Chiefs: Eye in the Sky Report, 11-12-16
By John Cooney, Senior Staff Writer for Fantasy Football Mastermind
The Chiefs are 6-2! 6-2!
This is a good team with a fine coaching staff. Green Bay great coach Vince Lombardi described the 2016 Kansas City team best when he made his “not perfect but excellent” pitch to his Packers back in their hey-days.
Getting the 6th win wasn’t as easy as it should have been, but then again, this club rarely does things the easy way. The Chiefs came home after shellacking the Colts at Indianapolis and eeked out a 19-14 victory over the now 2-6 Jacksonville Jaguars. Nick Foles started for concussed (we think) Alex Smith. Foles couldn’t get the offense into the endzone, settling for 4 Cairo Santos field goals. Travis Kelce didn’t help matters by going haywire on the game officials for a non-pass interference call. Kelce got the boot from the game for throwing his own flag, a towel, on the officials. Love the passion, hate the immaturity there. But, the Chiefs hung on and squeezed out another ‘W’.
Game Balls
K Cairo Santos hit on all 4 of his field goal tries, including a 51-yarder to lead the scoring for the Chiefs. WR Albert Wilson wasn’t efficient catching the football, securing just 3 of his 8 targets, but he was energetic and pressured the Jaguars’ DBs all game. Wilson opened the scoring for the Chiefs near the end of the 1st quarter, scoring the team’s only TD. ILB Ramik Wilson had 5 solo tackles and picked off Jags’ QB Blake Bortles. OLB Dee Ford now has it figured out and has finally blossomed into a true pass rushing threat; Ford added 2 more sacks. CB Marcus Peters had 7 solo tackles, 5 coming while playing the run. Peters is more than just a cover corner.
Housekeeping and injury notes
WR Jeremy Maclin exited the last game after aggravating a groin injury and will not play Sunday against the Panthers.
QB Tyler Bray is nursing a chip fracture in his spine and there is no timetable for a return.
QB Nick Foles has an injury to his throwing arm and his availability against the Panthers on Sunday is uncertain.
ILB Derrick Johnson is battling a hamstring injury and his status against the Panthers on Sunday is uncertain.
OLB Justin Houston has been activated from the PUP list as he continues to recover from ACL surgery. It is unclear if he will be ready to play Sunday against the Panthers.
OLB Tamba Hali is dealing with a lingering knee injury and it is unknown if he will suit up Sunday against the Panthers.
DL Jaye Howard has a hip injury and it is unclear if he will participate in Sunday’s game against the Panthers.
WR Chris Conley is nursing a quadricep injury and it is undetermined if he will suit up against the Panthers on Sunday.
DB D.J. White has missed two straight games with a broken hand and it is undetermined if he will play Sunday against the Panthers.
RB Spencer Ware is expected to return to the field Sunday against the Panthers as he has been cleared from the league’s concussion protocol.
QB Alex Smith went through the league-mandated concussion protocol and is likely to be cleared to play against the Panthers on Sunday.
So, some good news this week as Justin Houston appears to be making his way back to the field soon and Alex Smith should be ready to go.
OK, let’s get to week 10 as the Chiefs head out to Charlotte, North Carolina to take on the wounded but dangerous 3-5 Panthers.
RB Charcnadrick West led the backfield last week with 45 snaps, filling in for starter Spencer Ware. West was OK-at-best. Knile Davis chipped in with 10 uneventful snaps. WR Jeremy Maclin’s groin injury pushed WR Chris Conley’s snaps to a WR high 51, followed by Albert Wilson’s 41 and Tyreek Hill’s 34. Wilson led the way with 8 targets. TE Travis Kelce had 7 but probably lost out on a big day by getting himself ejected. QB Alex Smith sat out last week due to the continuing mystery concussion saga.
Nick Foles got the start but was far from the nifty passer that came off the bench week 8 at Indy. After producing 223 yds and 2 TD on just 22 throws against the Colts, Foles flopped to 187 yds and a single score on 33 week9 tosses. Smith is set to start week10 vs Carolina. The Panthers have given up an average of 369.2 yds a game to QBs over last 5 games. The 296 yards by LA passer Case Keenum was the lowest allowed by CAR in their last 3 games.
On the flip, CAR’s run D has stunted RBs production over the past 5 to the tune of 3.3 YPC and 1 TD. KC will be getting concussed RB Spencer Ware back, but he and RB West face a daunting task here. KC will likely throw more than usual in this one. If so, Smith won’t have WR Jeremy Maclin as a prime go-to; Maclin is out with a groin injury. Now this is usually where I say this looks like a great opportunity for talented and underutilized WR Chris Conley; but I can’t. Conley has a quad injury and he may not be available. That leaves a couple of speedy, smurfy type wideouts as Smith’s top outside target choices; Albert Wilson and rookie Tyreek Hill. Wilson caught just 3 of his 8 targets last week, but made good with 42 yards and a TD. Hill, who has been hot recently, saw 5 touches but just 32 YFS. Obviously TE Travis Kelce will act as the da facto WR1 in this contest. Rookie WR Demarcus Robinson brings a size element but owns possession speed wheels. I wouldn’t expect much of an impact from Robinson.
The WR matchups are good on paper for KC, but the weaponry is not exactly enticing for fantasy coaches. With CAR’s secondary playing some incendiary coverage, Hill and his turf-burning speed is the best FFB play. WRs have torched the Panthers’ DBs for 6 TDs over last 3 games. Kelce is a hot go vs the surprisingly leaky CAR LBs. CAR has allowed 6 TE scores, 3rd most in the NFL, and 14.0 YPR, 2nd highest. 2 TEs have eclipsed 70 yds receiving vs CAR over last 3 game.
Travis Kelce has tallied 12-159-1 TD on 17 targets over last 2 games. RBs Ware and West will be a bigger part of the passing attack in this one. Ware is an improved receiver and West has always showed good catch skills. WR/RB Thomas also should chip in a few plays. The lead and big game for the Chiefs this week belongs to Kelce as he has the matchup and looks to redeem himself after his boneheaded actions last week.
When the Panthers have the ball job-1 will be containing big and mobile QB Cam Newton. That means the Chiefs will deploy a ‘spy’ to shadow Newton and limit his ground gains. The perfect defensive missile for that job is ILB Ramik Wilson. Wilson is athletic and swift enough to stay with Newton should he venture out of the pocket. That may negate some of Wilson’s overall tackle opportunities, but he could quickly make up for the lost tackle points with an opportune tackle behind the line of scrimmage on Newton, which translates into a sack or 2. Rangy CB Phillip Gaines locks up with Carolina’s big wideout Kelvin Benjamin. Gaines had 7 solo tackles last week defending another big receiver in Allen Robinson at times. Benjamin is Newton’s WR1 and the ball will be headed in his direction often; opportunity for Gaines. With ILB Derrick Johnson playing through a hamstring, safety Eric Berry will draw TE Greg Olsen in coverage. Berry will be helped inside by the impressive Daniel Sorensen. Berry is in for 5 solo take-downs and Sorensen is always around the football and has a shot at a pick as well as 4-5 tackles himself. OLB Dee Ford has been a sack machine lately and he’ll be chasing down Newton for another this game.
The Panthers are on a 2-game win streak and at home. This is a club that knows how to win and is playing desperate football after getting out to a horrid 1-5 start. Wounded cats are dangerous!
Let’s see how Alex Smith does in his return from the concussion and without Jeremy Maclin. I’d love to see Chris Conley just let it loose and play to his really impressive WR tools, but a quad will hamper a wideout in cuts and burst. Wonder what Tyreek Hill could do with 10 target? Nah, won’t happen… Travis Kelce gets those.
Should be interesting!
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John Cooney is a Senior Staff Writer for Fantasy Football Mastermind.
