A play-by-play announcer always waits for "that" moment. The moment in a sporting event that makes history and is enhanced for posterity by the right play-by-play call. Some examples include: Joe Montana's game winning Monday Night Football drive in 1994, President Pete Stoyanovich's 54 yard field goal to beat Denver in 1997 and Tony Gonzalez's myriad of record setting performances. It was there again Sunday versus the Jets and........
Tyler Thigpen's performance was remarkable against the Jets. It was the best Chiefs quarterback rating ON THE ROAD since Damon Huard's 138.3 rating against St. Louis on November 5, 2006. Thigpen's rating of 110.9 was a reflection of a 60 MINUTE display of decision making, accurate throwing and command on the field. He used seven different receivers and involved Brad Cottam and Mark Bradley. Tyler Thigpen acted and played like an NFL quarterback.
I started the broadcast with a "battle of the 4's" and gave statistical reasons why the game was a mismatch in favor of Favre. Yet, at the end of the game, it appeared as if the Chiefs and Thigpen would be one of the great stories of the 2008 NFL year to date. I was ready...."the quarterback with the most wins in the history of professional football Brett Farve has just lost the 'battle of 4's' to Tyler Thigpen....who has just won his FIRST NFL....AUGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH.....I feel like Charlie Brown missing the football as Lucy pulls it away....it was there....IT WAS THERE...!!!
The Bucs come calling this week and we will see if Thigpen can do it again. This week, its Jeff Garcia....lets hope theres a "moment"....but of course it wont be the "MOMENT" that slipped away last week.
It was early August in River Falls, Wisconsin. I remember exactly where I was standing on a beautiful early morning on the Wisconsin-River Falls campus when I heard that the Jets had released quarterback Chad Pennington. I have always been impressed with Pennington ever since he made his NFL debut against the Chiefs in 2002. I was thinking that Herm Edwards might make a plea to Carl Peterson to sign Pennington and make him the starter for the Chiefs in 2008 while the search would continue for a young quarterback to lead the franchise. Brodie Croyle was a strong candidate to be that "young quarterback". However, Croyle was 0 and 7 as a starter and had a propensity to be injured. The rest is recent history. Croyle is out for the season placing his NFL future in serious doubt.
What is it with Herm and quarterbacks? This week the Chiefs go to Gotham to play the New York Jets-Herm's old team. In Herm's five years in New York, if he had healthy quarterbacks, he won games. Herm had 3 playoff years in New York with two playoff wins. In his two non-playoff seasons with the Jets, he played 6 different quarterbacks due to injury.
With the Chiefs, its been a nightmare. 2006: TRENT GREEN GETS HURT IN THE FIRST GAME.
2007: DAMON HUARD GETS HURT IN THE FIRST GAME, fifth game, 9th game and 12th game. Brodie Croyle gets hurt in the 11th game and the 15th game. 2008: BRODIE CROYLE GETS HURT IN THE FIRST GAME and the sixth game. Damon Huard gets hurt in the second game,while Jets quarterback Brett Favre has played in every game SINCE 1992.
It is apparent that the Chiefs need to buy a quarterback and draft a quarterback in 2009 while still searching to find that "young" quarterback to lead the franchise.
Chiefs Head Coach Herm Edwards response after the Carolina loss was direct and showed his frustration. His response..."I thought we were past this"...was the same thought I had after calling the 34-0 loss to the Panthers. As a result, Edwards makes this bye week a working week for the Chiefs not unlike a training camp type week. There is a lot to fix, some obvious areas and some matters not so obvious.
1). The quarterback situation is obviously hindering this team after five weeks. The hit Brodie Croyle took in the Patriots game was nasty. Now, Croyle will be back for the bye work week and for the Tennessee Titans. Brodie gets 11 weeks to prove that he can stay healthy and become a winning starting quarterback in the NFL. What is not so obvious is that the wicked hit that Damon Huard took early in the Oakland game did more physical and psychological damage that originally thought. Huard battles, but he has not been the Huard of 2006. Tyler Thigpen is learning that "on the job" training is nearly impossible for young quarterbacks in the NFL DURING THE REGULAR SEASON. Thigpen has tools, he just needs to refine them in the months ahead.
2). THIRD DOWN DEFENSE is puzzling. The numbers are astounding. I went through the first five games on tape and looked at "3rd and long" situations (3rd and 5 or more) in the first five games. Chiefs opponents CONVERTED for first downs or touchdowns on 21 such situations. Sixteen times the opponents converted for first downs or touchdowns on situations of 13 yards or more. The tape reveals all sorts of situations. I saw the Chiefs play various zones, blitzes, man to man, 3 man fronts, 4 man fronts, etc.
Moreover, the enemy has had RUNS of 32, 44, 50, 22, 32 and 18 yards in 3rd and long situations. There are numerous items to fix here but Herm Edwards has mentioned that the "third down" psychology will be the start. Gunther Cunningham's defense will stop a team on first and second down only to see the opponent not only convert but hit a big play on 3rd and long. That can be devastating to a defense.
The Chiefs are LAST in the NFL on 3rd and 10plus defense. Their opponents have converted FORTY SIX per cent of the time in such situations, the NFL defensive average is 19 per cent.
3). OFFENSIVE RHYTHM will be a priority during the bye week. This is directly related to the first point. Yet, there needs to be overall improvement throughout the offense. THIS OFFENSE NEEDS TO STAY ON THE FIELD AND HOLD THREE AND OUTS TO A MINIMUM. The Chiefs have slipped to next to last in the NFL by going "3 and out" 34 per cent of the time. The right side of the offensive line must improve in the next 11 games, Larry Johnson has to be better at the "zone" runs and the receivers must get better separation EARLY in the routes.
I hope you enjoy your bye week. The Kansas City Chiefs will spend most of the week working to get ready for the Tennessee Titans and the next eleven weeks of the season. There is a lot of work to do.
