7 Numbers To Consider Before Kansas City Chiefs, Tennessee Titans Game
By Ben Nielsen
Nov 1, 2012; San Diego, CA, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel (left) holds on to the ball as San Diego Chargers inside linebacker Donald Butler (bottom) and cornerback Marcus Gilchrist (38) bring him down as Chiefs tackle Branden Albert (right) looks on during the second quarter at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
NUMBER: 14
The number 14 is the amount of sacks the Chiefs allowed in the preseason… in 2013.
Much of the concern about the offense hinges on the offensive line and if it will be able to hold up long enough to give Alex Smith time to hand off to Jamaal Charles. And there were certainly some scary moments in the preseason to welcome those fears. Zach Fulton had several points of miscommunication with Jeff Allen during the Minnesota Vikings game that led to sack quick sacks. One evaluator said it looked like the Chiefs were running screen plays only they weren’t.
But the preseason is for evaluating individual players in specific scenarios, not about compensating for the strengths and weaknesses of a ball club. Andy Reid seems to understand this notion fairly well.
In 2013 the offensive line allowed 14 sacks, 12 quarterback hits, and 37 hurries in the preseason, and one could argue things looked more bleak then than they do now. At the time center Rodney Hudson had never played a full season as the starting center for the Chiefs (or anyone else). Geoff Schwartz was beat out for the right guard spot by Jon Asamoah, who would lose it two-thirds of the way through the season. Jeff Allen was coming off of a rookie season where he posted a -18 PFF grade in 843 snaps played. Our left tackle Branden Albert was an injury waiting to happen (and it did), and our right tackle was a rookie who was considered to be a project.
Things turned out pretty well considering the expectation for what the Chiefs were supposed to be in 2013. Proceeding with caution about the offensive line given the way they looked in August is understandable, but let’s hold off on the dumpster fire talk until we see them in a meaningful game.