As the Chiefs try to reverse a 1-5 slide, they’re also trying to avoid making quarterback Alex Smith the focal point of the team’s offensive struggles.
Coach Andy Reid once again tried on Wednesday to spread the blame well beyond the position that historically gets too much of it when things go poorly.
“I think it’s not just Alex,” Reid told reporters. “I think people do that, and I told you that I’ve got to get better at doing my part. Each position has got to do better. This is a team game and so everybody has a piece of the pie. You’re bringing it to Alex. I’m bringing it to all of us doing a better job. Alex is part of the team so he’s included in that. But it’s surely not just one person. . . .
“I’m not going to tell you it’s one thing – it’s not one thing. Sometimes people see something and that might not be the primary receiver and so it might not even be in that part of the progression and read. There’s a lot of things that go into it. The thing I can do is stand before you and tell you that this isn’t an Alex Smith thing, it’s all of us. I know our players understand that and coaches.”
Reid was asked how the players understand it’s not an “Alex Smith thing.”
“We all watch tape,” Reid said. “Coaches coach, that’s what we do. And we’re around each other a lot so we all know all of our strengths, coaches and players, we all have strengths as human beings. We all know our strengths and our weaknesses. So I think we all understand that we can all do better. So that’s what we’re working on.”
They may be working on it, but it’s not really working -- at least not since the team started 5-0. At some point, the player who is most closely identified with the performance of the offense may need to get more of the blame in order to spark the kind of change the team needs, before what once seemed to be a certain playoff spot evaporates.