Chiefs: Indy Game, Plus LOOPER Review
Josh Kingsley
I planned to lead this column with a recap of the tailgate event. However, due to a bevy of crazy circumstances things did not go as planned. The one major comment I will make about the weekend: KC showed up. All the streets were heavy with red, and it was visible in most sections in Lucas Oil. We just may get that same look again this week… in Minneapolis. Stay tuned for that.
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Thoughts & Feelings
These general emotions are less than helpful in places like business as they only cloud things. To that end:
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I trust the Kansas City CHIEFS are
actively working to avoid letting emotions
cloud the review of the game in Indy.
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As for me the emotions are: anger, concern, and ultimately indifference. I will unpack them all in that order. Mad was my main emotion as the final whistle blew. In complete transparency and personal reflection: most of it was based on the process of getting to that game. I worked (actually I crushed it) a wedding Saturday night, picked up a buddy, and drove to Portage, IN for a pit stop. We slept roughly 3 AM-to-7 AM, got bit by the time change and landed in Indy around 10:30 AM local time. A tall set of tasks for the junk result.
The concern set in during and after the game, and it totally relates to the offense. More on that later when I recap the conversation I had with Phi’Del from the CHIEFS or Die group. I am in a place of indifference now. It’s one game in a haunted building the CHIEFS have yet to crack. Did they put themselves in position to win? Not really, but they were still there. Did they put themselves in position to lose? Totally, but again, they still almost won. Good teams do that, but the great ones win. Work to do. Football reminded the world that it’s a game of inches. Any one of these following things brings home a win:
- Kelce catches the balls that hit his hands
- Skyy Moore catches a punt
- Butker plays
- Chris Jones shuts his mouth
For the record: Kelce did not catch that 2 pt-conversion-ball, and so, karma possibly bit us.
What We Know Through Week 3
The answer very well may be nothing. This has been an odd season so far, but I think we have trends. Here is what I believe at this point:
- The AFC South is a tough conference. Everyone expected Houston and Jacksonville to be doormats and easy pushovers. The Jags are anything but, and the entire division is full of fight.
- The Colts have a deep and tough D.
- Defense in general is up across the league, and that includes in Kansas City.
- Russell Wilson is on the downside of his career. This has nothing to do with the topic, but I enjoy saying it.
Kansas City may be in the middle of a Golden State Warriors situation. Mark Jackson was head coach from 2012 to 2014, and he led the team from messy obscurity to the brink. A title was directly in sight. Despite this the Warriors front office sensed a miss, and made the move to Steve Kerr. The Warriors proceeded to make 5 finals and win 3 establishing the latest NBA dynasty. This was the real life equivalent of ending a relationship because the spark left, but everything else from the stability to respect remained intact. The CHIEFS might be there. I will not call for the heads of Spags, Bieniemy, or gulp, Reid at this point. However, stuff like that has to be on the table at some point. I live in Wisconsin and can tell you all about sitting on good-not-great for too long.
The Game
I sat next to a cool Colts fan and we made some intermittent small talk. The first quarter whistle blew, and we agreed it was ugly. My exact comment: a baseball score sheet for Q1 would read 0 earned runs. The score was 7-6 Colts, and none of the points came from good, clean football play. Fantasy and stat lines reiterated Kelce’s God level status in the TE world, which is par for the course. The other par for the course was less fortunate –> MVS graphically illustrated why Green Bay let him walk, and Clyde gave his doubters a ton of fresh material.
Horrible officiating wall to wall was the story of the second quarter. I hate bringing up the refs, but this game made it necessary. This was a grotesque display of inconsistency and borderline malfeasance. We all know the specific plays, and the Colts suffered just as bad. Moving on. Lucas Oil has one of the greatest innovations in the stadium food and beverage game: the aluminum point cup. I grabbed a beer at halftime and it was the coldest draft beer I have had at a game. I literally got brain freeze on the first drink, which was not a sip. My only note from Q3 surrounded our now former kicker. The CHIEFS D played well, but the team opted to go for it on 4th-and-1 from the 15 in a close game. That was not aggressive play to win, it was complete lack of trust for Ammendola.
Forth Quarter
The CHIEFS doubled down on the Ammendola doubt the next drive. Ammendola and the FG Team hit the field and lined up for a 41-yard attempt on 4th-and-11. Holder, Tommy Townsend, pulled the ball and threw a horrible pass to… it doesn’t matter. That play was a disaster. The biggest thing it did was remind Ammendola that he sucks, which made the next drive possible. A 34-yard push shocked no one. The CHIEFS coaching staff made his ineptitude true. It may have always existed, but the CHIEFS guaranteed it. A missed XP is bad, but I don’t view it as a reason assume a 40-yd FG is a bad idea.
Quick Note: the dB reader on the scoreboard, anywhere but KC and Seattle, is a joke by definition. Lucas was flashing 99-104 and acting like it was impressive. Stop it and have some self respect.
After all that disaster of special teams play the game still almost ended with a K.C. win. Nick Bolton sacked Matt Ryan for an 8 yard loss on 3rd-and-6 with 5 minutes on the clock. It was on the Colts side too, so they had to punt. Then the flag flew for something we still cannot be sure of, and an NFL ref confirmed that words hurt more than sticks and stones. The 15-yard penalty reopened the drive, which was a slowly twisting knife in the side of inevitability. I sat and simply waited for the TD hoping for speed and knowing it was clock killing.
After Game Chat
Phi’Del and I linked, but not to celebrate. He is a fanatic by definition, but also an incredible analyst. His position all offseason has been clear: letting Tyreek walk was a mistake. Here are the rest of his points in mostly consecutive order:
- Games like that are why the CHIEFS don’t get respect. That should have been a blowout.
- The current WR corp is a bunch of expendable scrubs. Tyreek instilled fear, and none of these guys do.
- Kelce is not living up to his reputation, and was a major factor in this loss. He is not adjusting to life without Tyreek keeping an LB on him.
- No one got separation from the defenders or made tough catches. Well, except for the Colts WRs.
- Reid is too conservative and needs to retire.
It is hard to argue with any of that.
[Editor’s Video Addition: “Are Andy Reid’s Game Plans Holding the Kansas City Chiefs Back?” on Unbuttoned with Chris Simms – 10:44]
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My Concerns
To that extension I am concerned. Patrick and the offense did miss Tyreek last Sunday. Someone on the WR corp needs to step up and instill fear, or good D will continue to stifle like that. Mahomes and Bieniemy getting into it in the tunnel is becoming too frequent. This seemed like a conversation more than a fight, but it needs to stop. Special teams were a joke. That better be an anomaly.
Super Bowl News
The NFL announced this week that Rihanna will headline the Super Bowl LVII halftime show. My first reaction: wait, she hasn’t done this already? My second reaction was happiness. She is an incredibly talented and entertaining artist with plenty of fun hits to tap. This will not receive universal praise, and will draw criticism after the fact. Many disliked the scantily clad nature of LIV in Miami and the hip hop nature of LVI in LA. Quick PSA to all in that camp: either embrace the horror or change the channel.
This Week in Stupid Fans
I sincerely hope this does not become a weekly thing, but I have to call a couple out. Last night I caught a baseball game in San Diego. Petco Park is gorgeous and the opponent was the Dodgers, so it was a perfect baseball night. Except for the older woman minding her business in the 5th inning. Someone from the upper level dropped a full beer can, which hit this woman in the head. I hope stadium security caught them.
The other one was a jerk at the Indy game. I stood at the back of my section for the national anthem. The song played and the large contingency of red yelled CHIEFS at the end, as is tradition. Some guy sitting above us made a comment about CHIEFS fans being the most disrespectful people in the league. None of us engaged. Then he said it again. And again. Finally, a forth time. Each of the subsequent times he added a new personal dig until we finally turned around and acknowledged his presence. I have been to many stadiums rooting for the opposition and the list includes a ton of east coast places. The two loudest, meanest jerks I have seen were both at Colts games.
Media of the Week
My movie of the week is Looper, which released 9/28/12. It is a post modern crime type movie that involves time travel. Joseph Gordon-Leavitt plays a hit man who does jobs for the mob. He is part of a team of that takes out older versions of people captured and transported back in time.
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The path for all always ends with them taking out an older version of themselves, which sets the timing for their total life. Bruce Willis plays the older version and does not agree with the protocol, and that’s the movie. It is entertaining to say the least.
I am adding a bonus song of the week, and just may keep this going. My song this week is Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home) by Elle King and Miranda Lambert.
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This is two of the best female party hard peeps uniting for a night out banger. I love playing it at weddings.
On to Tampa!! Or Minneapolis…
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Josh Kingsley — ArrowheadOne and Arrowhead Kingdom
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