Chiefs: Reasons to Believe

Chiefs: Reasons to Believe

by Laddie Morse

There are reasons to believe in the Chiefs. It’s a little bit odd to be talking about what we can still believe in, about these 5-and-1 Kansas City Chiefs. As many have noted, anyone who thought the Chiefs would have 5 wins after the first six game would be ecstatic but with a loss on Sunday evening to perennial favorite New England, many are now licking their wounds and wondering if these Chiefs are for real.

First, let’s get some perspective on the loss to New England. If the Chiefs face them in the playoffs again this year, they could reasonably expect to have Safety Eric Berry, Safety Daniel Sorensen, OLB Justin Houston, all up and ready to go. If you think about what the impact would be if Eric Berry was able to cover Rob Gronkowski in the game on Sunday evening… it’s reasonable to assume the Chiefs would have won.

Second, if Patrick Mahomes is as good as they say he is at learning and never making the same mistake twice… then the next game against the Pats should be a win. Andy Reid talks about the difference between winning and losing, often times comes down to a few plays going your way. If the Chiefs had converted just one of those first three field goals, then that game would have been a Chiefs victory. Possibly….

Looking past the woulda, coulda, shoulda…

Let’s take a look at the reasons to believe in this offense:.

• WR Tyreek Hill has speed never seen in the NFL. He had 7 receptions for 142 yards in the game against the Pats and already has 567 receiving yards this year… with only 38% of the season completed. That makes him 4th in the NFL this year.

• Kareem Hunt is a star RB. He continues to make yards after first contact and had 185 total yards in the game on Sunday. Add that to the 246 total yards he had against the Pats last year and he has 431 total yards in two games vs N.E..

• TE Travis Kelce had receptions for 61 yards and that takes him up to 468 yards for the year. Although he had a sub-par game if you project that out to 16 games it comes to 1,248 yards for the season.
• WR Sammy Watkins only has 22 catches for 272 yards this year… but… if teams like the Patriots are going to double-team him and leave all the other Chiefs receivers one-on-one then he’s alright by me. He had 2 catches (4 targets) in this game and is averaging 3-to-4 receptions per game so I’m hoping it’s alright with Veach that he’s paying a million dollars per game for this kind of production… and essentially, a decoy.
• QB Patrick Mahomes has 18 TDs and 4 INTs with a 112.2 rating and 1,865 yards. Projected out all season Mahomes would throw 48 TDs, 11 INTs and 4,973 yards. I’m alright with that too.
• Zero sacks given up by this patchwork offensive line was fairly well amazing all things considered. With both Center, Morse, and RG, LDT, expected to return before the end of the season, the depth and future projections are positive.

While head coach Andy Reid is showing that he can keep the peddle to the metal when playing from behind, we need to see him do that when the Chiefs get a healthy lead. There is a concern that Andy Reid, as the head coach, is not paying enough attention to the defense. Especially during games. He often goes to the bench when the defense is on the field and he goes over the play chart or game notes with his QB. With the defense ranked at the bottom of the league in several categories, it’s hard to argue with that take. Still, the offense is one of the best in the NFL and there’s not a lot to dislike there.

DC Bob Sutton is taking the brunt of the criticism about the defense. Whether that’s deserved or not, the defense needs to change in order for the Chiefs to excel this season. With the return of many key pieces to the defense coming in the next couple of months, there is hope that the results will improve.

While the Chiefs might want to look at the game on Sunday and say we “almost” won… I’ve competed against enough athletes growing up to know that their are those who lift themselves to victory when pressed… and those who don’t. The Chiefs can be glad that they have an ascending QB… but until he sets a pattern of beating back his biggest foes… the Chiefs are still going to be tagged a club that is second rate.

If you look at QB Patrick Mahomes whole game you have to be encouraged. If you look at his first half, he appeared to be a little dazed and confused. That is the most disconcerting aspect to this loss to me. Should I feel encouraged? Yes, because he followed that up with a half of football that saw him lead his team to a 31 point barrage of scoring. It’s hard to say… with the team standing at 5-and-1… that it wasn’t enough, because he has clearly been, “enough” in the first one-third of this season.

Hopefully, we can take the long view on Patrick Mahomes. This is his first season as a starter in the NFL. Imagine what he’ll be like in his 3rd, 4th or 5th seasons. His progression and ascension, so far, has been astronomical considering that he just turned 23 years old and just finished playing his 7th game as a professional.

Another positive, in response to the fact that the defense needs help, is that 5 out of 6 of the Chiefs 2018 draft picks were on the defensive side of the ball. Why bring that up? Because that means someone in the head office is aware that the Chiefs defense needs help and they have already begun to do something about it… meaning… we can expect them to continue to do what’s necessary to turn the defense around in the next few months, and years, looking ahead.

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In other Chiefs headline news:

Tyreek Hill had beer thrown on him after he scored a touchdown on Sunday night by a New England Patriots fan. Hill said.

“My coach [Andy Reid] told me, ‘Don’t get emotional. Don’t get mad about it, because it comes with the territory, I’m not mad at all.”

When NE TE Rob Gronkowski heard this he replied:

“That’s just a little bit too crazy, us players are out there competing, trying to be the best we can be out there. That’s just a little too much, I would say.”

I say, SHAME ON YOU ANDY REID. Even the Patriots own Rob Gronkowski gets it. Why don’t you?…

Mike Reiss from ESPN is also reporting that.

“A fan at Gillette Stadium who threw beer on Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill is being charged with disorderly conduct and throwing an object at a sporting event.”

Thank goodness.

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