Chiefs Wow In Preseason Debut, Beat Cardinals 27-17
The Kansas City Chiefs has a terrific preseason debut that should have an already optimistic fan base glowing with excitement.
The KC starters on both offense and defense looked as polished and prepared as any Chiefs team has in the preseason since before the organization traded a fourth round draft pick to the New York Jets for head coach Herman Edwards.*
*Yep. The Chiefs TRADED for Herm. That’s like going up to a street gang and paying them to beat the living crap out of you.
The Chiefs won the toss and marched right down the field for a touchdown when Matt Cassel hit Peyton Hillis for a score. Hillis finished the game with four carries for 41 yards. He also caught one pass for an 11-yard TD. Cassel took a seat after leading two scoring drives. He finished completing five of six passes for 67 yards and a TD.
On defense the Chiefs played as advertised. They smothered the Cardinals early, with big plays coming from Derrick Johnson, Anthony Toribio and Justin Houston, who recorded a sack.
Even the KC reserves looked good at times. Backup running backs Shaun Draughn and Cyrus Gray showed flashes. Steve Maneri, who converted to TE from tackle, led the team in receiving pulling in three catches for 69 yards and Safety Abram Elam secured an interception. On the day, the KC defense sacke dArizona QBs seven times.
The negatives for KC start with the back up QBs. Neither Brady Quinn or Ricky Stanzi performed well and the offense lost it’s punch once Cassel and company left the game. The Chiefs were also penalized six times (though mostly it was reserves drawing the flags) and the second and third sting players gave up a few big plays, including a long run that ended up leading to a touchdown.
That being said, Chiefs fans should be extremely encouraged with what they saw Friday night. The Chiefs looked calm and sure of themselves on both offense and defense. Both units, as well as the special teams group, seemed well-coached and prepared. There was a clear difference, from an organization standpoint, from the Todd Haley era.
The Chiefs should gain a load of confidence from the way they played. If they can carry that with them into this week’s practices, they have another chance to build upon their success next week in St. Louis.
What do you think Addicts? Did the Chiefs live up to your expectations tonight? Or did they surpass them?