Laddie Morse
The game of the season is here, except for maybe the Super Bowl this coming February. Still, the game that everyone had circled on their calendars is finally here and it’s an early one, beginning at 8:30 AM CST this morning (remember to set your clocks back one hour: see left). The Kansas City Chiefs versus the Miami Dolphins is made more interesting by the matchup of WR Tyreek Hill and CBs L’Jarius Sneed and Trent McDuffie. That’s a great place to begin.
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Hill v Sneed and McDuffie
Tyreek Hill was not re-signed in the offseason of 2021-2022 and so he was traded to the Dolphins for a boat laod of draft picks. ESPN said this at the time of the trade:
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“The Kansas City Chiefs traded six-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins for five draft picks: a 2022 first-round pick (No. 29), second-round pick (No. 50) and fourth-round pick, plus fourth- and sixth-round picks in the 2023 draft on Wednesday.”
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The irony is that the Chiefs used part of the trade by taking the 29th pick they received in the Hill trade to trade up with the 49ers, and then the Patriots, to take the CB, Trent McDuffie, with the 21st overall selection in the 2020 NFL draft… who will now help cover Hill today. Here’s the Chiefs DC Steve Spagnuolo on Tyreek Hill (0:38):
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There is the high possibility that Steve Spagnuolo will have L’Jarius Sneed mirror Tyreek Hill wherever he goes on the field, meaning, whether or not Hill lines up on the left side, or the right side, Sneed could end up traveling to that side no matter where he lines up. When you consider that the Chiefs now have — perhaps — the best defensive backfield they’ve ever had, certainly since the 1960s crew — Jim Kearney, Jim Marsalis, Johnny Robinson and Emmitt Thomas notably — this group of DBs is improved by the improved rush, with Chris Jones heading the way. Seth Keysor, — Chiefs of the North — had this to say in his recent piece called, “George Karlaftis and the Chiefs complementary pass rush are heating up. One step remains” (subscription required):
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“With Charles Omenihu now on board and George Karlaftis taking a step forward…. Steve Spagnuolo may have finally found the pass rushing front four he’s been looking for since becoming the Chiefs defensive coordinator.”
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Much of the outcome of this game with the Dolphins depends upon the reaction of the Chiefs defense. The Chiefs offense will have their own challenge, but the Defense needs to step up or this game could get ugly quickly, like the game the Dolphins played against the Broncos back in Week 3 when Miami scored 70 points on them and then let up with 8 minutes to go in that game. Here’s a clip that Seth shared:
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I hope to see a lot of this kind of pass rush of Tua today –> The Quick and the Dead.
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K.C. Offense v Dolphins Defense
Much has been written about the Chiefs offense not performing up to standards in recent weeks. The issue is the Chiefs Wide Receivers not catching the ball, in other words, drops. Both HC Andy Reid and QB Patrick Mahomes have attempted to take the blame for the drops, but it comes down to the WRs — mostly — not doing their jobs.
Let’s not forget that PM had two INTs and a lost fumble in the Broncos game. If he does that again, the Chiefs will lose again. Here’s a video offered by Ron Kopp Jr. showing that Skyy Moore was available in his routes, PM just didn’t see him (0:31):
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To be fair, WR Skyy Moore had a drop in the end zone that could have turned the game around (0:09):
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Many have deified Patrick Mahomes, but that shouldn’t be the case in the game with the Broncos. PM has made plenty of errors, but the thing about his mistakes is… he usually learns from them and he also makes it a point to come back in htis next game and ball out. Here’s Mahomes talkign this week about the little mistakes that add up (0:22):
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Whether it’s PM’s fault or the WRs fault, they have not been playing great football this season, at any point. They may have played a lights out quarter or a lights out half of football, but never a whole game. That’s what it will take today, a whole game of lights out football for the full 60 minutes.
When it comes right down to it, this game will depend upon the performance of the skill position player… the Chiefs WRs and RBs (MVS, Rashee Rice Justin Watson and Skyy Moore plus Isiah Pacheco, and Jerick McKinnon) vs the Dolphins WRs and their RBs (Hill, Jaylen Waddle, Raheem Mostert and De’Von Achane):
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Trade Grade Deadline
This past Tuesday afternoon, the NFL had it’s trade deadline and the Chiefs did nothing. Of course they had very little cap money to hand out to anyone they would end up trading for, but I still have to give them a D-. Why? Because they failed at bringing in a wideout who could make a difference or be of help to Patrick Mahomes. I’m still of the opinion that PM is the greatest QB ever, and if he has the right guys to throw to, he will once again show his mettle. Here’s James Palmer from The NFL Insiders on the Chiefs and the NFL Trade Deadline (0:46).
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Deutsche Bank Park Weather
Deutsche Bank Park stadium has a retractable roof so weather will not be an issue today. Although there is a 66% chance of rain, that should only be an issue for fans making their way into the Stadium.
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Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne
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