Josh Kingsley

Things are chaos in my calendar. It’s the deepest depths of corporate 2024 planning, the busiest part of the wedding season, and my kids just got back into school… and a litany of new activities and harder homework. Oh, and Misty started a new job. It’s chaos, but I signed up for it and love it. My default is to jump in, grind and go, but sometimes it’s nice to step back and breathe. To that point, Misty and I dropped everything and went to local café for lunch. I know it doesn’t sound like much, but it’s really all it takes, and didn’t you see that list of stuff I’m doing?

Back on topic in 5, 4, 3…

Misty is a hospitality industry vet. Most of her time is in the hotel world. I’ve seen her in every title from housekeeper to general manager. Through her I proxy, I have seen and heard it all. My favorite story was the guest that disassembled his bed to cut out a giant square of carpet. Why did he do this? The educated guess is drugs, but no one (probably including that guy) really knows. The worst story was the guy who chose to use their hotel room as the spot where he shot himself.

Literally everything. We work in the wedding world together, neither of us ever fully disconnect, so these lunches typically center around some facet of work. The latest topic was fun on a functional and philosophical level.

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Less Service = Better Experience

Misty’s part of a number of hospitality social media communities. The one I hear most about is the Hilton Employees group. It’s mainly people complaining about work, but every once in a while it produces thought provoking gems like this image (at left). I’ve mentioned before, but it bears repeating: I am a social person, but a seasoned traveler, so hotel staff generally don’t provide me much more than an unnecessary stop. I hate checking in and prefer the ability to get a digital key on my phone. What about extra towels, blankets, etc.? The next time I ask for them will be my first. I reuse one towel an entire stay, just like I do at home. Bottom line, I am the lowest of low maintenance. Misty is the same. That screen shot opened a huge topic for us to discuss.

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The customer service and hospitality worlds built their business model on taking care of the higher maintenance crowd. Many factors, including the current workforce environment, make delivering a high consistent level of personal service difficult. My thoughts? Just, don’t. I don’t need it, and really don’t want it. There are many other like me. The concept in the screen shot sounds like heaven. I don’t have to talk to anyone, the staff works from home, and we all act like adults. Wins around.

What does this have to do with anything? Nothing, but I’m catching my breath.

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Another Injury, Another Rabbit Hole

The NFL lost another great player for the season and potentially a career. Week One was Aaron Rodgers. This week, Nick Chubb. Chubb was on a roll with a 6.4 YPC line and a 20 yard run to boot. Then it all ended. We’ve all seen the still shot. I’m not a doctor of any sort, but that looked like a torn everything. How can an MCL, ACL, PCL or any cartilage survive that? It was a stark reminder of the realities of football. Also, it was a reality check of the why players like Chris Jones hold out for more money. Every NFL player is one crazy pile drag away from whatever Chubb has going on.

This is Chubb’s second injury of essentially this nature to his same knee. The first iteration came in college. There is a strong chance we’ve seen the last of Nick Chubb in an NFL uniform. Most casual NFL fans will forget his name within 12 months.

Chubb has always struck me as a good dude. I was on the phone with my buddy Adam from Cleveland, and this one hit him noticeably even over the phone. More than once he ran into Chubb and validated the good guy thing. He also mentioned reading the side of the Chubb cereal box and seeing the story of Chubbtown. A guy named Henry Chubb founded a free colony for African Americans in NW Georgia in 1864. Henry is a distant relative of both Nick and Bradley Chubb. Per the cereal box, Nick spends a good amount of his time working to carry on the legacy of Chubbtown. Knowing this makes it all the more heartbreaking with regard to his personal health. Get well, Nick. Get well.

I have some history of a small town in Georgia to learn.

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Back on Track

Our Kansas City CHIEFS got themselves back on track and schedule with a win in Week Two. It’s a good thing this isn’t college football where style points count because that win wasn’t pretty. I can’t call it ugly, but it wasn’t pretty.

Aside from the result, I see two major positives. The first is the defense. Chris Jones looked like he never left, and reminded us all what we were missing. He showed up in the box score with 1.5 sacks and a tackle for loss. His real impact on the game was command of their O-line attention. Karlaftis, Dana and Anudike-Uzomah added 2.5 sacks, and much of that because Jones’ presence eased their matchups. Attention on Jones = one-on-one for all the others. The others are good enough to stack some wins.

Six QB pressures, seven hits and four sacks put Trevor Lawrence off his game enough to secure the win and a sub 10-point win was the finally Jags tally. Trevor Lawrence looked mortal against the CHIEFS D post zero touchdowns while putting the ball on the ground twice. His receivers found space in the end zones multiple times, but the timing never worked out. Maybe he had an off day. I believe the CHEIFS D put him in an off timing day with all the pressure. 

The words “Kansas City CHIEFS” and “top defense” have not concurrently graced a sentence is many years. It used to happen all the time in the MartyBall Era, but not much since. Are times a-changing or is this a flash in the early season pan? Time will tell.

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Work to Do

As sharp as the D was the other facets of the game equally were not. Special teams was unfortunately saw more of the punt dropping and back kickoff returning same. Butker made his kicks, and Townsend looked sharp. No surprises yet. What was a surprise was the offensive issues. I wrote them off after week one as an extension of the preseason with a young WR corps. That may still be the true answer, but the truth carries troubling parameters.

I am quite optimistic in the CHIEFS ability to get the offense right. We have the best QB, best head coach and best tight end. All hands must be on deck from that group. Reid needs to get Nagy in a better play call place, or he needs to take it back.

Most fans and fanalysts alike point to the lack of rushing attack as the greatest misstep. I’m not a fan of the constant reluctance to run the ball on third and short, but I can’t in good conscious say I really care. A quick slant, out, curl, etc. on third and one is essentially a running play. It’s the same amount of moving parts as a dive between the tackles, so whatever, run either play. I could truly care less if the CHIEFS decide to lean into a pass first approach as it fits the NFL offense trends directionally.

Just execute whatever chosen method. My bigger issue on offense is the lack of creativity. Let’s see some more route combos to get the young WR open in space. This should do miles for the stats, confidence and involvement of the underutilized Justyn Ross and Marquez Valdes-Scantling. A running play with intention of more than change up here and there doesn’t hurt either.

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Looking Forward

The CHIEFS play a six game slate of get right quick before a looming matchup with Miami in Frankfurt. We should not see any issues of overlooking opponents, but we should see some annihilations. A 20-point home win over the Bears is possible… if they execute. It’s also a big step in the right direction. Let’s see it CHIEFS!

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Josh Kingsley — ArrowheadOne and Arrowhead Kingdom

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