The commentator said this during the Chiefs game, and we have all noticed as much over the past few seasons. Its exciting that we have so many come from behind victories and such. BUT... It seems like our offense really does nothing UNTIL the 4th quarter, when we need to gain yardage fast and Palmer finally opens us up. SO... Are we too conservative. Would it hurt to look downfield every now and then if its another situation, like early in the 4th quarter? Lets just say that when the Texans game was finished I flipped to Indianapolis and Green Bay, and its a very different game.
They do tend to play it safe way too often. I do wish we would go for a deep pass more often. We have 5 come from behind wins in the 4th quarter.
I couldn't agree more. We are not using Andre Johnson to his fullest extent. I often ask myself why Culpepper and Moss will throw one bomb every single drive, while we only give Andre maybe 2 or 3 chances a game to make a big play. I really think our offensive play calling is way too conservative. I could watch a game and tell you every single time when they're going to give DD the ball, rather than throw it to Gafney or AJ. Untill they open up the playbook some more, David Carr will continue to get critisized for his mediocre play.
They'll open up the playbook more when they get better blocking up front. A lot of the reason why we just can't "air it out" every play, is because Carr needs time to set and plant to make those throws. As it is, he couldn't get off a pass that wasn't rushed yesterday till the second half... and, once the blocking got better, they started going downfield more. Its pretty simple... you block (or you play a team with a weak pass rush), and you'll see them pick these teams apart with the pass.
Didn't the Texans LOSE a whole bunch of games in the 4th quarter last year? I was surprised that we got the label. Do we really score a lot more points than the opposition in the 4th quarter relative to other quarters?
Randy Cross was the guy who said it. He was completely wrong. The Texans have never been a 4th quarter team. Sure they've won some exciting games at the end but they've also blown quite a few too. The 2nd half is usually when the offense does absolutely nothing; with exception to the last 2 weeks.
We definitely were not a 4th quarter team against San Diego. Yes, we have won some games in the 4th quarter, but we've also lost a lot of close ones also. I think the reason we've been good at coming from behind is because we don't open the playbook until we're behind. When we're ahead, we're as conservative as can be.
I think they were referring to the fact that when the Texans do win, its normally because they end up out-executing the other team in the 4th quarter. We've yet to really blow a team out wire-to-wire.
According to the ever-so insightful Jason Whitlock of the KC Star, we're the "worst team in the league." Wait, who's 0-3 again? Posted on Mon, Sep. 27, 2004 Vermeil's mistakes troubling JASON WHITLOCK Turns out Larry Johnson isn't the only member of the Chiefs who needs to outgrow diapers. For the second consecutive Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium, Johnson's old, tired and frustrated head coach wet his pants along the Kansas City sideline and flushed away a season that began with legitimate Super Bowl aspirations. Dick Vermeil, facing fourth and 2 at the Houston 6 late in the first half, eschewed common sense, turned down an easy field-goal attempt and sent running back Priest Holmes running wide right. The Texans stopped Holmes about a half-yard short of the first-down marker. “I made up my mind (to go for it) before the game even started,” explained Vermeil, who admitted being haunted by two conservative fourth-and-1 decisions last week when playing the Carolina Panthers. Vermeil doubled his trouble moments later when he called a timeout after the Texans picked up a first down on their ensuing possession. The foolish Kansas City timeout saved the Texans valuable seconds on their 10-play, 64-yard field-goal drive that sliced KC's lead to one point just before halftime. “It was a bad decision on my part,” Vermeil said of the timeout. “I'd made my mind up that I was going to call a timeout if they ran the ball on second down.” Houston running back Jonathan Wells ran for 13 yards, which was 8 more than he needed for a first down. In a game that eventually swung Houston's direction 24-21, Vermeil's coaching gaffe arguably decided the outcome, overshadowed a horrible officiating performance and calls into question Vermeil's future and his level of happiness in Kansas City. The Chiefs are 0-3 and headed for a “Monday Night Football” clash with the Baltimore Ravens, a team with an awesome defense and even better running game. If Vermeil's Chiefs can't figure out a way to beat Houston, quite possibly the worst team in the league, it's difficult to imagine KC having much success against Ray and Jamal Lewis. Houston quarterback David Carr tried to hand this game to the Chiefs. He threw wildly. He panicked in the pocket. He wasted timeouts. Carr's coach, Dom Capers, had so little confidence in his QB that he drained the clock and settled for a game-winning 49-yard field goal rather than risk Carr making a mistake. The Chiefs still couldn't get it done. Yes, bad officiating hurt the Chiefs. But Vermeil's mistakes hurt more. Take away Vermeil's Hall of Fame resume, and this season he looks like the second coming of Marty Mornhinweg, the former Lions coach who once chose to kick off in overtime. Vermeil's coaching staff can't manage the clock or game situations. “I don't think so. No,” responded Chiefs president Carl Peterson when I asked him whether his coaching staff struggles with game management. “I really don't think so. If I did, I'd let you know. Would you like to do some other things? I'm sure you're talking about the second timeout in the first half. Yeah, the first timeout was certainly the right thing to do. The second one, you'd like to take it back because it gave them a few more seconds and they got the 50-yard field goal.” Peterson won't go much further than that when it comes to criticizing his football mentor. Vermeil will have to do the rest. “The very first person he critiques would be himself,” Chiefs quarterback Trent Green said of Vermeil. “That's the way he is, and that's the way he wants us to be as players.” Peterson said: “(Vermeil) is brutally honest. He's honest with himself, with other people. He's never going to hide from a tough decision.” Vermeil can't hide from the fact that two weeks in a row he's had to acknowledge making a mistake that hurt his football team. Last week against the Panthers, he should have been aggressive and gone for it on fourth and short. This week against the Texans, he should have kicked the field goal. You can't make game-management decisions before kickoff. There's a huge difference between fourth and 1 and trying a 47-yard field goal (Carolina game) and fourth and 2 and trying a 23-yard field goal (Houston game). Vermeil blew it. He made things worse by calling a dumb timeout. If the Chiefs don't recover from Vermeil's horrendous mistakes — and it's highly unlikely they'll be able to — Vermeil will be haunted throughout the off-season. “Sure, it hurts,” Vermeil told me outside an Arrowhead Stadium elevator. “It really does. But I've been in it long enough — I understand that was my 200th game — I've made some great decisions over the years and I've made some that have backfired. … In the bigger picture, there were a lot of other things that were little things that could've made a difference in whether we win or lose.” Vermeil will have an easier time moving past those little mistakes than the big ones he made. To reach Jason Whitlock, columnist for The Star, call (816) 234-4869 or send e-mail to jwhitlock@kcstar.com
