Opportunity Knocks: What KC Can Accomplish Before The Playoffs – after dispatching the New England Patriots, securing the division title and instilling confidence in their defense, it would seem that Chiefs have little left to accomplish, this season. However, a handful of opportunities remain available to them. Some could have an impact on the playoffs this year, while others, will benefit Chiefs in the 2020 season. It all starts, against the Denver Broncos this week.
Crushing Denver’s Spirit
Whether people want to believe it or not, momentum has a tremendous impact on NFL games and franchises. After four straight division titles, it’s hard to remember that Chiefs once played second fiddle to the Denver Broncos. That all began to change, late in the 2015 season, when the 4-5 Chiefs recorded a decisive victory, over the 7-2 Broncos. Broncos would go on to win the Super Bowl, but they would never again win the division.
Fast forward to 2019 and, behind rookie QB Drew Locke, the Broncos look resurgent. They’re fresh off a drubbing of a quality team in the Houston Texans, and out for blood. Chiefs don’t have much to lose, this year, by dropping this game, but they have a lot to gain, by winning it. If Spagnuolo can draw up a game plan, to frustrate Locke, and the offense can weather an invigorated Denver Defense, the boys in Blue and Orange will be left with disappointment to stew over, all off-season, instead of a renewed sense of hope, and belief. Nobody stays on top forever, but the easiest way to stay there is to push your opponents down, when you have the opportunity. It’s an opportunity Chiefs have this week, and must take advantage of.
Tweaking The Offensive Line
Andy Reid has always been reluctant to alter the OL, mid-season. It’s understandable, given the complicated nature of Zone Blocking Schemes, but, at times, infuriating. There’s a reason every Chiefs fan knows the name: Mike McGlynn. With two games left, neither essential to securing a spot, in the playoffs, Reid must fight his natural tendencies, for the good of the team. Andrew Wylie isn’t great, at Left Guard, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif has been flat out bad, and Austin Reiter has been a disappointment. Patrick Mahomes will never find his groove if he’s constantly running for his life, and getting hurt. Reid needs to move Wylie back to the right side, where he’s more comfortable. Veteran acquisition, Steven Wisnewski, needs to take over the Center role. His football IQ is evident, and while he’s not a great athlete, Chiefs are much better at picking up stunts, with him in. At Left Guard, Chiefs lack ideal options, but Cam Erving has played there before, and been serviceable. If Reid has a better lineup in mind, fine, but Chiefs can’t keep leaning on this group, whose play consistently holds the offense back.
“Extending” Season’s Greetings
In the NFL, the longer you wait, the more you pay. If the Chiefs really want to keep Chris Jones, they need to get an extension done, this year. Waiting to use the franchise tag will give Jones, and his agent, a lot more leverage. Similarly, at CB, Chiefs have just two players, under contract, for 2020. While investments in the draft are likely, Chiefs certainly can’t expect to successfully fill three CB spots, in one off-season, again. They were lucky to pull it off, this year. Whether they want to pay Breeland, Claiborne, or Fuller, now is the time to make that pitch. Get ahead of the curve, on player retention, and you’ll save yourself a bundle.
Getting a Good Look
The Chiefs have seen enough of Mecole Hardman to know that he’ll have a bigger role in the playoffs. They don’t need to tip their hand by giving him a ton more snaps in the regular season. However, some players could represent solutions to Chiefs offensive woes, but lack the game tape to be relied on in high leverage situations. With the likelihood that K.C. will face a ton of man coverage on their way to the big game, they must give Byron Pringle more snaps in these final three games. At WR, outside of Tyreek Hill, and Sammy Watkins on the rare occasions he’s healthy, Pringle is Reid’s best route runner. They need to know if his hands are reliable enough to take a much bigger load, if the game-plan dictates that he should.
The Chiefs struggles in the run game are not a huge deal, as analytics have shown time and again. It is very important however, that the RBs get more involved in the passing game. If the interior line can be shored up, K.C. should use a heavy does of Darwin Thompson, and Damien Williams (once healthy), as route runners. Few Linebackers have the speed to stick with those guys. Since the Chiefs haven’t been able to dial this up much, they still need to find out which guys can pull it off, and Mahomes needs practice throwing those routes, to make those throws with anticipation.
The defense has been fantastic as of late, but it never hurts to have more options available. Darron Lee and Dorian O’Daniel have been exclusively relegated to special teams. While neither is likely to command a pivotal role this year, it’s worth getting a look at them in specific situations, to see what they have to offer. If injury struck, you’d be relying on one or the other, so K.C. needs to know what they can do. O’Daniel, in particular, ought to offer some coverage ability, and juice as a blitzer. Further, the Chiefs need to know what they have at LB going into free agency and the draft.
In Conclusion
Great teams stay great by taking advantage of every opportunity. Whether that’s an opportunity to illegally spy on the Bengals (what won’t the Patriots do for an edge?), or a chance to squish a division rival. To remain on top, the Chiefs need to beat the Broncos… fix the OL… and get a good idea of what they have on their depth chart. Players like Byron Pringle, Darwin Thompson, and Steven Wisnewski, could prove absolutely crucial to the Chiefs championship dreams. Also, it’s never too early to start thinking about next year. Make the moves that you can… now… to shore up the roster for the future. Go Chiefs.
Ransom Hawthorne — ArrowheadOne
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