It isn't tough to see that this team is soft-The Kansas City Star

Diabolical_Jet_Fan · Aug 21, 2006

JASON WHITLOCK
The Kansas City Star

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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. | We shouldn?t be surprised that three weeks into Camp Herm, the Chiefs still look soft.

It?s pretty difficult to instill toughness into a defense Dick Vermeil ignored for five years when training camp is a giant pillow fight with practices shorter than most yoga classes.

The players love Camp Herm, but it?s very debatable whether coach Herm Edwards? abbreviated, light-contact practices are what this team needed this year. Based on the last few years, Kansas City?s defenders needed to be enrolled in remedial tackling courses.
Marty Schottenheimer?s barbaric Oklahoma Drills seemed appropriate.

Evidence of the Chiefs? overall softness was in full display at Giants Stadium Thursday night in a 17-0 preseason loss. Kansas City?s defense looks just as soft as it did a year ago when Tiki Barber ran wild on the Chiefs in a regular-season game.

While some Chiefs defenders downplayed the significance of Thursday?s wretched performance, at least two Chiefs starters recognized it for what it was.

?It?s embarrassing,? defensive end Jared Allen said. ?I think that?s the best way to describe it. I take it as a reality check.?

Middle linebacker Kawika Mitchell added, ?Just a lot of talk and not enough performing.?

Maybe this will make Edwards rethink his soft approach with his soft team. Especially after watching the Giants? first-teamers trample Kansas City?s starters in the first half.
The opening 30 minutes were tough to watch. New York?s defenders battered Chiefs quarterback Trent Green, pushing him to the safety of the bench after two unproductive series. Running back Larry Johnson failed to get on track, picking up just 8 yards on four carries. Offensive tackles Kevin Sampson and Kyle Turley struggled trying to keep Michael Strahan and Osi Umenyiora out of the backfield.

And, of course, the Giants offense did whatever it wanted to Kansas City?s defense. Eli Manning, facing absolutely zero pressure, completed 11 of 14 passes for 80 yards and a touchdown. Tiki Barber and Brandon Jacobs combined for 62 yards and one touchdown on 14 carries.

The Chiefs? defensive front four was non-existent. If there?s a difference between defensive tackle combos Ron Edwards and James Reed, and Ryan Sims and Lional Dalton, you couldn?t recognize it Thursday night. All four stand at the line of scrimmage and chicken fight quite well.

Ends Jared Allen and Eric Hicks were equally ineffective.

Manning had plenty of time to throw, and he repeatedly threw underneath Kansas City?s soft coverage. High-priced corners Ty Law and Patrick Surtain won?t reroute many receivers when they line up 5 to 7 yards off the football.

You don?t want to make too much of preseason football. But it?s very fair to say this team is soft right now, and we shouldn?t be surprised.

Kansas City?s three toughest players from a year ago weren?t in uniform Thursday night and haven?t been a part of training camp. Willie Roaf retired. Brian Waters hurt his foot on the first day of camp. And Carl Peterson let Tony Richardson slip to Minnesota for a short end and an order of fries.

Roaf, Waters and Richardson never played defense, but that trio would make any team significantly tougher. Their personalities add toughness and confidence, two things in short supply with the Chiefs right now.

The Chiefs lack an identity. They?re transitioning from Vermeil?s high-flying, all-offense identity to Herm?s conservative, defensive approach.
The transition isn?t going smoothly. In fact, I?d say the Chiefs are having an identity crisis. Edwards can?t impose his identity on this team with an easy-on-the-body training camp.
He?s in a difficult spot. He isn?t taking over a team in a rebuilding mode. First-year coaches are supposed to crack heads and run guys off just to make a point, just to impose their will. A first-year coach in a rebuilding situation gets to shape a team in his own image.

Not Herm. He has to win now with someone else?s players, and he has to pamper veteran players who were overworked by Vermeil.
Good luck with that. It?s a recipe for chaos. The Chiefs let their strongest locker-room presence walk (Richardson). Their most physical player is nursing an injury (Waters). And their most important player (Roaf) decided he?d rather eat his mama?s gumbo this fall.

Meanwhile, Ryan Sims would much rather swap gumbo recipes with Roaf?s mama than go to war with offensive linemen, and KC?s defensive front remains a major weakness. In the first quarter, the Chiefs blitzed repeatedly and still couldn?t get pressure on Manning.

It?s too early to panic and write this team off. It?s the preseason, and KC?s game plans have been awfully vanilla. But the more I watch the Chiefs the more I understand why Edwards and Peterson won?t give up on the dream of Roaf returning.

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/sports/15300666.htm
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Chiefs fans are finding out that "Clueless" Herm Edwards is as overated as an electric can opener................

plinko · Aug 21, 2006

and people complain we only got a 4th round pick for herm. we should've given the chiefs a first round pick for taking him.

abyzmul · Aug 21, 2006

Hey, as long as they get 11 men on the field, that's how games are won.

S+M=S Giants · Aug 21, 2006

Yeah our team did play well against them! Our first teamers had their way with them.

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It isn't tough to see that this team is soft-The Kansas City Star

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