Monday Night Football: Three places the Chiefs must improve

I think I speak for most Kansas City Chiefs fans when I say that tonight’s game against the Green Bay Packers cannot get here fast enough. The Chiefs heartbreaking loss to the Denver Broncos last Thursday night left a bitter taste in the mouths of Chiefs fans and we’ve been unable to cleanse our collective pallet for ten very long days. Unfortunately for the Chiefs, they don’t have an easy opponent to try and rebound against. Instead, the Chiefs must go on the road into a historic stadium filled with passionate fans and play an undefeated team lead by the best quarterback on the planet.

No problem, right?

Actually, while most national pundits will be picking the Packers to dispose of the Chiefs tonight, this is a winnable game for Kansas City. The Chiefs have a very good (possibly great) defense and enough playmakers on offense to be dangerous. While Green Bay’s defense is nothing to sneeze at, they aren’t quite the caliber of the Texans and Broncos that KC had to go against in their first two games. You combine that with the fact that Green Bay’s greatest weakness (their offensive tackles) plays right into the hands of Kansas City’s elite edge rushers and you get a game that is winnable IF the Chiefs can execute.

Part of that execution comes from a good game plan by the coaching staff. Andy Reid has a good track record in games with extra time to prepare so we’ll cross our fingers and hope that happens tonight. Part of that execution comes from the players not making stupid mistakes. The most important of which are not shooting themselves in the foot with silly penalties and costly turnovers. However, to beat a team like Green Bay on the road in prime time the Chiefs are also going to need even more than that. They are going to need more than just good games from their usual star players. Obviously guys like Jamaal Charles, Alex Smith, and Justin Houston need to come to play, but KC also needs improvement from a few key spots.

Let’s start with the offensive line…..

Next: Time for Eric Fisher to step up