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Pass some thanks to Gus Frerotten
JASON WHITLOCK
MIAMI  Don’t forget to thank Gus Frerotte today. I mean, if you’re going to truly celebrate the Chiefs’ “Friday Night Lights†victory over the Miami Dolphins, you might as well thank the man most responsible.
Don’t get upset. Yes, the Chiefs deserve lots of credit for getting on a plane Friday morning, gassing up Willie Roaf, Brian Waters, Will Shields, Casey Wiegmann, Jordan Black and John Welbourn and riding Priest Holmes and Larry Johnson to a 30-20 victory.
Kansas City’s offensive line and running backs were quite impressive against one of the better front fours in all of football. The Chiefs rushed for 185 yards and three TDs. Trent Green threw for 289 yards.
But  and you knew I would have a but  KC’s second straight victory left a bittersweet taste in my mouth. Despite being impressed with the Chiefs’ resolve and professionalism, I was far from overwhelmed and primarily left Dolphins Stadium wondering what this victory would mean the day before Halloween in San Diego.
You see, the Chiefs, 4-2, did what they were supposed to do in Miami. Dick Vermeil has a better team than first-year Dolphins coach Nick Saban. If the Chiefs showed up and gave a professional effort, they had almost no choice but to beat the Dolphins as long as Frerotte was under center.
So, it’s difficult for me to get wrapped up in all of the emotion of the Chiefs “overcoming adversity†to beat a bad Miami team. The Chiefs get paid a significant sum of money to play football. Vermeil and his players deserve credit for not being distracted by commissioner Paul Tagliabue’s decision to move this game from Sunday to Friday out of concern about Hurricane Wilma.
Once it became obvious that they weren’t distracted  the Chiefs opened the game with an eight-play, 80-yard TD drive  all that was left to figure out Friday was KC’s final margin of victory.
Miami quarterback Frerotte is that bad, that inaccurate. Frerotte and his 38-percent completion percentage hamstrung Miami’s offense to the point that you almost feel sorry for Miami’s defenders. Frerotte completed just 11 of 29 passes Friday and finished the night with a 37.3 passer rating.
Those of you unable to watch Friday’s affair didn’t miss all that much.
Quite frankly, I spent much of Friday night wondering how this game would affect the Oct. 30 showdown with Marty Schottenheimer and the San Diego Chargers. You’d think that the two-days-early victory would set the Chiefs up nicely for the Chargers.
“We’re getting an extra day of practice, so you’d think it’s an advantage,†said cornerback Eric Warfield, a surprise starter Friday night.
“It can’t hurt us,†Waters said. “You’d have to say we have some momentum going into that game. We’re playing pretty good ball right now, and we got our offense going.â€Â
Yes, the offense is going. The defense is what’s worrisome. The best thing about Friday night was that Warfield was in the starting lineup. Defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham informed Warfield that he’d be starting in the locker room just before the Chiefs took the field for pregame warm-ups.
“It was a last-minute decision,†Warfield said. “Me and Dewayne (Washington) split time all week in practice. I was surprised.â€Â
Warfield played pretty well. The Dolphins didn’t throw in his direction that often on Friday. And even when they did, Frerotte was so inaccurate it didn’t matter. But it was good that Warfield was thrown back into the starting lineup before flying to San Diego next weekend and taking on Drew Brees and Keenan McCardell.
The Dolphins are a great exhibition opponent for a defense.
The defensive effort the Chiefs gave Friday night won’t be nearly good enough against San Diego. Safety Greg Wesley had a miserable game. Ronnie Brown ran Wesley over on his way to a 65-yard touchdown. And Wesley was beaten on a couple of passing plays. Cornerback Patrick Surtain also struggled. The Dolphins had open receivers all evening. Frerotte just over- or underthrew them all night.
The Chiefs need to use their extra days of preparation to fix their defense. Five days after hammering Washington quarterback Mark Brunell, the Chiefs didn’t mount much of a pass rush Friday. Gunther Cunningham will have plenty of time to install some new wrinkles to his defense before the Chiefs hit San Diego.
