Chiefs Headliners, 12-23-22

Laddie Morse

Things are a’hoppin’ around Chiefs Kingdom these days. With the opportunity to still gain the #1 seed, and with the announcement of the Pro Bowl players coming out, as well as the race — which is still on — to see who will be this year’s MVP, everyone has an opinion and rightfully so. So, let’s begin with the Pro Bowl announcements.

.

.

Is there anyone who would argue with these 6 players being selected to the Pro Bowl?

.

.

I think not. That sounds like a good place to start but I would also include Nick Bolton. It’s the 7th name of the Chiefs who was named to the Pro Bowl who I have a problem with. I know, I know, it’s crazy that I’d have a problem with any Chiefs player being named to the Pro Bowl, but this is different. Number one, the Chiefs Left Tackle, Orlando Brown Jr. is not having a good year.

.

.

I also heard that the Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa was the highest vote getter among fans, but he also didn’t get named to the list of those who made the Pro Bowl this year. Here’s a quote from NFL.com directly:

.

“Roster selections are determined by the consensus votes of fans, players and coaches. Each group’s vote counts one-third toward determining the 88 Pro Bowl players. The NFL is the only sports league that combines voting by fans, coaches and players to determine its top athlete teams.”

.

Apparently, the NFL was the first pro athlete league to allow online voting, which began in 1995. While Tua Tagovailoa received 306,861 votes from fans, it’s hard to believe that there were that many votes coming from players and coaches and consequently, that means that the other two thirds — players and coach alike — must be weighted. Heavily weighted.

That’s where the problem exists for Orlando Brown Jr. making the team — again — this season, in a year in which he is tied for the most pressures allowed by an offensive lineman.

As much as I am upset about the officiating in the NFL, there is no excuse for this kind of travesty. If the Kansas City Chiefs General Manager Brett Veach turns around this offseason and signs Orlando Brown Jr. to a huge deal, that will be enough to make me heave.

.

.

This week, tight end Matt Bushman was signed*. Bushman was a UDFA who was signed by the Las Vegas Raiders in 2021 then released and re-signed to their Practice Squad… then released last December. K.C. signed him to their Practice Squad this past January then gave him a reserve/future contract in February. He suffered a fractured clavicle in a preseason game against the Green Bay Packers in August. Then he was waived and given an Injury Designation.

*Note: LB Elijah Lee was signed to the Bears Practice Squad the same day Bushman was signed by K.C..

In that preseason game vs the Packers, Bushman had 3 catches for 73 yards and 2 TDs. Getting Bushman back in the saddle means HC Andy Reid can continue his offensive assault designed around the implementation of tight ends.

When last season ended, the Chiefs had their coaches meeting and decided what they would do to succeed this season and part of those offseason adjustments was to go with more tight ends in the offense. Since the Cheetah was being shown the door, Reid and company had to come up with a scheme that could break the back of the defenses he would face this year. More tight ends was the answer.

This season, there and plenty of times when you’ll see three tight ends on the field and there are also plenty of times when you’ll see two TEs on the field, which also gives the offense a greater power in the running game, because TEs are bigger and can lay a block on the opposition much better.

This use of more tight ends in the offense also meant that Patrick Mahomes would have to learn to read defenses better, and on each play, read them longer. So, far, he’s shown he can make those adjustments and even excels at it… what else is new. Here’s more good news about TE Blake Bell:

.

.

.

In October of this year, Joseph Acosta of SBNation wrote a piece for them called: “Geno Smith has been one of the NFL’s best QBs by any metric” in which he states:

.

“Calling the Seahawks signal caller’s play in the beginning of the season a revelation might be an understatement. He’s simply been one of the best QBs in the entire NFL by any metric you want to mention. Composite EPA/play and CPOE? Only Mahomes and Josh Allen have been better. Average throw depth? Tied Tua Tagovailoa. Touchdowns? Tied with Joe Burrow for seventh in the entire league.

The throws that Smith is making aren’t easy completions either, yet he’s throwing with impeccable anticipation and timing into tight windows.”

.

Nine years ago, when I was writing for ArrowheadAddict.com I had a three part piece there called: “End The Drought, Draft Geno Smith Now! PART I of III” in which I stated:

.

“… the Kansas City Chiefs have not drafted a first round quarterback since they took Todd Blackledge with the 7th pick in the 1983 NFL draft. So, what’s the answer? End the drought, draft Geno Smith now.”

.

Of course, that was four years before the Chiefs finally did take a QB in the first round, when they drafted Patrick Mahomes II in 2017, and we all know how that’s turning out. Geno Smith, now with Seattle, was selected to the Pro Bowl for the first time this season, so he should not be taken lightly. Following is a rushing TD that Geno had in college:

.

.

While watching college film can feel like getting your paycheck in counterfeit money, here’s Geno who throws a TD pass to TE Noah Fant for the Seahawks vs the 49ers this season (BTW the 49ers have the best defense in the NFL):

.

.

I’m still convinced that Andy Reid could have done wonderful things with Geno Smith behind center. Yes, it may have taken him some time to get those Pro Bowl type performances out of him, but he’s showing now that the Seahawks must be respected and are formidable team without Russell Wilson.

.

.

I’m not even sure I want to write about this but… Twitter has become an awful place to go for social… whatever. This week, the Twitter-verse of Chiefs fans have had to put up with the news of ChiefsAholic, Xavier Michael Babudar — a supposed Super Fan — who would go to all the Chiefs games, most notably their road games, and he was caught robbing a bank in Bixby then cornered by the Tulsa Police. Many other Chiefs fans were at first concerned about him because he had dropped of the face of the Planet called Twitter-Earth, but in reality, he has been arrested in Tulsa (Bixby Oklahoma) for attempting to rob a Tulsa Teacher’s Credit Union (a TEACHER’S Credit Union? Come’on man!).

.

.

Apparently, that has been his MO (modus operandi) for many of the Chiefs away games: rob a bank on the way and live like Bonnie and Clyde… without a Bonnie. So… Twitter has been a slit-storm of comments, and many of them I won’t/can’t post here.

Another rousting rhubarb has been the comments about Harrison Butker’s misses versus the Texans and then the comments that a former Chief player made about that. Specifically, what Dustin Colquitt said about Butker’s holder, Tommy Townsend. Special Teams Coach even had a comment:

.

.

I’ve even heard radio host Soren Petro say that Tommy Townsend doesn’t matter and the Chiefs should replace him with a better holder, even if that holder/Punter allows the ball to be Punted four yards less down the field. So, many of the Twitter commenters have taken their pot-shots at Tommy Townsend. It’s all toxic and shocking to me.

.

.

I have a hard time staying off of Twitter because for those who do post information about the Chiefs, I enjoy that exchange. However, Chris Jones and the players are aware of the rip roaring roil going on on Twitter too:

.

.

If you can, take Chris Jones advice: “Stay off Twitter Man!”

.

.

.

Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne

.