The Chiefs played a horrible game on the offensive side of the ball for the second time this season and it came back to haunt them yet again. But there is one statistic to look at to help improve the offense as a whole.
It’s time to cut the crap.
The Chiefs’ loss on Sunday can be boiled down to a few, key statistical discrepancies that exemplify systemic issues within the Chiefs organization. As you read this, choices are being made to limit the success of this football team. Not because of corruption or incompetence, but because of stubbornness and the need to validate previous decisions. In the spirit of the opening line, let’s talk about why Isiah Pacheco needs to be taking most of Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Jerick McKinnon’s reps.
Yards Before Contact & Yards After Contact
IP is averaging 2.2 yards/attempt before contact, while Clyde is averaging 1.9. This might not seem like a major difference, but in the NFL every yard counts. 2.2 y/a before contact is what guys like Dalvin Cook, Christian McCaffrey, and Ezekiel Elliott averaged during their All-Pro seasons. Not only is IP averaging all pro numbers before contact, but he’s averaging 2.6 yards/attempt AFTER CONTACT! That’s double the yards Dalvin Cook (1.4), Jonathan Taylor (1.4), and Alvin Kamara (1.1) are averaging this year!!! And don’t tell me that’s because they are facing stacked boxes and IP isn’t. IP has faced as many or more stacked boxes per attempt as these guys as well.
Yards Per Attempt
Finally, Clyde is averaging 4.3 yards per attempt, while Pacheco is averaging 4.8! Again, that’s as much or more than guys like Dalvin Cook, Jonathan Taylor, and Miles Sanders. Granted, this is off of a small sample size but given more reps, IP will become an even more effective runner than he already is.
Conclusion
With all of this statical evidence, why aren’t changes being made to the rep counts of our RB room? Simple. Clyde was a first-round pick that Andy and Mahomes endorsed, and Isiah Pacheco is a 7th round pick out of Rutgers that nobody noticed. The fact that Clyde has been nothing but a disappointment thus far as a 1st round pick seems to have gone over everyone’s heads in the Chiefs coaching department.
It’s understandable that AR-15 (the new nickname for the Andy Reid-Patrick Mahomes tandem that I’m debuting right now) feel comfortable with the vets they have on the roster, but sometimes players need to be thrown into the fire in order to bring the best out of them. So what if IP misses a few blocking assignments early or runs a wrong route now and again? His upside more than makes up for his lack of experience. Hopefully, the Chiefs coaching staff will come to see it our way soon. If not, we could be looking at a missing aspect of this offense until they do.
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