Chiefs Ready to Change Questions

Laddie Morse

The Kansas City Chiefs have been operating all offseason trying to answer the question: who can develop to get us to where we want to go? Now they’re ready to change that question to: who can consistently be ready to get us where we want to go? Those might sound like the same questions but they’re not. All offseason the Chiefs leaders behind the scenes have been asking themselves that first question over and over again. That second question is the one that all coaches, head and otherwise, will continue to ask, not just on the Chiefs squad, but every team in he NFL, every week.

The first good example of the difference between those two questions is CB Trent McDuffie.

It’s been said before that McDuffie was having a Revis Island type game. That’s quite a complement for a debut game. That was before he went out with a Hamstring pull.

Yes, injuries come into play when trying to answer question #2. Performance and match-ups can as well. The good news for K.C. is that they are now deep at the CB position and even though it’s a 7th round pick, in CB Jalen Watson, who will be replacing McDuffie, the Chiefs have confidence in him. Then, there’s the issue of the Arizona Stadium sod being rubble-trouble. I picked up on that issue during the game and Andy Reid also addressed the issue of Arizona’s State Farm Stadium turf:

“They re-sodded it, which is a good thing because they practice in there. But it was a little bit loose. That’s what happens sometimes when you re-sod, is it’s loose. It was part of the Butker injury and McDuffie injury … The turf picked up and I would tell you that that did have something to do with it. If it didn’t, I would tell you that, too. So it’s not an excuse by any means, but I mean, you all can see it. Watch the tape.”

It would have been a terrible “excuse” to make… if the Chiefs had lost that game. However, since the good guys won, it just shows that the Chiefs head coach is willing to call a spade a spade, and make it public.

Surface Tension

The surfaces that teams play on needs to be addressed by the owners so that there is a commonly high level and standard of playing surfaces teams are allowed to play their game on. Otherwise, they might as well say goodbye to the 17 game seasons, because no team will be able to survive such.

It also happened on the first play before the game even began, with the Chiefs kicker, Harrison Butker slipping and twisting his ankle on his planting foot. Butker did return to action with a long enough kick to help the Chiefs to a 54-yard field goal:

In the meantime, the Chiefs signed another kicker to their Practice Squad named: Matt Ammendola. No relation to Danny Amendola:

Once again, that second question is: who can consistently be ready to get us where we want to go? It would not surprise me at all to find out that GM Brett Veach already had a FA Kicker picked out, just in case Butker ever went down. Or maybe Veach needs to re-work Justin Reid’s contract?

Nick Jacobs, a Chiefs beat reporter for KSHB, is already thinking a month ahead — concerning CB Trent McDuffie — about the second question:

I know the Chiefs (Andy Reid) like to be careful when it comes to players returning from injuries and he likes to give his players plenty of time to physically recover, and that probably why Nick Jacobs is projecting that kind of timeline for Trent McDuffie’s return… but… actually, McDuffie is being sent to the IR list which means he’ll be out the next four weeks (mandatory):

Obviously, McDuffie won’t be around to help the Chiefs win games. So, who will be around in the secondary to help the Chiefs win games… now?

The Chiefs may need to elevate some Safeties to cover the slot more often this week, and Deon Bush a 7 year vet, may be needed for that purpose. Rashad Fenton will likely be employed to play the opposite side from L’Jarius Sneed, so he’s probably not the answer. DC Steve Spagnuolo likes to mix and match so we might see a Safety moving into the slot or even lining up as a primary corner, which means Justin Reid, Juan Thornhill, and Bryan Cook may each be taking a turn there.

What the coaches tell Andy Reid pulls a lot of weight in the decisions he makes during the game. Dave Toub told Reid that Harrison Butker was good to go for the 54 yard Field Goal. Once Butker was counted out, he also told Reid this:

DC Steve Spagnuolo is also making decisions about who will get the most snaps at DE. Since Carlos Dunlap only had 26 defensive snaps, we have to believe that was by design, mostly based upon his physical availability. That’s what the second question is all about: availability. Each week, the coaches will be deciding this about each player:

Who can consistently be ready to get us where we want to go?

Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne