Chiefs pinning hopes on patchwork O-line
It’s not as though the Kansas City Chiefs’ last standing offensive linemen are embracing one of the many crazy lyrics in the rolling Stones’ 1978 fauxpunk hit Shattered.
As in, “Look at me! I’m in tatters. What does it matter?”
That’s an exaggeration of the indefatigable attitude expressed this week not only by this vital position group — as injury and absence ravaged as it is — but by their coaches, too.
because to live in this town, as it were, you must be tough, tough, tough. Mentally as well as physically. And versatile. Perhaps the most important factor as to which team wins Super bowl LV on Sunday — pitting the defending-champion Chiefs against the Tampa bay buccaneers — is how well K.C.’S patchwork front-five fares against one of the NFL’S most talented defensive fronts, which happens to be playing its best ball of the season.
Kickoff is at 6:30 p.m. EST (CTV via CBS).
“We know we’re going to have to play very well,” Chiefs head coach Andy reid said.
Given that three of K.C.’S best O-line starters who helped the team beat the San Francisco 49ers in Super bowl LIV a year ago this week aren’t even dressing this Sunday, there’s more than a little cause for concern.
Former NFL head coach Steve Mariucci, now an NFL Network analyst, expressed it like this on Wednesday:
“This is what’s making me nervous, I’m just tellin’ ya right now. If you look at strengths, they’re everywhere on both these teams. but if you look for weakness, there’s a glaring concern in my mind if I were a (Kansas City) fan or coach. It’s the offensive line for the Chiefs.”
That unit’s degradation in talent began in late July, when starting right guard Laurent duvernay-tardif of Montreal became the first NFL player to opt out of the 2020 season over understandable COVID-19 concerns. He has a medical degree and has been helping out at a Montreal-area nursing home off and on since last year.
Then right tackle Mitchell Schwartz (a 2018 all-pro) was lost for the season in October with a back injury.
Star left tackle eric Fisher, who earned his second Pro bowl selection this season, suffered an Achilles injury just two Sundays ago, late in Kansas City’s victory over buffalo in the AFC Championship Game.
That’s three huge holes. Fisher and Schwartz are both “very, very good,” Mariucci said — especially Fisher, the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2013.
“He might not be Orlando Pace or Anthony Munoz (both Hall of Famers) but this guy is really a good left tackle, as steady as they come,” Mariucci said.
Mike remmers — a New york Giant in 2019 — began this season as K.C.’S insurance backup at tackle. What a policy. He began starting at right tackle when Schwartz was lost, and switched over to left tackle to replace Fisher late in the bills game. remmers is expected to start at LT against the bucs.
His relocation means guard Andrew Wylie, who missed last year’s Super bowl with a high ankle sprain — and who and has been the starting right guard this season — now bumps over to right tackle.
Stefan Wisniewski, who filled in for Wylie at left guard late in 2019, similarly now is expected to come off the bench to take Wylie’s vacated right-guard spot.
Nick Allegretti, a seldom-used backup in 2019, has started at left guard since the Schwartz injury dominoes started falling.
Centre Austin reiter is the only constant throughout the Chiefs’ current streak of 25 wins in 26 games when Mahomes starts, going back to mid November 2019.
So yeah, it’s a patchwork O-line now for the Chiefs.
Advantage, Tampa bay. right?
yes, but with this asterisk, according to bucs defensive line coach Kacy rogers.
“Actually, it’s harder for us in preparation, because they have guys in different positions,” rogers said. “They work extremely well together as a group, regardless of who’s in there.”
Veteran Tampa bay defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh echoed that.
“It’s kind of a disadvantage from our perspective, as a defensive line going against an offensive line that’s been mix and match. Some of these guys have not played together at some of their positions for a long period of time.
“but I think throughout the league there’s always been a mix and match, especially later in the season due to injuries. We play in a sport that has pretty much a 100 per cent rate of injury and things happen. So we have to adjust and adapt, as they do.”
Fact is, the Chiefs are built to juggle such forward wall parts on the fly. reid and offensive line coach Andy Heck this week underscored as much.
“you always have seasons where, hey, it’s next man up, you’ve got to move a guy here to there,” Heck said. “So in that regard, this is not unusual ... There are only a certain number of blocks you’ve got to make, whether you’re reaching a guy right or left (on a zone-stretch run play), or, in pass-pro, a guy who is head up inside or outside.”
What the Chiefs do, at reid’s and Heck’s insistence, is move guards and tackles around occasionally in practices, starting in training camp.
“(They’re) throwing guys into different scenarios, different situations, playing different positions throughout the week,” remmers said, “just in case (if a starter is knocked out) we’d be ready for it, and we’d be able to go out and do our job — and trust the guy next to you.”
Heck and remmers both suggested there’s no panic or undue worry leading up to Sunday. It’s a wise, veteran front, Heck said.
“Playing different positions and rotating different guys in and out, that’s just something that we have done throughout the year,” the coach explained. “(They) have seen just about everything that you can throw at them. They can draw from past experiences, even if they’re playing next to a guy they didn’t play next to the previous week. There’s still a continuity there, from training camp on through the season.”
Summed up reid: “Listen, we’re not the prettiest bunch on that offensive line. but I’ve got scrappy guys, and they’ll figure out how to do it well.”