Kansas City Chiefs

Kansas City Chiefs: Wasting Offensive Firepower

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

foxsports

The Kansas City Chiefs offense has been a major disappointment thus far in 2016. There really isn’t any other spin that you can put on it. Yes, there have been issues with the defense and special teams at times too, but overall it has been the offense that has been the biggest liability through the first four games. Of the sixteen quarters that the Chiefs have played this season they only played well on offense in one of them. That ratio is not going to cut it for any team, let alone one with major playoff aspirations. Usually when you see this kind of pitiful offensive production in the NFL it is because the team lacks true talent and playmakers on offense. While you could have made that argument in past seasons in Kansas City, I do not believe that to be true now. KC’s offensive futility is not about a shortage of offensive weapons, but the inability to utilize them.

Before we even get to what is causing this lack of offensive production, let’s make sure everyone understands just how awful the offensive production has been. If you take away the fourth quarter against the Chargers and the defensive and special teams touchdowns against the Jets you are left with just 46 points scored by the offense in 15 quarters of play. That is an absolutely pathetic 3.07 points per quarter by the offense. It doesn’t take a math wiz to figure out that over an entire game that only gives you about 12 points. An offense that has Jeremy Maclin, Travis Kelce, Chris Conley, Tyreek Hill, Spencer Ware, and now Jamaal Charles should be putting up significantly more than that.

In 2015 the Kansas City Chiefs did put up significantly more points than that. Over the course of the season last year KC put up 25.3 points per game. That was good for 9th best in the NFL. That included defensive and special teams touchdowns, but as a whole the offensive was more productive last season than it has been in 2016. Even when you factor in the non-offensive touchdowns and the fourth quarter and overtime against the Chargers the Chiefs are still only averaging 20.8 points per game. That’s still significantly lower than last season (and it certainly doesn’t feel like KC is averaging 20 points per game based on how they’ve played in 15 of their 16 quarters).

The Chiefs have lost ZERO offensive weapons from last season. ZERO. They have the same starting quarterback in Alex Smith and the same offensive play caller in Andy Reid. Yes, they lost Jeff Allen who was a solid starting guard last year, but they gained one of the best right tackles in the league in Mitchell Schwartz. Not only is their not any justification for a drop off from a roster perspective, there is actually pretty valid reasoning for the offense to be more productive. Last season Chris Conley was a non factor in the offense for most of the season. He finished the season with just 17 receptions. This year Conley looks like a physically gifted starting NFL receiver and already has 15 receptions in just four games. Then there is the addition of Tyreek Hill. Last season DeAnthony Thomas only had 26 offensive touches with mediocre results. Hill seems to be playing a similar role in 2016 but already has 14 touches through four games and has looked even more explosive than DAT ever did.

So if the Chiefs have returned all the key pieces from last year’s offense and have actually upgraded play at wide receiver with Conley and Hill why are things going so poorly?

The blame has to largely be placed on the duo of Alex Smith and Andy Reid. What percentage of the blame lies on the KC quarterback and what percentage is on the man that is calling the plays is hard to say. If you listen to some it is mostly on Smith while others will defend Smith and place the blame largely on the often baffling play calling by the Chiefs head coach. I believe that both deserve a decent portion of that blame and don’t think it’s worth the time and effort to try and determine the exact percentages.

Alex Smith, in a season where we all hoped he would be the best he’s been under Andy Reid, has actually been worse than last season. His yards per attempt is down a full yard per attempt from last season. So he’s completing shorter passes than he was last season and despite the shorter passes his completion percentage is actually down as well. Alex Smith has not played well enough. Period. It’s the same issues we’ve seen with him since he came to Kansas City. He gets jumpy in the pocket. He dumps off too much and doesn’t test defenses deep enough. His play has been sub par and if Kansas City wants to improve on offense and have a shot to make the playoffs he has got to be better.

The gray area between blaming Alex Smith or Andy Reid for all the short passes is the question of where the ball is supposed to go on those plays. Did Reid design the play to go down the field but Smith bailed on the primary routes to check down short or is the play designed to go short in the first place? We all know that Reid has certainly called up LOTS and LOTS of screen passes, but even if you really break down the “All 22” film on the non-screen passes the best you can do is guess at who the primary and secondary targets were when Reid called the play.

Here is what we do know. We know the length of the average completion in the Reid/Smith offense is down. In the first three years together in Kansas City the Chiefs averaged 10.9 yards per completion. In 2016, that number is down to 9.8 yards per completion. That number ranks 31st in the NFL as I am writing this. You can blame Smith for checking down or you can blame Reid for the play call and design, but regardless of who is to blame the Chiefs HAVE to get that number up if this offense is going to succeed.

There is one area where we can definitely take issue with Reid and his play calling and that is the running game. The past three years the Chiefs have consistently had one of the better running games in the NFL. Even last season when Jamaal Charles was out most of the year the Chiefs maintained a productive running game. Over the first three years under Andy Reid the Chiefs have averaged 27 carries per game and 125.4 yards rushing per game. In 2016, the Chiefs are only averaging 20.8 carries per game and 90.2 yards rushing per game. Let me take a moment to acknowledge that I understand that teams won’t rush the ball as often when they are losing. That having been said, the Chiefs aren’t trying to establish the run. Andy Reid has reverted back to his pre-Kansas City days where everyone said he didn’t run the ball enough and that “screen passes are his running game”.

The efficiency of the KC running game is down a little. They are averaging 4.3 yards per attempt as opposed to 4.6 yards per carry during the first three years of Andy Reid’s tenure. That having been said, 4.3 yards per carry is still a respectable enough number to get the job done in the running game. Now that Jamaal Charles is back there is no excuse not to take some of the pressure off the struggling passing game by committing to the run. A winning formula for the Chiefs would be getting at least 25-30 combined carries a game for Jamaal Charles and Spencer Ware.

Instead, Alex Smith is currently on pace to DEMOLISH his personal record for pass attempts in a season. Last year Smith set his current record of 470 pass attempts. Currently Smith is on pace for 672 pass attempts. That is beyond absurd, especially considering that Smith’s productivity is down from last season. For comparison, that number would be two more attempts than Drew Brees’ career high and only seven shy of Peyton Manning’s career high for attempts in a season. The fact that Alex Smith is on pace to shatter his career high in attempts per season and challenge the career highs of some of the most prolific passers in NFL history and the Chiefs STILL aren’t taking advantage of the talent they have on offense is mind boggling. That simply CAN NOT continue if the Chiefs want to win football games.

The Chiefs have two very good running backs. They have a true number one wide receiver in Jeremy Maclin. They have a Pro Bowl tight end in Travis Kelce. They have two promising young dynamic talents in Chris Conley and Tyreek Hill that give Kansas City more options for defenses to have to account for than any other Chiefs team in recent memory. All they need is for Alex Smith and Andy Reid to produce in the passing game like they have in their previous seasons together in Kansas City and recommit to running the football. Right now the Chiefs are wasting WAY too much talent on offense. Their production has been almost nonexistent and that is inexcusable. If the Chiefs want a shot at making the playoffs its up to Reid and Smith to get this turned around. Here’s to hoping that happens when KC comes off their bye week this coming Sunday against the Raiders.

So what do you think Addicts? Do you agree that the Chiefs have all the weapons they need to be successful on offense? Do you agree that if Smith and Reid can simply get the passing game to where it was last season and recommit to the run it would give them enough production on offense to compete for the playoffs? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

As always, thanks for reading and GO CHIEFS!!!!!!!!