I've been a Chiefs fan for 17 years and today I dropped my head in shame. Eric Berry started strong and full of mite but after the half it's like someone popped their parade balloon. Matt Cassell's passes were terrible and the actions of the defensive end were terrible... I can't believe one of the biggest games and they brought no game.... I realize they have come milestones however a loss is a loss and we won't gain anything from losing!!!
Postgame Comments - Players
Posted 24 minutes ago
G RYAN LILJA
On the adversity of today’s game: “We dealt with adversity pretty well. We didn’t do it today, unfortunately, when it counted.”
Read more: http://trainathought.insidefootball.com/2011/01/the-official-review-baltimore-kansas-city-wild-card-game.html#ixzz1AaQ9Lqrb
On the adversity of today’s game: “We dealt with adversity pretty well. We didn’t do it today, unfortunately, when it counted.”
What was the difference in today’s game? “To be honest with you, I couldn’t pinpoint one thing. This is a tough pill to swallow right now. We didn’t play well offensively, we turned the ball over. We don’t do those things. We didn’t convert on third down or fourth down. We didn’t stay on the field – our defense fought hard. We had to get out there and we had to stay out there and we didn’t do it. Unfortunately we didn’t convert when we needed to.”
Scheme-wise, did they do anything different in that third quarter? “No, no they didn’t. They didn’t really do anything that we hadn’t planned for. We just didn’t execute unfortunately and made some mistakes and just got beat.”
You grew up watching this team. What does this season mean to you: “I don’t know. It’s disappointing to end like this. We had high hopes for this team, win the division and get in the playoffs. We didn’t finish the season like I think we all had hoped for, planned for and we put a lot of effort in all season long, all off-season and didn’t finish like we wanted to.”
WR DEXTER MCCLUSTER
The offense didn’t seem like it was able to sustain drives: “It’s very disappointing. We wanted to go out there and execute, do the little things right. We weren’t on the field a lot but we need to capitalize when we do have the ball, make touchdowns or field goals or what it had to be. The defense, they played a tough game. They were out there pretty much the whole game and they stood strong.”
The offense didn’t seem like it was able to sustain drives: “It’s very disappointing. We wanted to go out there and execute, do the little things right. We weren’t on the field a lot but we need to capitalize when we do have the ball, make touchdowns or field goals or what it had to be. The defense, they played a tough game. They were out there pretty much the whole game and they stood strong.”
Was the Baltimore defense all it was cracked up to be?“They’re very experienced. They’ve been in the league for awhile, they’ve played together, so this is not new for them. They played good, can’t take anything away from them. I think we still had some opportunities to expose them.”
You guys came through so much; no one expected you to win the division. How hard is it to end it like this? “It’s very hard to end like this but you can’t let this overshadow how far the Kansas City Chiefs have come. It was a great season. We achieved one of our goals, winning the AFC West. It was a disappointing loss today but we just have to keep our heads up and just come back stronger than ever and remember this feeling.”
What did Coach Haley say to you after the game? “He just told us to keep our heads up, don’t let this game overshadow what we’ve put in all year. Come back strong, remember how this felt and use this as motivation in the offseason.”
You were only down three points at halftime. In the third quarter, penalties, sacks, turnovers seemed to really hurt you: “Penalties, sacks and turnovers, they’re a recipe for disaster. They lose games. We have to be more consistent on doing the little things right – hanging on the ball, reading your keys and just protecting the quarterback. They played a great game overall.”
LB DERRICK JOHNSON
On defending Baltimore: “They capitalized off of our mistakes. When they needed to make a play they made a play on third down. As a defense, we have to get off of the field. It is a tough loss to swallow. We have to learn from it. It is hard to keep your head up but we will. We pride ourselves on being tough but I couldn’t find an example of that today.”
On defending Baltimore: “They capitalized off of our mistakes. When they needed to make a play they made a play on third down. As a defense, we have to get off of the field. It is a tough loss to swallow. We have to learn from it. It is hard to keep your head up but we will. We pride ourselves on being tough but I couldn’t find an example of that today.”
Did you do all you could defensively today? “No, I can’t say that. When ever the defense is out on the field, regardless of any kind of turnover, the defense has to come up with a play. If you want to be a great team, you have to demand that of your defense. We didn’t get the job done.”
Can you explain why TE Todd Heap was so effective? “They had a good game plan. He made some tough catches. There were a couple of times where we had him covered and he made a tough catch. He is a feisty veteran that helps his team win.”
On the performance of QB Joe Flacco: “He did a good job of staying in the pocket and avoiding some sacks. It was hard to get him down today. His feet helped him stay on the field.”
What does it feel like to get to the playoffs and end the season like this? “It’s hard because you never know when you are going to get this chance again. I don’t think we took advantage of our opportunity today. We will learn from it. We will start the offseason on the right foot. We did a good job but we are a young team this year. My hat is off to my teammates. We showed toughness this whole year. Nobody thought we would get this far. That is not an excuse for loosing today. Looking back to recap the year, I think we did some special things.”
S JON MCGRAW
On the game: “Some things just didn’t go our way and we couldn’t recover. At the end of the day we made some mistakes and we can’t do that against good teams like Baltimore.”
On the game: “Some things just didn’t go our way and we couldn’t recover. At the end of the day we made some mistakes and we can’t do that against good teams like Baltimore.”
What makes TE Todd Heap so good? “Everything. He is a big body, he has speed and quickness. He is a savvy route runner and they do a good job of scheming to get him in space.”
On using multiple defenders to cover Heap: “We were trying different defenses to find what would work. We knew after the first few series we had to get out of the zones. We were having some problems underneath with backs getting open. We tried to get some man coverages to tighten it up but that creates some tough one-on-one situations and Todd did a great job of getting open today.”
DE SHAUN SMITH
On the game: “We let the game get out of control. We played a good first half but didn’t finish. My hat goes off to them. They wanted it more than us and executed better. That’s a good team we played. They have been here before and we are still a young team, still trying to develop. It is going to be hard to get back to where we are now and win ten games next year. Hopefully I come back, they bring me back.”
On the game: “We let the game get out of control. We played a good first half but didn’t finish. My hat goes off to them. They wanted it more than us and executed better. That’s a good team we played. They have been here before and we are still a young team, still trying to develop. It is going to be hard to get back to where we are now and win ten games next year. Hopefully I come back, they bring me back.”
What did Baltimore do that surprised you or they did better than you thought they would do? “It’s a good football team over there. We sucked on third down and we didn’t play a complete game. Offense, defense and special teams, if you don’t play a complete game you can’t win the big games. We got a taste of it, hopefully a lot guys keep that hunger in them and understand that in the postseason it is a different season.”
Why was third down so difficult today? “I can’t pin-point it. They made plays. They get paid to make plays just like we get paid to make plays. They just made more than we did. My hat goes off to them. We tried to contain the run. We did a good job of that. We still have to wrap up and make the tackles. When we had the opportunities to stop them we should have taken advantage of them. Hey, that’s how it goes sometimes.”
The Official Review: Baltimore - Kansas City Wild Card Game
Amidst the excitement of Saturday's play-off games, one of the things that I believe that has been forgotten is the excellent job done by the two officiating crews who worked the games. Given that these were two of the highest ranked crews over the season (with some adjustments), I did not see a single call (on TV) that I felt should have gone the other way.
Walt Coleman's crew called a higher number of fouls than one typically sees in a play-off game but they all appeared to be justified and they kept control of a game that could have gotten ugly at times. Gene Steratore's crew allowed the players to play but made excellent calls throughout the day especially on some downfield plays where some were calling for either OPI or DPI but in reality, a "no-call" was the way to go.
I also thought that Steratore's explanation of the catch, fumble, and recovery was right on the money and an excellent explanation as well.
Hopefully I haven't jinxed the crews working today's games but they have two tough acts to follow.
Hopefully I haven't jinxed the crews working today's games but they have two tough acts to follow.
* * *
BALTIMORE at KANSAS CITY: The rules say that a passer in the pocket under duress can not throw a pass into an area where there is no eligible receiver. That is exactly what Cassel did as his pass was 20 yards further downfield than any KC receiver. As a result, the Intentional grounding call was the correct call.
No hold was called on Michael Oher because he kept his hands inside the frame of his body and did not reach or pull the defensive player down. In most instances, including this one, holding will not be called in such a situation.
There is no way that anyone watching the game on TV could tell whether the low hit on Flacco that drew a Personal Foul call from Mike Carey was a good call or not. Unfortunately CBS missed the play. This was not the only play that they missed all day.
The helmet hit against Flacco was not called as he was a runner at the time. However, I would not be surprised if it draws a fine from the league office during the week.
The overturn of the fumble call against KC was a classic “Tuck Rule” situation. That call is probably the hardest call that a Referee has to make in real time especially with bodies flying all around. However, Mike Carey got it right on the replay challenge. And yes, I know, someone hit Cassel in the head but I felt it was a glancing blow and with the attention on the ball and arm movement, I was not surprised that nothing was called.
Last but not least, I thought Carey waited at least two plays too long before warning both coaches about the rough play after the play was over in the 4th quarter. I felt that he and his crew could have taken charge earlier and thrown at least one flag or offsetting flags. There was too much going on to not warrant the officials from stepping in and stopping the garbage.
Read more: http://trainathought.insidefootball.com/2011/01/the-official-review-baltimore-kansas-city-wild-card-game.html#ixzz1AaQ9Lqrb
After Saturday’s wild wildcard playoff games, Sunday’s game so far are looking a little more tame. In the Ravens vs. Chiefs AFC playoff, the Kansas City Chiefs went into the half ahead by 4 points thanks to a touchdown by Jamaal Charles on a 41-yard run. The Baltimore Ravens have a field goal on the scoreboard and neither team is making it easy on each other to add points, which is exactly how I like my playoff games!
Baltimore elected to receive after the coin toss, and turned that drive into their current three points with a field goal. Kansas City was unable to gain any yardage on their first possession of the ball, but after punting to Baltimore managed to recover a fumble at the Baltimore 46-yard line which they then converted to a touchdown. That was the first quarter.
The second quarter has been a picture of frustration for both teams. The Chiefs fumbled a ball which Baltimore recovered but was not able to convert to points. Baltimore is playing a passing game and the Chiefs a rushing game. I expect in the locker room at halftime, something is going to be changed on both sides.
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