Hey, at least the Royals won, right? Look, I never expected to win this game. I saw this game on the schedule and marked it as a probable loss. The frustrating part is - they could have and should have won this game. Unfortunately, our old nemesis, Jim Harbaugh out coached the Kool Aid man today. I know "it was hot" - get me a waaaamulance. That should have been to the advantage of the team wearing white shirts, who spent training camp in Missouri's heat and humidity, over the guys in the dark shirts who live in the Bay area, where you have to wear sweaters in August.
But did I mention the Royals won?
Offensive: One of Reid's greatest attributes is his loyalty to his players, but it is often also his undoing. Today was the latter. In trying to get everyone involved in the offense, he refuses to run with what's working. And he can't seem to go more than one week without abandoning the running game. He has what Phil Simms called the best running back combo in the NFL - Charles and Davis - and yet they only got the rock 17 times between them. In the first half, the Chiefs offense dominated the time of possession, ran over the vaunted 49er D with a near-perfect mix of pass and run. And then Reid completely abandoned it. By the game's end the Niners owned the clock and the scoreboard. Amid all the hype about Alex Smith vs Colin Kaepernick, the real glaring difference between these teams is in their respective ability to catch the ball (or not). Brandon Lloyd (of Blue Springs, MO) made the catch that defines that difference. With Sean Smith practically wearing his jersey, he made a circus catch around Smith's arm, and fought him all the way to the ground, coming up with a huge first down. By contrast, in similar situations, Dwayne Bowe had balls bounce off his stone hands. Our receivers only really have two issues they need to work through. They can't get separation and they can't catch. Other than that, they're great. The INT that ended the game was so horribly reminiscent of another former 49er QB we picked up - Elvis Grbac. It was badly overthrown, but in that situation, he shouldn't have even been targeting Fasano. Kelce is your hot TE. And Bowe and Jenkins are along the sidelines, where they can get out of bounds and maybe steal another play before the 2:00 warning. Yes, the Chiefs were victimized by really poor "homer" officiating. The ball placement was horrid all day, and never in KC's favor. But in the end, it was coaching and execution. The Chiefs stepped on their own tail, and lost a winnable game.
Defense: The bad - Mauga and James Michael are NOT Mays and DJ. And they badly miss DeVito. SF gashed them between the tackles all day long. Mauga's game-leading tackling was mostly from behind. Between Gore and Hyde, plus the feet of Kaepernick, they put up 171 yards rushing. Just smash-mouth football. Former Niner, Marcus Cooper was the victim of a hard shove from Stevie Johnson that completely threw him off his coverage, resulting in SF's only TD. The Good: The rush was not always there, but it showed up late. On one drive, Kap was sacked on three consecutive plays. On one play, Poe just threw the right guard into the stands and blew up the pocket, flushing Kap into the waiting arms of Allen Bailey. Overall the coverage wasn't bad. However, as noted above, SF has big, physical guys who can actually catch a football. Still in all, the D kept holding them to long field goals. Unfortunately, their kicker can make long field goals.
Special Bus: This was the worst special teams performance in the Reid era, and one of the worst I've seen out of the Chiefs since the 1995 season's playoff loss to Jim Harbaugh and the Colts. About the only good was the return of Mamba - DeAnthony Thomas. He was electrifying in his first NFL touch - a 28 yard punt return. He is going to be a special player if he can stay on the field. Even the best punter in the NFL had a terrible day, mostly caused by a touchback that should have never happened. Phillip Gaines was in perfect position to down the punt inside the 5, possibly even the 1, when the back judge threw one of the best special teams blocks you'll ever see. What the hell was he doing there? I know he's supposed to watch down the goal line for the touchback, but can't he do that from a step into the endzone, rather than standing in the field of play, in the way of the coverage unit? The Duke of Doink didn't miss any field goals. So there's that. But his kickoffs remain short and returnable. The specials were punked on a fake punt where they looked completely lost. The D had forced a fourth quarter stop and a 54 yard FG attempt, only to have 12 men on the field - a foul that gave SF a first down. The perfect metaphor for this day came on the final FG by SF, when Chris Owens and Phillip Gaines ran into each other, and knocked each other out of the game.
Throw him a Bone: I have to give it to The Mamba - DeAnthony Thomas. A 28 yard punt return and a really good looking catch out of the backfield with a tight-rope walk down the sideline for a touchdown. I'm looking forward to a lot more Mamba this year.
Doggity Dog: No choice but the Kool Aid Man, Andy Reid. Poor game plan. Poor game management. On this day, the Royals played near flawless ball, while the Chiefs got Yosted.
Next up - I guarantee they won't lose - They have a BYE - then the following week, they hit the road back west to play the red-hot Phyllis Rivers, Antonio Gates, and the division-leading Bolts in yet another late game.
Tailgating Recipe:
Caribbean Shrimp Kabobs
Ingredients:
1 pound large raw shrimp (>20 count), peeled and deveined
1 cup pineapple juice
2 Tbsp lime juice
2 Tbsp Hot Sauce (I use a Caribbean habanero-based sauce)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup bell pepper - cut into squares
1/2 cup sweet onions - cut into squares
1/2 cup pineapple chunks
2 Tbsp good Olive Oil
1 tsp Jerk seasoning.
4-6 skewers
Directions:
Mix pineapple juice, lime juice, salt and hot sauce together and pour into a gallon size zipper bag along with the shrimp. Marinate shrimp in the mixture for about 20 to 30 minutes.
Place shrimp, veggies and pineapple on skewers, alternating pieces. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with jerk spice. Grill (or pan sear) about 4 minutes per side, until shrimp are opaque.
Serve as an appetizer or over rice as a main dish.
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