Chiefs Host Lions, PSG#2: OPEN THREAD

Laddie Morse

Today at 3:00 PM CDT, the Chiefs play their second game of the 2024 Preseason against the Chicago Bears in Arrowhead Stadium.

Can both of these be true. “Why do I feel that time passes so freaking slowly?“… and “Why do I feel like time is going by so fast?” When it comes to the Kansas City Chiefs and Training Camp, each applies equally. When the Chiefs are having fun, and you’re having fun, the brain is in a state of flow and time may seem to be going by more quickly. Conversely, when some moments are quiet or perceived to be going by at a snail’s pace, like when you’re on the job and have nothing to do, time can appear to be going by slowly. These Chiefs can provide both of those experiences.

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A Competitive Camp

That leads perfectly into the Chiefs having a competitive camp. It’s like a two sided coin and Patrick Mahomes points this out:

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Opportunity Knocks

With RT Jawaan Taylor suffering a bone bruise this week, it opens the door for Lucas Niang. Niang was a third round pick by the ChIefs in 2020… four years ago. Talk about time flying… it only seems like yesterday that Niang was selected, but the reality is, he hasn’t gotten much time on the field since he was drafted and decided to take the Covid year off.

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Players to Watch

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WR, Xavier Worthy

With Hollywood Brown out, I expect Worthy to get the lion’s share of his snaps.

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RB, Carson Steele

Steele had a great game last week. Reid said if he’s to make the roster it will have to be on Special Teams. Look for Steele to make an impact there and again at RB with the ones.

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DE, Felix Anudike-Uzomah

FAU is going to get his opportunities to replace Charles Omenihu in the time he has left to recover from a torn ACL injury he suffered in the Baltimore game last January. Let’s see if FAU can get it started early. Coaches will be wondering too.

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P, Matt Ariza

Ariza has been called “The Punt God” but we’ve yet to see if that kind of nickname is deserved. Let’s hope we see that in the game today, and he’s able to “flip the field,” as they say. We also need to see if Ariza can be a consistently good holder for Harrison Butker.

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CB, Jaylen Watson

Finding the replacement for L’Jarius Sneed has been harder than expected. Perhaps they could have split up the contract monies between he and Chris Jones and kept both of them. Water under the bridge now. I think Watson could win this battle. Todays game will go a long ways towards deciding that.

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WR, Justyn Ross

Keep an eye out for the bottom of the WR roster including Justyn Ross. Ross keeps making these highlight reel catches, but has yet to show he can run the full route tree. Let’s see if he can catch balls over he middle of the field, running the Comeback Route (the J route), a Post Pattern, or even a Long Deep Fade… instead of just making catches up high by the sidelines on Jump Balls that are 50/50 balls.

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There are many other players to watch for in this game including:

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I understand that many Kingdom fans will not want to watch #24, Skyy Moore, because they feel about him the same way they have felt about Clyde Edwards-Helaire: he’s under-performed for his draft slot. In this case, Moore was taken with the second round pick in 2022 and in his first two seasons he’s only had 494 yards receiving and he had fewer last year than he had in his rookie season. However, for some reason the Chiefs coaches and front office love him and it looks like he’ll make the final cut. So… why watch him? In hopes that he has a breakout season.

There are still others to keep an eye on.

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Who Plays and How Long

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“Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said the first

team will get a half against the Lions Saturday.

History tells us Patrick Mahomes will get a drive

in the second quarter before checking out. This

will be his last work of the preseason.

–Pete Sweeney”

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I agree with Pete Sweeney, QB Patrick Mahomes will play the entire first quarter, then he’ll be pulled for his backup, Carson Wentz, sometime in the second quarter.

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If you’re expecting to see Joe Thuney at Left Guard you may want to place your hopes back on the shelf. Reid says it will be a game day decision, which probably means Thuney isn’t going to play at all.

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While the news of Jaylen Watson not playing is a disappointment, it likely means he’ll be held out until they’re sure he can fill the spot that used to be filled by L’Jarius Sneed… and that’s good news. That RT Jawaan Taylor can’t go is nearly the same kind of good news. David Bell addressed that yesterday. Take a peak.

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Camp is Over

Training camp is done for the year. As Eddie High points out, “That’s a wrap.”

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The Chiefs have created a tradition of playing a specific song to close out camp: “CLOSING TIME”

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Prediction for Today’s Game

It doesn’t really matter who wins… I just hope no one is injured and all our second and third teamers play well (0:14 on a loop).

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What do you think?

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Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne

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