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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2006
Chiefs coach defends choice to reserve all his timeouts
BY DOUG TUCKER ASSOCIATED PRESS
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Herm Edwards, Kansas City's first-year coach, has drawn fire from some fans and broadcasters for not using at least one of his three time-outs while Cleveland was driving late in the fourth quarter Sunday for the game-tying touchdown.
Why not stop the clock to give more seconds to get downfield and maybe kick a game-winning field goal if the Browns do get the game tied?
But Edwards kept his time-outs in his pocket, and the Chiefs had less than a minute to work with after Cleveland scored the tying
touchdown in a game the Browns eventually won 31-28 in overtime
It's a strategy. Edwards pointed out, that worked beautifully in a 17-13 victory over Oakland on Nov. 19.
The Raiders drove inside the 10 in the final seconds, but safety jarrad Page intercepted Oakland's pass in the end zone to preserve the victory.
Similarly in a 30-27 victory Oct. 22 against San Diego, Lawrence Tynes kicked a game-winner with 6 seconds left after the Chiefs used time-outs while driving down the field to put him in position.
"Different situations dictate maybe you use (time-out). I thought we managed it well."
Edwards said. "I wasn't raising the white flag, thinking they were going to score a touchdown. I thought we were going to stop them. I'm not going to start calling time-outs under 2 minutes, and our defense looks at me and says, 'What are you doing?'
The loss left the Chiefs (7-5) in a five-way tie for the two AFC wild-card spots, and also with a sour taste in their mouth. It was also another late-season failure on the road, something that has haunted Kansas City for six years.
"It's certain players," Edwards said. "I guess they just don't play as well on the road as they do at home, and they've got to find a way to do that."
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Kansas finished the season 6-6 and didn't qualify for a bowl game. The team had a solid rushing offense but needs to improve on passing defense.
Editor's note: As the fall semester comes to a close, The Kansan's football writer, Ryan Schneider, takes a look back at this year's team and offers grades in several categories.
RUSHING OFFENSE:
》FOOTBALL
Despite growth, program needs to take big step
BY RYAN SCHNEIDER
This was by far the most successful and effective unit for the team this season. Running back Jon Cornish set the program's single-season rushing record with 1,457 yards. While Cornish deserves a lot of the credit for the unit's success, the offensive line also deserves recognition. An anytime a team can average 176 rushing yards a game, they'll have a good chance to win. Fullback Brandon McAnderson and running back Jake Sharp had good seasons as well.
Grade - A
PASSING OFFENSE:
It's tough to fairly grade this unit because it's unlikely that quarterback Kerry Meier was healthy at the end of the season. Meier played as expected — good at times and poorly at others. It's hard to expect more than that out of a freshman. He certainly didn't get a lot of help because his receivers dropped a number of passes, especially early in the season. There could be an interesting battle in the spring between Meier and Todd Reesing as both continue to improve.
RUSHING DEFENSE:
Grade — C
For the second-straight season,
this was the defense's best unit. It only allowed one 100-yard rusher in 12 games, something most teams can't say. Despite losing a majority
of the linebackers and defensive line from last year's team, this group filled the gaps well. Most of this group will return next season and should continue to be the base of the defense.
Grade — B
It's hard not to fail a unit that finished the season dead last in passing defense out of 119 Division I A teams. This defensive failure was about more than the secondary, though a lack of a consistent pass rush didn't help. The pass defense improved throughout the season, but that progress was overshadowed by an ugly performance against Missouri. With Ajq Talib and Anthony Webb gaining experience throughout the season, this unit should be greatly improved next season.
Grade — F
SPECIAL TEAMS:
The return game wasn't anything great, but it usually set up the offense with good field position. The kicking game, though, was another story. Punter Kyle Tucker came into the season as one of the nation's top pointers. Instead, Tucker didn't make the big 12' Top 10 pointers list, averaging just 38 yards a punt. Kicker Scott Webb started the season slowly, but became more dependable as the year went along.
Grade-C
It's tough to win games when your best player doesn't touch the ball with the game on the line. Mark Mangino's refusal to give the ball to running back Jon Cornish cost the team at least two victories — Toledo and Baylor. Kansas should have won eight games, but instead finished with a 6-6 record and no bowl game. Sure this program has made great strides in five seasons under Mangino, but it's time to take the next big step forward.
COACHING:
Grade — D
Edited by Jacky Carter
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