Green Bay vs. KC Review: Coaches

From a coaching standpoint, there’s rarely much you can take away from the fourth preseason contest. The biggest strategic move of Thursday night’s game actually came well before kickoff, when Todd Haley decided to keep his starters in for most of the first quarter.

For a team that’s still trying to gel together, it’s easy to see why the head coach would want to get them some extra work. And even though it came against a Packers squad that sat some of their key starters, both of the Chiefs’ starting units were able to finish the game on high notes – the offense scoring a touchdown, and the defense holding Green Bay without a first down.

Still, Haley’s decision wasn’t without its risks. Had a key player like Jamaal Charles or Dwayne Bowe suffered an injury in their extended action, the second-guessing would have been monumental.

Romeo Crennel has defense primed for big season.
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Offensively, Charlie Weis had the starting group finally try to go deep – on one play, anyway. We’ll take progress wherever we can get it. Aside from a few consecutive wildcat plays with Dexter McCluster in the second half, it didn’t seem like the playbook was cracked open too wide.

Romeo Crennel kept things interesting on defense, bringing multiple looks, particularly in the red zone, in an effort to keep the Packers’ young quarterbacks from getting too comfortable. The defense only allowed a single touchdown and managed to hold on multiple fourth down plays, so it’s safe to say Crennel accomplished his goal.

Ultimately, the coaching story of the game was the fact that Haley earned the first preseason win of his brief tenure in Kansas City. Everyone knows that the outcomes of preseason games are meaningless, but even so, it’s probably nice to have that monkey off his back.

Now its on to the San Diego Chargers and Monday Night showdown on September 13th.