KC CHIEFS REPORT CARD

From the Fan Posts – CBO

We have had time to calm down from that atrocious loss to the Bengals.  Here is my take on the performance for each player on the Chiefs.  Those not mentioned would receive an incomplete.  We would appreciate your feedback and any constructive criticism.

QUARTERBACK

B – Patrick Mahomes

D – Chad Henne

Commentary: Mahomes is the engine that makes our offense run.  He had some issues but I firmly believe that most were caused by others around him.  His hero ball mode can be deadly – for us as well as the other team.  Lost confidence in Henne with the double fumble.

RUNNING BACK

A – Jerrick McKinnon, Michael Burton

C – CEH, Darrel Williams, Derrick Gore

Commentary: McKinnon was a difference maker at the end of the season and Burton was very reliable on short yardage situations even though everyone knew he would get the ball.  CEH had some games where it looked like he finally understood how to run. Overall, he struggled as our featured runner.  Williams did okay while taking over – his hands are an A but his running ability – well, he gets the most from his talent.  Would love to see what Gore would do with maximum reps.  He was stonewalled too often to compensate for the few great runs he had.

WIDE RECEIVER

B – Tyreek Hill

C – Mecole Hardman, Byron Pringle

F – Demarcus Robinson, Josh Gordon, Marcus Kemp, Daurice Fountain, Gehrig Dieter, any other receiver ever on our practice squad.

Commentary: Hill had too many drops to bring in an A.  The grade of C might be too generous for Hardman and Pringle but they both had some plays that contributed.  Neither should ever be considered to be the number two receiver.  DRob sucked most of the year – never should have happened to the veteran of this group.  Gordon smokes weed well but was a huge disappointment.  Kemp will appear later for his special teams skill but he clutched in his one opportunity.  Fountain and Dieter get roasted for not showing the coaching staff any sign that they were better options than these jokers.

TIGHT END

A – Joe Fortson

B – Travis Kelce

C – Blake Bell

D – Noah Gray

Commentary: Fortson has hands of steel and was a rising force until injury put him down.  Kelce balled all year but had too many key drops.  I will be the first to say that it looks like he has lost a step.  Bell did okay as a role player.  Not sure why Gray was not targeted more.  He was an afterthought and there were plenty of opportunities for him to rise up.

OFFENSIVE LINE

A – Joe Thuney, Creed Humphrey, Tre Smith, Andrew Wylie, Nick Allegretti

C – Orlando Brown

D – Mike Remmers

F – Lucas Niang, Kyle Long, Prince Tega Wanogho

Commentary: Thuney, Humphrey, and Smith are the best interior line in football.  Wylie gets props from me as he did reasonably well for being a back up playing as a starter.  The few times that Allegretti saw the field were impressive.  We did not lose any steam on the inside.  Brown needs to learn how to handle speed rushers as our third and long attempts this year generally had Patrick under pressure.  There were very high expectations for him – He could have qualified for a B but those expectations dropped him.  Niang was not ready – even trying to be generous as he was new on the field.  He got benched for Remmers and Wylie before his injury.  Remmers did not have much of an opportunity to prove himself but struggled before he got injured.  Long receives an F cause he never saw the field.  Wanogho gets an F cause I secretly dream that he harnesses his talent to take over one of the tackle positions.

DEFENSIVE LINE

A – Melvin Ingram

B – Tershawn Wharton

C – Chris Jones, Mike Danna, Jarran Reed

D – Derrick Nnadi, Frank Clark

F – Alex Okafor, Khalen Saunders, Joshua Kaindoh

Commentary: Ingram saved our pass rush this season and must be resigned.  Wharton seems to make a play whenever he gets in the game.  Jones under performed – even when double teamed.  Danna was solid but is not a game changer.  Reed played a lot better during the second half of the season.  I wonder if Nnadi played hurt most of the year – I rarely heard his name called.  Clark had two or three good games – not near enough for what he is paid and what we need from him.  Okafor needs to be cut as I am typing this sentence and Saunders appears to be all talk, no action.  Kaindoh looked like a project whenever he got on the field.

LINEBACKER

A – Nick Bolton

B – Willie Gay

C – Anthony Hitchens

D – Ben Niemann

F – Every other player in the organization who ever thought about playing linebacker.

Commentary: I was not excited about the Bolton pick but changed my mind.  He was probably the most reliable defender that we had all year.  Excited about Gay who looked good but wondering why he was not able to be on the field more.  We blame the coaches but does he share the blame?  Hitch did okay this season and drops to a C due to how much money we are paying him.  I am sure some of the first comments that I receive will be how dare I give Niemann anything but an F.  His play was crappy for most of the year but I give him kudos for beating out every other linebacker for this spot.  Those linebackers deserve an F and do not belong in the NFL.  How the hell can you not beat out Ben Niemann.

SAFETY

C – Tyrann Mathieu, Juan Thornhill

D – Dirty Dan

F – Armani Watts, Zayne Anderson

Commentary: Mathieu is on the down side of his career and had tackling issues but he still remains the best that we have here.  Thornhill was benched for Dirty Dan.  Put that on your NFL resume.  He did help secure the back end when in the game.  Dirty Dan probably had his worst year – part of it was due to him being played out of position – so I cut him a break and give him a D.  Watts receives an F due to his failure to be an option unless injury forces them to play him.  Anderson should be cut for his special teams blunders.

CORNERBACK

B – Charvarious Ward, L’Jarius Sneed, Rashad Fenton

C – DiCaprio Bootle

D – Mike Hughes, Deandre Baker, Chris Lammons

Commentary: Sneed ruled the first half and Ward the second half.  Nagging injuries drop them a notch.  Fenton is solid and you can notice the difference when one of these three are unable to go.  Lack of a consistent pass rush also impacted their play.  “Leonardo” DiCaprio Bootle gets a C for such a cool name and I am predicting that he looks pretty solid next year.  Hughes and Baker had moments but were the weak links here – might be able to justify a C but I am not feeling generous.  Lammons seems irrelevant.

SPECIAL TEAMS

A – James Winchester, Marcus Kemp and our coverage unit

B – Harrison Butker

C – Tommy Townsend

D – Our return unit

Commentary: Winchester is consistent on his snaps.  Butker drops to a B because of the extra points that he misses.  Townsend is not horrible but, when we are struggling, he tends to have bad punts more often than good punts.  Our coverage unit is excellent – Kemp is a beast but our return unit is lackluster.

COACHING

B – Andy Reid

C – Eric Bienemy

D – Steve Spagnuolo

F – Some of the position coaches??

Commentary: Andy never hit the panic button and his leadership got us thru some tough times.  Having said that, I believe that he needed to put more pressure on his coaches to fix some issues quicker.  EB is the one in charge of the game plan on offense and too many times we saw the same thing.  The biggest knock was how long it took to attack the two deep look.  I did see some changes as the season progressed so I give him a C – perhaps too generous of me.  Spags was hamstrung with injuries and serious lack of depth at some key positions but he is way too predictable.  His go to move is bringing pressure – which is good – and that did make a difference during the season.  Other than that, it sure does not seem that he makes adjustments during the game.  In the first Cincy game, how long did it take for him to realize that Chase needed to be double covered?  As for the position coaches – and they may not be responsible, I questioned the rotation that we had at receiver, running back, defensive line, linebacker, and safety.  I end with the following – Why the hell was DRob in the game in OT?