Herms vision
I have a serious problem with the Herm Edwards' plan for the Chiefs' offense. He stated that he wants to play "smash-mouth, run the football" offense. While I do have great appreciation for that type of football team, I feel that there is a great oversight with that train of thought.
Every off-season, the NFL installs changes to the rulebook. Over the past decade, or two, the rules have been leaning, heavily, in favor of the passing game. I am not, by any means, an advocate for those rule changes. In fact, I despise them. However, they are set and, likely, will not be removed, any time soon. Within the passing offense, lay potential penalties of as much as sixty, to seventy yards and some automatic first-downs.
Hypothetically, if your defense manages to push the opposing offense to a, desperate, fourth and twenty-five, at their own twenty-five yard line, an illegal contact penalty will grant the offense an automatic first down. Or, in the same game situation, a pass-interference penalty could put the offense into a first and goal situation.
What this means to me, is that there is a growing and often overlooked aspect of the game of football, today. With offense, defense, special-teams and turnovers being the well-known aspects of the game, I believe that penalties should be viewed as a much more valuable aspect.
With a "run-first" style of offense, you decrease your opportunities for penalty yards.
With conference finals just ahead, the Chicago Bears are the closest thing to a "smash-mouth" running offense, that is left in the playoffs. (Unless you want to make a case against Drew Brees.) They are not very close to it, either. In fact, only three teams in this years playoffs, could be considered run-first teams. Each of those teams left the playoffs, in a hurry. Even last years Steelers became much less of a run-first team, before they managed to make some noise in the playoffs.
Herm has critcized the Chiefs' offense of recent years, by showing the teams lack of playoff success. Few, however, can argue that that was not a great offense. In my opinion, that was the best "smash-mouth" running attack that has existed, in several seasons.
The difference between that offense, and the type of offense that Edwards describes, is that Priest Holmes didn't run, directly into the teeth of the defense. It was, both, a "smash-mouth" running attack, and a finnesse running game. Not to mention the superb passing game that was creatively coupled with it. To criticize that offense, is foolish. When, clearly, the problem with those Chiefs teams, was a poor defense.
I would like for Herm to take a look around the NFL, and try to see waht is going on, offensively. In order to be successful, I think he has to.
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