Well that was a fun weekend!!

I spent the Christmas weekend in Hays, Kansas and am writing this column in Kansas City. Just like Thanksgiving, I made the trip back to my home stomping grounds. The main thing that made this trip different is that I got to watch a Chiefs game with my parents, my brother-in-law, and my buddy Bryan from Arrowhead Kingdom CHIEFScast fame. We even ran into my favorite chef while rooting for the, um, CHEFS. The guy pictured below is my friend Phil Kuhn, who is proprietor of Blue Smoke BBQ and The Press. These are a couple more of my punch list if you are in town.

This game was a total massacre, and probably actually killed the remaining portions of Big Ben’s professional career. That dude is a warrior, a hell of an athlete, and a Super Bowl Champion. However, it would be a lie to say any of those things pop into my head before Milledgeville, GA. All that said: the NFL is a constantly changing landscape and a league without Roethlisberger will feel odd for a few seasons. To add another dig: we have probably been in that league for a few seasons at this point. More on the game in a bit — as usual — but now it’s time for some of my signature rambling in the way of game analysis.

The Standard Issue Drive

The first question from my parents such when I hit Hays is typically some variation of “how was the drive?” My answer to date has been “about 13 hours.” I hope beyond hope that is always the answer, and that is because it means we got there safely without incident. The barb tossed Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, etc.’s way is that it is flat and boring for a drive. My note: yes, the drive is flat. Our government engineers picked the flattest, easiest path then shell out for a road. There is more interesting landscape other places. My acknowledgement: yeah, they are all pretty flat, but who cares, especially when driving. You should look at the road, and a flat Interstate allows for good time. Thankfully, this was an uneventful drive.

Fire Up the Ole Spotify

However, 13 hours do stack up. My wife and I chat, but we do run out of topics. So we do what all normal people do, and we turn on the radio, and by radio I mean Spotify. Spotify is my source of choice as it offers a selection of music, comedy, podcasts and more. There is not a mood it cannot fit. Comedy is a staple for us, but here are my personal favorites:

• Chris Porter: A Man from Kansas
• Daniel Tosh: Happy Thoughts
• Jim Gaffigan: Mr. Universe

Any Gaffigan will do, and it is family friendly. He is normally during the day, and we switch to the other stuff when it gets dark. We will hit an occasional podcast, and often check in on wedding topics. Quick shameless plug: I also have a wedding topic podcast, so check it out if in the planning world. At some point I end up driving and being the only one awake, so I dive into music. I have over 200 playlists assembled for various reasons and themes, Spotify also does a bang up job creating them.

My Favorite Country Music

I was born in 1981, and grew up in the 90s. Country was the genre of choice in my house. My approach when talking about Country music is to categorize it into broad groups:

• Old, classic: think Willie, Waylon, Cash, both Hanks, through the 70s/early 80s
• The new stuff on the radio since about 2015
• Stuff from 2005-ish to 2015-ish
• Non-mainstream stuff like Red Dirt
• 90s/Prime (thanks Sirius XM for the Prime channel and term)

Obviously you can chop all of these miles deeper, but I maintain these are good jumping points when aligning with someone. My eternal favorite is the last group, and I absolutely adore the era. A major point for me is 90s Country, and always has at least 2, but usually all three, of these elements:

• Steel guitar
• Piano
• Fiddle

Plus, the artists playing these instruments on Country tracks are world class musicians. They set the scene for songs about life, which does often include trucks, mama, and gettin’ drunk.

Legendary Artists

The music world, not just Country, owes a debt to this era if for no other reason that it gave us Garth Brooks, Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw and Toby Keith. These guys have crossed well into mainstream on many occasions and everyone knows who they are. I do have my own anecdote. Tim McGraw is responsible for one of my dumbest comments. The year is 1994, Tim’s second album Not A Moment Too Soon produces a single that makes noise called Indian Outlaw. The song peaked at 8 on the Country chart and 15 on the Billboard Hot 100, so a bona fide hit. My take: “great one hit wonder track.” Safe to say that I was wrong and a half about this. Sixteen studio albums, 3 Grammy wins, and countless other accolades and acting roles solidify that I’m an idiot.

The reason I thought that was justified in a small way. Then 13 years old, was not a music critic, but Billboard did agree in part with the take. Best line: “either one of the catchiest or one of the stupidest songs ever written.” However, by the end of 1994, “Don’t Take the Girl” and “Down on the Farm” forced a major personal backtrack. I really made the comment because one hit wonders were common. Even more common were artists that had a few charted songs in a short time, but later disappeared from constant thought. This isn’t a bad thing, and most of us would change places with those people in a heartbeat.

My Favorite Short Timers

All eras of music produce a litany of time specific artists and songs. Here are my favorites:

• Dust on the Bottle/David Lee Murphy: this song is a banger and still holds up today. David is still active and has put out music as recently as 2018. His ’94 album Out With A Bang charted 5 songs. Dust on the Bottle was his #1, and it remained that way until his June 2018 duet with Kenny Chesney titled Everything’s Gonna Be Alright.
• Michael Peterson: his self titled 1997 album had 2 hits. My favorite is Drink, Swear, Steal, Lie, which hit #3, but he added a #1 called from here to eternity. I am on the record stating that a wedding first dance song is the best song to write. You will live forever. Peterson has one.
• Too Much Fun/Daryle Singletary: this dude had some hits in the 90s, but the best is Too Much Fun.
• Confederate Railroad: these guys are still putting out music and touring, but their heyday was the 90s. My favorite tracks are Queen of Memphis and Trashy Women from their ’92 self titled album.
• Blackhawk: I called Tim McGraw a one hit wonder, but I bet my life these guys would be huge forever. Their 1993 self titled album is excellent, and Goodbye Says It All is the banger.
• Baby Likes to Rock It by The Tractors: a true one hit wonder.

All of these artists put out more than one hit, and most are still playing today (RIP Daryle Singletary), but they made their mark in the 90s. One Country song made VH1’s top 40 one hit wonders of the 90s: Achy Breaky Heart. Billy Ray Cyrus has an impressive catalog, but this is the song that defines him.

The Spotify Playlist

Spotify has incredible playlists, and this one for 90s Country is top notch. It hits the majority of my memories of the era, and it was a joy to relive on this drive. I have 2 issues with this list:

1. No Garth Brooks: this is not Spotify’s issue. Garth is not on iTunes either. The option to get his stuff is –> CDs at WalMart. He is probably the only artist in the world that can pull this move. I respect him… but hate it.
2. No Blackhawk: to be fair the list is 8+ hours, so I may have missed it, but I don’t think I did. Big miss. They should have 1-5 songs on this list.

I cannot recommend this list more.

My Top Picks

Here is another quick list of artists I was big into at the time:

• Alan Jackson
• Vince Gill
• Brooks and Dunn
• Tracy Lawrence
• Clay Walker
• Jo Dee Messina
• Colin Raye

The top 3 have more staying power than the others, and I saw Alan Jackson in concert a few years ago. Brooks and Dunn seem to be ramping up, and I am eagerly anticipating a tour in my area. Vince Gill can come around anytime as well.

Here are some favorite and notable albums:

• Haunted Heart by Sammy Kershaw: this could have been in the short timer list. She Don’t Know She’s Beautiful and Queen of My Doublewide Trailer are the top tracks.
• Brand New Man by Brooks and Dunn: Boot Scootin’ Boogie and Tik Tok marquee Neon Moon headline.
• Woman in Me by Shania Twain: this album had EIGHT singles.
• The Chase and In Pieces by Garth Brooks: these are my favorite of his albums and examples of why he is the best of all time.

Thanks for indulging my love letter to my favorite era of Country music.

That Chiefs Game

This game was in hand for the Chiefs from the opening kick, and an accurate representation of both teams playing. The Chiefs are a rock-solid team that floundered early through Patrick Mahomes first career slump, but now leads the AFC. This is what we expected during the pre-season. The Chiefs are a good weekend away from resting starters for 2 weeks. Pittsburgh’s team is a deeply flawed fringe playoff wannabe with an old QB. The Steelers will miss the playoffs, but they will re-tool quickly. Their organization is top notch, and Mike Tomlin is a hell of a coach. Those factors have kept this duck taped mess relevant for at least 3 seasons. They will be back, and I am curious to see if it is in line with Steelers traditional culture. I think Tomlin will have to relax a bit.

3 Notable Things

The game was a beatdown and one the Chiefs needed. Good teams beat bad teams. Great teams destroy mediocre teams having a normal day. This was line in the sand for the Chiefs, and we have all been waiting for it. A 7-10 point win would spell satisfaction. This was a slaughter that mercifully reduced to complete demolition. The Steelers scored 3 points and a junk time TD. What did we learn?

1. We have depth: Patrick Mahomes relies heavily on Travis Kelce, so his Covid induced absence caused concern. Byron Pringle took the opportunity to have a day. We all thought it was possible. With 2 TD, 6 catches and slick moves we saw it. The Chiefs needed that game. Mecole Hardman scored a TD as well, but he did not alleviate concerns. Noah Gray and Blake Bell showed up too. Not Kelce, but they showed up. This is exactly what we will need from role players to make a 3rd consecutive Super Bowl.
2. The RB depth is serious: I am in KC, so caught a bit of 610 commentary. There is a legitimate call for the RB depth chart to reverse, which would put Derrick Gore at the top. Clyde’s TD run makes me keep him at the top, but Gore’s catch — 50 yds AKA longest Chiefs reception of the day — makes me understand the argument. There is no such thing as too many good RB, and we have 3. I would lose zero sleep if the CHIEFS end up in a position where Gore has to start. The better part is that the Chiefs coaching staff can believe it.
3. Defense is real: Justin Herbert is the only guy who has put points on this D since week 7. #firespags – HA!

I C-A-N-N-O-T W-A-I-T for the playoffs, and I don’t expect to watch the Chiefs until the Divisional weekend.

The AFC Picture

We are in the final stretch run, and I see the AFC in these 5 groups:

1. The Chiefs
2. Other Division Winners
3. Wild Cards
4. Wasted Potential
5. Positive Direction

The Chiefs are easy: they are the class of the AFC, they will win their remaining 2 games unless allowed to park the bus week 18, and they will be off Wild Card Weekend. Let’s get into the rest.

Other Division Winners

I project the Titans, Bills and Bengals in that order. The Bills should win out against the Falcons and Jets taking them to 11-6. Titans should grab the #2 seed by beating Houston in week 18 to even their record with Buffalo. This does mean they lose to Miami next Sunday, and I predict that. The Chiefs cannot lock up #1 without a win in Cincy this Sunday, so that happens, but the Bengals punctuate a great season by destroying the Browns in week 18.

Wild Cards

Colts, Dolphins, Patriots for the Wild Cards. I see the first 2 winning out, but the Pats dropping a 2nd to Miami in week 18. Miami was my dark horse for a spot and they have played themselves in. These are 3 dangerous teams.

Wasted Potential

Pittsburgh probably doesn’t fit in any of the above categories, but I see them mostly here. Show up earlier against the Vikings and beat the Lions, and they are in the Wild Card. They clearly squandered potential, but I still consider them in the correct playoff position: watching from home. Other teams are very clearly here. Let’s start with the Browns. They lost too many close ones, and never got over the injuries. The bigger question: do they have a QB? I think no. They have a hell of a pitch man, but not a QB. This likely means Baker comes back next year, balls out, and the Browns make the playoffs, but also do not answer their biggest question.

The Ravens and Chargers are both disastrous wastes of talent and their fans’ time. I don’t know what to add beyond pointing at the 8-7 records. The Ravens were the #1 seed and prohibitive favorite early in the season, but the wheels fell off. Champions don’t go 1-and-4 in their division Justin Herbert had the Chargers ready to take the Chiefs crown, but crapped down their leg too many times. They beat the Chiefs in Arrowhead, and then lost to the Vikings at home. A loss to Denver followed a Bengals beatdown, and they lost to Houston. These teams are long on questions and short on answers.

Positive Direction

I project the Broncos and Raiders to finishing 8-and-9. That said they both have serious potential. The Broncos are a QB short of relevance, and there are legit rumors of Rodgers and Wilson changing Zip codes this offseason. Either moving to the 303 makes the Broncos scary. The Raiders started strong and Raidered away the season, but they also had a substantial amount of major churn added to the season, and none of it was Mark Davis or Derek Carr’s fault. I am not sure how good this team is, but it is better than 8-9, and that’s probably a playoff berth.

Final Seeding

1. Chiefs
2. Titans
3. Bills
4. Bengals
5. Colts
6. Dolphins
7. Patriots

I can easily picture any of the 4-through-7 teams in Arrowhead for Divisional weekend, but expect the Patriots or Colts. The NFC looks like a completed picture, and I expect the seeds to stand as they are. We appear in line for the elusive Chiefs-Packers Super Bowl as a rematch.

Death of a Legend – RIP

I no more than hit save on this column and saw the news that John Madden had died. This is a little raw to comment, but I felt compelled to log back in and acknowledge this. Rest In Peace, John Madden, a true legend in the sport.

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Josh Kingsley — ArrowheadOne

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Follow on Twitter: @mkechiefsfans

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