[Kansas City.com] The main culprit for the Chiefs’ slow starts in their first four games has been field position. They rank 27th in the NFL in kickoff returns with a 21.7 average, and worse, the Chiefs’ average starting position after kickoffs, 22.7, ranks 30th.
“We’ve had horrendous field position on offense,” coach Herm Edwards said. “I don’t think we’ve started a game past the 30.”
Make that the 20. The Chiefs’ first offensive series in each game have started on their 12, 18, 7 and 20, and those possessions ended in a missed field goal, punt, punt and punt.
Edwards blamed it on the kickoff return game.
“It’s not very good right now,” he said. “It’s a scary deal. We’re not even crossing the 20 sometimes. The average start (in the league) is about the 28; we’re at the 21.”
“You’ve got to get out there, so at least if you don’t make a first down, you move it 9 yards, you punt, you give the other team a long field to play on.”
But Edwards said he wasn’t planning on replacing primary return man Eddie Drummond, who is averaging 21.5 yards per return with a long of 36.
“We’ve got to block it better,” Edwards said. “We’re not blocking it very well. We’re going to do some things different. Every time I turned around, San Diego was hitting us on the 15-yard line. We couldn’t even get it back to the 20-yard line. You’ve got to be better than that.”
