Week 2 - Chiefs 17 at Donkeys 24

No where to go but up! Last week it was Achilles' tendons. This week it was ankles.  At this rate, expect two starters to go down with shin splints next week.

Once again the Chiefs lost two starting players in a game. In this case two pro-bowlers, and arguably the most important man on the roster, yesterday to ankle injuries. This comes on the "heels" of last week's loss for the season of Mike DeVito and leading tackler, Derrick Johnson to Achilles' injuries. Hopefully Jamaal Charles and Eric Berry are not as serious, but it's not good, either way. KC has pass-rusher extraordinaire, Tamba Hali and starting cornerback Marcus Cooper both slowed by bad ankles. There are, of course injuries at higher elevations, as well. Starting kick return specialist, De'Anthony Thomas has a bad hamstring, offensive guard, Jeff Allen has a dislocated elbow and inside linebacker, Joe Mays has a wrist injury keeping him off the field. As for the guy missing action for reasons the furthest off the ground, starting right tackle, Donald Stephenson's bone-headed doping wins for "highest" reason. The training room must look like a M*A*S*H unit.

Offense: The common refrain coming out of yesterday's game is, "There are no moral victories in the NFL." And that's true. However, I never expected to even be in this game - and if you'd told me we would lose Charles and Berry, I would have set the DVR to Gilligan's Island reruns. And yet they were in this game, right up to the final seconds. Knile Davis stepped up in the absence of Jamaal, and performed well. Where you noticed the difference was in blocking and receiving. But as for running the ball, he did a very good job. The run blocking looks like it's improving, but pass protection is still an issue. Of course that is exacerbated by receivers who can't get separation, causing the QB to spend too much time in the pocket. Thankfully we have a mobile QB, but it would be nice if he didn't have to be the leading rusher. Speaking of Alex Smith, I think he may have played one of his best games as a Chief yesterday, in that futile effort. He made plays where there were none. He finally got the tight ends involved. Kelce had a great day. He made smart decisions, generally good throws and he showed a lot of guts. He forced Denver's defense into three offsides, and he did exactly what you need to do in Denver. He owned the time of possession, keeping Peyton Elway safely on the bench. The drive to start the third quarter was exactly what they needed to do - burn ten minutes off the clock - the longest duration of any drive by the Chiefs in 16 years. And then the wheels came off. Two penalties - one for holding by the rookie guard, on a long run that swung 29 yards difference. Then Alex, running for his life, crossed the line of scrimmage on a pass that would have been a first and goal. Instead it was 5 yards backward and loss of down. Then they brought out that kicker... more on that later... The bottom line again was they moved the ball well, but stalled in the red zone. You just can't do that.

Defense: After losing the "QB" of the defensive last week with DJ's season-ending injury, that role fell to fellow pro-bower, Eric Berry, who also went out in the first half, and did not return. Peyton Manning is almost impossible to sack because of his quick release and the way his receivers run pick plays. Yes. I said it. They run pick plays. They have cute names for them, and they disguise them, and they never get caught by the refs, but they cheat. They run illegal picks several plays per game. I will give credit to Bob Sutton for having the D-backs somewhat ready for it. They did a pretty good job of avoiding the picks, but Denver will get its yards on these plays, and for a couple of drives they ran them effectively. Hali managed a sack that was mostly due to the corners beating the picks. The middle linebackers were frequently gashed by the Broncos running game, however. I'm beginning to wonder if the front office won't be forced to go pick up some warm bodies off the scrap heap, just to suit up enough guys.

Special Teams: Have I mentioned that we had the best Colquitt on the field yesterday? The guy is rock-solid at dropping the ball inside the 10. It's a good thing too, because we need a better Colquitt than Denver does. However, I still don't get the coaching decision to punt on 4th & 1 at midfield. That is a head-scratcher. And then there's that other kicking guy. The Duke of Doink. He took all of the momentum built by a 10 minute, clock chewing drive, and barfed it up with missed 37 yard field goal. Then the Chiefs stopped Denver and forced a punt. After a 90-yard, 7:42 drive, the Chiefs scored a TD, and it suddenly looked like we might have us a football game, here. Only to have The Duke squib kick a line drive kickoff that never even made it to the endzone. There is simply no excuse in that thin air to ever have a kickoff returned. But they did get a huge return, all the way back into Chiefs territory. You give Manning less than half a field, at home, protecting a narrow lead, and he will come away with points. Only three this time, but at least their new kicker actually puts his kicks between the uprights.

I usually don't mention officiating in this report. Losers blame refs. But man those guys were bloody awful yesterday. Oh - and the worst groundskeeping crew in the NFL. The field was atrocious. My daughter played youth soccer on better fields. The Chiefs should sue the Donkey field crew for the injuries to Berry and Charles.


Awards:
Throw Him A Bone: Alex Smith showed the heart, the head and the guts that earned him the big bucks. One of his best performances as a Chief.

Doggity Dog: The Duke of Doink, Cairo Santos. The worst kicker in the history of kickers. (We don't even think about the kicker who shall remain nameless. He is dead to us.)

Next up: Chiefs at Fish from Unnamed Corporate Sponsor Field in Miami, FL. Head's up, despite this being an Eastern time-zone game, it will be the late game of a double-header next week, so it will start at 3:25 CT, again.

Tailgating Recipe:
Grilled corn and black bean salsa:

Ingredients:
4 cups chopped tomatoes
1 ear roasted sweet corn
1 15oz can unseasoned black beans, rinsed
1/4 cup chopped bell pepper
1/2 cup green onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 chopped roasted hot Hatch chili pepper (or other hot pepper, more or less to taste)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro (optional)
2 tablespoons Olive Tree Jalapeno-lime white balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Olive Tree Sea Salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions:
Mix all ingredients. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.

Your Faithful Scribe,
Mr Doggity