***Official Chiefs Crowd Reaction to the first Preseason Game Thread***

[Chiefster]

Well we looked pretty much like we did all of last year. Good thing it was only preseason. We were running a base defense so the jury is still out on that. I still don't read too much into the loss because it is only preseason.

Thoughts?

[windwalker]

Well at least we had a couple of sacks...
But the Defense still looked bad.

[Chiefster]

Well at least we had a couple of sacks...
But the Defense still looked bad.

True, but I still think it's too early to tell because of the defense we ran. I don't think Haley is going to tip his hand in preseason. But you're right we seemed lacking in some defensive basics a bit. I think our offense does too.

[yashi]

I've only seen a few plays from an NFL Network recap so far, waiting for the game to reair tomorrow morning.

Hali looks like he's really slimmed up to play LB. On the one defensive play I saw it looked like whoever was at NT got a really good push on the OL.

I'll offer more and better reactions after I watch the game in HD tomorrow. I can't wait.

[Sn@keIze]

*Sighs*

first of all, thanks chiefster for starting this thread. I wanted to give my thoughts but wasnt sure which thread to post...

...that being said, here we go....




Im not going to over react it being preseason. I didnt get to see Vrable or Thomas on D. But I can say that im not exactly estatic with our DT performance.

Was surprised that Bowe was actually not a starter on the depth chart. But we all know that it was just mind games from Haley to Bowe, and Bowe proved that he belongs with the starters.

Succop impressed me in those weather conditions. thats all Ill say bout him for now. (Even tho i think he made the team only because he's a Succop:D)

Our QB depth is more than adequate. If something happens to happen to Cassell, we've got 2 guys that can manage!

In summary: After we hired Haley I asked, "What will an offensive guy do to fix the worst D in chiefs history (and worst pass rush in NFL history)?
Tonite I find myself asking the same thing. What he is doing to the WR core is working. (its what he knows). Much like Herm knows about DBs.

But again.................its just preseason. I look foward to sharing next preseason game with you.

[PawnshopMarimba]

Cassel stunk the join up he was 2/5 playing into the 2nd quarter... this team i think will lean heavily on the running game and we have a stable of backs to do it with. johnson didnt play much so we will leave him out and savage and battle ran hard as hell.

Again, he was two of five with at least one drop that I can remember, and with wide outs that won't be starting this season.

Chill. You're WAY too eager to jump on Matt's case.

[tammietailgator]

I just blame the rain! Rain rain go away!! But I was happy to see Thig get the one touchdown of the game!

[Chiefster]

*Sighs*

first of all, thanks chiefster for starting this thread. I wanted to give my thoughts but wasnt sure which thread to post...

...that being said, here we go....




Im not going to over react it being preseason. I didnt get to see Vrable or Thomas on D. But I can say that im not exactly estatic with our DT performance.

Was surprised that Bowe was actually not a starter on the depth chart. But we all know that it was just mind games from Haley to Bowe, and Bowe proved that he belongs with the starters.

Succop impressed me in those weather conditions. thats all Ill say bout him for now. (Even tho i think he made the team only because he's a Succop:D)

Our QB depth is more than adequate. If something happens to happen to Cassell, we've got 2 guys that can manage!

In summary: After we hired Haley I asked, "What will an offensive guy do to fix the worst D in chiefs history (and worst pass rush in NFL history)?
Tonite I find myself asking the same thing. What he is doing to the WR core is working. (its what he knows). Much like Herm knows about DBs.

But again.................its just preseason. I look foward to sharing next preseason game with you.

...Just happy to do what I can. :D


I just blame the rain! Rain rain go away!! But I was happy to see Thig get the one touchdown of the game!

:lol::bananen_smilies046:

[stricken721]

Since I was watching the game through the Texans TV network, you would have thought the Texans were the best team to walk the planet and the Chiefs the worst. But I liked overall how we performed. A few mistakes but that can be worked on. To me Cassel wasn't bad it was the receivers he was throwing to that were bad. LJ, though he wasn't out much looks like he is becoming serious with his play. D-Bowe looked great and didn't have one drop!:yahoo:. Succop, I think he will become the franchise kicker for him to have a 48 yard field goal in the rain and he's a rookie? That's pretty good.

Can't wait for next week. :bananen_smilies046:

[Chiefster]

Since I was watching the game through the Texans TV network, you would have thought the Texans were the best team to walk the planet and the Chiefs the worst. But I liked overall how we performed. A few mistakes but that can be worked on. To me Cassel wasn't bad it was the receivers he was throwing to that were bad. LJ, though he wasn't out much looks like he is becoming serious with his play. D-Bowe looked great and didn't have one drop!:yahoo:. Succop, I think he will become the franchise kicker for him to have a 48 yard field goal in the rain and he's a rookie? That's pretty good.

Can't wait for next week. :bananen_smilies046:

Next week I think will be interesting...especially for the one blocking Jared Allen.

[captainamerica]

There were a few bright spots and a few weak spots in this game. Next weeks game at Minnesota will tell us a lot more about our team in my opinion.

[Chiefster]

There were a few bright spots and a few weak spots in this game. Next weeks game at Minnesota will tell us a lot more about our team in my opinion.


It'll be nice to see a Cassel to Bowe hookup.

[Chief Tyler]

Here's a little of what I saw:

Cassel was 2/5, true. 2 of them were drops, Ryan missed a routine catch and Copper was being hit but honestly should have caught it. The only real incompletion was thrown high, but it was still potentially catchable. Pass protection and weather didn't do him any favors, but his throws were for the most part right on the money. I.E. - his first completion for 12 or so he threw away from the DB, anywhere else and it would have been knocked way. His incompletion to Ryan was right at the sideline, thrown into his stride, almost perfect throw. Sure he fumbled a snap, but that's nothing to be worried about, it's a simple mistake, it happens. I can't wait until he's throwing with his first team wideouts and not a couple guys that might not make the roster. The running game looked pretty solid, I really liked what I saw from LJ and Battle.

Defense had a bunch of positives. We were pressuring the quarterback on most plays. The D was burned a couple times on a couple cut back runs, but for the most part I liked what I saw from both ends in the run and pass game. Hali definately looked like a linebacker today as far as size and build go, he was getting some nice pressure too. I like how Pendergast is using the Safeties in his Blitz schemes, Page was making some hits! What it came down to for me; the front 7 overperformed from what I expected, when we gave up some longer passes the QB was probably out of the pocket and he found a receiver in the middle of the field where Pollard was hurt and we were using backup guys in place of Thomas (Mays, Stude and Belcher all looked good at LB from time to time).

Special teams was impressive, aside from the lack of a return game. I don't even have to mention Succop, but Colquitt looked faithful as always, even his shank wasn't absolutely awful.

A few things I want to see against the Vikes are Hali in coverage, more pressure and improvement from the front 3, Cassel working with Bowe, Toomer and Engram and a little more of Charles, maybe in a Reggie Bush type role. I'm not going to get down on 7 if he doesn't perform to his best against the Vikes, that line is pretty scary, but playing against their DLine can only make our Oline better.

[tornadospotter]

All I have for thoughts. We may have a kicker!

[pbatrucker]

I was really disappointed with the OL. There were times when they were in a zone blocking scheme and had no idea what each other was doing.
Jackson and Dorsey played well at DE. NT play was inconsistant. Studebaker, Mays and Belcher played well at LB. Hali is getting pressure on the QB, but seems to be one step short all the time,
Croyle looked good because Bowe came to play. Tyler was running for his life and made some plays. Cassell will be fine with first team WR's. That is if the OL gets better.
Not much on the return game, but overall the special teams have improved.
Like someone said. Didn't see much of LJ. Battle is running Hard. With the exception of the fumble, Savage played well.

[Chiefster]

Here's a little of what I saw:

Cassel was 2/5, true. 2 of them were drops, Ryan missed a routine catch and Copper was being hit but honestly should have caught it. The only real incompletion was thrown high, but it was still potentially catchable. Pass protection and weather didn't do him any favors, but his throws were for the most part right on the money. I.E. - his first completion for 12 or so he threw away from the DB, anywhere else and it would have been knocked way. His incompletion to Ryan was right at the sideline, thrown into his stride, almost perfect throw. Sure he fumbled a snap, but that's nothing to be worried about, it's a simple mistake, it happens. I can't wait until he's throwing with his first team wideouts and not a couple guys that might not make the roster. The running game looked pretty solid, I really liked what I saw from LJ and Battle.

Defense had a bunch of positives. We were pressuring the quarterback on most plays. The D was burned a couple times on a couple cut back runs, but for the most part I liked what I saw from both ends in the run and pass game. Hali definately looked like a linebacker today as far as size and build go, he was getting some nice pressure too. I like how Pendergast is using the Safeties in his Blitz schemes, Page was making some hits! What it came down to for me; the front 7 overperformed from what I expected, when we gave up some longer passes the QB was probably out of the pocket and he found a receiver in the middle of the field where Pollard was hurt and we were using backup guys in place of Thomas (Mays, Stude and Belcher all looked good at LB from time to time).

Special teams was impressive, aside from the lack of a return game. I don't even have to mention Succop, but Colquitt looked faithful as always, even his shank wasn't absolutely awful.

A few things I want to see against the Vikes are Hali in coverage, more pressure and improvement from the front 3, Cassel working with Bowe, Toomer and Engram and a little more of Charles, maybe in a Reggie Bush type role. I'm not going to get down on 7 if he doesn't perform to his best against the Vikes, that line is pretty scary, but playing against their DLine can only make our Oline better.


Nicely put!

[pantherfan]

i see that the chiefs and panthers need to get on the phone and work a trade for dorsey..

[Vanilla Garilla]

Again, he was two of five with at least one drop that I can remember, and with wide outs that won't be starting this season.

Chill. You're WAY too eager to jump on Matt's case.

Yeah Church im not sure how this can be qualified as sucking it up. He only got to throw 5 times, and if the receivers would have held on to the ball, he would have been 4/5.

4 of the 4 throws were very sharp, precise, and right on target.

[yashi]

Thoughts from the first half...

I was mostly focused on the defense, because I think the offense will be fine.

The play where Leggett sacked Schaub was AWESOME. 1 down lineman (Magee), rushed 6, and the OL had absolutely no idea what to do as 2 guys were immediately in the backfield and Leggett went through untouched. We haven't seen a blitz like that in years, and we got to see it on the very first drive. Awesome.

The first team run defense was excellent, aside from a couple runs by Chris Brown late in the drive. On pass plays the guys up around the line looked hungry. Pass coverage wasn't great aside from Flowers, who did well and made some plays.

Dorsey played surprisingly well all around.

Cory Mays has really long hair.

I was really impressed with LJ. The run blocking wasn't great and he was working for a couple extra yards on every play.

On the end around to Kevin Walter, Hali made a very nice tackle in the open field that saved an extra 10 yards (at least). He definitely looks slim and quick, and explosive in pass rushing. He got a little anxious on one 3rd and long and drew a neutral zone infraction though.

I already strongly dislike Wright and Lawrence. Can we get a real return guy please? These guys struggle to catch a punt without falling over. I wonder why Savage isn't returning kicks.

Jackie Battle looks really impressive and I see why Haley seems to like him a lot. I could see him at a minimum being a very good short yardage guy for us down the road.

At one point I saw some white guy wearing Jared Allen's old 69 playing NT on 1st down. I looked him up and he's some 6'6" 265 lb guy listed as a tackle? Not sure what that was about, but he was taken out the next play.

We were able to get to the QB with just 4 guys rushing the passer at one point on 3rd and long (Hali, Jackson, Magee, Studebaker). I don't remember seeing that last year. Studebaker actually looks really good in a situational pass rushing role.

I LOVE the safety blitzes. Neither Page nor Pollard are particularly good coverage safeties, but I think both guys can excel if they're thrown in around the line of scrimmage sometimes. Both made a lot of plays when they were around the line last night.

McGraw is still a special teams stud and I'm really glad we kept him.

Our defensive line gets shuffled around a lot depending on the situation, with Jackson sometimes playing inside and such. Same with the OLBs, I saw Hali playing both left and right. Hopefully this keeps offenses on their toes.

Bowe is incredible and made Croyle look good. Croyle made some really bad throws at times, throwing behind receivers and the play where Bowe had to dive for a ball when he was standing still. Croyle did make some pretty nice throws too though.

[yashi]

In the end he was still 2/5 and lost a fumble so drops or not he still didnt look sharp

All of his throws touched his receivers hands and that was a fluke fumble if I've ever seen one, so I don't know what you want from him.

[Chief Tyler]

All of his throws touched his receivers hands and that was a fluke fumble if I've ever seen one, so I don't know what you want from him.

No joke, I'll bite on that if you name another QB over the history of the league that has been declared a bust because of fumbled snaps. Drop or not, his throws were on the button, I can't wait to see what a real team of receivers does for him, opening up more than 5-10 yard throws.

[Ldub]

Cassell will be fine. He was composed, and all but one throw was on the money. QB is not much of a worry for me. Its even a spot on the roster we may have some depth now. O-line pass blocking and D-line run stopping are what concern me the most.

[Vanilla Garilla]

Cassell will be fine. He was composed, and all but one throw was on the money. QB is not much of a worry for me. Its even a spot on the roster we may have some depth now. O-line pass blocking and D-line run stopping are what concern me the most.

After viewing last nights game, we our VERY DEEP AT QB!

[KC Cultivation]

Look at the up side-it's preseason week 1

[Bike]

Texans won 5 of their last 6 last year and I thought we played ok against a decent team. Leggett getting that sack was pretty cool. The horsecollar call was complete crap and seemed to take some wind out of the D. I'd like to see more Vrabel, Thomas, and Brown. Thig scored our only td, so kudos to him. D is obviously quicker and will improve every game. Need a kick returner. I miss TG already...

[brish]

I was encouraged by our defence, the TJ pick looks more and more solid, and Hali has progressed further than I expected.
Flowers looked good, I think he is going to be awesome this year.
Cory Mays? Who the f**k is he? He was all over the field last night, I hope he makes the team. We might have a starting middle linebacker there, though it is still way too early to tell.

Im so glad Bowe played so well, now he needs to show he is a pro in practice too. The other WR's on the other hand, man it looks like we have a real problem.

Cassel didn't get good stats, but he was only allowed 5 throws against their no. 1 defense. (Their D showed some good pass rushing skills I think..) Besides it was very ****ty weather, and atleast 2 of his throws should have been caught. TE Ryan dropped one, and one of the recievers did too.

My main concern right now is our WR's and pass protection as well as run blocking.

We had 13 different guys catching 21 passes last night, that amassed a total of 115 yards. Of which Bowe accounted for 5 catches and 70 yards.
That is NOT very good! Our 2 "starting wideouts" Copper and Darling had a combined 3 catches for 15 yards.
We have to remember though, that they "only" had 1½ quarter of play. Still not good enough..

Last year Cassel did a great job of completing a high number of short passes to a variety of receivers + the occasional bomb to Moss. He can read defenses and get rid of the ball fast, but we need the recievers to get open and hang on to the ball. Otherwise Cassel won't get a fair chance.

Thank god it seems we have atleast 3 good backs! :)

[Chiefster]

Cassell will be fine. He was composed, and all but one throw was on the money. QB is not much of a worry for me. Its even a spot on the roster we may have some depth now. O-line pass blocking and D-line run stopping are what concern me the most.

Agreed, it will be interesting to see how they perform when it's for real and they're pulling out the stops.

[DT14PRIEST]

In the end he was still 2/5 and lost a fumble so drops or not he still didnt look sharp

Then none of our QBs looked sharp other then Croyle by your standards.

[Pro_Angler]

I didnt get a chance to watch the game since it wasnt on TV and sunday ticket isnt playing pre season. I have it set to record tomorrow and I will watch it and play coach...lol

[Chiefster]

I didnt get a chance to watch the game since it wasnt on TV and sunday ticket isnt playing pre season. I have it set to record tomorrow and I will watch it and play coach...lol


Looking forward to your insightful analysis. :D

[Connie Jo]

My take...yeah, was disappointed we didn't win. I know it's only pre-season, but a win would've been an encouraging boost after last season.

I may be crazy, but I'm still thinking Thigpen looks too good not to give him a shot at starting position. He's quick, avoids sacks, throws decent on the run, not afraid to run, & just seems his heart is really in to the game...winning. He also did an excellent job of keeping his eye on the play & ball when whoever it was he tossed to, dropped it...Thigpen was on it in a hearbeat!

Our front line still doesn't appear to be giving our QB enough protection/time. I know it was raining, but that's barely an excuse in the NFL to be dropping so many balls/catches. And, there were too many tackles missed also.

Granted I was grumpy last night while watching, so maybe it wasn't as bad of a game as I'm thinking? I had no one to watch the game with, my son visited the night before, drank all my beer...so no beer with a lousy frozen pizza, and it was storming too bad to go get any, haha.

[Three7s]

My take...yeah, was disappointed we didn't win. I know it's only pre-season, but a win would've been an encouraging boost after last season.

I may be crazy, but I'm still thinking Thigpen looks too good not to give him a shot at starting position. He's quick, avoids sacks, throws decent on the run, not afraid to run, & just seems his heart is really in to the game...winning. He also did an excellent job of keeping his eye on the play & ball when whoever it was he tossed to, dropped it...Thigpen was on it in a hearbeat!

Our front line still doesn't appear to be giving our QB enough protection/time. I know it was raining, but that's barely an excuse in the NFL to be dropping so many balls/catches. And, there were too many tackles missed also.

Granted I was grumpy last night while watching, so maybe it wasn't as bad of a game as I'm thinking? I had no one to watch the game with, my son visited the night before, drank all my beer...so no beer with a lousy frozen pizza, and it was storming too bad to go get any, haha.
I liked Thigpen a lot last season, but after watching the last preseason game, I can understand why Haley isn't too confident in him. The throws me made just looked ridiculous. Yes, he completed them, but his passes clearly looked awkward. I think I even saw a couple that looked side-armed.

Thigpen's best asset is running the ball, and I think Haley plans to utilize that by running the wildcat with him at times, but to say he should be the starting QB is just not working with me right now. If we went by the first game, it'd be Croyle who's starting, obviously. I just hope that we aren't quite as conservative on offense against the Vikings when Cassel's in there.

[yashi]

Thigpen is a playmaker at turning a dead play into a nice one, but he is still very inaccurate and doesn't seem all that poised in the pocket. He always seems a little shaky.

I love what I saw from Cassel. He stands tall in the pocket and delivers accurate passes on the money. He's very accurate and doesn't seem to make mistakes. I can see why he only threw 11 interceptions last season.

I'm a big Thigpen fan and it's very comforting knowing that he's available if Cassel goes down, but for me there's no question that Cassel is the guy.

[Connie Jo]

I liked Thigpen a lot last season, but after watching the last preseason game, I can understand why Haley isn't too confident in him. The throws me made just looked ridiculous. Yes, he completed them, but his passes clearly looked awkward. I think I even saw a couple that looked side-armed.

Thigpen's best asset is running the ball, and I think Haley plans to utilize that by running the wildcat with him at times, but to say he should be the starting QB is just not working with me right now. If we went by the first game, it'd be Croyle who's starting, obviously. I just hope that we aren't quite as conservative on offense against the Vikings when Cassel's in there.

Well, I admit I was somewhat pre-occupied when watching, so likely wasn't observant enough to make a rational QB judgement. No doudt Thigpens drive being the only one to score a TD influenced my opinion as well. :)

[Chiefster]

My take...yeah, was disappointed we didn't win. I know it's only pre-season, but a win would've been an encouraging boost after last season.

I may be crazy, but I'm still thinking Thigpen looks too good not to give him a shot at starting position. He's quick, avoids sacks, throws decent on the run, not afraid to run, & just seems his heart is really in to the game...winning. He also did an excellent job of keeping his eye on the play & ball when whoever it was he tossed to, dropped it...Thigpen was on it in a hearbeat!

Our front line still doesn't appear to be giving our QB enough protection/time. I know it was raining, but that's barely an excuse in the NFL to be dropping so many balls/catches. And, there were too many tackles missed also.

Granted I was grumpy last night while watching, so maybe it wasn't as bad of a game as I'm thinking? I had no one to watch the game with, my son visited the night before, drank all my beer...so no beer with a lousy frozen pizza, and it was storming too bad to go get any, haha.

Decent analysis Connie! :D

[pbatrucker]

As for the OL, Richardson was running with the 1st team at RT this morning. I'm surprised it took this long for someone to take over for McIntosh.

[Coach]

Thoughts from the first half...

I was mostly focused on the defense, because I think the offense will be fine.

The play where Leggett sacked Schaub was AWESOME. 1 down lineman (Magee), rushed 6, and the OL had absolutely no idea what to do as 2 guys were immediately in the backfield and Leggett went through untouched. We haven't seen a blitz like that in years, and we got to see it on the very first drive. Awesome.

The first team run defense was excellent, aside from a couple runs by Chris Brown late in the drive. On pass plays the guys up around the line looked hungry. Pass coverage wasn't great aside from Flowers, who did well and made some plays.

Dorsey played surprisingly well all around.

Cory Mays has really long hair.

I was really impressed with LJ. The run blocking wasn't great and he was working for a couple extra yards on every play.

On the end around to Kevin Walter, Hali made a very nice tackle in the open field that saved an extra 10 yards (at least). He definitely looks slim and quick, and explosive in pass rushing. He got a little anxious on one 3rd and long and drew a neutral zone infraction though.

I already strongly dislike Wright and Lawrence. Can we get a real return guy please? These guys struggle to catch a punt without falling over. I wonder why Savage isn't returning kicks.

Jackie Battle looks really impressive and I see why Haley seems to like him a lot. I could see him at a minimum being a very good short yardage guy for us down the road.

At one point I saw some white guy wearing Jared Allen's old 69 playing NT on 1st down. I looked him up and he's some 6'6" 265 lb guy listed as a tackle? Not sure what that was about, but he was taken out the next play.

We were able to get to the QB with just 4 guys rushing the passer at one point on 3rd and long (Hali, Jackson, Magee, Studebaker). I don't remember seeing that last year. Studebaker actually looks really good in a situational pass rushing role.

I LOVE the safety blitzes. Neither Page nor Pollard are particularly good coverage safeties, but I think both guys can excel if they're thrown in around the line of scrimmage sometimes. Both made a lot of plays when they were around the line last night.

McGraw is still a special teams stud and I'm really glad we kept him.

Our defensive line gets shuffled around a lot depending on the situation, with Jackson sometimes playing inside and such. Same with the OLBs, I saw Hali playing both left and right. Hopefully this keeps offenses on their toes.

Bowe is incredible and made Croyle look good. Croyle made some really bad throws at times, throwing behind receivers and the play where Bowe had to dive for a ball when he was standing still. Croyle did make some pretty nice throws too though.

This is pretty much what I noticed as well.
Other important Notes:
1. LJ looked stong as I expected.
2. Jackie Battle is a rock and should be a great short yardage back.
3. We need a NT.
4. WR's looked lost.
5. Our OL looks like we expected it to look.

I am excited about the 3-4 transition. It's fun to see the LB's flying all over the field and rushing the QB.