Laddie Morse
With one more game to go in the 2023 season, the Kansas City Chiefs should be gearing up for the playoffs. The “should be” part of that statement is that HC Andy Reid should be planning on sitting some of his starters this week. However, in the case of backup LT Wanya Morris and starter Donovan Smith, it’s hard to tell who should be starting and who should be getting rest.
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Patrick Mahomes has had a strange season… to say the least. Many will blame it on his wide receivers but if you ask him, he’ll take all the blame onto his own shoulders. No matter how wide his shoulders are, the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle. Any way you look at it, Lamar Jackson has had a better year than Patrick Mahomes and it looks like Jackson is going to win tghe MVP race… no matter how many times I retweet the Mahomes MVP tweets. Jackson had 5 TD passes in his last game and there doesn’t appear to be any way around the idea that he’s more on track to win the MVP race. Mahomes has set a personal high with 14 INTs while Jackson has half of that. Plus, both Jackson and Mahomes will likely be sitting this coming Sunday, so….
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Travis Kelce had 16 receiving yards in this last game vs the Bengals. That’s not very good when he averages over 71 yards per game… for his career. That leave him 16 more receiving yards away from accomplishing an 8th straight 1,000 yard season… but… and this is a big but… he’ll likely be asked to sit this week to rest his weary bone… and other sore body parts. Kelce also needs just 7 more receptions to reach 100 for the season (he’s only done that 3 times before so it’s not as big a deal as the one-thousand yards is), but teams have figured out how to cover him now… and as I’ve mentioned already, he’ll likely sit this week.
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Wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling done in Kansas City after this season. No I don’t have any inside information, but his drops have continued and are the stuff of negative legends or horrifying lore in K.C.. I’m 99% sure GM Brett Veach will cut ties with him as soon as is possible once the offseason arrives. Since I’m fairly sure the Chiefs only have one win in them this coming post season in –> as soon as they have to visit another town in the playoffs, they’ll be done. Thanks in large part to the pitiful performances of MVS this year. MVS has 21 total receptions this season and he’s only caught more than 2 passes (3) once. What more can you say about a guy who wouldn’t know how to catch a cold, even if he had one.
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Wanya Morris was inserted as the backup Left Tackle once Donovan Smith went down with a “neck stinger.” The question is… do you sit Wanya Morris if Donovan Smith continues to have problems with his neck? D. Smith has sat for the past three games and at first Morris played well, but his consistency has suffered since his insertion. Donovan Smith was here on a one-year deal and he looked like he needed to be replaced anyway. Wanya doesn’t handle speed rushers well and the strip sack and fumble by Mahomes was caused by Bengals DE Trey Hendrickson who came on strong with Morris quickly giving up ground. Way too much ground, way to fast. I was hoping Morris could be that guy next year who steps up and takes the reins at LT… but the once appetizing look of him has diminished and now he doesn’t leave a good taste in my mouth.
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Like any rookie wideout who is playing in Andy Reid offensive system, he’s needed some time to adapt and learn the playbook. At 6-foot-2 and weighing in at 203 lbs. Rice has 79 catches this year for 938 yards. So, if he plays this week, he’ll need just 62 more yards to reach 1,000 on the season. Rice has been a pleasant surprise this year in the face of second year man Skyy Moore — also a second round selection — who fizzled out this season — again — and may get one more chance this next season to prove himself. In the case of Rashee Rice, his future looks bright and like it’s with K.C. all the way. Rice has had some drop issues early in the season when it seemed that no one could hang on to the the ball. Now, he’s averaged nearly 5 receptions per game and has become one of QB Patrick Mahomes most trusted wideouts.
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Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne
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