If you are a Kansas City Chiefs fan -- or happened to be rooting for them to knock off the New England Patriots -- you were probably screaming at the television screen last January, watching Alex Smith take precious seconds off the clock while down two scores in a playoff game.
Trailing by 14 points, it took the Chiefs more than five minutes to score a touchdown in a divisional round loss to the Pats. Andy Reid's squad moved at a maddeningly slow pace and even huddled with the clock winding down. Sure, K.C. scored, but didn't give itself a legitimate chance for two touchdowns.
The frustration over Reid's game management is a Fall tradition -- ask Philly fans. The Chiefs hope to correct the issues in 2016, squeezing two-minute drill work into organized team activities.
"We do this every year," Reid said, via ESPN.com. "It's an important part of the game. So many games are determined in that last part of the game, in the fourth quarter. The parity in the league has really made that an important part of the game."
The combination of checkdown tycoon Smith and Reid's career-long game management struggles make the Chiefs one of the worst units closing halves. In 2015, K.C. scored one touchdown and one field goal in 20 possessions when taking over the ball with two minutes or less remaining in a half.
"We could be better there," Reid admitted. "Both sides of the ball, we could be better. It's about our working on it and we're doing that. We've got to capitalize on a few (more) situations there.
"It's a matter of just repping it, making sure I'm putting the guys in the right position. We've got to do that. We've got good players and we've got to make sure we've got an opportunity to make plays," Reid continued. "It's important that the young guys see enough of the different looks, knowing when we have to get out of bounds, knowing we can score. All of these types of things are involved here and this is a good time to do it, when you can slow it down and work on it."
The Chiefs' offense with Smith under center doesn't lend itself to field-stretching speed, but Reid's squad must be better than they were last January. At least stop huddling, for Pete's sake.Â
