Five things to work on during the bye week for Kansas City

By Clayton Wendler  |   Friday, September 22, 2006  |  Comments( 1 )

Kansas City Chiefs
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An 0-2 start to the 2006 season has raised numerous questions for the Kansas City Chiefs.

Most fans were expecting better after a 10-6 campaign a year ago. Oddly enough, the team looks almost nothing like Dick Vermeil's 2005 squad. The defense has shown marked improvement while the offense seems to have completely regressed.

With that in mind, here are five things the team hopefully focused on fixing this week before they take on the San Francisco 49ers at Arrowhead Stadium next weekend.

1. Pass protection.

Kansas City's once-dominant offensive line has thus far has resembled a mere shadow of the force it was during the last four years. Kyle Turley has been a major step down from Willie Roaf at left tackle, and the right tackle spot has been manned by two different players in two weeks. Jordan Black gave up 4.5 sacks in Week 1 and Kevin Sampson made his first regular-season start in over a year in last week.

After a dismal first game against the Bengals, protection did improve a week ago against the Denver Broncos. The Chiefs kept multiple tight ends in to help their offensive tackles, however. If Kansas City wants to get its offense up and running again, they will need Turley and Sampson to hold their own in the coming weeks.

2. Damon Huard.

The 10-year veteran was suddenly thrust into the limelight a week against the Broncos after sitting on the bench for two years. The game in Denver was Huard's first start since the 2000 season. While he played well considering the circumstances, the Chiefs will need more than six points if they hope to win a game sometime in the future. The bye week will hopefully give Huard more time to get well-versed in the offense and develop chemistry with his receivers. And speaking of those guys...

3. Wide receiver production.

The Chiefs got 2,377 yards out of their wideouts in 2005. After two games in 2006, they're on pace to squeeze out a mere 1,208 yards. Eddie Kennison in particular needs to find his pace, as he has only three catches thus far. Samie Parker has seven catches, but only a total of 61 yards. He also had an awful debut in Week 1, dropping one pass that led to an interception and committing two offensive pass interference penalties.

4. Pass rush.

The Chiefs brought in head coach/defensive guru Herman Edwards and cornerbacks Ty Law and Lenny Walls to upgrade their secondary in the offseason. That means the pressure is on the front four to get it done. With only one sack through two games, there's plenty of room for improvement. The Chiefs spent a first-round pick on defensive end Tamba Hali who hasn't come close to a quarterback yet. But the real problem is the play of the defensive tackles. There's been little push up the middle, particularly from backup defensive tackles Lional Dalton and Ryan Sims. The Chiefs have been improved on defense, but they will need a better pass rush if they want to crawl out of the 0-2 hole they've made for themselves.

5. Play calling.

Offensive coordinator Mike Solari is in his first season up in the booth. Thus far, his offense has produced only 16 points and 34 first downs. The problems go deeper than statistics, too. In Week 1, the Chiefs ran on third-and-five in the red zone. After the game, Solari reportedly thought it was third-and-two. Last week, the Chiefs refused to take a single shot down the field, and even ran the ball with 41 seconds left in the game while trying to get into field goal position. There have been problems with the offensive line, and Trent Green's concussion isn't helping, but that just makes Solari's job all the more important.

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