Josh Kingsley

My hectic life and schedule rolled on through Jamaica last week. This particular trip was 2+ years in the making and originally planned for November of 2020. We all know what happened to that idea. The trip was a total of 5 couples from various friend walks of life. My main goal was a recharge of the batteries with people I don’t see often enough, and that box checked. The other boxes checked include a round of golf, a trip to the spa for a massage, and some seafood. Check – check – check.

Due to a variety of circumstances Misty and I ended up at two different resorts. The friend group bunked at Sandal’s Ochi, but we arrived early and pulled the Hilton card. Misty’s trade remains hospitality and the majority of her career spans various Hilton properties. We have traveled all over targeting employee and friends and family rates, and this trip stayed consistent with the approach. Our first couple of nights were at the Hilton Rose Hall right in Montego Bay. The place was perfection in many ways, but a couple extracurriculars jump out.

Getting the Jerk

Jamaica touts jerk-chicken among other meats. The shuttle from the MBJ [Montego Bay Jamaica] airport to the Hilton was short, but the driver did drop on gem. He pointed a place called Scotchies and named it the best jerk chicken on the island. A quick Google search and convo with the locals confirmed its reputation as a go-to spot. We ordered chicken and pork, and left totally satisfied. The shuttle over to Ochi also stopped us at the Ultimate Jerk Centre in Discovery Bay. We had rabbit there. Throw in wings from the Jamaican Bobsled Cafe in the airport, and mark me satisfied.

My assessment: Scotchies wins. The local recommended place always does. Scotchies became a nice, unplanned treat, but the stop before was the real treat.

The House on the Hill

One of the things Misty found in her research was the Cinnamon Hill Great House. The unique thing about the house is the former owner. Origins of the house is a sugar plantation. Jamaica used to have a ton of them, but the slaves revolted and burned most of them. This place survived and became the winter home for Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash. We took a cab over for a tour. The story told by the curator was of a modest living, well loved local family. All aspects of the house indicated the Cash family could arrive anytime. They keep it that way. It was like walking with the ghosts of the first family of country music. I was simply in awe.

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My favorite item from the house was the croc skin. The story goes that a croc attacked his buddy and tore off his arm. Said friend and Johnny agreed the croc had to die, and got to take the shot. The skin hangs on the staircase, and the story recaps a big meal. That’s some good ole fashion frontier justice. Highly recommend a stop at this house.

Our Lonesome Kicker

I watched the game via stream on my phone at a bar on the beach. The CHIEFS collectively looked great, but Butker took more lumps missing another PAT.

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That makes 3 consecutive games with a missed PAT, and also 4 straight with a missed kick. I am a glass half full fan, but I am also officially concerned. This level on inconsistency is troubling for two reasons. First, I question if there is an injury linger thing going on. Butker messed up his ankle and missed time. Ankles have a bad tendency to linger, and he may be feeling something in his plant foot.

My bigger and more fundamental concern is the focus aspect. Kicking is task of focus for a talented athlete with a rock star leg. It is an elite level skill that seems accessible. Butker is the focus of much scrutiny from analysts and fans alike, and it is for appropriate reason. I do have to point a personal frustration. Kickers get a bad rap from many fans who assume the job is simple and kicks should be 100%. The PAT in particular profiles as an easy task where nothing can possibly go wrong. I drew a parallel this week to bowling, so follow me down this rabbit hole.

A Pyramid of Bowling

Bowling is a leisure activity of choice for me. I enjoy it, have done the league thing and once carried about a 180 average. Anyone and everyone can bowl. I view the entry point to be a bowler as ability to pick up and roll a 14 lb ball. The pins weight 13, so the ball is heavier. A 14 lb ball is the difference between the Friday night fool around and the effort to jump into the sport. We are all potential bowlers. The kicking related equivalent is booting a ball 50-60 yds. Most people can do this.

The next step as a bowler is to throw strikes and understand how to throw them. This level of mastery gets you over 200 with frequency. The kicking equivalent is a high school team kicker. Bowl enough and the 200s become 250s. Add in some consistency and 600-800 total over 3 games starts to happen. People who do this are elite league bowlers. This is similar to the level of a college kicker. Bowling is an easy game to play, you roll a ball down a lane. Being good requires rolling it on a precise path. Being great requires deep precision over and over and over. It’s focus. The pro bowlers work daily, hone the muscle memory, and throw 600-800 series in their sleep. Very similar to a pro kicker.

Level Up

I have multiple 250+ games to my name, I won a tournament once, and I can tell when the ball leaves my hand if I will be cheering or cussing. The fourth boys of summer trip found us on the Dallas Cowboy stadium turf, and one of my buddies kicked a bunch of 30-40 yd FG. One of my DJs, Jeremy, has multiple 300 bowling games and an 800 series, and a former boss was a college kicker for a DIII national championship team. I expect to beat most people I know when I step on a bowling lane, but I cannot touch Jeremy’s game. Jeremy is an incredible bowler, but is closer to my skill level than the worst pro.

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Most football fans cannot fathom bowling a 200 let alone 3 games like that in a row for a 600 series. That feat requires significant time, dedication and focus and most simply don’t do it. High level kicking is the same type of ballgame. Every level up in both bowling and kicking examples are worlds apart and the pool of able people thins drastically each time. NFL kickers are elite athletes and the group is small.

Back to #7

We have seen the kicking equivalent to the 300 games and 800 series, and there is justice and reason to wonder where that went. The thing I keep in mind is the fact we have recent view of the replacement output. Butker missed games this season, and the CHIEFS went through 2 kickers. All the frustrating missed Butker kicks do not change the fact that he is miles better than replacement level. We physically verified that. Butker is our kicker for this season bare minimum. I do not envy the PR and job the coaching staff has to do right now. Their task is to hold his feet to the fire making it clear his job is on the line while concurrently displaying belief and providing positive reinforcement to win games.

I believe in Butker and am rooting for him to break the funk and find the focus. The CHIEFS have one of the elites. However, I hope the scouting department is looking quite critically at the collegiate levels for a potential replacement… just in case.

A Football Weekend

Josh Allen started on Sunday and the Bills lost the game. That loss drops them to 6th place in the AFC and into a Wild Card spot. Allen should not have played Sunday. He is at risk for Tommy John surgery, and the bench was his spot.

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The game was against a physical and underrated Vikings team, and the loss was justified. Letting Allen risk it was not justified. The worst possible outcome was further injury. Second worse was risking said injury by playing Allen and losing anyway. The NFL is better with Allen in it and the Bills need to ensure this with greater care.

The 49ers piled on to all the CHIEFS haters by creating more space in the AFC West. That was poetry. At this point in the season I feel good officially assigning the Broncos also ran status, and assigning the Raiders disaster status. I have many friends who root for the Broncos and Raiders and they fully agree. These teams are in deep holes and I don’t think they have even put down the shovels yet. It’s also time officially declare the AFC East the best division in football. They are what the West projected to be.

CHIEFS Game Recap

Kansas City played an ambitious Jags team last Sunday. Doug Peterson has these guys on an upward trajectory and fighting. This was Jacksonville’s first loss by more than a single score. I applaud the CHIEFS for not allowing this to happen. The schedule on paper opens up for the CHIEFS, and it is important they keep the intensity and close out. Kansas City had the running game going too, which is welcome news.

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That rushing effort Sunday makes the team virtually unbeatable. Bring! It! On!Cheers to the NFL for flexing the CHIEFS and Chargers to Sunday night for a tasty pre-Thanksgiving match-up. This timing change guarantees I will be back in Hays watching with family and friends. Last CHIEFS point:

Patrick Mahomes is the hands down MVP leader right now.

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Media of the Week and Final Take

My movie of the week is Cool Runnings which came out in 1993. The Cool Runnings Cafe at MBJ has it on a loop. I forgot how much I enjoyed that movie, well worth the re-watch.

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Finally, Happy Birthday to my wife, Misty.

She probably won’t read this.

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Josh Kingsley — ArrowheadOne and Arrowhead Kingdom

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