David Bell
Open Mouth, Insert Foot
That was the first thought I had about Justin Reid not recalling the name of the Bengal WR. Heck. I don’t know it either. It’s not important, but you don’t want to get in from of the press and err the way that Justin Reid did in his presser. What a Faux Pas! Ya! Tee Higgins is his name and more than Hayden Hurst responded. I am not sure how I feel about the given name. Sounds left coast to me. That verbal episode gave the Bengals some ammunition, not that Hurst makes a difference. Andy Reid made comment about the “episode” in his presser on Thursday:
“I’m not real big on that. He’s new to our team.
He’s aware of it now, for sure. He wasn’t before.”
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Speaking for me? Open Mouth and insert foot. Get a clue and Andy said he had done so. Too late to renege on the comments Justin. Will it make a difference? I doubt it.
Laddie and I: A Brief Exchange
I spoke to Laddie briefly Thursday Night. I was up to watching most of the Bills game. The outcome was as I expected. I was amused about how much the commentators gushed about Allen’s good play, scrambling right and throwing back against the grain. Reminds me of something we are used to seeing with the Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes. Apparently he missed out on the opportunity to queue up Mahomes by name. Ah, well. The pundits and announcers just don’t want to give the Chiefs any credit — nor Mahomes — for whatever reason.
For this game, I gave Laddie a prediction: 34 or 37 for the Chiefs, and 20 or 24 for the Bengals. My point is that the Chiefs are a superior team. The Bengal’s run is finished. I have no doubt that Burrow will play well. I don’t think, toe-to-toe, the two losses K.C. suffered in 2021 will matter in the end result. The Chiefs have a lot on the line — and a bunch of crow in the craw as well as I think last years AFC Championship loss to the Bengals is sticking in a lot of craws. The Chiefs will play a dominant game versus the Bengals. The it’ll be… Joe who?
Kelce-Kelce and Mahomes
The pairing of the brothers Kelce is often good football material. Their latest “New Heights” podcast (or is it a YouTube Channel?) had Patrick Mahomes as the guest. This one minutes part of a recent session was enjoyable and worth of a look and listen:
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Andy Reid Prep
I cannot imagine HC Andy Reid not being prepared for this game. Big money (Vegas oriented) is on the line.
I am unsure of what to make of the Vegas line. The most recent history favors the Bengals and the Chiefs trail Cincy by 3 games in the historic match-up. I am going to state that the Chiefs cover the spread handily. Andy Reid’s team should be completely fired up for this game. There are times you question the Mahomes led crew and other times you do not. Last week, they covered the odds vs the Rams. They may have been looking too far ahead, but then PMII was expecting the birth of his infant son — enough of a reason for him to have been less than focused. I do not view that as being the case for Sunday.
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The thing about the Bengals is you have to stop a two-tier threat, both on the ground and with Joe Burrows and Co. aerial game. On the other hand, though the Chiefs take-away differential is not good, they stop the run and deter their opponents aerial attack with fervor. I have really enjoyed the Chiefs defense a bunch. By most standards, they have climbed into the top 15 in defensive ratings after holding the Rams to 10 points.
Irritating as “He!!“
The Chiefs game next week was flexed out of SNF — largely due to the opponent, Denver. The Broncos have been playing less that stellar football. Russell Wilson has made no friends in Denver. I cannot say that I am sad about this fact. He was not a QB I admired when he was in the NW. Let’s hope the havoc administered the Broncos continues in a couple of weeks.
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Patrick Mahomes
All season long we have heard from the pundits reasons for this or that NFL QB to be the MVP. That is nonsense, baloney and more expletives should be applied. Here are the Mahomes numbers thus far:
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Patrick Mahomes leads all other QBs by a huge margin. I do not understand the hype involved. The Chiefs and their fans are blessed with his presence.
I know that I am a “homer” and I have followed the Chiefs from the beginning of time, the good, the bad, and the ugly. I believe the Chiefs fans are blessed with a great GM, Head Coach & Coaching staff and a superior roster. The addition of RB Melvin Gordon and DL Brandon Williams both appear to me to be good moves — especially Williams, who is a run stopping fiend.
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Injury Report from Friday
I like what Kadarius Toney brings to the table, and I don’t want to see K.C. exacerbate the hamstring injury situation. Deon Bush has been integral, but I really like what rookie Bryan Cooks lends to the back end. I presume that Jerick McKinnon will be ready to roll on Sunday, and he only was “FP” status on Friday. All good news.
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| WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling | Shoulder | FP | – |
| WR Justin Watson | Knee | FP | – |
| DE Carlos Dunlap | Foot | FP | – |
| S Bryan Cook | Wrist | FP | – |
| S Juan Thornhill | Calf | FP | – |
| CB L’Jarius Sneed | Calf | FP | – |
| OT Lucas Niang | Knee | FP | – |
| CB Jaylen Watson | Hand | FP | – |
| RG Trey Smith | Knee | FP | – |
| LG Joe Thuney | Ankle | FP | – |
| S Deon Bush | Elbow | LP | Questionable |
| WR Kadarius Toney | Hamstring | DNP | Out |
| WR JuJu Smith-Schuster | Illness | FP | – |
| RB Jerick McKinnon | Hamstring | FP | – |
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Win, lose or draw, the Chiefs are a fantastic football club. I will leave it there for Saturday!
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David Bell – ArrowheadOne