glad he is finally coming around. Everybody needs to start giving Haley the credit he deserves! Haley is the reason bowe is stepping up his game!!! Go chiefs! Keep it goin bowe can't wait to watch make your first pro bowl!

Great article Matt. It's true with a young team like this it's hard to guess what they're going to do week in and week out. Just when you think you have a handle on it they do something unexpected like develop an awesome passing attack! I think the Chiefs, specifically Cassel and Bowe, just upped their game the last couple of weeks. They keep growing and Weiss keeps opening up the playbook more and more. It's been an awfully fun ride this year. What do you think Matt, is Haley going to give Charles the majority of carries down the stretch? We've had this conversation before. Was Haley saving Charles, keeping him healthy for the playoff run and the playoffs? Charles had 22 carries. I would love nothing more than to see Charles get 20+ carries a game for the rest of the season. We could seriously run the table if that happens, especially with Bowe coming on. Kendrick is absolutely our safety of the future. I do think Berry is better and is one of the main reasons for our improvement in the run defense. Start them both and give then the experience. Tremendous upside. Give Smith the ball! Or Charles at the goal line. Coaches decision, whoever earns it. Dorsey Richardson Pained expression. It seems like he's making better decisions now.

It's been really hard for me to get inside Pioli or Haley's head with any kind of consistency, so I can't claim to know Haley's true feelings with regards to Jones and Charles. What I suspect is that, at the start ofthe season, Haley really did like Jones more. After all, minicamps and training camps are where a hustle, hard-work, veteran guy like Jones excels, right? When the intangibles actually outweigh the tangibles? I think he wanted Jones to be the starter, and Charles has forced his hand. I'm still not of the mind that resting Charles for a late-season push was ever "the plan". I mean, we've been teetering just above .500 for a while now until this win. It's hard for me to believe they were saving Charles when we were 3-2, you know? Regardless, if Haley gives Charles more carries now, and Charles is more rested because of his early season inaction (hard to measure that though really).......well, mea culpa.

1. I think Lewis/Berry is the Charles/Jones of our defense. They compliment eachother perfectly. Lewis is good enough in coverage that we can release Berry to roam and stop the run. (See the Denver game. When Lewis is missing and Berry has to focus on coverage alone, he is much less productive). Keep these kids together. 2. I heard he played some fullback in HS. He knows how to carry the ball and by God he knows how to keep his feet moving for the second effort. Until Jones proves he can convert the short yardage "must haves" give it to Smith. Im sick of not converting on third and a yard or on four opportunities within the three. 3. Arenas...for now. The kid has amazing defense. I would like to see him more on the outside. If he pans out there, get rid of Carr, and bring Daniels in at nickel. 4. Smith might...Looked pretty good yesterday. 5. Richardson 6. Haley cracks me up either way. I seriously wish he was miced up for me to here what he says all the time.

I concur...Cumming from Cheeeese who never hated on the Chiefs, except a little on Bowe after his drops. Its good to see everyone (the haters) cum around and stop focusing on the negatives (Cassel,jones/charles,etc.) that don't exist and focusing on the positive strides this team has made from last year...CHIEFSSSSSSS redandyellowredandyellosredandyellow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Why is everyone showing so much love to Richardson? He made Cassel run for his life for much of the day! Although I loved Cassel's spin move and throw on third down to Bowe, Richardson watched as the end went right by him! I hope Albert can get healthy.

Rich definitely looked pretty bad on the left side. I'd still prefer him to O'Callaghan though. I always got the feeling O'Callaghan was only handed that starting spot due to his ties to the Patriots. Or at least, I was wary of that possibility.

I think Cassell is probably an above average NFL quarterback, but the thing about quarterbacks is they all look bad at certain times, e.g., see Payton last night. Even the great ones have gone through periods when they struggled, and some great ones were lucky to get a chance to play, e.g., Kurt Warner, Lenny Dawson, and Johnny Unitas, or we never would have heard of them. And no QB looks good when he is on a lousy team, or when he has no pass protection. On Smith, there was a photo in the paper today that looked like he was carrying the ball in a way that was risking a fumble. It is probably irresistable to give the ball to him again, but I think it is pretty risky.

Wow it is so nice to see the haters finally pony up to the bandwagon.. I was a casselholic when it was not cool and for that I was called a HOMER.... hmmm how does the crow taste? I am a loyal subject of the Chiefs Kingdom, I bleed red and gold it does not matter to me if we are 4 and 12 or 12 and 4 cause the CHEIFS have CLASS that cannot be matched by any other team in the NFL! LONG LIVE THE CHIEFS!

Bowe- If I had a stud receiver, I would target him to death as long as it keeps leading to production. You need teams to start doubling him and bringing someone out of the box to stop him. Then our running game should be even better. Not to mention it frees everyone else up. We just need to make sure they all make plays when they get the opportunity. 1 - Lewis was a nice pick. Good find. But, it is still early. He will have to continue to adjust to what the NFL will attack him with. 2 - Nice gimmick with Smith. It will be just another thing teams have to prepare for with the Chiefs. I don't think we need to see a lot of it, though. Unless it is a blow out. 3- Arenas. He has played well and has proved he can blitz from there as well. Plus, I think Daniels size suits him more for the outside. 4- Dorsey. He will have a big game sooner or later...maybe. 5- Richardson 6- whatever works

0. I don't think it will hurt us that Bowe was targetted as much as he was. I think our offense has proven that when you know when were going to run, we can still run on you and I think the same will apply to Bowe. 1. To be honest, I think Lewis brings some swag/leadership to that defense. He's looking more confident when he is out there, granted he's still a rookie and makes rookie mistakes, but I like what I see out of him. I think he's got plenty of up left. 2. I wouldn't mind a little more of smith. I will admit I did get excited when I saw them hand the ball off to him yesterday. However, that play will not work every time. I say we still throw a wrinkle in there here and there when appropriate. 3. Arenas. Don't get me wrong, I like the fire that Daniels has (don't laugh but I liked what I saw out of him in clean-up duty in the last pre-season game) but I think Arenas is the guy we want on the field as our nickel back. 4. I think we go with Sweet Ron. May be Dorsey can get in there, but I'm thinking Ron at this time. Tough question though. 5. Richardson for RT. It appeared he did struggle at LT though, on the right side I definitely give it to him though. 6. haha, I think you flip a coin. Or may be switch it up every other game? Nice write up Big Matt!

Thanks amigo. Quality comment altogether. You hit every question and I agree with most of your answers. A few responses to your responses: 1) Swagger is huge for a defense, I'm a firm believer in that. If Lewis can help bring swagger to this D, I'll quickly become a fan of his. 3) That's great that you admit liking Daniels due to a preseason performance. I do that all the time. Every preseason I see something I like in some bench player and become convinced he's an underutilized gem. I used to be really high on Herb Taylor based exlusively on preseason work. 5) I too would pick Richardson, but I thought maybe people would be switching back to O'Callaghan based on Rich's poor play at LT yesterday. Hence the question. Seems like most people are still behind Richardson though.

on the plays cassel threw to bowe, he looked only at bowe. i was glad in the 1st half when the pocket was crumbling and cassel's eyes were up the field. that's great and has been rare. and i'm happy for bowe. but any above average secondary is going to focus on bowe. his friend One Eye (cassel) is going to have to find a 2nd and 3rd option. when better to work on that rhythm than 2 touchdowns up against a bad secondary? 2. yes. give the perv the rock. oh and ps. nfl. he can't wait to get tackled (wink wink) 3. Arenas 6.i like the face haley makes where he looks like a kid who's never been on camera. see: after the San Diego game.

I got an LOL out of that "he can't wait to be tackled" line. Very nice. re: spreading it around I was really, really glad to see Moeaki get that last TD. I think that could have been a potentially important catch for his career. Rookie, first game back from an injury. Had he not had a single catch it could've maybe started a funk or hurt his confidence. Still, it is a little odd it took them until the 4th quarter to find the second best receiving option on the team. The question is, would I have preferred even the Moeaki TD to go to Bowe? I'd prefer not to answer that.

did you see what haley said about the "perv smith run package" then he apologizes for the pun? i've got to watch the press conference tonight to sort it out. we could be looking at a great joke here.

yeah its SO OBVIOUS Denver cheated , McDaniels screwed with the replay tape when we challenged that call.

0) No question that Bowe is currently our best option. It wasn't so much Weis' doing as Bowe getting open. Balance will come when the talent level on the side of the scale not holding Bowe increases. 1) Lewis has been too injured to get a good read so far. I've seen enough to not worry about that position right now, though. 2) Until we get an O-line that can get a good push Smith may be our best option to get that hard 1 yard. Gives me Fridge flashbacks. Keep using it if it works. 3) Gotta trust the coaches on this one. They see the players day in and day out. 4) Shaun Smith. 5) Richardson. 6) Whatever gets the wins.

Cassel knows who butters his bread, I'll tell you that. He targeted Bowe 17 times yesterday!

I thought a lot of those plays were designed for Bowe specifically. The slants, the third and 1 deep ball, the third touchdown. It seemed to me like Weis was going to Bowe early and often on purpose, like that was the plan. I didn't even think about the potential Fridge comparisons. That's awesome. I used to love the Fridge when I was a little kid.

Awesome post Matt! Good to see they're making all of us believers. On to the questions. 1)if Bowe is lighting it up keep feeding him. He has really become a dominant reciever.. crazy what happens when he really works on his game. I was convinced we would go after Fitzy in the off season but now I am pretty sure Bowe is the guy. 2)I think Lewis makes more of an impact than we give him credit for. He may be the best safety we drafted.. for now 3)If we need a yard.. give it to Perv. 4)I think we use them both.. the more playing time for these kids the better. 5)Going with Sweet Ron.. have a feeling he's going to dig deep for that extra umph 6) Richardson 7)I like the Anger Am I in the silver star running this week?

I agree about Lewis. We have to remember this kid is a 5th round pick! He may not be making a huge and noticeable impact yet but he also isn't getting burned for TD's every game...though he did make a mistake yesterday. I like him a lot and he should only improve.

Also Patrick, you guys really proved me wrong. Sorry for the sarcasm lately.. GO CHIEFS!

I heard a former NFL scout say before the season that Lewis was generally recognized ot have played better on game day in the SEC than Berry and that the scout thought Lewis would be a better player for the Chiefs this year. I think he was right. He said Lewis was projected as a late first round or second round pick going into the draft, but he fell after a lousy combine where he ran a 4.6 forty. He looks like a solid free safety long term for the Chiefs, although you still can see he is not real fast.

eh he is faster than McGraw that is for sure. =)

Lewis is not better than Berry. It may not be obvious but Berry is one of the reasons we're doing much better against the run this year. I might be willing to say that we got better value on Lewis than Berry in the draft but the jury is still out on that.

You may be right. I am excited to see these two play together for years to come. How great is it though that we are even having a who is better conversation though? I didn't even know if Lewis would play much this year. I guess I was used to Peterson's 5th round talent

Trapped in Donkeyland: perhaps our only commenter capable of winning the gold star for anger one week and the silver star for happiness the next. If there is ever a bronze star, I expect you'll be in the running. Interesting assertion that Lewis could be better than Berry. Kansas City Oracle has been in my ear about that ever since the draft. You guys could be right though. On the one hand, it's hard for me to believe our fifth rounder could be better than the fifth overall pick. But crazier things happen in the draft every year. Maybe Lewis was just an unbelievable steal. Or maybe Berry was a little overrated. In any case, its going to be fun to watch these guys develop. I'm looking forward to some big hits from them over the next few years. I love having young safeties to root for again. Reminds me of the year we drafted Jerome Woods and Reggie Tongue. Good times.

2. i don't think that's the last ball we'll see perv carry this year! hey-ooh! but seriously, folks...as long as battle doesn't see any goal line carries i'll be alright. they finally gave charles some touches in short-yardage. that was a good sign.

I love Haley's pained expression. Like he has a gremlin or something in his belly that's waiting to get out.

I am not as hot on Lewis as you guys are. Did you see him jump that route on obmandama after Carr got beat. That was a HUGE mistake. Granted he's a rookie, and as far as I can tell he's been solid, but being overaggressive like that could cost you games.
Berry's impact as been in stopping the run. Seattle didn't have any first downs in the first half. We wouldn't have that with Pollard or Mike Brown.
Keep in mind we didn't have DMC out there. When he gets back, we should have more options. But, if they can't stop Bowe, why not feed him the ball?

Im seriously worried about the chargers game. I hope we don't have a let down at arrowhead against the two mules of the division...

Love your articles Big Matt.

Thanks for the dap, Big Schef.

I, too, cannot wait for McCluster to come back. I knew that ankle injury was trouble when I first heard about it. We need any weapons we can get at this point to take some pressure off Bowe and Charles.

I think I agree with you about Bowe though. If they can't stop it, and he's getting open, why not? Yesterday was just such a one-dimensional attack through the air. I've never seen that be so effective, especially not for us.

At the very least, you gotta think teams know they have to double-team Bowe now.

A balanced offensive attack is a wonderful thing to behold. If defenses start focusing too much on Bowe, someone else is going to be open. Also don't forget Charles (and Jones!) are catching balls too. I agree with Trey (above commenter) that I couldn't tell what they were going to call a lot of them time, and neither could the Seahawks. Second and short is also a wonderful thing.

Football should be fun, and to that end I hope to hell Smith can catch the ball, too. ;-) You know Haley's crazy enough to do it, right? OK, congrats to Arrowhead Addict, been fun following the Chiefs since pre-season and watching this season unfold. Lots of sad Seahawk fans today!

I didnt mind all the targets to Bowe. Hes finally looking like what we drafted him to be. The rest of the offense should benefit from his recent play.

Kendrick Lewis needs more time. Getting hurt didnt help. I think him Eric Berry and the Brandons can be a pretty dangerous secondary.

Smith went crazy when he got that "sack"

I think Louie Louie cares enough to want to be really good. He did bone that play though. I liked how he was straight up talking with all of the head coaches after that play...not skulking on the sidelines or something. What are they, 7-1 when he's playing and 0-3 when he's out?

Okay, to be perfectly clear, I'm not comparing Bowe to the following recievers. With that being said, can you remember the other recievers lined up with Michael Irvin, Jerry Rice, Terrel Owens, or even Andre Johnson? You kind of see faces, but you can't remember the names. I say if he keeps playing like this, throw it to him every play. But if he starts dropping passes or gets double coverage, then throw it to Moeaki, Copper, or anyone else. The other thing we have is the run threat. When I saw the stats in Qwest field and saw 200 passing yards and 200 rushing yards, I had no clue what the next play was going to be. And then when I saw Cassel shove the ball in Charles' gut (play action), I watched him run up the middle and the next thing I knew, Bowe caught a 12 yard pass. But I have no problemo watching Bowe catch every pass for 12 yards.

My man d bowe! Im glad he is finally coming around. Everybody needs to start giving Haley the credit he deserves! Haley is the reason bowe is stepping up his game!!! Go chiefs! Keep it goin bowe can't wait to watch make your first pro bowl!

Great article Matt. It's true with a young team like this it's hard to guess what they're going to do week in and week out. Just when you think you have a handle on it they do something unexpected like develop an awesome passing attack! I think the Chiefs, specifically Cassel and Bowe, just upped their game the last couple of weeks. They keep growing and Weiss keeps opening up the playbook more and more. It's been an awfully fun ride this year.

What do you think Matt, is Haley going to give Charles the majority of carries down the stretch? We've had this conversation before. Was Haley saving Charles, keeping him healthy for the playoff run and the playoffs? Charles had 22 carries. I would love nothing more than to see Charles get 20+ carries a game for the rest of the season. We could seriously run the table if that happens, especially with Bowe coming on.

Kendrick is absolutely our safety of the future. I do think Berry is better and is one of the main reasons for our improvement in the run defense. Start them both and give then the experience. Tremendous upside.

Give Smith the ball! Or Charles at the goal line.

Coaches decision, whoever earns it.

Dorsey

Richardson

Pained expression. It seems like he's making better decisions now.

It's been really hard for me to get inside Pioli or Haley's head with any kind of consistency, so I can't claim to know Haley's true feelings with regards to Jones and Charles.

What I suspect is that, at the start ofthe season, Haley really did like Jones more. After all, minicamps and training camps are where a hustle, hard-work, veteran guy like Jones excels, right? When the intangibles actually outweigh the tangibles?

I think he wanted Jones to be the starter, and Charles has forced his hand. I'm still not of the mind that resting Charles for a late-season push was ever "the plan". I mean, we've been teetering just above .500 for a while now until this win. It's hard for me to believe they were saving Charles when we were 3-2, you know?

Regardless, if Haley gives Charles more carries now, and Charles is more rested because of his early season inaction (hard to measure that though really).......well, mea culpa.

1. I think Lewis/Berry is the Charles/Jones of our defense. They compliment eachother perfectly. Lewis is good enough in coverage that we can release Berry to roam and stop the run. (See the Denver game. When Lewis is missing and Berry has to focus on coverage alone, he is much less productive). Keep these kids together.

2. I heard he played some fullback in HS. He knows how to carry the ball and by God he knows how to keep his feet moving for the second effort. Until Jones proves he can convert the short yardage "must haves" give it to Smith. Im sick of not converting on third and a yard or on four opportunities within the three.

3. Arenas...for now. The kid has amazing defense. I would like to see him more on the outside. If he pans out there, get rid of Carr, and bring Daniels in at nickel.

4. Smith might...Looked pretty good yesterday.

5. Richardson

6. Haley cracks me up either way. I seriously wish he was miced up for me to here what he says all the time.