Laddie Morse
Well, that was an ugly loss. I almost said, “Ugly win” but then some of us still think the way to look at things is through a jaundice ugly eye. Me, I prefer a positive approach to life in general. Does that mean I spend a lot of my time, “Hoping and Hyping” the Kansas City Chiefs? You bet it does. Mostly because that’s how I prefer to see life. I’ve been directly writing about the Chiefs for over ten years and even in the Chiefs 2-and-14 season of 2012, I was guilty of writing positive “Hype” and positive “Hope” posts about our beloved Chiefs. I guess that’s just my preference and the way I like to see the Chiefs.
While I must admit I was taken by surprise when the Chiefs lost to the Cincinnati Bengals, I came away with more realistic expectations of the Chiefs this season. It’s being reported that the Chiefs still have a 17% chance of winning the Super Bowl. While 17% is a lot more than 0% (Houston’s odds), but having won the Super Bowl recently, fans expect more than a 17% chance… and perhaps, so do I. That’s why we’ll start with the GOOD!
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ArrowheadPride has an article called, “6 winners and 10 losers from the Chiefs’ loss to the Bengals” by Matt Stagner in which he lists these six winners:
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1. Running back Jerick McKinnon
2. Running back Isiah Pacheco
3. EDGE Carlos Dunlap
4. Wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster
5. Cornerback Trent McDuffie
6. Cornerback Joshua Williams
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While I agree with Matt Stagner about these 6 deserving of recognition as being winners in this game, let’s not forget the little contributor either. Guys like Skyy Moore who had one touch in this game, a 12 yard run. Also, both Justin Watson and Noah Gray each had a catch for 15 yards, plus Jody Fortson had a catch for 6 yards.
On the other side of the ball, Nick Bolton had 16 tackles. How did anyone miss that stat? That’s incredible and he now ranks 4th (technically) in the league in Tackles (technically, because Jordyn Brooks and Zaire Franklin are tied for 2nd):
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Bolton already has ten (10) more tackles than he had all of last season. Let’s not forget that he’s still just 22 years old. Also, let’s acknowledge that Juan Thornhill had 10 tackles in this game. That has to be a record total for him.
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Broncos
The Broncos are 3-and-9 and have been out of the Division race since… well, since they signed Russell Wilson. Don’t you just love that little cartoon character/pic of Russell Wilson? He looks like he’s about to shot-put the football. So Cute!
Focusing on the Broncos, who once again, are bad. Why is that important? Because… IT’S BRONCOS WEEK! They are 1-and-8 in their last nine games and are now on a 4-game losing streak, having averaged 11.25 points per game over that 4-game span. If you think the Chiefs loss is bad, be ever so thankful, you’re not a Broncos fan.
While the Chiefs have some aspects to their game to be thankful for, tackling is not one of them. So, in listing all the B-A-D bits, let’s start with:
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Tackling Woes
It wasn’t just one or two of the Chiefs defenders who missed tackles, it was many Chiefs who missed tackles.
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Justin Reid’s Mouth
Justin Reid got the Bengals riled up. He paid for it in the game too. The Chiefs don’t need to get any of their opponents upset with them, especially right before a game.
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Reid’s pre-game comments were not so BAD as they were STUPID! Talk about STUPID, Reid can’t keep his mouth quiet. He Tweeted this after the game:
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Kelce’s Fumble
The Chiefs were driving with the ball in hand, at the beginning of the 4th quarter, with the score 24-to-20 and if they scored there, the final is a totally different outcome. It would have been, 31-to-20 Chiefs… if not for the Kelce fumble. Sometimes, the worst possible outcome leads to the worst possible outcome. This was just one of those time. Why am I not all broken up about this loss? It’s as Brandon Gibson has stated in his article for ArrowheadAddict.com called: “Why I don’t feel bad about KC Chiefs loss to Bengals:“
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“… this loss does not seem as bad as the last
two times the Chiefs played the Bengals.”
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Also, I seriously doubt the Bengals will beat the Chiefs for a fourth straight time… which means, the next time the Chiefs play the Bengals, which in all likelihood will be in the playoffs later, right after this season, the Chiefs will emerge victorious. That’s the more important outcome anyway, right? Right!
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Da Raidahs
The Las Vegas Raiders are well deserving of the “Ugly” logo. While they are on a three-game winning streak, they are still 5-and-7 and four games behind K.C. with 5 games to go. So… while a Division crown for them is still possible… it is a long, long, long shot. One positive… they just beat the Chargers, 27-to-20, and BTW, the Chargers are now 6-and-6.
Orlando Brown Jr.
I’m not done harping on the Orlando Brown situation. I am SOOOO glad Brown didn’t decide to sign the deal Brett Veach had offered him last offseason. Veach offered Brown a contract worth $91M over five years with a possible option of a sixth year at $40M. Even though that 6th year would have never been paid out, I’m still unhappy with the $16.7M franchise amount the Chiefs have been paying on this season.
Andrew Wylie
Prior to this season, I was under the impression that the Chiefs offensive line was one of the best in the league. Now, with LG Joe Thuney on ice, the only two that are playing above their pay grade are OC, Creed Humphrey and RG, Trey Smith. Both Tackles, Orlando Brown Jr. and Andrew Wylie are not living up to expectations. Especially Brown. I’ve always seen Wylie as a stand-in until Lucas Niang was ready. Now… “hype-fully” we’ll get to see if Niang is worth a dang.
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I don’t know where Zack Eisen gets his data, but if this is true, and I think it is, then Brown and Wylie will need to be replaced this coming offseason. Also, if there is one reason why the Chiefs don’t make to the Super Bowl, or win it, this is that reason: the Tackles.
DL, Taylor Stallworth
Another big reason the Chiefs lost to the Bengals was a play by Taylor Stallworth. Stallworth was penalized for “Roughing the Passer” after landing — with his full weight — on quarterback Joe Burrow, the Bengals QB. It happened early in the game with the Bengals leading 7-to-3 and although it happened on a 1st-and-10 play, it also meant the Bengals were given an automatic 1st down. However, Stallworth was released yesterday as witnessed by Twitter:
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Daniel Harms makes a good point — Brandon Williams — and is another reason why I doubt the Chiefs will ever lose to the Bengals –> the next time they play each other. Call me Mr. Hope… or Mr. Hype… or you don’t have to call me anything at all.
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Laddie Morse –ArrowheadOne
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