Laddie Morse
Merry Christmas Eve everyone! Today at noon the Kansas City Chiefs play host to the Seattle Seahawks. Since weather will be an issue — in the form of freezing coldness — the first set of suggestions comes to us from the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) on:
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5 Tips to Stay Warm Outside In Winter
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1. Dress in Layers
Wear several layers of clothing and peel them off if you get too warm.
2. Stay Dry
Your base layer should be made of a material that wicks sweat away from your body.
3. Keep Head, Neck, Hands and Feet Toasty
Your extremities let off the most heat—so keep them wrapped!
4. Bring a Backpack
As you and the kids get hot on a hike or while playing outside, make sure you have a backpack to store their clothes they’ll want to peel off.
5. Feet First
Especially for snowy or icy conditions, get good boots….
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I’m not sure that the Arrowhead staff will allow you to bring a backpack into Arrowhead, but you could give it a try. Aside from the tips above, and perhaps the most important tip of all –> take cardboard with you to sit on at Arrowhead Stadium. I have had season tickets before so I know first hand that sitting on those cold frozen seats can take the life right out of you, even if you have dressed in lots of layers. Consequently, I’d take extra cardboard with you to sit on. It’s great insulation and a real cheap fix.
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Now, having addressed the cold and damp… let’s find out exactly how cold it will be for today’s game at noon:
Weather Report
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13° degrees at game time doesn’t sound that bad but… considering the most important data on this weather report please to pay attention to the wind speed which will drive the temperatures down and cause wind chill problems for those attending the game. Wind Chills reports at are at +2° degrees during game time.
Please access this Wind Chill Chart — provided by HealthPartners.com — to determine how quickly exposed skin can get frost bite:
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Now that we’ve addressed the health portion of today’s class, let’s move on to recess…
Team Rankings
We’re far enough along into the season that each Team’s Ranking should be about where they’ll land at the end of the season. Based on yards allowed per game, the Seattle Seahawks Defense ranks 29th in the league. Only three teams are worse than the Seahawks and that would be Houston, Detroit and Minnesota. Since the Chiefs just played the Texans, the team defensive rankings should not mean much as a predictive tool for who will win this game. Since K.C. struggled against the HOuson, they could end up struggling against Seattle.
In the meantime, the Kansas City Chiefs Team Defense ranks 14th overall, based on the yardage gained by other teams against them.
The Seahawks Offensive Team ranks 14th in the league based upon total yards gained, which is –> 4,895 total. The Kansas City Chiefs Team Offense ranks 1st in the NFL having gained –> 6,012 total. While that sounds like a terrific difference, it really boils down to 79+ yards more for the Chiefs per game. While the Chiefs have scored 414 points this season, they’ve only allowed 322. For Seattle, they’ve scored the exact same number of points as they have allowed: 355. So, while the Chiefs are at +92, the Seahawks at at -0-. The number of points each team has scored may explain to us why the Chiefs are leading their division by three (3) games (while holding the tie breaker over the Chargers)… and the Seahawks are three (3) game behind (and the 49ers hold the tie breaker over them).
With the Seattle Seahawks standing at 7-and-7 and the Chiefs at 11-and-3, you can see why K.C. is the 10 point favorite (CBS). Especially because they’re playing this game at Arrowhead Stadium.
Injury Reports
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With WR Tyler Lockett, Safety Ryan Neal, and Nose Tackle Al Woods OUT for this game, the Seahawks will be missing some key pieces to their defense, which ranked 29th in the league… WITH those players.
Other moves made by the Chiefs just yesterday:
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With WR Mecole Hardman still out, the Chiefs will rely increasingly on WR Kadarius Toney.
Ron Kopp Jr. points out that Geno Smith can make many of the throws that can help his team. There is a good reason that Geno was voted to the Pro Bowl in the NFC. However, he can also be pressured like he was here vs the 49ers:
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Let’s hope that DC Steve Spagnuolo decides to bring pressure early in this game.
Referee Crew Assignment
Clete Blakeman and his crew have been assigned to the Chiefs/Seahawks game today. Blakeman and his crew have refereed a game for the Chiefs earlier this year — Titans game — and that was the Chiefs second most penalized game, ten (10), to the Carl Cheffers game when K.C. was penalized eleven (11) times vs Texans.
You may also recall that it was Clete Blakeman’s crew that threw a flag on Dee Ford for lining up off sides during the AFC Championship game following the 2018 season in Arrowhead Stadium, which would have sent the Chiefs to the Super Bowl. HC Andy Reid even complained after the game that “Usually” the referees will give the team a warning first before throwing a flag on such a call, but failed to do so. That was the play in which Charcandrick West intercepted Tom Brady, but the play was canceled out by the flag.
Motivation
While the Chiefs have the AFC Conference to play for, the Seahawks have a spot to gain in the NFC playoffs if they win (and the Commanders lose to the 49ers, which seems likely).
My Take
These Chiefs have rarely beaten the spread, so I’ll go with another close score:
Chiefs 28, Seahawks 24.
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Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne
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