The Scoring Drought of 2007
For the first time in years last season there was a drought in Missouri. It was uncomfortable. It was annoying. It was hazardous to our health. It was a massive scoring drought that went up and down Interstate 70 and effect people in St. Louis and Kansas City.
Yes football fans last year was the scoring drought that left two football teams without much hope. Kansas City Chiefs fans suffered under Herman Edwards, when they had previously thrived under Dick Vermeil. St. Louis fans used to Rams tickets to the “greatest show on turf” suffered as the scoring machine finally had a breakdown.
St. Louis sports fans at least had the St. Louis Cardinals to look forward to in the spring. Kansas City sports fans got to wait until another the team, the Royals could not score. The Rams are simply hoping they can keep the same pieces regroup and return to their show stopping ways.
The Kansas City Chiefs have taken a different approach, rebuilding. Fans at Arrowhead will not necessarily see a futile attempt at an NFL season though. The offensive line has been revamped, leaving only Pro Bowl guard Brian Waters back from last season. The rest of the unit is either untested (center Rudy Niswanger) or rookies (Branden Albert). Either way the line could not possibly be as bad as last season..
Last season the Chiefs allowed 55 sacks. That is 3.4 a game, 3.4 times the quarterback went down with countless other times the quarterback had to avoid pressure and make errant throws that went for incompletions or interceptions. Last year’s Chiefs tickets saw Damon Huard and Brodie Croyle struggle in futility to get the ball moving.
This season should not be so bad. Croyle is a young quarterback, specifically in his third year, and was drafted due to some kind of potential. Having more than three seconds to drop back and read the defense will do wonders for his development. He should also get more time because Larry Johnson is back from an injury plagued season.
Larry Johnson will receive a lot of attention after two previous seasons with over 1,700 yards. Croyle should be in charge of a much improved offense with perennial Pro Bowl tight end Tony Gonzalez and emerging receiving threat Dwayne Bowe. It would be nice if Croyle had a third option other than Johnson, but getting a whole new line was a mighty gift in itself.
The Chiefs will not reach the Super Bowl this season, but they will also not be as dreadful to watch this year. They may even be able to battle the Raiders or the Broncos for second or third place in the AFC West.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
-
KC Chiefs Football on Facebook
-
