Monday Morning Quarterback: Patriots 27, Chiefs 19

Monday Morning Quarterback: Patriots 27, Chiefs 19
November 23rd, 2004 @ 1:31 pm; by Raider Hater
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I don’t know about the rest of you, but I feel like I’ve watched the exact same game the last three weeks. The Chiefs start off looking pretty good and then seem to fall apart as the game goes on. It doesn’t matter who they play, or what their opponent’s record is, the Chiefs are always in the game, and always find a new way to lose.

This season has been so frustrating for me as a fan, so I cannot even fathom what the players and coaches are feeling right now. This season certainly hasn’t played out the way we all had hoped, but there’s still six more games to be played and the Chiefs definitely need our support.

Here are some random thoughts on Monday night’s game:

The two main reasons why the Patriots won the game: they converted on 8 of 12 third down opportunities and they were only penalized four times for 25 yards. The Chiefs were penalized seven times for 50 yards and were flagged for several other infractions that were declined.

For the third straight week the Chiefs offensive line gave up a sack on the final play of the game.

I know John Tait was signed by the Bears for an extraordinary amount of money, but the Chiefs offensive line just isn’t the same without him. Don’t get me wrong, they can still dominate, but they don’t do it week in and week out anymore. Last night the Chiefs used both John Welbourn and Chris Bober at right tackle and they both gave up a sack to Ty Warren. The offense as a whole rushed for 64 yards and the Patriots recorded four sacks.

Trent Green had another great statistical game, but he still forces the ball to Gonzalez too much and thinks he has all day to stand back in the pocket and search for an open receiver. Maybe he’s been spoiled with excellent protection in the past, but he’s got to do a better job of recognizing when the pressure is coming.

Without Priest Holmes our offense has no idea what to do in the red zone.

The Chiefs have now turned the ball over six times this season in the red zone.

The defense tends to look good for several plays in a row, and then it just falls apart and allows a big play just like last year. In fact, the only differences I see in the defense from a year ago is that the defensive line has done a little better job stopping the run, and thanks to the blitz, they’ve been able to put more pressure on the quarterback. The tackling and pass coverage still suck.

It’s pretty bad when Trent Green has as many tackles (one) as Scott Fujita, Eric Hicks, Vonnie Holliday and Ryan Sims.

The NFL officials need to realize that the illegal contact and defensive holding penalties apply to tight ends too. They called Rodney Harrison for illegal contact on Johnnie Morton when all he did was lay a hand on him, but four plays later they let him hang all over Tony Gonzalez in the end zone. It’s pretty bad when the best tight end in football can’t get the same call that an average wide receiver can.

Anybody else see a pattern here:

1962: 11-3
1963: 5-7-2

1969: 11-3
1970: 7-5-2

1995: 13-3
1996: 9-7

1997: 13-3
1998: 7-9

2003: 13-3
2004: ?-?

I hate to say this, but I think it’s time to throw in the towel on this season, decide who’s going to be here next year and play them, and sit whoever is leaving in the offseason. Give Priest the rest of the year off, make L.J. the #1 back for the rest of the season and see what he can do. Blaylock probably played his way to a big contract from someone else last week, so no need to play him the rest of the year.

Updated NFL standings: The Buffalo Bills, Houston Texans, Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions and Arizona Cardinals all have better records that the Chiefs. The only teams with worse records: the Miami Dolphins and San Francisco 49ers.

It’s really amazing how New England continues to win games. They don’t dominate in any category, their defensive secondary is so banged up that their starting wide receiver is seeing time in their nickel package, and yet they still get the job done. There are teams out there with more talent, but these guys just know how to win.

And to quote John Madden, “that’s why the Pats are the Pats and the Chiefs are the Chiefs.” That’s all for now folks. It’s 1:30 in the morning and I’m left sitting here wondering what the hell happened to this season. It’s tough being a Chiefs fan right now, but somebody’s got to do it. Keep your head up!