With each and every week, the Kansas City Chiefs are finally figuring out how to utilize Dexter McCluster within their offensive schemes. That much is clear when looking at the number of touches and targets he receives each week as well as the way the team utilizes him. Head coach Todd Haley says it's a matter of going back to the beginning of this year and making some bigger changes -- and he says McCluster's versatility is helping the Chiefs fool other teams.
"We made a change this year and moved [McCluster] away from the receiver into the backfield and just felt like that would be the spot to give him the chance to be most productive. With Jamaal [Charles] going down, that obviously affected some of that because he’s getting a bunch of carries. I was excited about the game by Dexter here last week. I just thought when you envision how he is going to play and contribute; I thought that was a good capsule or picture of it. He got about nine touches out of the backfield and then he caught a bunch of balls, some of them more from a receiver vantage point as far as where he was on the field.
"I think the real advantage with guys like that is the mismatches that are created when the defense looks at him, ‘That’s a running back.’ Teams have all treated him a little different, but obviously, the more carries he gets, the more they have to treat him as a running back. But even last week after he made a couple plays, the defense switched into a sub ground, even though there were only two receivers on the field. That’s really what it’s all about, is how the defense views him. When they’re viewing him a particular way, I think you gain your advantage, one way or another."