Dynasty Talk: Three Things the Super Bowl Revealed About the Chiefs

Dynasty Talk: Three Things the Super Bowl Revealed About the Chiefs – for the first time in 50 years, the Kansas City Chiefs are Super Bowl Champions. National talk shows have marveled at Patrick Mahomes’ poise under pressure and Reid keeps looking, in every interview, like the cat who got the canary. As the festivities fade though, something else comes into focus, talk of a dynasty. Chris Jones, Frank Clark, and even, to a lesser extent, Andy Reid, alluded to this, in their comments following the game. The football world knows though, it’s a lot easier to dream of a dynasty than make it a reality. The 2011 Green Bay Packers, and 2014 Seattle Seahawks looked like teams who would certainly acquire multiple Championships. While Seattle did make it twice, they were only able to win once. For the Chiefs there are two signs, from the Super Bowl, that indicate their ability to beat the odds, and secure a second championship. However, the game also shined a light on Chiefs biggest need, something they must address, before any talk of a dynasty can be taken seriously.

Brett Veach Knows What To Pay For

When Brett Veach took over the team, he was saddled with a ton of dead money, and bloated contracts, from the Dorsey years. With a few exceptions, he’s largely been able to clear the books and put together savvy short-term contracts. When Brett Veach has elected to fork over a ton of capital, as he did for Frank Clark, Tyrann Mathieu and Sammy Watkins, one thing has been paramount: character. Both Watkins, and Clark struggled with injuries this year, which led fans to doubt these signings, but their competitive nature showed up on the NFL’s biggest stage, and was crucial in carrying them to victory.

Perhaps the biggest signing of all though, was the diminutive Tyrann Mathieu. His impassioned speech, delivered on the sideline, after a 49ers scoring drive, was the catalyst for an improbable defensive shutout, against one of the NFL’s best offenses. From that point on, not only did the 49ers not score another point, they only managed three first downs, in four drives and turned the ball over twice. The Chiefs defense on paper, wasn’t much more talented than the previous year, but they had a lot more heart, and that made a massive difference.

It’s easy to see the contrast to some of the players they elected not to pay. Justin Houston had some big moments over the years for the Chiefs, but, following his big contract, and subsequent injury, he lacked consistent effort. A notable moment, in 2018, was when UDFA Justin Hamilton, pumped up Houston to make a big play. By contrast, Frank Clark needs no one to motivate him and is himself, a powerful motivator on the defensive line. You can’t pay guys big money who won’t lead.

Speaking of which, Eric Berry was once such a leader. Cutting him had to be one of the hardest decisions Brett Veach made as a general manager. Even the greatest among us can be torn down by the grind of illness and injury. No disrespect meant to Berry, but I can’t help but see the sharp contrast, between a man who was cleared to play but ‘didn’t feel it in his spirit, and Frank Clark. Clark’s doctors told him not to play at the beginning of the year. He was dealing with a pinched nerve, and it showed. Later he dealt with a stomach illness that caused him to lose 20 pounds, in a week. Dealing with all that, Clark rarely missed a down and, despite being limited as a pass rusher, remained the Chiefs best run defender.

Dee Ford lined up offsides in Chiefs biggest moment, last year. Far from being seared into his brain: it’s a mistake he would make the next week, in the Pro Bowl… and… he made that same mistake in the Super Bowl against the Chiefs although, it went unflagged this time. Mathieu wasn’t perfect, early in the year, but he learned from every mistake and became progressively more difficult for offenses to target. The 49ers largely elected to avoid him all game, probably one of the smartest parts of their game plan.

One last thing about big moments. In every playoff game, when the opposing offense was mounting their last effort to come back, the same thing happened.

Frank Clark sacked the QB:

• • It happened on 4^th and 10, with a minute and half left in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl.
  • On 4^th and 6, with 1:28 left on the clock, in the fourth quarter, he sacked Ryan Tannehill of the Titans.
  • When the Texans reached 4^th and goal, at the Kansas City eight yard line, the game wasn’t remotely in doubt, but he refused to even allow them to close the gap, for dignity’s sake: and he sacked Deshaun Watson, for a 17 yard loss.

The Chiefs paid big money for big leaders in big moments. It’s something they’ll do soon for Patrick Mahomes, with similar results.

Steve Spagnuolo Can Make Chicken Salad

Out of Chicken Wire

Maria Spagnuolo has become a legend to Chiefs defenders… for her healing meatballs, and banana pudding. Something you can read more about in a piece by Rustin Dodd at the Athletic, called, “The Secret to the Chiefs Revamped Defense.” Her husband has proven to be an excellent cook in his own right, in a metaphorical sense. While Brett Veach was able to secure two top shelf defenders, in Clark and Mathieu, the rest of roster had to be filled out largely, with limited resources. This was especially true, at CB, where the Chiefs didn’t field a single player making more than $3M. The fact that Chiefs were able to perform, when it mattered, against one of the toughest offenses in the NFL, is a testament to what Spagnuolo and his staff accomplished in the first year of a new system, with massive roster turnover. They did so by maximizing the abilities of the players they had, while masking their deficiencies. Several key examples come to mind.

Kendall Fuller struggled, from the beginning of training camp, to adapt to the defense. Hindered by injury or scheme, ultimately, he was largely supplanted as a slot CB, by a combination of Mathieu and rookie 6^th round pick Rashaad Fenton. Many Defensive Coordinators would give up on a guy at that point, but Spagnuolo, instead, moved Fuller to safety. That role became all the more important after Juan Thornhill’s injury, and was supremely validated, by Fuller’s game-sealing interception in the Super Bowl.

Reggie Ragland first came to the Chiefs from the Buffalo Bills when a switch from the 3-4 to the 4-3 made him expendable. With Chiefs making that transition, the writing appeared to be on the wall for Ragland, who struggled to compete for first string reps in training camp. While he ultimately made the final roster, Spags didn’t seem able to find a role for him. Ragland was inactive for the first two weeks and failed to log more than 8% of snaps on defense, in any game through week six. Then, looking for a spark, against the run, Spags turned to Ragland, vs Denver. He was a revelation, as both a blitzer, and run defender. As the season went along, Ragland was used, not just as a run-stuffer, but also as a DE and overhang defender. He ended up playing 45% of the snaps, in the Super Bowl, against the 49ers vaunted rushing attack.

Daniel Sorenson underwent a similar genesis, logging 30% or less snaps, on defense, in each game through week six. Many fans regarded Sorenson as a potential cap casualty. Instead, as the season wore on, Spags used him to fulfill a variety of roles from, Box Safety to Linebacker and even Free Safety. He was starting to play around 70% of the snaps, going into the postseason, until Juan Thornhill got hurt vs the Chargers. In that game, Sorenson would play 94% of the snaps and, in every subsequent game he logged 100% of the defensive snaps. Sorenson has always been a talented player but, it took a savvy DC to remind Chiefs fans of this fact. To a wise coach, Dirty Dan is an asset, not a liability.

Patrick Mahomes Needs Time

“Do we have time to run Wasp?” Patrick Mahomes asked Eric Bieniemy as they readied the next play-call. It was very relevant question, on a day where Mahomes was frequently under duress, from the moment the ball was snapped. Fortunately, Bienemy and Reid were willing to give it a shot, as that play would lead to a 44 yard bomb (54 yards through the air), to Tyreek Hill. It was a supremely important play, on a drive that led to a touchdown and catalyzed a historic comeback. Even so, it was a play that Mahomes almost wasn’t able to make. He had to release the ball early, and hope that Hill ran to the right spot, as Arik Armstead, the 49ers RDE, would smother him shortly after the throw.

If Kansas City wants to stop pulling off comebacks, and start blowing teams out, they need to put a better Offensive Line in front of Mahomes. Certainly the 49ers have a great pass rush, which you’ll never completely blank, but buying time for Mahomes, even half a second more, can can have a massive impact, and should be Chiefs’ primary goal this off-season.

Conclusion

The Kansas City Chiefs have a chance to add to their ring total in the coming years for a couple reasons. Brett Veach understands what to spend money on, to avoid wasting it. Clark and Mathieu were both the kind of home run additions that rarely become available and their passion has been infectious. Steve Spagnuolo and his defensive staff knows how to get the most out of his players, even if they may be a bunch of average guys. Ultimately, though, if the Chiefs want to start a dynasty, it begins with buying Mahomes time. If they can do that, this off-season, expect them to be knocking on the door of another championship, next year, and the year after.

Ransom Hawthorne — ArrowheadOne

See you at noon for David Perkins’ piece called,

“A Super Bowl for the Ages: The Origin of Journey”

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