Brain Fertilizer

This is getting to be a habit.

I was thinking about writing this review before the game, for humorous and/or tragic effect. I should have done so.

See, Kansas City just isn't getting it done, and it's pretty much always for the same reason:

The offense.

Seriously.

The defense isn't Top-10 (although they were for a while), and no one expected them to be so. However, I still blame the offense because it has the personnel and the ability to score 35 points every game against any defense. It hasn't even come close to that in most of the losses.

This is an offense that dominated three different quality teams three different ways. Ravens: Time of Possession. Atlanta: We ran at will, they couldn't run at all. Indianapolis: We won a shoot-out by being more flexible, dynamic, and explosive.

So how can we score only only 20 points against New Orleans? Only 17 points against Carolina? 21 points against Houston? Only 19 points against New England? How could we not get a first down against Jacksonville?

One of the keys to understanding football is how much the game changes from when you are behind to when you are pretty much tied to when you are behind to when you are behind by a lot. Kansas City won 9 games in a row last year because they jumped to early leads and held them through the middle of the 3rd quarter. When you hold a 2 touchdown lead (or more) halfway through the 3rd quarter, the other team really can't waste time running the ball, making short passes, or dump offs. They have to go down the field, and that increases the opportunity for sacks and interceptions.

Kansas City can't seem to get the big lead they need to force the other team to change strategies. When KC does, the Chiefs win, like against the Colts, the Falcons, and the Ravens. But KC lost the other 7 games because the offense didn't dominate like it should, and so all of our opponents retained their entire gameplan and maintained their balance. And KC's defense wasn't quite good enough to win those games.

How many games has Trent Green thrown an interception in the end zone? I remember three. All losses. All three were momentum-turning, effort-killing picks. It would be much better to be 6-4 than 3-7, yanno?

If an offensive line can beat up the Atlanta Falcons D-line so well, why can't they protect Trent against the Bucs D-line at all? Why can't they open holes in the Red Zone for Blaylock that I could run through?

If Trent Green can get such gaudy yardage, why can't he score TDs like last year?

I started looking forward to next year last week. It looks like I wasn't wrong.