Chiefs Things I Think – keys to the season

5 –

Running backs as receivers. Both Jamaal Charles and Spencer Ware have to used to create mismatches. Ware proved he can be a game gaming receiver early this season and Jamaal Charles is one of the top receiving running backs in the NFL. After seeing what Tevin Coleman and Matt Ryan did to Denver’s defense, there is a lot of hay to be made in the RB passing game.

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4 –

Bob Sutton has to adapt faster to offensive gamelans. He may be overwhelmed or lost in options. One thing that is clearly not the answer is going to a 3-man rush. To be effective, KC has to bring 4 or 5 pass rushers on every pass. Sutton has to stop being cute with the personnel packages and play to his strengths. Put Eric Berry in the box next to Derrick Johnson and run a Cover-2 Man concept in the secondary. Then he can drop or blitz any of 5 different defenders.

3 –

Coaches get fired for ignoring the running game. See Marc Trestman in Baltimore. Andy Reid has got to remember to tough it out running the ball. He cannot continue to abandon the run so easily. Here are Reid’s play call percentages over the first quarter of 2016. The running game needs reps to get going. Now, he has added incentive to run the ball (see #2).

2 –

The Chiefs offense is about to get more dynamic. Jamaal Charles has been brought a long slowly and it is about to start to pay off. Wednesday Charles was asked if he is back to full speed. He replied that he is 110% and the “Training Wheels” are coming off.

1 –

What’s better than getting your best offensive player back in week 6? Getting the nod that your best defensive player will soon return too! Justin Houston got cleared to start doing “football activity”. It’s not immediate, but it’s tremendous news for a team in need of a pass rush in the worst way. Just the prospect of Houston’s return can give the defense a boost that they can ride until he’s able to get on the field. Having him in meetings and in drills will drive his teammates to be better.

He won’t be on the field immediately, however. There are a couple of hurdles. He can be activated next week for the first time. Then, the team has 3 weeks to get a look at him and either decide to move him to the active roster or put him on IR.  The staff are inclined to take their time as they did with Charles. Time will tell when he’s able to get on the field.