Kansas City Chiefs: Monday Morning (Armchair) Quarterback
Aug 21, 2015; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Jeremy Maclin (19) celebrates with wide receiver Jason Avant (81) after scoring a touchdown against the Seattle Seahawks in the first half at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports
* The offensive line (sigh) was terrible on the right side. Laurent Duvernay-Tardif is dangerously inconsistent at this point at right guard. One play he looks fine the next play it’s a catastrophic failure. While I’m not ready to write him off as a long-term project I don’t want any part of him being a starter this season. Paul Fanaika wasn’t much better. He looked like a stiff-bodied mediocre guard trying to play right tackle (which shouldn’t surprise anyone because that’s exactly what he is). He was okay in run support but he can’t pass protect on the edge. Hopefully Eric Fisher and Jeff Allen (who I’m not even a huge fan of) can be healthy by the start of the regular season and we don’t have to see those two start again in 2015.
* Donald Stephenson continues to flash the elite athletic ability that makes his lack of production to this point in his career so frustrating. He’s not a guy that’s ever going to maul people in the run game but he’s really solid against edge rushers and can be a plus in the run game as well when he gets out on the move. I’m to the point now where I feel fine with Eric Fisher, Ben Grubbs, Mitch Morse (who was solid again on Friday), and Donald Stephenson in the starting lineup. It’s that pesky right guard spot that has me worried (more on that in a bit).
* Since I mentioned Morse in the last point, I’ll add this as well…I’m surprised to say this, but I think Morse is already clearly better than Eric Kush. I watched both guys pretty closely against Seattle and I thought Morse held up better against the power of Seattle’s starting defensive line than Kush did against the second string. I think the coaching staff has made the right call in giving Morse the starting spot and he looks like he could have a real future ahead of him.
* Despite some mediocre performances thus far by the first-string offense, I’m not ready to panic just yet. The Chiefs have protected Jamaal Charles thus far to the point that he’s pretty much been a non factor in both games. When he gets regular touches the offense will look better. As far as Alex Smith and the passing game goes, he is what he is. If the Chiefs can give him some protection and a running game he’ll be fine. The three-headed monster of Charles, Jeremy Maclin, and Travis Kelce should be able to give KC enough offense to keep them in games.
* Backup running backs Knile Davis and Charcandrick West look like they could both help the Chiefs this season. At this point I think the Chiefs might be best served by letting Davis get the carries between the tackles if Charles needs a rest and maybe use West as a reserve option on passing downs. West seems to have more natural hands and I just don’t trust Davis in pass protection.
* My final offensive thought isn’t a real logical one, but here goes. I have an unnatural dislike for Frankie Hammond. I don’t know anything about the guy off the field, he may be a perfectly great guy, a hard worker, and a great teammate, but I want Fred Williams to beat him out for the last wide receiver spot in the worst way. I can’t really explain why other than I think Hammond is a terrible punt returner and the Chiefs keep putting him out there and I think Williams has shown himself to have better hands. Surely there has to be someone better than Hammond to back up De’Anthony Thomas as a punt returner, right?
Next up, a look at the Pro Football Focus numbers for some of the guys that are trying to earn a job.
Next: What do the PFF grades look like?