Chiefs get more yards from punter than offense
By Tully Corcoran
The Capital-Journal
The 449 yards were impressive.
They would have been more so if they had been, you know, offensive yards. But thanks to a lack thereof, any questions about second-year punter Dustin Colquitt's leg were emphatically answered.
The former third-round pick boomed punts on every Chiefs possession of the first half in Kansas City's 17-0 loss to the New York Giants in the Meadowlands, N.J. Four of the five went for 50-plus yards, and the one that didn't, a 39-yarder, settled inside the 20-yard line.
Colquitt punted nine times for 449 yards, a mark that quadrupled the Chiefs offensive yardage (111).
Perhaps Colquitt, not Larry Johnson, is set for a 2,000 yard season.
After a 24-14 loss to the Houston Texans last Saturday in which the Chiefs gained just 172 yards, punting numbers weren't what the Chiefs wanted to see.
"They got three drives on us and they were all long drives - nine plays, 10 plays and nine plays," Chiefs coach Herm Edwards said. "They got 14 points on us. You can't play like that on the road. You've got to make first downs offensively."
More ugly numbers: Opponents have outgained the Chiefs 634-283 in two games.
One more: It took the Chiefs three quarters to penetrate the Giants 40-yard-line.
The Giants had no difficulty with the Chiefs No. 1 defense, driving for touchdowns in two of their first three possessions. New York starting quarterback Eli Manning sat mostly unmolested in the pocket, carving the Kansas City secondary for 80 yards and a touchdown on 11-of-14 accuracy.
Tiki Barber, who famously gashed the Chiefs for 220 yards in the Chiefs crippling Week 15 loss to the Giants last season, had five carries for 22 yards. Backup Brandon Jacobs rushed for 40 yards and a touchdown on nine carries.
After the Chiefs opened the game with a 55-yard Colquitt punt, New York drove 60 yards in nine plays and went up 7-0 on a Manning touchdown strike to Amani Toomer.
A holding call on center Casey Wiegmann and false start by guard Chris Bober stalled the Chiefs second and final drive with the No. 1 offense.
Penalties killed the Giants second drive as well, though they responded with an eight-play, 52-yard touchdown drive with 9:31 left in the first half.
Rob Johnson, who hadn't played since 2003, replaced Manning and the Giants offense slowed.
As expected, backup quarterback Damon Huard, recently recovered from a foot injury, was the No. 2 quarterback behind Trent Green (4-for-6, 32 yards). Huard worked one futile series, going 2-for-4 with a fumble.
No. 3 was Casey Printers who, though improved over his two-turnover performance against the Texans, could not lead the offense far enough to smell the end zone.
A 13-play, 65-yard drive that spanned 6:42 put New York up 17-0.
Jeff Smoker, whom the Chiefs signed last week, went 2-for-4 for 15 yards.
GIANTS 17, CHIEFS 0
Kansas City 0 0 0 0 -- 0
N.Y. Giants 7 7 3 0 -- 17
First Quarter
NY--Toomer 5 pass from Manning (Feely kick), 8:46.
Second Quarter
NY--Jacobs 1 run (Feely kick), 9:23.
Third Quarter
NY--FG Feely 31, :00.
A--76,316.
KC NY
First downs 7 22
Total Net Yards 111 309
Rushes-yards 17-40 36-154
Passing 71 155
Punt Returns 3-22 5-52
Kickoff Returns 4-91 1-27
Interceptions Ret. 0-0 0-0
Comp-Att-Int 13-24-0 21-32-0
Sacked-Yards Lost 3-19 3-11
Punts 9-49.9 6-41.7
Fumbles-Lost 1-0 0-0
Penalties-Yards 6-49 4-40
Time of Possession 22:44 37:16
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Kansas City, D.Brown 4-15, Printers 2-10, L.Johnson 4-8, Griffin 2-3, Ross 1-2, M.Smith 3-1, Green 1-1. New York, Jacobs 9-40, Jemison 10-37, Barber 5-22, Sims 5-22, Carter 1-20, Flowers 4-9, Jennings 1-2, Lorenzen 1-2.
PASSING--Kansas City, Green 4-6-0-32, Huard 2-4-0-10, Printers 5-10-0-33, Smoker 2-4-0-15. New York, Manning 11-14-0-80, R.Johnson 7-14-0-62, Lorenzen 3-4-0-24.
RECEIVING--Kansas City, Wilson 2-16, Niklos 2-15, Kennison 1-13, Parker 1-11, Gonzalez 1-8, Cruz 1-7, Webb 1-7, M.Smith 1-6, Thorpe 1-4, D.Brown 1-3, L.Johnson 1-0. New York, Jennings 3-24, Shiancoe 3-18, Burress 2-22, Carter 2-14, Toomer 2-14, Fletcher 1-14, Jemison 1-13, Ponder 1-11, Shockey 1-10, Barber 1-9, Luke 1-8, Hanoian 1-6, Jackson 1-3, Jacobs 1-0.
MISSED FIELD GOALS--None.
