THE MORNING AFTER – CLEVELAND
Tarkus
THE MORNING AFTER � CLEVELAND
Dec 21, 2009, 6:05:50 AM
There was one play that summarized Sunday in a nutshell.
The play wasn�t QB Brady Quinn�s Steve Bono-esq 24-yard naked bootleg in
the fourth quarter that setup what was looking like a game-winning FG
try for Cleveland (RB Jerome Harrison went ahead and scored from 28
yards out three plays later while the Browns were positioning for the FG
try). The play also wasn�t one of Harrison�s 34 carries that averaged
8.4 yards a pop either. Go ahead and cross both of WR Josh Cribbs� two
kickoff return TDs off the list as well.
There was one play that spoke volumes about the overall day at
Arrowhead, and it came at the beginning of the fourth quarter on a Quinn
keeper. This was it; Sunday in a nutshell.
Facing a fourth-and-one from the Kansas City 27, Quinn faked a sneak and
turned to pitch the football to Harrison around left end. There was a
mix-up and the play was busted. Cleveland botched the critical play,
thank you. Not so fast.
Quinn then decided to just turn forward and run the sneak, about two
seconds delayed. He ended up running untouched through the gut and
towards the right sideline for 13 yards before CB Brandon Flowers
brought him down. Harrison would score from eight yards out on the next
snap.
That was Sunday in a nutshell. If the play called was a run, it worked
for Cleveland - even if it shouldn�t have.
351 is the count. Nope, not the count on total yards. That�s the number
of rushing yards the Browns combined to produce at Arrowhead on Sunday.
The day at Arrowhead was an exclamation point on a three-game
homestretch that yielded single-game rushing totals of 245, 200 and 351
yards.
In all, the Chiefs finished their three-game homestand permitting a
total of 796 yard on the ground. That number is astronomical, especially
considering that the team had yielded a total of 1,480 rushing yards
combined in the 10 games that preceded this recent three-game run.
Even more discouraging is that the rushing defense looked to be an
improving area for the Chiefs defense at the beginning of this month.
December has truly been one to forget for this defense when it comes to
defending the run.
What is going on?
�I think you have to be physical,� LB Mike Vrabel said. �We can draw up
a million defenses and it doesn�t matter. There comes a time when a few
of those [long run] plays hurt us early in the year and they came back
repeatedly.�
Following the game, Chiefs head coach Todd Haley said that he would need
to watch film of yesterday�s game before he could properly pinpoint the
cause of the Chiefs woes defending the run. When he pushes play, Haley
is likely to see a Cleveland game-plan aimed at simply overwhelming a
smaller Kansas City defense with size and power via old-fashioned
smash-mouth football.
Harrison spent the majority of his afternoon going untouched into the
second and third levels of the Chiefs defense. On far too many occations
were Chiefs linebackers and safeties meeting Harrison at full throttle
five to six yards past the line of scrimmage.
�They had two tight [ends] in there a bunch of the game and we were just
unable to fit and make the plays to keep their forward progress from
going,� Haley said. �You give up 350 yards rushing, that�s not a good
thing.�
Afterwards, Cribbs unearthed Cleveland�s offensive game-plan that led to
the third-best single-game rushing performance in NFL history by an
individual player.
�Kansas City has some talented guys, but what they are is smaller
linebacker-type bodies,� Cribbs explained. �Smaller d-line bodies that
run sideline-to-sideline. But as far as hitting holes, A-Gap and B-Gap,
our guys were just too big for them.
�In run blocking we were just too big for them, it was no match,� Cribbs
continued. �As you saw, the wildcat wasn�t as successful because I was
trying to get that edge and their guys did good going
sideline-to-sideline. Where we hurt them was in the trenches and they
had no answer for it.�
The push up front started with the offensive line, but it was often FB
Lawrence Vickers who cleaned up any leftover defenders standing in
Harrison�s path. Watching the game, it was hard to keep perspective that
Harrison is all of only 5-9, 200 pounds. Even with the 71-yard TD
scatter, Harrison often found himself playing power football behind a
bruiser in Vickers.
�You should all watch the film, because Lawrence (Vickers) was playing
like a madman today,� Harrison said. �Those guys made my job easier.�
Harrison�s field day was just one aspect of a brutal day at Arrowhead.
The runs on defense, the drops on offense and the returns on special
teams combined to produce a day that can only begin to be described as
disappointing. Sunday�s showing was not the way Kansas City wanted to
send out Arrowhead in 2009.
Let�s �Take 5� from the Browns/Chiefs.
Four-Letter Word
There are a number of four-letter words not suitable for use around
women or children. Some of those get uttered on gameday, however.
But in 2009, we�ve found out that there�s a nasty four-letter word that
has no place at Arrowhead. This word begins with a �D� and ends with a
�P.� Here, I�ll whisper it�D-R-O-P.
It�s an awful word, and one that is causing Chiefs fans to utter those
other phrases more commonly associated as four-letter words in the
non-football world. Think of �drop� in the same fashion as a �gateway
drug� - a habit-forming phenomenon that is not addictive, but whose use
may lead to the use of other more serious addictives.
Todd Haley said after the game that he counted nine dropped ball among
his receivers on Sunday. Nine! The Chiefs came into Sunday�s game
leading the NFL with 39 drops over the course of 13 games. Nine drops on
Sunday means that the Chiefs seasonal number increased by nearly 25% in
the matter of just three hours.
The problem with drops has been a season-long issue with this team and
seemingly nothing has been able to provide a counter. Chiefs receivers
and tight ends spend countless hours before and after practice catching
football from humans, machines and anything else that will hurl a
football their way. Short routes, intermediate routes and long routes
have all been emphasized, but nothing seems to be working to remedy the
problem.
�The receivers have been working hard,� QB Matt Cassel said. �They give
110% every week in practice and are diligent in what they do. They work
hard and drops are part of football. It�s the same for me.�
WR Mark Bradley one of the more glaring drops in the open field on
Sunday, but he was also able to overcome those early shortcomings to
register a few key receptions. He turned in the most clutch catch of the
day to knot the score at 34-34 with just above two-minutes to play in
the game and also gave the Chiefs a shot at the end zone in the final
seconds after getting loose on a route across midfield.
�It�s contagious when you have a group of guys that are out there
fighting every day,� Bradley said. �It�s contagious just like catching
the ball. It�s very streaky and you have to work your way out of it.
�I had one drop early in the game and then they came back to me and I
worked myself out of (the drops),� Bradley continued. �You just have to
work your way out of it.�
One player who did work his way out of the drops was WR Chris Chambers.
After a critical drop near the goal line in last week�s six-point loss
to Buffalo, Chambers caught everything thrown his way on Sunday and
finished with a team-high five catches for 114 yards with a TD.
�I had a bad taste in my mouth all week about what could have been,�
Chambers said. �I wanted to bounce back and make some plays today. I
just went back to work and worked on things from a technique standpoint.�
The Chiefs have also tried to counter their drop issues with personnel
changes. Different receivers have found themselves in the lineup this
year as Haley seems to be giving nearly every rostered player a chance
to show they can help the team when it comes to the receiving game. One
of those personnel changes on Sunday was the return of WR Dwayne Bowe.
Bowe made his return to the field and was immediately inserted into the
starting lineup following a four-game NFL suspension. As anticipated,
howeer, he had some rust to shake off from the month-long break.
Bowe contributed to the Chiefs drop total on Sunday a few times, most
notably being on a would-be touchdown pass in the middle of the first
quarter. The Chiefs would have to settle for a 30-yard Ryan Succop field
goal.
�There�s a difference between going to practice and catchin� balls and
then translating that into games,� Bowe said. �You have to be in games
constantly to be consistent. I had a couple of mistakes here and there
but I was with the team and they were happy for me to be back and I�ve
just got to prove myself [again].�
Missing Dorsey
The 3-4 defensive end position is an anonymous post. It�s sometimes very
difficult to notice players playing in the five techniques, even if
they�re playing at a very high level. That aspect of the game has been
an adjustment to Chiefs fans accustomed to seeing rush ends lined up in
the 4-3 scheme that Kansas City has traditionally run.
When it comes to 3-4 ends, Sunday�s game was the definition of �you
don�t know what you�ve got until it�s gone� (yes, you probably used that
line to some high school girlfriend back in the day�don�t lie). Dorsey
was gone, and the Browns noticed. In turn, Chiefs fans noticed as well.
Cleveland�s game-plan took us back to the �three yards and a cloud of
dust� era of professional football. Handoff�handoff�handoff. There was
an occasional pass or wildcat play thrown into the mix, but the common
theme was handoff left. Handoff left, directly off tackle, to be more
specific.
�It wasn�t broke, so we didn�t fix it,� Cleveland�s Josh Cribbs said.
Dorsey�s absence created a free-for-all at right defensive end. Chiefs
defensive coaches subbed in different players at the position and made
numerous scheme changes along the defensive front, but nothing remedied
the bleeding. Cleveland exploited Dorsey�s absence over and over again
on the offensive left.
Another Career Day
Chiefs RR Jamaal Charles set four personal career-highs last weekend vs.
Buffalo. J.C. finished the day against the Bills with career-highs in
touches (27), rushes (20), rushing yards (143) and run from scrimmage
(76). Yesterday, he decided to go ahead and shatter three of those four
marks.
From the highs set two Sunday�s ago, only the longest-rush record
stands today for Charles. The second-year runner established a
career-high with 28 touches on Sunday (25 rushes, two receptions),
rushed the football a career-high 25 times and produced a career-high
154 rushing yards. Charles also scored for the sixth consecutive week.
�It would have been better if we would have won the game,� Charles said.
For the third-straight game Charles also caused a quiet hush to fall
upon the Arrowhead crowd. That pesky shoulder that has bothered him
since high school keeps popping out and it looked like it did so again
on Sunday as he ran to the sidelines with a limp arm. But like the two
games before, Charles returned to action.
Following two consecutive weeks where he has established career-highs in
total workload, Charles says he feels fine physically.
�I�m feeling good,� Charles said after the game. �Its football and
you�re going to feel pain and feel hurt. You just have to suck it up and
move to the next play. Next week I�ll just come prepared when we play
Cincinnati.�
Cassel�s Comeback
Yes, the Chiefs lost, but QB Matt Cassel had to be feeling good leaving
Arrowhead from a confidence standpoint. Following a two-game stretch
that produced 0 TDs and 6 INTs, Cassel needed a breakout game against
Cleveland. When all the negatives that clouded Arrowhead on Sunday are
brushed aside, Cassel did just that � turned in a breakout game.
Cassel connected on 22-of-40 passes for 331 yards and two TDs for a
quarterback rating of 99.1. By Haley�s count, the Chiefs had nine drops
meaning Cassel should have been over the 30 completion mark. He made
several nice throws and really only had one glaringly poor decision,
which resulted in a dropped interception near the goal line.
Those 331 yards were Cassel�s highest output since joining the Chiefs
and eclipsed his previous high by 69 yards (262 at Jacksonville). Cassel
made good decisions with the football throughout the game and wasn�t
afraid to go for the deep ball, completing nine passes of 15 yards or more.
�I thought I threw the ball well enough today and am continuing to build
relationships with these receivers,� Cassel said. �I think Brad Cottam
had a great day today. He really stepped up and showed a lot. Again,
Jamaal Charles, I can�t say enough about him and his performances over
the last so many weeks. He�s just been a great addition for us.�
Cassel�s strong play helped the Chiefs rack up nearly 500 yards of total
offense. The Chiefs 491 total yards on Sunday were the biggest output
since gaining 492 vs. Miami in December of 2008. Cassel�s 323 net
passing yards were the most registered by the Chiefs since a 2007 game
at Detroit (344 � 12/23).
Other Chiefs/Browns Musings
� Could Sunday�s game have set some sort of obscure NFL record? How
about most points scored with least amount of passing yards produced. It
would be hard to find a modern-day NFL football example that can top
Cleveland�s 41 points scored with less than 66 yards coming through the
air. Get your research on and post it in the comments section if you
find one. I�ll send something cool your way.
� Cleveland RB Jerome Harrison�s rushing total this season before Sunday
� 301 yards. Harrison�s output on Sunday � 286 yards. His performance at
Arrowhead represented 95% of his seasonal total (286/301) and 38% of his
career total (286/749) before Sunday�s game.
� Sunday�s win was the Browns first victory in Kansas City since 1988
when Frank Gansz was serving as head coach.
� There was no acclimation process for Bowe�s return on Sunday. He was
targeted a game-high 10 times.
� Charles is the second player in Chiefs history with three rushing TDs
of 40+ yards in a season. He needs 242 yards of these final two games to
become the Chiefs first 1,000-yard rusher since 2006.
� K Ryan Succop needs just one more field goal to establish the club
record for made field goals by a rookie. Succop is currently tied with
Pro Football Hall of Famer Jan Stenerud with 21 FGs on the year.
Stenerud was a rookie in 1967.
� The Chiefs managed to win the turnover battle on Sunday, but still
lost. Two kickoff return TDs might as well count as giveaways though. If
that were the case, KC would have been -1 in the turnover column (2-3).
� Hands-down, the best fan phrase from a kcchiefs.com live gameday blog
came in the second quarter of Sunday�s game via �Gabe� from Wichita.
After TE Brad Cottam�s second big-yardage reception of the game, �Gabe�
churned out this gem�
�The touch, the feel of Cottam�the tight end of our lives.�
Cottam, by the way, seems to be coming of age a bit over these past two
weeks.