David Bell
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When I write this on Friday, Chiefs.com has not updated the injury report. However, Nate Taylor of The Athletic was in attendance and provided the Friday Update, reporting that cornerback L’Jarius Sneed (concussion) as well as wideouts Kadarius Toney (ankle), Mecole Hardman (pelvis), and JuJu Smith-Schuster (knee) were not be practicing on Friday. Hardman’s status for the game as of Friday is “Doubtful.” The other three are listed as “Questionable.”
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In other words, the Chiefs are missing four key players. Still, there is another week to go with practice next week. I fully expect Toney, JSS, and L’Jarius Sneed to go to full practice status next week. Mecole Hardman is seeking a second opinion about his pelvic injury. Hardman wants to play, in other words. We’ll see if my prediction is correct during next week’s sessions. I have no idea about Hardman.
Patrick Mahomes H.A.S. (High Ankle Sprain)
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At his Post-Game Presser, PMII had this to say:
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“… just was generally sore, I think. It’s a physical game. My whole body was a little bit sore, so I don’t think I took any step backward or anything like that. I had no re-aggravation of the ankle — just the general a little bit of pain I had playing with it. But other than that, I feel like I’m in a good spot.”
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On January 30th, he was highly complimentary of Julie Frymeyer, crediting her for getting him ready for the Bengals game:
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“Julie was the reason I was the guy I was on the field today! It takes everyone, but she led the charge all week! Now let’s get Super Bowl ready!! — Patrick Mahomes II “
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Rick Burkholder also joined in complimenting Julie’s work!
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We often don’t hear enough about what the training staff under Rick Burkholder does with the players. So consider this my issuance of huge credos!
The Chiefs secondary is no longer comprised of “just a bunch of rookies.” They held Joe Burrow and Co. at 20 points, and I summarize it this way: the group is unheralded but deserves the spotlight.
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Trent McDuffie has not played like a rookie.
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Beyond McDuffie, the team didn’t really know what they were getting. They certainly didn’t know how ready any of the other players would be from the jump or how they would grow into their roles over the course of the 17-game NFL season. DC Steve Spagnuolo said:
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“The other guys were a little bit unknown although what we liked about them and what (General Manager) Brett (Veach) identified was the length and some speed and some traits. And you know I think the coaches have done – (Defensive Backs Coach) Dave Merritt and (Safeties Coach) Donald (D’Alesio) have done a great job with those guys to get them ready to play and so have the players. I mean they embraced it. Bryan Cook has been tremendous in terms of – I mean he’s passionate about football. That’s the one thing that’s stuck out right from the beginning and we need as many passionate football players on our squad as we can get.”
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There’s a reason that Chiefs HC Andy Reid has likened this group to Ronnie Lott, Eric Wright and Carlton Williamson with the 1981 San Francisco 49ers under Bill Walsh. That reason is that they now find themselves playing for all the chips in Super Bowl LVII. Furthermore, this group of players in the secondary can play a big part in the reason why they win it all.
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When L’Jarius Sneed left the game with a concussion, I said to myself, “Huh-Oh!” However, that turns out to have been unfair to Jaylen Watson, Joshua Williams, and the 3rd Chief in the safety rotation, Bryan Cook.
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All three of these “rookies” made plays. All three were part of the reason the Chiefs won the AFCCG. If you are not giving credit to this group of young players, you really need to take a hard look at the Bengal’s game.
I am not judging them to have played without a few errors. I am saying they played like a veteran unit alongside McDuffie, a Rookie, Reid, and Thornhill. The Secondary, as a unit, played an excellent game for these players, and they deserve massive credit for the work. Give credit where credit is due to the coaching staff as well. Dave Merritt gets a ‘tip o’ the hat’ and a round of beers at the “Chiefs Drop In” bar and grille. Seth Keysor wrote an article today that was a good synopsis of the game. He titled it: “The Kids Are All Right; How McDuffie, Watson, Williams, and Cook Helped the Chiefs Get to the Super Bowl.” This article was brilliant, though it does require a subscription to Chiefs in the North.
Seth Keysor wrote an article today that was a good synopsis of the game. He titled it: “The Kids Are All Right; How McDuffie, Watson, Williams, and Cook Helped the Chiefs Get to the Super Bowl.” This article was very incisive, though it does require a subscription to Chiefs in the North.
If he expanded it to cover the Front Four, he would add George Karlaftis as a rookie who is making a considerable contribution, too. Then it would be an article about the performance of 5 rookie starters on defense.
QBs Don’t Face Other QBs
On Friday, Laddie Morse wrote an article about NFL QBs, their ranking, faced by the Chiefs v the Eagles. The first two tables he provided tell me the story of both teams and their QB: Mahomes and Hurts. Hurts does not belong as the #2 QB on the list. The second table compares Mahomes vs. opponents related to QB rating, and he compares that to Hurts and his opponent QBs. Take a look at the article here, it’s called: “Chiefs v Eagles: QBs They Faced in 2022.”
The QB comparison doesn’t match reality. This is not to say that Jalen Hurts doesn’t deserve recognition for the Eagle’s season. He certainly does. OTOH, he is ranked by the NFL.Com author ahead of 29 other QBs, including Josh Allen, Justin Herbert, and Joe Burrows.
Laddie also made this observation about the strength of schedule for both teams:
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“The Strength of Schedule (SoS) projected before the season started was offered by The Athletic, and the Chiefs were tied for 5th place with the San Francisco 49ers at .533% SoS. The same projection had the Eagles with the 30th most difficult (easiest?) schedule at .464% SoS”.
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No matter. Nothing is determined until the final whistle has blown and the Chiefs are exercised and energetic for the kick-off to occur, according to OC Eric Bieniemy.
Next week, any kinks will be worked out, player questions will be answered, and I hope that JuJu Smith-Schuster, Kadarius Toney, and L’Jarius Sneed will all get back to Full Practice Status.
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David Bell — ArrowheadOne
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