Chiefs Go College With Their Offense
From the Meadowlands in New Jersey
It’s there every Saturday of the college football season, especially in the Big 12 Conference.
It’s the spread offense, with the quarterback in the shotgun, multiple receivers spread all over the field and little concern for some of the most tried and true offensive pillars of the game.
It’s the Missouri-Kansas-Texas-Texas Tech-Oklahoma State-Oklahoma offensive mentality. Throw, throw, throw. OK run this play, but come back and throw, throw, throw.
Nobody in the NFL does this on a regular basis and don’t expect the Chiefs to start coming out and playing games with this scheme. But for one Sunday, the Chiefs offense could have fit right in with the Big 12 guys. Herm Edwards and Chan Gailey put their team into their version of the spread offense.
Tyler Thigpen took the snaps in the shotgun. He had receivers flanked generally two on each side, with a running back beside him. The Chiefs added the no huddle twist as well. Now, this wasn’t a full-scale jump to the spread. Generally, two of those four receivers were tight ends in Tony Gonzalez and rookie Brad Cottam.
But it was this scheme that finally got the Chiefs offense on track. With Thigpen throwing accurately and with generally good pass protection while in the gun, the Chiefs started generating some offense and some touchdowns.
“It was a change of pace, switch it up a little bit,” said quarterback Tyler Thigpen. “It’s what I ran in college (at Coastal Carolina.) It’s more comfortable. We will probably throw in a few more plays this week. We had a select few plays this week for that. I imagine we will broaden that out.”Â
The Chiefs went to the spread and no huddle in the second quarter, after their first TD on a pass from Thigpen to Gonzalez. The next time they got the ball back, the offense went to the shotgun and later in the possession began running without a huddle.
For the most part it was one back on the field; either Kolby Smith or Jamaal Charles, until Charles left the game with an ankle injury. There were two tight ends with Gonzalez and Cottam and a pair of wide receivers as Dwayne Bowe, Mark Bradley, Devard Darling and Will Franklin all rotated through.
It led to a nice day for Bowe, who caught six passes for 102 yards. Gonzalez and Cottam combined for 10 catches at the tight end position for 113 yards.
After they made the switch, the Chiefs ran the ball only 16 times and four of those running plays belonged to Thigpen.
Don’t imagine that the Chiefs are going to become one of those run and gun college offenses. And, that certainly is not going to happen with Edwards as the head coach. But don’t be surprised if the Chiefs start using the spread and no huddle more often.
“He’s real comfortable in it,” Edwards said of Tyler. “Some quarterbacks aren’t. They don’t like that pace, but Tyler has always handled the two-minute offense pretty well and that’s essentially what we are doing.”
It’s interesting however, that the Chiefs did it Sunday with a pair of tight ends. That Gonzalez would stay in the game was no surprise given his career. But Cottam saw the most playing time of his young career and ended up catching four passes for 34 yards.
Wide receiver Mark Bradley also got his most extensive playing time, with five catches for 42 yards including an 11-yard touchdown catch.
“It’s always fun as an offensive unit when you are moving the ball and staying on the field,” said Bradley. “Guys are motivating each other; your quarterback is motivating everybody in the huddle. Now, we just have to put it together and bring us wins.”
re: “Nobody in the NFL does this on a regular basis and don’t expect the Chiefs to start coming out and playing games with this scheme.”
I don’t get it. If what the team has been using in the past has resulted in abysmal failure and this latest offensive strategy put up the numbers it did against the JETS, why in hell wouldn’t the spread/no-huddle be the centerpiece of the Chief’s new strategy?
Especially when all of a sudden we discover a guy like Thigpen who thrives in this scheme? Whatever happened to the notion that you go with what works and discard that which doesn’t?
Someone needs to talk me off the ledge on this one.
You won’t get any help from me Rich. I agree with you 100%. I say, run this offense until it doesn’t work anymore. Maybe this game was a fluke, but I want to see a lot more of this spread-inspired offense.
A mark of great coach is one who will put his team in the best position to win and not let his pride/ego get in the way. Edwards hasn’t been able to do this very well yet but maybe yesterday is the day that changes Edwards’ philosophy on offense. Marty changed his ways in San Diego, but then again, Marty was/is a great coach.
give credit to chan for doing this. Tebow would look awesome in it….but so did thigpen
Colby says: Marty changed his ways in San Diego, but then again, Marty was/is a great coach.
Sorry, I disagree. He had some great years as a coach but he wasn’t a great coach. He never took the Chiefs to a superbowl. How was he great.
If we continue with the spread like offense then i would really like to draft high for a QB to fit it. Equal new dynamic offense!
The spread may end up being productive against the AFC West (esp. SD and Denver), but it’s not likely to work against next week’s opponent.
Why not give it a try? What if it does work? Maybe Thigpen is the real deal, maybe not. Coaches are supposed to put the players in the best position to win not players punched into the coaches old concepts of how to play.
I do not believe we are headed for the super bowl yet so how about some fun football till next year.
Fun football? You know what NFL stands for, don’t you?
Hank Stram ran the full house backfield in 1968 vs Oakland due to WR injuries: Chiefs won 24-10.
Marv Levy went to the Wing T offense in 1978 due to a desire to run (pun intended) down the clock and keep a porous defense off the field.
Whatever works, work it.
I’m just sayin’: the Bucs ain’t the Jets.
I don’t think KC is in a position to try to change for an opponent. I think they have to go with whatever has shown some success and what the current QB is comfortable with. Ditto with “whatever works”.
For the discussion about Marty…while I don’t think he was a “great” coach by history’s definition, he is/was a very good one. Look at the Chiefs and the Chargers since he left. Vermeil brought fun back to KC, but his teams were never what you would consider “solid”. We always had to outscore the other team. The Chargers are now “soft” and have gone down since Norv Turner took over. Marty always built a great foundation and had teams that had the “tough” mindset. We lack that, and have since he left. He didn’t have the offensive instincts to get to the next level, but always built solid teams. I don’t mention his stint with the Redskins because he had an owner that just kept trying to buy a championship with whatever free agent was the hot name. Tough to build anything.
I think that they should put it in their arsenal of plays especially for a guy like Thigpen he really looked confident and comfortable in this scheme the recievers and tightends all contributed in catching balls.Now with Culpepper it might work because he is not very mobile. I just want Herm to come into the throw first and run second not saying throw on first down all the time but keep those safeties and corners and linebackers back open up some lanes for your running game . I really liked the gameplan offensively sunday but some you guys are right it will work on some defenses and not work on others but it was so great to see less three and outs.
“Nobody in the NFL does this on a regular basis and don’t expect the Chiefs to start coming out and playing games with this scheme.”Â
Really? Pretty sure New England ran the spread more often than not last year. Alot of teams get in the spread, the Jets did it right back to us. I don’t think every drive but Eli also ran the spread. It can really cause a problem for blitzes because you can immediatley check to a quick pass if they overload blitz you. So if your guys can block you’ll have protection. I loved the spread.
Finally, the Chiefs coaching staff “Coached” to their players strengths and not the opposite.
If DJ plays better just roaming the field, let him roam the field. It Thigpen throws better from the shotgun, put him back there. The job of the coach is to put his players in a position to play the best they can. This week we are not going to be able to run against Tampa (regardless of having Larry or not) so we better come up with something that will help us move the ball.
Also, after this week, I think we need to add Pat Thomas to the list with McIntosh of players who I don’t care to see play another down in a Chiefs uniform. He is far too slow and routinely out of position.
Gotta use that offense sparingly, The Jets D figured it out on one play (when they blitzed their Corners off the edges) but didn’t seem to realize how effective doing this was, but also Thigpen has now seen a full on corner blitz on tape.
It’s just another tool to add to a the box.
Why you wouldn’t play an offensive system that your young QB is comfortable in, is beyond dumb. Then again, with Herm as our Coach, that’s a moot question.
You have to be impressed Thigpen survived to play in back to back games. Maybe we are over the Brodie/Huard QB experiment, wonder why the coaching staff were so in love with those two?
Good points/counter-points by all on this thread and Colby, thanks for the affirmations.
Hey Bob! A little off the beaten track on this subject but with mid-season rapidly approaching I think all of us would love to see and read the first Bob Gretz Memorial Evaluation of the Chief’s Current Rookie Class, 8 games into the season. We would.
Hear that cheering in the background? Tell us who’s exceeded expectations, met them, disappointed them, and those who you feel the proverbial jury is still out. AND, tell us in your infinite wisdom, how you project out this rook class over the next couple of years, as we all know that is the true indicator.
I know. Heavy dime to drop on the Gretz person, but a task I know you’re up to doing and providing the rest of us with keen insights. For me, I’d be MOST interested in your comments on Glenn Dorsey and Brian Johnston who are at opposite ends of the spectrum but compellingly interesting, nonetheless.
Give it some thought, Bob? Thanks.