Crazyrebel(l)s ist umgezogen! » Venezuela indeed played the Americans close

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Midway through this week, Alex Smith was still pondering the misfires that plagued the Kansas City Chiefs in their loss at Houston when he normally would be focused on the upcoming opponent.It was an unmistakable reminder of the enormous price of those missed opportunities.And just how rare they have been.Ive been thinking about it and Id be lying if I said I wasnt, Smith said.We havent had a day like that in a long time. I cant remember the last time. I was going through missed connections -- there were probably seven or eight of them and a lot of yards.Indeed, Smith completed just 20 of 37 passes in the 19-12 defeat, his worst completion percentage since Week 5 last season.But he was even worse when it came to his wide receivers, completing half of his 24 attempts to Jeremy Maclin, Chris Conley, Albert Wilson and Tyreek Hill.Most confounding about that statistic? Hes been working with all but Hill for more than a year, so it stands to reason the chemistry between quarterback and wide receiver should be better.There were a lot of missed connections, a lot of offense and a lot of plays that ultimately changed the day, Smith said.The games are fast, you get going and playing fast and youre not always 100 percent. There were certainly a lot of plays out there that we normally make.Take the 15 passes directed at Maclin, his most sure-handed wide receiver. Not only did Maclin drop a pass -- hes only dropped four the past two years combined -- but he only hauled in just six of them. Three of those completions came on the final drive, the game already out of reach.Two of the missed completions were on third down, scuttling potential drives.In fact, Smith dropped back to pass 11 times on third down last Sunday. One snap over his head resulted in a lost fumble, two more plays ended in sacks and two completions were shy of the first-down marker. Only twice did he hit for a first down, and just one of those was to a wide receiver.It was a big reason why Kansas City was just 3 of 14 on third downs, and why the Chiefs failed to score a touchdown. They had to settle for four field goals from Cairo Santos.It wasnt necessarily accuracy, it was just being on the same page -- the wide receivers and quarterbacks on the same page, Chiefs coach Andy Reid said.Thats something I have to work with. If youre a hair off it can affect things. Thats why we practice so much.Practice can certainly help. But remember, Smith has been working with Maclin, Conley and Wilson the past two seasons, through two training camps and countless practices.I would definitely say its a fluke, Conley said. But it also comes down to the way we practice, so we have to be consistent here. We have to hold ourselves accountable, and we have to do some things better in practice as well.Smith and Co. should have a chance to fix their communication problems on Sunday.The New York Jets have one of the best defensive fronts in the NFL, and will no doubt get plenty of pressure on the quarterback.But when given time to throw, opposing passers have been able to shred their secondary, even beating perennial Pro Bowl cornerback Darrelle Revis a couple of times.The Jets are allowing more than 315 yards per game through the air the first two weeks.You dont panic. You go back to the fundamentals a little bit, Smith said. You go back to the work, communicating, making sure were on the same page and getting those things worked out.Game notes S Eric Berry (knee) and LBs Tamba Hali (knee) and Sam Barrington (hamstring) were back at practice Thursday after missing the previous day. ... There was no change in the status of OLs Jah Reid (ankle), Parker Ehinger (concussion) or Laurent Duvernay-Tardiff (ankle). Reid and Ehinger did not practice Wednesday and Duvernay-Tardiff has been limited this week.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Andre Dillard Eagles Jersey . -- Three close looks at the bucket, three misses. Fletcher Cox Youth Jersey . After Gasquet beat fifth-seeded Ivan Dodig of Croatia 7-5, 6-3, Tsonga followed up with a 6-7 (3), 6-2, 6-2 win against sixth-seeded Edouard Roger-Vasselin in an all-French match. http://www.eaglesrookiestore.com/Eagles-Herman-Edwards-Jersey/ .Y. - Free agent outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury, fresh off winning the World Series with Boston, reached agreement with the rival New York Yankees on a seven-year contract worth about $153 million, a person familiar with the negotiations said Tuesday night. Ron Jaworski Eagles Jersey . Blackwood, 28, has played the last three seasons in the San Diego Padres system, including the past two summers with Class AA San Antonio of the Texas League. Mike Quick Jersey ., for the next three years with the signings on Monday of Daryl Townsend and Michael Carter. RIO DE JANEIRO -- Some at-the-buzzer instant analysis from press row at the Carioca Arena 1 after Team USA opened its 2016 Olympic campaign with Saturday nights 119-62 trouncing of China:How It Happened: Length. Athleticism. Suffocating defense.Get ready to hear those adjectives thrown around often over the next couple of weeks as Team USA makes its unstoppable march to the gold medal in mens basketball.After a sputtering start for the games first five or six possessions, Team USA began to apply force on D like no one else in international hoops can, smothering the Chinese with the sort of all-over-the-floor pressure and resolve-sapping resistance at the rim that has numerous observers already anointing this the best defensive outfit that USA Basketball has ever fielded ... without waiting to see how it looks against better competition.Kevin Durant was the first American player on the floor to warm up for the second half, all by himself out there as if he needed to get some extra shots up to find his groove, but China could only dream that Durant was trying to shake out of some sort of funk. The newest member of the Golden State Warriors star quartet had rung up 17 of his eventual 25 points in the first two quarters, benefiting most from all the inviting looks created by the Yanks defensive application.Team USA led for nearly 195 of a possible 200 minutes in the five exhibition games it played back home before traveling to the first South American city to ever host the Olympics and took the lead for good in this one inside three minutes. It was 30-10 after a quarter, with almost every player in dark blue giddily leaking out for the easy fast-break buckets that flowed out stop after stop, setting the tone for a rout that could have easily been in the 60s. Or more.You almost got the sense that new Minnesota Timberwolves coach Tom Thibodeau wasnt quite satisfied with the focus he was seeing, given the loud strategic instruction on numerous first-half possessions coming from Thibs that could be heard even in the upper reaches of the arena where the worlds media was stationed. Yet even Thibs, while shouting himself hoarse as usual, had to pleased with what he saw.And presumably no one was happier by nights end than Chinese coach Gong Luming. After facing Mike Krzyzewskis crew three times in the past 14 days, China doesnt have to deal with Team USA for at least three years, when it hosts the next FIBA World Cup in 2019.The Streak: Thats now 69 wins in a row and counting for Krzyzewski; 17 consecutive victories in Olympic play, 19 in FIBA World Cup tournaments, 10 in Olympic qualifiers and another 23 wins in exhibition games. The Americans previously tasted defeat in the semifinals of the 2006 FIBA World Championship against Greece and launched this streak on Sept. 2, 2006, with a 96-81 victory over Argentina in the bronze-medal game in Japan.Play of the Game: Highlight-reel plays from the runaway winners were surprisingly in short supplly given the blowout nature of the night.ddddddddddddr maybe your faithful international hoops correspondent is just spoiled by now.What stands out most: Durants flurry of three successive 3-pointers late in the first half ... and then Kyrie Irvings own trio of 3s late in the third quarter to hike the Americans lead into the 40s.Lets go with the Irving flurry as the topper, if only because it occurred with three Warriors on the court alongside him: Durant, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.Numbers Game: After wins over China by 49 and 50 points, respectively, when the teams met in Los Angeles and Oakland last month, 57 points was the margin of victory when the teams met here in Rio for real.Carmelo Anthony played in his 24th Olympic game for Team USA, tying the United States record co-held by LeBron James and David Robinson.Anthony needed 18 points Saturday night to pass Michael Jordan as the third-leading scorer in U.S. Olympic history but settled for nine points.Heres the updated leaderboard:The United States is now 17-1 in Olympic openers, with a loss to Puerto Rico in 2004 in Athens its only blemish.China is one of only two teams in the 12-team Olympic field without a current NBA player, though Yi Jianlian (25 points) has played in three NBA seasons and was the No. 6 pick in the 2007 NBA draft, four spots behind No. 2 Durant.Whats Next: Krzyzewski decided even before Saturdays night rout that he wanted to give his guys Sunday off. So he canceled the planned practice between Team USAs first two group games, opting instead to let the squad ease into the tournament.Its not exactly a risky decision. Monday nights opponents from Venezuela indeed played the Americans closer than the three other teams to visit the United States for a five-game exhibition tour, but that was still a 35-point blowout in Chicago that had Venezuela coach Nestor Garcia openly admitting: We dont have a chance at this level.Team USAs schedule so far this summer admittedly hasnt been ideal, with five of its six games to date coming against the three teams widely perceived to be the weakest in the 12-team Olympic field: China, Venezuela and Nigeria. The reality, though, is that there isnt a lot USA Basketball could have done to make the prep phase tougher.With Team USA not able to come together for training camp until July 18 after the long NBA season and USAB officials determined to stay stateside before the team left for Rio, they were limited to scheduling exhibition games against teams willing to come to the United States en route to Brazil. And Argentina was the only elite international team comfortable with that itinerary.With Brooklyn Nets guard Greivis Vasquez out injured, Venezuela has no NBA players and will be relying on the veteran leadership of 35-year-old John Cox, whose cousin is a former Team USAer named Kobe Bryant. ' ' '