Week 1: Chiefs Visit Cardinals, OPEN TREAD
Laddie Morse
Wow, that was the longest offseason ever. Or, at least it has felt that way. Maybe it’s because of the way our Kansas City Chiefs exited the playoffs early last year… before they should have gone all the way! Or, maybe it’s because of the pandemic and everything seems like it takes longer now. Either way, it’s time for some Chiefs Football and I still can’t wait for the game to begin!
While the most significant changes may have been to the wide receiver position where only Mecole Hardman remains from last year’s crop, the biggest overall changes have come on the defensive side of the ball.
Wide Receivers in 2021 included:
Tyreek Hill – traded to Miami
Byron Pringle – he was allowed to walk away in Free Agency and he signed with the Bears, then he was arrested for reckless driving, driving on a suspended license on April 23rd.
Demarcus Robinson – was allowed to walk in Free Agency and he signed with the Las Vegas Raiders but they released him on August 16th.
Marcus Kemp – was placed on Covid/Injured reserve list by K.C. last November then was signed by the New York Giants, who placed him on their IR list with a Hamstring pull on August 24th then was released a week later.
Mecole Hardman – still with the team.
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Now, in 2022, the Chiefs WR group includes: JuJu Smith Schuster, Marquez Valdes-Scantling (MVS), Justin Watson, Skyy Moore, and Mecole Hardman. With Hill providing one of the best wideouts in the league for the past several years, instead, we should now expect to see QB Patrick Mahomes spread the ball around to many different receivers. In the 3 preseason games, each time Mahomes engineered a TD he was able to hit five different receivers. That’s exactly what we should expect this time around as well.
Spreading the ball around should include the Tight Ends and the Chiefs have an upgrade at that position as well. You might be thinking: “How could the Chiefs upgrade the best tight end in the game?” Well, not only is the best tight end in the game returning with a rookies drive to make it once more, but Noah Gray also returns and so does Jody Fortson.
The Passing game is getting bolstered this year by a running back group that has each RB showing superior hands and should help out tremendously in the aerial attack.
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Jerick McKinnon was the Chiefs best RB in the playoffs last year. With Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Ronald Jones, Isiah Pacheco, and McKinnon, the Chiefs don’t have a RB who isn’t good in the passing game.
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Patrick Mahomes: Scorched Earth
The talking heads of the NFL have the Chiefs either finishing last in the AFC West or… going scorched earth. I guess this means, they’re going to obliterate everything and every body in their way this year. I’m not sure how they can have it both ways, but they do:
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All during the offseason, I kept saying to myself, “Well, K.C. just got better at that position” then, “Well, K.C. just got better at that position,” until every position on Defense was better. It all began when the Chiefs decided to move on from LB Anthony Hitchens and rely upon Nick Bolton as their green dot MLB. However, the whole Linebacking position was upgraded in my mind:
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The Cornerback position also got better as far as I’m concerned:
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When K.C. decided to sign Safety Justin Reid and move on from Tyrann Mathieu, I was not only surprised, but was iffy on whether or not this was an upgrade. Since then, I have been nothing but impressed with Reid and I can’t wait to see the difference he makes:
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As the offseason progressed and more and more time flew by without any changes to the DL, I was growing more and more concerned. Then, late in Training Camp, GM Brett Veach made a couple of moves which has me more certain than ever that the Chief are returning to the Super Bowl. Let’s begin with the Defensive Interior:
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When Veach made the move to sign DE Carlos Dunlap, I was thrilled. When Dunlap reported that he needed to sit out a few practices with a sore Achilles, I was once again overly concerned. The early reports on the performances of George Karlaftis has me back to being high as a kite:
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With the offense going through the changes at the wide receiver position, and the defense upgraded across the board, it may take some time for each position group to gel, but it looks like each player comes in ready to rock-n-roll.
Yes, the roster has had a lot of turnover in the last year, but if you go back to the days when Reid first arrived, it’s even more significant. It’s amazing to think about but, Travis Kelce was the only player on the roster when Andy Reid came to town in 2013, and Kelce was injured and didn’t even play that year.
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From donleyservice.com comes this bit of information about the Arizona Cardinals Stadium:
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“[The] barrel-cactus shaped structure seats approximately 63,400 seats, but an additional 8,800 seats can be added to accommodate a total of 72,200 people. There are 88 luxury lofts, approximately 7,400 club seats, two 3,900 square foot Club Lounges, 160,000 square feet of contiguous exhibit space, 20,000 square feet of meeting room space, 77 public restrooms, 47 concession stands, 10 elevators, and 18 escalators.”
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Arizona Stadium has a roll-away field that they can move outdoors to get some sunshine when needed. Yes, the Stadium is air-conditioned. Nevertheless, here’s the weather report for this afternoon in Arizona at the Stadium:
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Let’s hope General Manager Brett Veach is as good as we think he is. We’ll find out soon enough. Today is the day. Now is the time. Go Chiefs!
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Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne
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