Armchair
QB
Offense
holds four aces
Posted
9-13-02
by
CK Rairden
Landmark columnist
The Chiefs returned 19 of 22 starters from last season’s
team, but if you look a bit deeper, the opportunity for
a more developed club may be in the cards for the Chiefs.
But the deck must be played correctly.
The Chiefs offense holds four dependable aces.
-A top five NFL RB in Priest Holmes and a healthy all
purpose FB in Tony Richardson.
-All-world TE Tony Gonzalez.
-A dependable WR with good hands and quick moves in Johnny
Morton.
-An offensive line that can dominate at times.
Then the deck also produces three wild cards.
-Erratic QB Trent Green.
-WR’s Eddie Kennison, Dante Hall and Marc Boerigter.
-Offensive coordinator Al Saunders.
****
Saunders is the ultimate wild card. He now knows Green’s
strengths and limitations. He must implement that into
a game plan that protects Green, but allows the quarterback
to make plays and gain confidence. It worked to perfection
in Cleveland. Green was nearly flawless, limiting his
mistakes while leading the team. He never gave up, even
on the bizarre final play from scrimmage.
Saunders 4th quarter offensive play calling was a thing
of beauty. The Browns were on their heels in the final
quarter and had zero chance of stopping the Chiefs offense.
Wild card Eddie Kennison did exactly what the team needs
for success averaging 30 yards a catch.
****
Saunders also made a ton of changes in the offense during
the off-season to accent the strength of his aces.
He was all set to implement a passing offense that played
to the strength of Gonzalez, but that game plan was limited
early due to the extended holdout of the TE. It didn’t
seem to matter in Cleveland, as Gonzo didn’t miss
a beat.
Fans will also notice changes in the way Saunders uses
Holmes and Richardson, and the revamped offensive line.
His ace line and blocking fullback wore down Cleveland
in the fourth quarter and Homes ran wild. Holmes vision
and cutting ability provided three 4th quarter rushing
TD’s for the ‘01 rushing leader.
Ace WR Johnny Morton never got on track as a receiver
in game one, but wild card Eddie Kennison picked up the
slack.
****
The combo of the aces and wild cards delivered in week
one on the offense.
It’s a good thing as the defense played from the
bottom of the deck, and nearly blew the game with continuous
missed assignments. But thanks to boneheaded hot dog Cleveland
LB Dwayne Rudd, the Chiefs were able to pull out a victory.
This leads to week two opponent Jacksonville. The Jags
still have their version of the triplets, (QB Brunell,
WR Smith and RB Taylor) so the suspect defense of the
Chiefs may struggle again. Expect the Jags to test the
Chiefs pass rush and cornerbacks early.
The Armchair QB predicts the Chiefs offensive coordinator
Al Saunders to design another fine game plan. But let’s
face it, QB Trent Green will need the same kind of execution
for the Chiefs to post their first 2-0 regular season
since 1996.
Expect it.
Chiefs 24 Jacksonville 19.
(CK Rairden can be reached by email
at ckden@yahoo.com)
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