The Facts:
Heading into Week 8, the Kansas City Chiefs were expected to use the run game to exploit one of glaring weaknesses of their AFC West division rival Oakland Raiders defense. Instead, Chiefs quarterbacks Brady Quinn and Matt Cassel attempted 34 passes while Jamaal Charles, Peyton Hillis and Shaun Draughn combined for 11 total carries. What's more, Quinn and Cassel rushed for 53 yards, while the backfield trio totaled 34 yards on the ground. Oakland went on to defeat Kansas City 26-16 and the Chiefs fell to 1-6 on the year. When head coach Romeo Creenel was asked in his post-game presser why the team abandoned the run and more importantly why backfield star Charles received just five carries on the day, he said “I’m not exactly sure. We were rotating our backs in there. Hillis was back and he was able to get some carries. He was somewhat effective. When a guy’s effective, we kind of stay with him a little bit. Hillis was able to run through there and break some tackles and get some things done." All well and good except for one thing, Hillis had four carries to Charles' five.
Reported by the Kansas City Star
Fantasy Football Diehards Line:
While the Raiders defense may have stepped up its ability to defend the run, we are't giving the Chiefs a pass on this one. Coach Crennel better have a sit down with offensive coordinator Brian Daboll to find out why the team's best player wasn't an integral part of the game plan. Fantasy owners are reeling from the goose egg they got after starting Charles on Sunday in what most thought would be a juicy match up for him. In fact, the five carries Charles received was his lowest total all season—one fewer than the six he had in Week 2. Charles bounced back with 33 carries the next week, so at this point, we can only hope that the "brain trust" that is the Chiefs coaching staff will figure it out and fast. Kansas City takes on the floundering Chargers in San Diego on Thursday night. A banged up Trent Richardson gashed the Chargers for 122 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries in Week 8.
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