Chiefs and Divisional Champ Comparisons:
The “Has-No”
Laddie Morse
There are four teams left for all the other teams in the NFL to envy… or compare themselves to. The Patriots seem to have been one of these four for the past 50 years when the reality is they are there for a record six times straight times. The Pittsburgh Steelers seem to be Divisional championship regulars a and so do the Packers to a lesser degree. While the Atlanta Falcons are here for the first time and quite some time they probably boast the best quarterback of 2016 and should come away with the league MVP trophy.
What becomes a “fun” and easy way to compare the Kansas City Chiefs to any of these teams is the “Has-No” game. Here’s an example. When comparing the Steelers and the Chiefs… Spencer Ware could be a better back but he — has no — offensive line as good as the Steelers.
So, allow me to sort out a few of these and then we’ll go from there.
Alex Smith could be a much better QB but he — has no — offensive line as good as the Steelers… or the Pats (or the Cowboys… or the Titans, who didn’t make the playoffs).
Alex Smith could be a much better QB but he — has no — WR as good as the Antonio Brown or Julio Jones, or the collection of wideouts in Green Bay.
Travis Kelce could be a much better TS but he — has no — QB who is as good as Aaron Rodgers, Ben Roethlisberger, Matt Ryan or Tom Brady.
Jeremy Maclin could be a much better WR but he — has no — QB who is as good as Aaron Rodgers, Ben Roethlisberger, Matt Ryan or Tom Brady.
AO Note
I only have one of these for the Chiefs Offensive Line: the Chiefs OL could be a much better OL but it — has no — Le’Veon Bell (a healthy Jamaal Charles works too).
The Chiefs defense could be a much better defense but it — has no — offense that can be consistent enough to maintain a drive, keeping them off the field, or scoring more points (an offense like any of the four offenses left in the playoffs.
AO Fact Blast
2016 NFL Total Point Leaders: Falcons 1st, Pats 3rd, Pack 4th, Steelers 10th & K.C. 13th.
The Kansas City Chiefs were 13th in total point scored in 2016? Yep, that’s not so bad. So, not quite the disaster season you might-a-thunk they had, but squarely, more is needed.
The Chiefs front seven could have stopped the run better but it — has no — top 32 LB in tackles.
This one may prove a point that; to stop the run effectively, a front seven must play together as a unit. That’s because there are only TWO LBs of the top 32 leading tacklers, in NFL in the regular season, left in these playoffs: Tim Timmons (20th), PITT with 114 and Deion Jones (25th), ATL with 108.
The Chiefs pass rush would be much better but it — has no — Vic Beasley Jr. (ATL). Beasley led the league this year with 15.5 sacks. Let’s look at total team sacks allowed.
The Steelers allowed 21 sacks and were ranked 2nd in the league.
The Patriots allowed 24 sacks and were ranked 5th in the league.
The Packers allowed 35 sacks and were ranked 15th in the league.
The Falcons allowed 37 sacks and were ranked 21st in the league.
The Chiefs allowed 32 sacks and were ranked 11th in the league.
The “Has-No” has it’s limitations. The Chiefs never had a chance to draft Vic Beasley who was drafted 8th in the 2015 draft. You may recall the Chiefs took Marcus Peters that year. Same goes for Julio Jones who was drafted 6th overall in 2011, the same year the Chiefs took Jon Baldwin 26th.
As we traverse the field of position groups and their performance and ranking compared to the four teams left in the tournament, you can begin to get a feel for what was a flaw… and what was more of a flaw and needs attending to. Or flat out changing. Obviously, if Justin Houston and Tamba Hali were healthy the Chiefs would have had one of the best pass rushes in the league. However, it’s time to leave the woulda-coulda-shoulda in a round file called, “The Past.”
Consequently, you may have already figured out by now that the “has no” game can work both ways. For instance, the statement: “The Pittsburgh Steelers would be a much better team but they — have-no — Alex Smith to QB their team” just would not work. And, it doesn’t work for each of the remaining teams left in the big dance: Pats, Falcons, Packers and Steelers included. Meaning, Alex Smith would not make any of those teams better if he was their QB.
AO Note
Let me say right here that I am an Alex Smith fan but if you think that Smith could do a better job with those teams than Rodgers, Roethlisberger, Ryan or Brady… then you put the capital “H” in Homer… as well as Hopelessness.
So, while we gain some insight about the Chiefs need for better offensive line play in a comparison to the remaining playoff teams… and improving the OL may even lead to better play by the Chiefs QB, RBs and WRs… if they had a different, albeit, better, OL… it doesn’t necessarily mean all of those skill position group players would make those teams better if they were on those teams. And don’t say, “Yeah, but we haven’t seen how much better all the Chiefs skill guys would be if they had a great OL.” That kind of reasoning only goes so far. We say it all the time about the relationship between the QB and the OL… but can you really say that about the RBs and the OL, the WRs and the OL, the TEs… and the OL.
The Chiefs could have a better defensive backfield but it — has no –…………………..
That one is harder for me to answer because the K.C. defensive backfield has progressed to the point that they’ve held up well against the best teams in the league. With Eric Berry and Marcus Peters, Terrance Mitchell, Ron Parker, the Chiefs have the makings of one of the best defensive backfield units in the entire national football league… IMHO.
If you disagree with that, fine. Please go ahead and take another defensive player and insert them into the Chiefs defensive backfield and then write your own “has no” sentence. It’s much more difficult with this group. Plus, this leads me to believe that the Chiefs won’t be targeting corners or safeties high in the draft unless they can’t work out a contract with Eric Berry and in that case, of course, they’ll likely go for a safety in the first three rounds. There are some good ones to be had.
Up to this point, I haven’t taken a Chiefs coach or front office man and written a “has no” sentence for them. Sticking to the players was revealing enough for me. However, if you want to give it a shot, please help yourself.
I’ll end with this one,
The Chiefs offensive line could be greatly improved but it — has no — right guard like Andy Levitre (2nd round) or Joe Thuney (3rd round) or T.J. Lang (4th round) or Ramon Foster (UDFA). Just thought I’d throw that one in there in case anyone thinks you can’t get incredibly good Guards outside the first round.
Do you have a ‘Has-No” on your mind?