Chiefs’ Morse off to solid start

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Mitch Morse got the snap to Alex Smith, who handed off to Knile Davis. Davis went left and Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall wanted to move in that direction but couldn’t, at least not quickly, because Morse had engaged him long enough for the play to develop into an 8-yard touchdown run.

A similar push helped spring Jamaal Charles loose on his 34-yard touchdown run earlier in the 31-24 loss.

In Morse’s debut a week earlier in the victory over the Houston Texans, only one other NFL center graded higher that weekend, according to Pro Football Focus, which breaks down every play for each team and assigns a numerical value.

Two games into his NFL career, Morse has given the Chiefs precisely what they sought in their second-round draft selection, an athletic and intelligent center to replace Rodney Hudson.

Andy Reid noticed it early, through organized team activities and training camp.

“He kept studying, and that’s how it’s going to be when you’re young at the position,” Reid said. “Not everything will be perfect, but he’s good a good attitude and a good way about him.”

Ben Grubbs, who lines up next to Morse at left guard, sees the same thing.

“He doesn’t seem like a rookie to me,” said Grubbs, a two-time Pro Bowler in his ninth NFL season.

Morse is off to a solid start on a revamped offensive line. Of the five who started the first two games, only left tackle Donald Stephenson had previously started for the Chiefs and not since 2013.

The Chiefs have dealt with injuries, to Eric Fisher and Jeff Allen and signed tackle Jah Reid after the final preseason game. Through the juggling, Morse has been anchored at center, moving into the starting spot and supplanting Eric Kush early in training camp.

The Chiefs drafted Morse with the center position in mind, although he hadn’t played there since the 2012 season at Missouri. Morse was moved out of the middle that season because of injuries and he was having problems getting the ball to the quarterback in a shotgun formation.

Morse, who also played at guard early in college, switched to right tackle as a junior and left tackle as a senior where he replaced Justin Britt, now with the Seattle Seahawks. In Morse’s final two years, Mizzou won two SEC division championships. He was a captain and second-team All-SEC selection in 2014.

His selection as the 49th overall pick left some draft analysts underwhelmed. But the Chiefs were enamored with Morse’s versatility. Yes, he had some issues with snaps as a sophomore, but he was a consistently superior blocker. He was mobile with good footwork and good size at 6-5, 305 pounds.

At the NFL Combine, Morse learned something about himself, besides his strength compared to other prospects — his 36 bench press reps of 225 pounds were the second most at the scouting event.

“I have short arms,” he said. “I didn’t know that until the Combine.”

That’s when Morse knew his NFL future would be inside, and soon after he began working on his snaps, on his own. Even in his hotel room before rookie mini-camp.

The work paid off. Morse opened eyes during organized team activities.

“We’ve seen his development and his progress and how far he’s come with understanding our terminology and our system,” offensive coordinator Doug Pederson said.

Morse ran with the starters throughout the preseason games, but admitted to nerves before his regular-season debut at Houston.

“The most nerve-wracking part of football is when we leave the locker room, stand for the national anthem and get to the first play,” Morse said.

For Morse, getting to that point without, um, tossing his cookies, has also been a triumph. Pregame regurgitation became a habit at Missouri. Tigers coach Gary Pinkel reminded reporters last week that Morse regularly needed to find a trash can before games.

“Every game, for about two years,” Morse said. “My senior year wasn’t as bad. I still had anxiousness but something changed.”

Perhaps it was motion sickness from the movement on the line at Missouri. With the Chiefs, it’s only been two games but Morse appears settled at center.

This story was originally published September 20, 2015 at 6:56 PM with the headline "Chiefs’ Morse off to solid start."