“Chiefs: A Dying Black Hole,” by David Bell – I can’t see the Kansas City Chiefs last game in Oakland as being anywhere near an advantage for the Raiders. It just isn’t that way. The Chiefs have owned the AFC west for 4 years running with 3 titles in a row. The Raiders are improved but not enough to overcome the Red ‘n Gold, even with the Chiefs on the road.
Nor are the Raiders the quality of a team that the Jaguars purport themselves to be. I suppose if you listen to the hype out west, you will get the same type of noise. Don’t believe it! The Chiefs will face down an AFC West opponent on the road and come away with win #2, of the young 2019 season.
Chiefs Offensive: Scoring? Mid 30s to 40s
Rally the troops and hit the field with the right cleats as Eric Bieniemy will tell them and the Chiefs will hit the field at Oakland for the last time. They’ll be ready to play with a superior offense… even missing Tyreek Hill. Patrick Mahomes has too many tools to use to lose any advantage to a Derek Carr led offense, even with a good 2nd year pro at TE, Darren Waller, or rookie RB, Josh Jacobs, who had a solid performance out of their gate. Their WRs don’t include AB, though they do have talent.
The biggest advantage the Raiders have is a big front end group that has big men at bookends — Kolten Miller and Trent Brown — with Rodney Hudson at the Center position. The big men can be an advantage for pass protection and the run game… if they can move their feet, Miller is in his second year, he’s improved, and I like him, Brown has been around… and is a decent ROT.
Keep in mind, they sport Jordan Devey at LOG. That should tell you a bit about what they’ve got to handle the inside. He will be protected to an extent by Hudson.
I don’t see the Raiders ground game being executed well enough to overcome our quick front four and I think our LB’s will be keyed to stop Jacobs, especially on the first 2 or 3 possessions. Plus, I hope that the Chiefs offense gets out front to force Carr to go one dimensional which should help the LBs.
The rest of the suspects aren’t suspects on the KC side of the ball: Mahomes, Kelce, McCoy, Williams, Watkins, DRob, Hardman, DAT. Our OL is good at run blocking and we have to see what adjustments Eric Bieniemy and Co. made from week One. There is just no way that Derek Carr’s offense can stay with the Thoroughbred Chiefs.
Chiefs Defense Advantage:
Holding the Raiders to mid 20s or less
This is a closer call as I see the defensive fronts being equalish, but I like our Front 7 or 8. I also like our LB crew over theirs. They have Vontaze Burfict, Tahir Whitehead and Nicholas Morrow but, their front seven is keyed off their DE’s: Arden Key and Clelin Ferrell. The Chiefs advantage is having the bodies with quickness over the Raiders and a LB crew that can pursue with speed. That advantage didn’t show last week but look to see it more this week.
First priority is to stop the run and give the offense a chance to get out front. Then turn the pressure to the stopping the aerial game of Carr. Think about making the game one dimensional again… and there you have it.
Both teams are about equally CB poor. The Chiefs sport four men but we are still missing Claiborne and now Tremon Smith has been waived and Pringle promoted to the 53.
The Safety crew on both squads is pretty good — if it weren’t for our group I would envy theirs: Lamarcus Joyner, Karl Joseph and Jonathan Abrams… but Abrams is now on the IR list. Consequently, I think we are deeper, otherwise, call it a wash.
Like last week the defense has got to earn two or three stops and force them to kick for 3 points several times. The Chiefs need to score 7 and not punt the ball away.
That’s my take on it: Advantage Chiefs to come out of the dying black hole, a shining knight in Red ‘n Gold leading the way!!! 36-24.
David Bell — ArrowheadOne
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