Monday Night Football: Three places the Chiefs must improve
Nov 9, 2014; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Kansas City Chiefs tackle Eric Fisher (72) during the game against the Buffalo Bills at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports
Look, I’ve been preaching offensive line here at Arrowhead Addict for so long I’m even tired of me talking about it. I still believe it’s the key to this offense being good enough to get the job done. The good news is that while the offensive line may not be a strength of this team they have mostly played well enough for the Chiefs to win….with the exception of one spot, right tackle.
I don’t know if you can blame any one person for the mess at right tackle in KC so far this season. The position was supposed to be a battle between Donald Stephenson and Jeff Allen, but Allen has been hurt and Stephenson proved himself to be the team’s best left tackle. That was supposed to put Eric Fisher at right tackle but he’s also been battling injuries. Depending on who you believe Fisher has either been milking an injury that was actually playable or has been the victim of bad press. Either way, the result was Kansas City having to play Jah Reid at right tackle despite him having just been signed off the street.
I’m not blaming Jah Reid for his poor performance, he was put in a horrible situation, but that doesn’t change the fact that the play at right tackle so far this season hasn’t been good enough. This week Eric Fisher will try to fix that as he makes his first start of the 2015 season and his first start at right tackle since his rookie year. Simply put, he has everything to play for.
Fisher has lost his starting left tackle position. He has been labeled a bust by the national media and by many in the Chiefs Kingdom as well. On top of that, his “heart” has been called into question with the reports that the Chiefs believed he was healthy enough to play at the start of the season but he “opted out”. I don’t really care if those reports are true or not. It doesn’t matter at this point. We’ve all heard the speculation and you can bet Fisher has heard it too. This is all coming with Fisher’s contract status very much up in the air moving forward.
No more excuses.
It’s put up or shut up time for the former first overall pick. If Eric Fisher ever wants people to look at his time in Kansas City as anything more than a massive disappointment he has to start making his case tonight against the Packers. The Chiefs offense needs more dependable play at right tackle for the offense to gel. Jamaal Charles needs running lanes. Alex Smith needs to not hear footsteps every time he drops back. If Eric Fisher can just be an average NFL right tackle the Chiefs offensive line should be good enough to get the job done.
If Eric Fisher improves KC’s play at right tackle tonight it should help the entire offense and give the Chiefs a chance to win.
Next up, the Chiefs need some playmakers to step up outside of their big three (Charles, Maclin, and Kelce).
Next: Spreading the wealth on offense