Eagles At Chiefs Preseason - 3 Questions With Arrowhead Pride

by JasonB on Aug 27, 2010 12:09 PM EDT in Philadelphia Eagles News

The Philadelphia Eagles will play their third and typically most important preseason game tonight against the Kansas City Chiefs at the "newish" Arrowhead Stadium. This week, we exchanged questions with Arrowhead Pride to learn a little more about the Chiefs. My answers to his questions are over there.

At this point the Chiefs have had their coach, GM, & QB in place for a full year. They've had multiple top ten draft picks. They'll be unveiling a newly refurbished Arrowhead Stadium... The rebuilding process has to be coming an end right? Are you expecting a major step in the right direction for the Chiefs this year?

I'm not sure about a major step. Major, to me, would mean playoffs and I just don't see this team in the playoffs. The goal is to be competitive in December. I've been predicting seven wins and, after an 0-2 preseason, I'm going to optimistically stick with seven wins.

Selfish question... You were one of two teams that have actually seen Kevin Kolb start. What was your outsiders opinion of how he played last year against KC?

He torched us but, then again, who didn't against the Chiefs last year?

Overall, I didn't see much of a dropoff from Donovan McNabb to Kolb and, from an outsider's perspective, that's pretty huge. I just said to someone the other day, "Geez, how do the Eagles get two consecutive franchise quarterbacks in the draft?" The Chiefs haven't drafted a true franchise quarterback for over 40 years.

Of the Chiefs rookies this year, who has been a surprise so far and who might be considered a disappointment.

The biggest surprise for the Chiefs rookies is Dexter McCluster. He's lining up all over the place -- receiver, running back, wildcat, returner -- and doing it all well. He's very, very quick. Those small and quick players are fun to watch and McCluster hasn't disappointed.

The biggest disappointment among the rookies would be third round pick tight end Tony Moeaki. When he's played, he's been solid. Unfortunately, he didn't play in the first preseason game because of an injury and then he dressed for the second game but only appeared in one play. We're not sure what's up with him.

Thanks to Joel at Arrowhead Pride and be sure to check out my answers. Also be sure to read the comments where KC fans seem to think a "win" tonight would make up for their blowout loss to us last year... As if there is such thing as a "win" in games that don't count.

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Comments

Everyone get off the rooftops

About the Offence, Last year this time the starting offence hadn’t scored a TD and we were all ready to throw in the season. What happened the Eagles scored a record number in Points scored…. Its Preseason they aren’t game planning they aren’t going over film to find weaknesses in the coverage schemas for AR it’s just go out and practice the plays in a live game situation.

And just a bit of food for thought when was the last time Philly had a winning record in preseason?

Hey Dez, it's 2am do you know where your mother is?

by sowhatifitisasportste on Aug 27, 2010 12:20 PM EDT reply actions

That's a good question

I saw an interesting stat about the Colts recently. I can’t remember the specific numbers but it basically said the Colts have only won a couple of preseason games over the past few years.

Shows really how much the preseason matters…. not at all.

BTW… I love your signature.

by Smitty2K3 on Aug 27, 2010 1:11 PM EDT up reply actions

Last 2 preseasons the colts have only won one game

guess who they beat…

by FlyEagles15 on Aug 27, 2010 1:33 PM EDT up reply actions

I’m going to go out on a limb and guess the Eagles.

by Smitty2K3 on Aug 28, 2010 8:55 AM EDT up reply actions

"Geez, how do the Eagles get two consecutive franchise quarterbacks in the draft?" The Chiefs haven't drafted a true franchise quarterback for over 40 years.

It’s eazy once you have a QB you can draft the developmental guys in the later rounds and see how he comes along. When a coach spends a high draftpick on a QB his future is tied to that guy. Sink or swim that’s his guy. Look at Washington JC is an above avrige QB who was put in a bad spot luckly for him he goes to Oakland where they could start Stephin Hawking and it would have been an upgrade over Jamarcus.

Hey Dez, it's 2am do you know where your mother is?

by sowhatifitisasportste on Aug 27, 2010 12:28 PM EDT reply actions

I thought that was an interesting quote

which gives me two thoughts:
1) This might not be very good for the Eagles, because what’s the odds that Andy will draft and develop not one, but two franchise QBs?
2) Then again, he did it once, so he has that going for him. If once, why not twice? Maybe it’s a good thing, after all.

"It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog." - Bear Bryant

by NJBammer on Aug 27, 2010 1:17 PM EDT up reply actions

I dunno

two franchise QBs just seems like you’re overdoing it, especially with developmental players in later rounds. You make a franchise QB by giving him the opportunity to lead your franchise. Kolb really isn’t a franchise QB yet until he proves he is this season, and it would be hard to develop two at the same time splitting reps in the regular season.

In Kolb we trust...

by benjapal on Aug 27, 2010 1:40 PM EDT up reply actions

I still don't understand

why KC brought in Thomas Jones. I know the league is moving away from single RB workloads, but Jamaal Charles absolutely dominated after LJ was gone. Thomas Jones always seemed like a back who needed a lot of carries to be effective.

by Team Serbia on Aug 27, 2010 12:36 PM EDT reply actions

Yeah

I’m a little puzzled by that move as well. I’d like to hear from a KC fan on how much they think TJ will be involved in the offense this year.

Will it be a 50-50 or 60-40 split or will Jones only get a handful of carries at most?

by Smitty2K3 on Aug 27, 2010 1:13 PM EDT up reply actions

Yeah but if they run Charles into the ground over the next year or two, who knows what kind of shape he’ll be in when they’re competitive? Think how much fresher he’ll be having split carries this year if they make a run next season?

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by JasonB on Aug 27, 2010 1:24 PM EDT up reply actions

Thanks Jason.

"Reach for new elevation; and see just how high we can go. Full blown determination; will take us further than we know. My own anticipation; keeps the fire from burning out, It's time for domination... no one can ever take us down" - Pillar - "For the Love of the Game"

by Red N Gold Beast on Aug 27, 2010 1:29 PM EDT up reply actions

And that's exactly what it is.

Jamaal is the only sure fire star we have, and there were too many unknowns relating to his durability. Bringing in Thomas Jones goes beyond just having another RB to lighten Charles’ work load though. He brings a few things that the Chiefs have been lacking for a few years now:

Good locker room mentality
Veteran leadership
Great work ethic

I don’t think I’d want any other RB in there with Charles. TJ is a great mentor for the budding star, and what he accomplishes with KC this year may continue to be felt in the upcoming seasons if Jamaal takes TJ in as a role model.

One thing we did see from TJ last week against the Bucs was an ability to convert third downs. In 9 touches he converted 3 third downs… so he brings a nice short yardage attack to the Chiefs’ offense.

by Red N Gold Beast on Aug 27, 2010 1:36 PM EDT up reply actions

Age or mileage?

A couple weeks ago, I took a look at whether RB performance decline is more related to their age or to their number of carries.

I looked at every RB who had been in the top 5 in rushing yardage for a season in the last 25 years and whose careers had ended, and no matter how I sliced the numbers, I couldn’t convince myself that there was much correlation with career-accumulated-carries. The correlation with age is much stronger.

If that’s true, then there’s not much point in trying to lengthen Charles’ career by having him split carries now. Mentor, short yardage back, insurance policy…all of those might be good reasons, but I’m not convinced about just trying to keep the carry total down.

by Eric T. on Aug 27, 2010 2:43 PM EDT up reply actions

I can see that argument...

But then again Chiefs fans witnessed Larry Johnson take 400+ carries in one season and that was it for him. He was never the same back after that. And that was before he even hit 30…

On the other side of that coin we have Jones, who is turning 32 this year. He has quietly been one of the top 5 running backs over the last 4 or 5 years, and has taken around 300 carries each of those years.

Now obviously a lot of variables can go into this, including body type, motivation (screw you LJ), and training habits, but it seems like most backs just don’t make it past 30 and continue to be effective. On top of that running style can play a role. LJ was more of a bruising, between tackles runner that took a lot of hits. Jamaal runs with speed and elusiveness, which limits his contact.

It’s hard to say really. Not a lot of backs make it in the NFL past 30… only the really good ones tend to survive. I think it goes a lot further than age. I mean Jones still looks like he can be effective. Jerome Bettis played until he was like 35. Jamaal Lewis is still running hard.

Like I said I can see your argument for age over carries, because not a lot of backs continue to play after their 30th b-day… But the evidence against a RB’s production after taking a bunch of carries is pretty damning too:

Larry Johnson, 2006, 416 carries, 1700 yards… 2007: 158 carries, 560 yards
Jamal Anderson, 1998, 410 carries, 1800 yards… 1999: 16 carries, 60 yards
Here’s the entire list

With a large majority of those guys you tend to see rapid drop offs in production after they take a bunch of carries. There’s definitely a good argument for both age and mileage.

Besides, with the Chiefs it seems to be irrelevant… if Charles continues to maintain a career average of 5.7 ypc, then we’re going to have a 1500 yard back with only around 250 touches or so. I’d be okay with that.

by Red N Gold Beast on Aug 27, 2010 3:43 PM EDT up reply actions

400 Carries is a hell of a beating to place on a person’s body. Think about this when in LJ’s prime did you see him go down after first contact? So for argument’s sake 416 carries = 836 hits, that’s not you lowering your shoulder and banging into a door hit that’s 220+ LBs hitting you as hard as the fact that people are still walking at the age of 26 is a testament to how hard they work.

That being said as the body doesn’t heal at age 30 like it dose at age 24. So having 2 RBs age 30 alternating starts would work. So by doing what the Deadskins did gathering a group of proven guys to “Share the load” would make sense.

Hey Dez, it's 2am do you know where your mother is?

by sowhatifitisasportste on Aug 27, 2010 3:56 PM EDT up reply actions

Well…

I guess part of my response is that the overwork phenomenon that you’re citing is based on having one year with 400 carries, not a career of 300ish. But you could probably keep him under 400 carries without having to bring in a 1B back.

The other part of my response is that ever since I read this article, I’ve found even the single-season-overwork hypothesis a little iffy.

With all that being said…if you aren’t expecting to be competitive this year, there isn’t much downside to keeping the workload down a little.

by Eric T. on Aug 27, 2010 5:38 PM EDT up reply actions

I've gotta be honest with you guys...

This preseason game has me concerned.

The Chiefs are expecting our secondary to be a strong point, and Head Coach Todd Haley has said as much (He thinks the strong points of the Chiefs will be RBs and DBs)

Remembering what happened last year left a bad taste in my mouth. Our safety talent was seriously lacking, and all I seem to remember from that game was DeSean Jackson burning down the field for TDs… that and a seriously harassed Matt Cassel.

Obviously Eric Berry is a great upgrade in the Safety position, and 5th round pick FS Kendrick Lewis has been promising so far. Combining them with our rising CB stud Brandon Flowers and the average to slightly above average CB Brandon Carr has me hoping that the big plays will be removed. Like I said, this game will be a nice test to differentiate between what we think we have in the secondary, and what we really have.

Jackson will be a great test to show how much progress Flowers has made as the shut down CB we’re hoping for, and Maclin will definitely determine how much our defensive team speed has increased from last year.

Question for you… What’s up with LeSean McCoy? What kind of a weapon is he for you guys? Aside from Maclin and Jackson, (and possibly McCoy), what other Eagle players should I keep an eye on?

by Red N Gold Beast on Aug 27, 2010 1:54 PM EDT reply actions

I'll agree with my friend RGB here, at least to a degree ...

I don’t put much into preseason games, certainly not in terms of Wins and Losses, those in and of themselves are meaningless … what does count, and what one does want to see, is proper executuon of the basics, and progress/improvement from previous games/practices/years

last year there was no question the Chiefs were out gunned and outplayed at just about every position by just about every team, even if the majority of our fanbase refused to be realistic enough to see it that way from the beginning

this year I sense a lot more realism, yet at the same time honest hope that the team has turned a corner and, while not compete for a playoff spot, at least climb back to respectibility with an 8-8 record or close to it

offense overall and secondary along with return game should be improved this year, defensive front seven is still lacking, and it could well come back to bite us this year … I think we’re most excited about our newest “Offensive Weapon” Dexter McCluster … you’ll get a glimpse of him tonight, though he won’t REALLY be unleashed until our MNF opener vs San Diego (featuring a revamped Arrowhead Stadium that should be the Pride of the Enn Eff Ell) … Dex can scoot like nothing you’ve ever seen, but I doubt the gloves will be taken off much tonight beyond a few tosses in the flat and a couple of runs here and there

I’m still predicting a rather “vanilla” game tonight, although the teams might ratchet things up to qualify for Neopolitan (always loved the chocolate, but never did get too hyped up for the strawberry)

"I shall conquer untruth by truth" - Mahatma Gandhi
"It's always easier to sell 'em some shit than it is to give 'em the truth" - Shel Silverstein, The Perfect High
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by upamtn on Aug 27, 2010 2:21 PM EDT up reply actions

Brandon Graham…He was just moved up with the one’s and will be starting the game tonight. We are all looking at the push from his side and how it will hopefully comand some attention from either your RB or TE. If you hold either one of those players back just to block our ENDS then we will have the advantage in the secondary. If you choose to chip him or think that your starting tackle is going to stop him, then I think Cassel will have his hands full. Also, Ellis Hobbs has absolutely proven me wrong and has had a great camp. He is looking to prove that he is the answer to our CB questions.

Phillies in the World Series, Flyers in the Stanley Cup, now all we need is the Philadelphia Eagles in the Superbowl. Arlington, Texas 2011...

by STRAIGHTOYOURFACE on Aug 27, 2010 2:29 PM EDT up reply actions

I take it he's playing opposite of Cole?

If that’s the case, he might have a good night. Our RT hasn’t looked all that great in the last couple of games, but was masked last week due to the TE helping out. Obviously our main weapons are Charles and Dwayne Bowe… but keep an eye/ear out for our slot WR Dexter McCluster, #22. They’ve given him really limited work so far throughout the preseason and essentially yanked him from the game early after he took a screen 17 yards against the Bucs. Chiefs fans get the impression that the coaching staff is trying to keep a lid on him.

Anyways… point being is that if you guys are getting a good pass rush on us this will be a good test to see how some quick passes/outside runs can counter that. The Chiefs need to find a way to get defenders out of the box because that’s essentially all a team had to do to beat us last year. Hopefully a speed threat in the slot can mask some of the OL deficiency…

by Red N Gold Beast on Aug 27, 2010 2:48 PM EDT up reply actions