Chiefs vs. Panthers: Blogger Q&A

Welcome to this weeks installment of Blogger Q&A. I sent five questions over to Chiefs blogger Primetime 07 at Arrowhead Pride who has provided some insightful answers. Primetime is very objective and doesn't pull any punches, even when he's talking about his own team, something we have in common. You can check out my answers to his questions and those of his Chiefs community at this fanpost.

 Question 1. The Chiefs pulled quite the upset against the Broncos last week. What did the Chiefs do differently that was the key to the victory?

AP: There were two major factors that played into the Chiefs victory last week against the Broncos.

First, we found the LJ of old.  His second run went for 65 yards and immediately put us in scoring position.  We don't have the offense for a shoot out but if we can run the ball then this is a good team.  Our offensive line, obviously, is in shambles but appears to be heading in the right direction.  2008 will have more struggles than successes but we finally put it all together against the Broncos.

Second, we created turnovers.  Two interceptions and two fumble recoveries.  Our young corners are progressing quite nicely and one of them, Brandon Carr, provided an interception while the other, Brandon Flowers, recovered a fumble.  As Chiefs fans we're in the midst of determining whether our defense is a let down or getting bagged because our offense can't stay on the field.  I lean to the latter with last week's game as an example - we rushed the ball and established a solid time of possession and our defense played very well.

Steve Smith and Moose should provide quite a test for the young CB's. If the Panthers are unable to run the ball due to the o-line problems Jake will have to throw the ball and avoid the dreaded turnovers as well.

Question 2. QB Damon Huard wasn't the starter coming out of the preseason but he has had to step in now that Brodie Croyle is injured. Why was Huard originally demoted and has he improved his play since?

AP: Damon Huard was demoted simply because he's 35 years old and we needed to determine if the young guy, Brodie Croyle, was the future or not.  Thus far, we're quickly figuring out Croyle is not that guy so brought Huard back in.

But we didn't do that without giving another young guy, Tyler Thigpen, a shot.  He turned out to be a train wreck.  All logical Chiefs fans understand Huard isn't the future but the argument to keep him in there resides in his ability to "not screw it up" and assist in the development of the rest of the offense.

Let's see if the Panther pass rush (Peppers perhaps?) can rattle Huard a little given the Chiefs o-line is banged up.

Question 3. RB Larry Johnson finally got untracked against the Broncos but he may find the going tougher this week against the Panthers, who've held LT, Forte, Petersen and Turner under 100 yards. What will the Chiefs do to try and get Johnson loose?

AP: Well, I don't have a very good answer for you.  LJ is going to struggle this week.  He thrives on pounding it out and wearing down the opponent.  I just don't see that happening against a staunch Panthers run D.  If 12 out of the last 13 games are any indication, LJ won't get going thus the entire Chiefs offense will struggle.  Running the ball is still a concern but we believe we're headed in the right direction.

Implementing speedy Jamaal Charles in more screens is something the fans have been calling for which could create opportunities in the open field. 

Screen plays have worked at times against the Panthers. The key point remains, shut down Johnson and the Chiefs offense will be in trouble.

Question  4. Most pundits agreed that the Chiefs had the best draft class this past April. Who's been the biggest surprise and disappointment of that class so far? I'm a GT alum so I'm curoius to get your thoughts on rookie FB Mike Cox as well.

AP: The biggest surprise is Brandon Carr, no doubt.  A 5th round draft pick out of Grand Valley State, he stepped it up big last week and didn't let Brandon Marshall get out of control.  Currently, he's holding down Patrick Surtain's spot whose injured but there's talk of Carr keeping the job.  We really, really like him and expect he and Flowers to team up for the foreseeable future.

The biggest disappointment is a little more difficult considering we're a mere quarter into the season.  But I'd have to say it's between DaJuan Morgan and Will Franklin.  Morgan, a 3rd round pick, hasn't disappointed on the field necessarily because we already have two good safeties ahead of him.  We spent a 3rd rounder on a guy that doesn't seem to be playing anytime soon.  Will Franklin is a local guy so we were all jazzed about him.  However, he's been injured and has seen very little action.  It's not necessarily a knock on him, but he went to Mizzou so we were all jazzed to see him play right away.

Mike Cox is excellent (That's what she said).  A lot of the UDFAs are picked up based on their knowledge of the offense.  And Cox, coming from current Chiefs OC Chan Gailey's system at GT, knew it well,  He's been very solid for us and we're excited to have him.

Nice 'Cox' joke, I set you up nicely for that one.

Question  5. Let's talk game planning. What do the Panthers need to do on both sides of the ball to beat the Chiefs this Sunday? What's your final game score prediction?

AP: The Panthers need to shut down the run which shouldn't be very difficult.  Damon Huard won't win this game through the air.  He's a complementary player in that, like last week, he is a capable player when the rest of the offense is clicking.

Our secondary is becoming pretty good so your best shot at beating us while on offense is to run the ball.  Check out the stats of our putrid game against the Raiders to see what I mean.

The Panther game plan against the Vikings was to shut down the run and force 'old man' Gus Frerotte to beat us with his arm...and he did. I pray the Panthers don't overlook the Chiefs or we may see a repeat. If their defense creates some turnovers they could generate enough offense to pull off two upsets in a row. Primetime didn't give a score prediction but here's mine from the post I put on his site:

Panthers 31 Chiefs 17