Monday Morning Review

Kansas Chiefs
On sunday's offensive performance...
Honestly, it was okay. Turnovers are a symptom of an offense that is pressing for production. Thigpen made a couple inaccurate throws, and rookie corner Leodis McKelvin made him pay for them. Thigpen on the day was shaky, but overall is developing endurance and a short memory. When a quarterback throws a interception, he has to forget about it and move on. Thigpen seems to do well with this. The running game had some spots of brilliance, but was somewhat inconsistance as it has been this year.

On sunday's defensive performance...
Poor pass rushing has been a fatal flaw all year. The chiefs have six sacks on the year and they are on pace to set an NFL record for fewest team sacks in a season. Because of the poor pressure, the chiefs were unable to create turnovers. Overall, a very poor performance, gameplan, and coaching.

On Herm...
Herm made a couple bad calls, both challenges were a waste of time. When Thigpen got tripped up and the ball popped out, that is a fumble. This is a NFL rule, if a player has not been downed (touched in a tackling motion while or before the ball carrier's knee/shoulder/elbow/etc. is down) and an impact with the ground causes a fumble, the ball is live. Thigpen was not tackled nor touch when he stumbled and the ball popped out. NFL coaches know this rule, but Herm challenged it anyways, wasting a timeout and further demoralizing his team. Herm has some serious flaws with clock management and knowing the rules of football. These must be addressed soon.

On Thigpen...
A general rule of thumb for young quarterbacks is to AT LEAST have as many touchdowns as they do turnovers. Thigpen was responsible for three turnovers and had three touchdowns. On the season however, Thigpen is shaping up to have a great year. He leads 16 starting NFL quarterbacks in touchdowns (including first round rookies Joe Flacco and Matt Ryan) in half the starts and playing time. He is a possible contender for "quarterback of the future", and has made a horrible offense look explosive at times.

On Tony and Bowe...
Tony has been solid this season before and after trade talks. He's proven to be an individual with character and commitment. Let's hope by the end of the season, he'll decide to stick around. Bowe has shown he can be a playmaker, and a solid #1 wide reciever, although he does struggle with drops sometimes. He has become more and more productive since the beginning of the season, and is on pace for a career first 1,000 yard season (last year he had 995 yards).

On a couple of kids coming out in the 2009 draft...
Brian Orakpo(texas): DE
a solid prospect that could fix (in some part) our lack of QB pressure on defense. He has some injury problems, but has remained healthy as of late. He has nine sacks, 13.5 tackles for loss (tfl), 31 tackles (tk), and 3 force fumble (ff) this season.
Rey Maualuga(usc): MLB
another strong instictive player that could sure up the middle of the field defensively. He has great speed, and can drop back in pass coverage if need be. He can also lay down a hell of a hit when he wants to. He is a Polumalu-like performer, but has had some injury problems this year.
Michael Oher(mississippi): OT
big, strong, and an ability to play at the NFL level defines this offensive tackle. At 6-5 and over 300 hundred pounds he has the size and body control to solidify the right side of our line. His learning ability may be in question though.