Chapter 198 Step by Step
Looking back at the Kansas Chiefs’ 2016 season, was it a failure?
Of course not.
Twelve wins and four losses, the second seed in the American League, the regular season record is second only to the New England Patriots, and qualified for the playoffs as the division champion.
However, despite being generally optimistic, it is undoubtedly a huge regret to lose to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first game of the playoffs.
It’s no wonder that the loyal fans in Kansas City are desperate. They clearly have all the conditions, but they are once again trapped in the curse of the playoffs. Anger is of no use. It is more of a kind of powerlessness and emptiness. They don’t know the football. What else does the team need to do to achieve a breakthrough.
In fact, everything has signs.
It’s unbelievable, but in the past two seasons, the Kansas Chiefs relied on defense to win games, Andy Reid? Win on defense?
Like football, rugby also has this saying, offense wins and defense wins championships; but rugby is slightly different from football. Football can enter a penalty shootout relying on an impregnable defense, but rugby cannot. In the final analysis, it still needs The offense ends the game.
Obviously, Reid realized this, so he focused on selecting offensive cores in this year's draft and began to prepare for the team's future.
Last season, the Kansas City Chiefs' defense ranked seventh in the league.
But upon closer analysis, pass defense ranks 18th and running ball defense ranks 26th. Both statistics are very bad and are in the bottom half of the league. So, what is it about the Kansas Chiefs' overall defensive performance that allows them to soar? How about rising to the forefront?
Red zone defense.
When it comes to the end zone, the Kansas Chiefs' defense is extremely tough, which allows them to control the seventh-fewest points allowed per game in the league. Especially the ground defense is tough, and the number of touchdowns released in the red zone is tied for third in the league. Third Young Master.
In other words, strong performance at critical moments ensured the safety of the Kansas Chiefs' end zone, which contributed to the team's twelve wins and four losses in the season.
In sharp contrast, it is the offense.
Last season, the Kansas City Chiefs' offense ranked only 13th among the 32 teams in the league.
Although it is not a drag and is still hovering in the middle of the league, it is indeed unusual for Reid who is good at offensive layout and training quarterbacks.
Among them, the passing offense ranks 11th and the ground offense ranks 19th.
One statistic can reveal the key. The Kansas Chiefs entered the red zone 55 times throughout the season, ranking 10th in the league. However, the red zone scoring rate was only 45.5%, ranking 10th in the league. Thirtieth place, third from the bottom.
Meanwhile, the Kansas City Chiefs have scored just four long touchdowns outside the red zone all season, a measly four.
Taken together, this series of data can lead to the following conclusion:
First of all, the Kansas Chiefs have the ability to advance, and their tactical layout of combining passing and running is still at the forefront of the league. Reid is still an excellent offensive master.
Secondly, quarterback Smith and the wide receivers and running backs lack explosive power. Whether it is Smith's long pass to the end zone, or the running back and wide receivers' ability to push long distances and large yards into the end zone is weak.
Finally, there is a lack of breakthroughs in the position battle in the red zone, and there are no reliable heavy weapons to open up the situation after entering the red zone.
In other words, the Kansas Chiefs can advance and attack, but have difficulty scoring, and lack explosive power at critical moments.
This shortcoming was further amplified in the playoffs. When the Kansas Chiefs met the Pittsburgh Steelers, a traditional defensive team, their defense was not strong enough, their offense was unable to break the deadlock, and they lacked explosive power at critical moments. This is why Determines the outcome of the game.
"16:18".
The Kansas City Chiefs lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers in a very, very close game. In fact, the last statistic of the 2016 season is easily overlooked but crucial -
In ten of the sixteen regular season games, the final score difference between the Kansas Chiefs and their opponents was within one touchdown.
If you count the playoffs, that's eleven games.
It can be seen that throughout the season, the Kansas Chiefs have been dancing on the tightrope. Whether it is victory or defeat, whether it is offense or defense, everything is precarious and shaky. Behind the seemingly brilliant and successful "twelve wins and four losses" record , hiding huge hidden dangers.
If they are not careful, they may slip off the tightrope and fall to pieces. It is not even a question of whether they can win a playoff game, but whether they can advance to the playoffs again.
After all, last season, the Kansas Chiefs' division championship was also very thrilling, and the Oakland Raiders also had a record of 12 wins and four losses. The Kansas Chiefs reached the top of the division by virtue of their better division record.
In the new season, the competition is as fierce and may change the situation at any time.
This is also a problem that the Kansas City Chiefs must face and solve during the offseason.
However, it's not easy.
Basketball game, five people; volleyball game, six people; football game, eleven people. The more people there are, the more difficult it is to adjust the lineup and improve the strength. In a football game, there are only twenty-two people in the offensive and defensive groups, and there is also a special teams team that may not seem important but often plays an important role.
Just like the Cleveland Browns, everything you can see is problems, and you don't even know where to start.
Of course, Reid can see that, and so can those professionals who seriously study football and make a living from it -
Obviously, Reid is good at offense, so when solving problems, he naturally starts with offense; what's more, the Kansas Chiefs' defense is not a big problem for the time being, but the offense needs adjustment, and it is a large-scale adjustment.
Reed, chose the ground attack.
A semi-passive and semi-active choice, Charles' injury disrupted the Kansas Chiefs' layout, so that they had to face up to this problem; but from another perspective, in fact, since the 2015 season, their ground offense has already shown a slow decline. weak posture.
Perhaps, now is a good opportunity to completely change the team and look forward to a new start.
The question is, is this sensible? Is this correct?
Originally, Reed could have selected Hunter in the third round, then traded two high-quality and cheap blue-collar running backs, and invested more resources in wide receivers and offensive fronts. The investment in these positions would have immediate results.
Moreover, these positions are more cost-effective than running back.
What's more, Reid didn't just pick a running back at random, he chose Levi.
A topic that may have caused controversy and doubts from the beginning sparked more discussions when it encountered an outlier like Levi. Veach, who made continuous aggressive moves in the draft, even provided professionals with daggers to cut them apart. He opened the Kansas Chief's wound to see the weakness inside, and punched him hard.
To be honest, people are looking forward to Levi's performance on the court. After all, there has never been such a character entering the world of rugby before. It is like Monkey King entering the Heavenly Palace for the first time. The sights are all crowded, but no one knows what will happen. What.
Although the season is still some time away, the long wait is finally over because -
Preseason is here.
(End of chapter)