ArrowheadOne:
Early Chin-wag Edition:
10 Questions
by David Bell
This week we have covered a lot of ground — Rah! Rah!, Future Defense, Current Defense and more. The Injury plague finally hit the Chiefs. It’s not as bad as we think but when they occur, it makes you think that the Roster can’t handle adversity. I won’t dwell on the list of changes, the injuries. I am not going to rant. I am not going to Rave.
It is my opinion that the Chiefs roster can overcome the Patriots, a good ball club with it’s own internals, it’s own problems and it’s own defense which has big questions. I think this week I listened to either 610 or 810 radio in KC for about 15 or so hours and in doing so, I question whether I learned a great deal. Coaches use coach-speak. Players use player-speak. Bottom line? I get more out of watching a game replay or by reading as many articles as possible during any given week.
10 Questions to Think About
1. If the Patriots don’t score often, the Chiefs won’t have to worry about who is the kick returner. I would think on punts it would be Hill but who have the Chiefs been working this week in kick-off returns? FYI: DAT is on the IR with a broken leg.
2. The Chiefs will have to figure out how to handle the Patriot’s version of Kareem Hunt — namely James White. White is having a very solid year so far and is the Patriot’s leading receiver. What does that tell you about Gronk and Edelman and the Patriot WR corp?
3. Can Patrick Mahomes and get back to Showtime, against a not so stellar Patriot Defense?
4a. After two grueling contests in a row, losing our starting R-OG (LDT), who will stand out and start? Man, that’s a tough loss right there and the extent of the injury leads me to believe Larry will not be back this season. It’s my understanding that the starter they will go with is Jordan Devey on the right. Of course the right faces the Patriot left side defense, usually the strongest.
4b. So… how will Andy Reid and Eric Bieniemy counter if Devey runs into trouble? Keep in mind that Patrick Mahomes favors fleeing trouble to the right.
5. The last time these two teams faced off, Kareem Hunt gained about 2,000 yards (246 total yards actually) and carried the Chiefs in that contest. Will Andy lean heavily on the run game to try to keep possession and keep away from Tom Brady?
Or
6. Will Andy go with the strengths in balance or a shoot-it-out approach through the air, immediately striking for as many 10+ passing first downs and try to quickly master the Patriot defense?
7. Can Ron Parker and Jordan Lucas, sans Murray, sans Berry, sans Sorensen, sans Watts… handle the backend of the defense? The Chiefs brought up Leon McQuay to help handle the safety role depth as well.
8. What will Bob Sutton dial up for over-all defense? I was pretty pleased with the defense in the first 40 minutes or so of the game against the Jaguars.
9. Looking at some game film of Tom Brady, he seems to have settled in a bit the past couple of games, butut at the same time, he doesn’t look as “Brady-ish” to me as he has in the past. I am sure he will work at the dink-and-dunk type short game but can he really go as long with the strength that he has in the past?
10. What other questions or match-up problems do you see?
That’s my 10 Questions for Sunday Night Football.
David Bell – ArrowheadOne
If you are viewing this in Apple News and would like to join the Discussion, [GO HERE.](http://arrowheadone.com/arrowheadone-early-chin-wag-edition-10-questions/#disqus_thread)