Laddie Morse
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First things first… the feature graphic which shows Patrick Mahomes, might be a bit misleading, so if you’re tuning in to see him, you may want to lower your expectations. HC Andy Reid has already said on Monday that Mahomes will not play in this game:
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Before we dive too far int othis game today, let’s take a look at the starting 2024 roster two weeks from now.
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This game will help the Chiefs coaches determine who makes the tail end of the 53 man roster and who doesn’t. From last week’s preview of PSG#2:
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Some Players to Watch
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RB, Carson Steele
Steele had a great game in PSG#1. Reid said if he’s to make the roster it will have to be on Special Teams but he has gotten laods of snaps this week. Look for Steele to make an impact there and again at RB with the ones today (who are technically the twos).
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P, Matt Ariza
For all intents and purposes, he’s a starter, but with no back up, he’ll likely play in this game. Ariza has been called “The Punt God” and we saw some of that ability in PSG#2. Let’s hope we see more of that in the game tonight. If he can consistently flip the field, he’ll be an improvement over Tommy Townsend. We also need to see if Ariza can be a consistently good holder for Harrison Butker.
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WR, Justyn Ross
Keep an eye out for the WR roster which includes Justyn Ross. Ross keeps making these highlight reel catches, so yes, he has some upside.
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S, Jaden Hicks
Jaden Hicks will be a star in this league… eventually. I hope we get to see plaenty of him tonight.
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RB/WR, Louis Rees-Zammit
LRZ is the ex-Rugby player. It looks like he’s not going to make the roster. They may try and sneak him onto the Practice Squad.
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RB, Deneric Prince
Prince was on the team last season as a Practice Squad player. His experience in the CHiefs system should help him considerably. Although he was drafted he has some obvious talent. He could end up as the Chiefs #2 RB.
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WR, Skyy Moore
I’ve heard that Skyy Moore will be gone and I’ve heard that he will be kept. Either way, I’ll be gald to find out next Tuesday what his fate is.
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OT, Lucas Niang
Same with Lucas Niang. If K.C. decides to keep Niang and try to sneak Ethan Driskell onto the Practice squad, I not only that that’s a huge mistake, but that Driskell will be gone by the end of the week, if not the day.
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With the Chiefs having the best QB, the best TE, the fastest WR, the best DT, the best coach, the best LB corp, the best IOL, the best kicker, and the best GM in the NFL … it’s hard to bet against this team winning another Super Bowl and three-peating… especially when they have — the Punt — God on their side. 😇
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That the Chiefs starters won’t be playing should come as no big surprise. Reid said on Monday:
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“As far as the rotation goes for the Bears,’ I’ll probably
sit the starters the way it looks right now and we’ll
have the other guys get out there and play/”
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In fact, the Bears won’t be putting Caleb Williams, their rookie QB, on the field either. Plus bearswire.usatoday.com is reporting that the majority of the Bears’ starters won’t be playing either. That should give his backups plenty of time to develop. They include quarterbacks: Tyson Bagent, Brett Rypien, and Austin Reid. Luis C. Medina wrote this for bleachernation.com about the Bears backup QB, Tyson Bagent:
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“Tyson Bagent had [has] secured the QB2 role. Not that there was much doubt in my mind. But I’ll admit a little bit of doubt crept in while reading up on things from the Hall of Fame Game… I digress… [could] Tyson Bagent help someone else make this roster? For instance, could Dante Pettis (3 catches, 53 yards, 2 TDs on Saturday) be the beneficiary of QB2’s solid play? It would be something if QB2 helps someone make the roster as a WR5/WR6.”
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Bagent was a UDFA for the Bears last year (2023) and went from third string last year progressing to second string this season. He also saw action in their game against a division foe, the Minnesota Vikings. He was 10-of-14 so the Chiefs backup DBs will need to give it their best game time performance. Here’s Tyson Bagent explaining his tattoos (1:13):
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For the game between the Chiefs and the Bears starting at 7:20 Pm CDT, the weather being reported by Weather.com sounds idyllic:
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It won’t surprise me if the Chiefs do what they can to try and win this game so they have some winning momentum goin into the season.
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Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne
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