Backcast to 11 and a ‘Forecast’
Aimed for the Heart
by David Bell
Setting the Table: Long Peek back for a Quip, mixing Metaphors and Such
As a fly rod enthusiast since 1973, I am blessed with a decent cast, to about 45 feet, not great but very serviceable. I bring the rod extended to only 11 O’Clock — that’s enough to load the rod properly for the forward cast — aimed at the target — the bullseye in distance and point of aim. This is how I view and review Patrick Mahomes game v. the Chargers as I take a backward glance to the Chargers game and the look forward in time.
I can see PM II and the offense aimed straight for the heart again. The question becomes: Can the defense get a clear shot at the heart of the of Pittsburgh’s offense — Ben Roethlisberger? Previous ventures against that dastardly crew from the Three Rivers area have come close but have fallen short.
Ah. Water under the bridge. As a wisecracking follower of ArrowheadOne commented a couple three days ago… he used about 5 common quips in the same paragraph. Some people can’t resist sarcasm… a poor crutch for humor.
Back “Way Farther” and “Farther Still”
So here I was, about 1981, fishing with a flyrod under a bridge in rural Pennsylvania, trying to hook a brown trout after a hard rain in the morning. Really, this is home country for the maternal side of the family, they arrived here in the heart of today’s Steeler country and out west to the sand hills before 1750, trapping and hunting. Then an ancestor, Isaac, received Bounty land for 1777’s battle at Brandywine Creek, where Isaac and William fought and the “river ran red with blood” as a letter written by a grandson demonstrates. “Them’s my kin over thar,” I might say. Some Quakers they were, fighting with rifles in a war no less! Isaac received a land bounty in what became Greene County in about 1791 (Isaac taxed in Chester Co and in the Census of 1790 — Philadelphia area and was taxed out west in 1793).
So for me, this was different, fishing for brown trout beneath a covered bridge in rural Pennsylvania. Why? I had no experience fishing for Brown Trout, nor did I know the stream. I was stopped on the way to DC to attend a software school and this was my plan: always carry fishing gear and stop to fish whenever and whereever I could. So I did. The stream was just off I-70, and I was fishing for Brown Trout.
Then out of the mist arrives an old man. He is using a fly rod and he has a real creel. I was fishing wet flies but he was using a fly rod with worms. Said he: “Son, it rained hard yesterday and this mornin’… try these… I’ve had my fun today.” So he handed me tobacco can with worms. He added: “Water’s so dark with run off and the earth worm get’s right to the heart of the matter. Ya’ Have ta’ get the bait to the bottom anyway.” I weighted my nymphs and caught two fish over an hour or so, then tied on a hook and used a worm with weight and hooked about 4 more trout in less than 30 minutes.
Both things taught me a lesson.
Aiming for the Heart of the Matter
That old man has probably passed away now. He was in his late 60s as I am now… AND he was right. One thing is sure. He fished alone and we were the only two fishermen on the stream within visual distance anyway.
Using the aim for the heart analogy, PMII aimed dead on for the heart and showed that he is capable of nailing the bullseyes. So it will be in the upcoming game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Aim for the middle of the middle you might say, or, aim for the small of the small.
Aimed for the Small of the Small
Last week? Patrick Mahomes cast for 2 TDs, no INT’s and 256 yards in the air. He used 8 receivers. The Chiefs offense and a Special Teams TD scored 38 points. That is enough to win almost any game. Were I to look back at the weaknesses? It was allowing the opposition to score over 17 points that has me troubled. So it is, that for me, all the detriments were on the defensive side of the ball in that game. Ransom Hawthorne mentioned yesterday that Reid put the brakes on and Sutton’s defense went prevent. Hardly a good measure of what might have been. Both of these methods frequently blow up in the face of the practitioners. Had it not been for a fluke mis-fielded punt and a strip of the ball by De’Anthony Thomas, things might have been a lot closer.
A Quick Look Forward – Sans Le’Veon Bell
I don’t really have any qualms about the offensive capability of the current Chiefs Roster.
I do have misgivings about the defense. First, Dee Ford was the only Chief to get to Phillip Rivers but several Chiefs did get pressure on him several times. I noted on Sunday that Rivers was getting a lot of passes out in about 1.5 seconds. He did get some deeper in the middle ground but the Chiefs rush kept him busy. Big Ben though is another matter altogether. He is tall, sees the whole field and a good passer. The Chiefs must have a better rush to get to Roethlisberger and they have to make sure tackles with others following up.
Big Ben has targets but things took a downturn for the Steelers on Tuesday as Le’Veon Bell’s holdout now has him removed from the Steeler’s active Roster. Bell missed this morning’s team meeting, according to Des Bieler of the The Washington Post. This is good news for the Chiefs — except Bell’s backup, James Connor, accounted for 192 yards last week versus the Browns. If that keeps up, Bell’s time in a Steeler Uni is probably over.
This isn’t Bell going to be Bell who is a threat on the ground and who has broken the hearts of Chiefs fans several times of late. Bell was a pain in the a$$, er, thorn in the side of the Chiefs. Let’s hope that Sutton does not allow Connor to take over where Bell left off — those numbers from Connor were big. The Chiefs should be able to handle Connor but Sutton has to set a defense to stop the run. In fact, I was irritated the whole game with the defensive sets that were called. Maybe it was all missing Eric Berry. We’ll have to wait and see what happens this week. If the Chiefs contain Connor? I think Sutton can set up to stop the pass.
In 2017, the defense held the Steelers to 19 — but the offense only managed 1 TD and 2 FGs, losing 13-19. I think the offense of the 2018 Chiefs will far out perform the offense of 2017. We have Hunt and Hill of course. But we have added Watkins. This week, Harris will be back and the offensive line look pretty good in week one.
Ending Remark? Yeah, I Have One
If CB Orlando Scandrick’s game last week is the indication of his upside? We’ll be starting Tremon Smith in the 3rd week. I am already big on the return of Ron Parker. I want to see S Armani Watts in on snaps at Safety, Murray is no ball hawk. No one replaces Berry and that is a fact that must be dealt with in the future.
What Ho’ Berry O’, is now my refrain.
David Bell – ArrowheadOne
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