David Bell
Josh Kingsley had a good article on Thursday, stealing a bit of my thunder — but not all of it. We are on a different side of the fence about Chris Jones’ holdout. I do not believe what Jones says any longer – he carried the holdout through week one and the Chiefs lost. He was willing to sacrifice a game because he just “wanted a raise.” Stuff and Nonsense. Jones lost a lot of fan support in the process. Beyond that, the Chiefs have a two game exemption and do not need to add him to the active roster right away. If that holds out, Jones will sacrifice two more game checks. At the same time, I need to say: the absence of CJ did not cause this loss.
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See the article by Josh Kingsley here.
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Looking Ahead
The only team in the AFC West to come away from Week One with a win, was the Raiders. I suspect that will change this week as the Raiders face the Bills, a second road game in a row for the Silver and Black. The Bills need to rebound from their opening loss to the Jets and I am pretty sure that will happen. Jimmy Garoppolo will need to throw TD passes and get at least 200+ yards in the air for the Raiders to have a shot. I think they fall short by a good margin… but that’s me. The Chiefs themselves have no easy task this week facing the Jaguars. Trevor Lawrence is no joke — Patrick Mahomes will need his WRs to come through which they failed to do last week vs. the Lions in the 20-21 loss — a game the Chiefs should have won. Something tells me that in Week Two we will see a different result.
The Buts and What Ifs?
I am confident that the WR corp won’t suffer a second week of “Dropsies-itis.”
But… #1: We don’t yet know if TE Travis Kelce will be able to go this week. He was LP (Light Practice) two days in a row and I do not expect that status to change until the last moment.
But… # 2: We don’t yet know if the Chiefs will suit up Chris Jones.
But… #3: Charles Omenihu will miss his second week in a row… serving a 6 game suspension.
But… #4: We don’t really know where L’Jarius Sneed stands for his return to active game play. He was also LP status the past two days.
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At This Point…
CJ can go with the fact that Joe Thuney reworked his contract to make Cap Space available to cover his return to duty. However, CJ missed all of the off-season/preseason work. I am hesitant to make a call on that one. Getting CJ back, if he is ready, would be a huge advantage for the defense. OTOH, DC Steve Spagnuolo called up a game plan that worked in week one. I expect more of the same even if CJ — and L’Jarius Sneed — are absent for Week Two. Other than the Mahomes INT when the ball bounced off of Kadarius Toney’s hand resulting in a pick-six, the defense had done some really fine work –> even without either Jones nor Sneed. The loss was one you can slice and dice any way you which, but the defense did not cause the loss.
My Take on CJ
He was willing to risk the Chiefs season by holding out for the first week’s game. He was willing to bet on his agents, who are jerks, and the NFLPA, who does not have the Chiefs best interest at heart. FUBAR to the latter two and as I noted above, I no longer believe Jones when he says things publicly. Again, that’s just me. My bottom line it is always about the TEAM, not an individual player.
Taking action which hurts the team, is not acceptable to me.
Also, in an article by Nate Taylor for the Athletic (subscription required) called, “‘Excited’ and ‘thankful,’ Chris Jones returns to Chiefs, who expect him to suit up Sunday“ he quoted Chris Jones as saying:
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“I’m excited to be back, and I’m thankful for the organization. They were able to boost my salary up to make up for the fines. Hopefully, we can get something worked out after the year for a long-term [deal]. I’ve reiterated multiple times that I plan to play for the Chiefs for all of my career. That doesn’t change because of the past situation.”
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Game Outlook
The Chiefs face the Jaguars on the road, which will make this game a tougher proposition. Because they lost to the Lions, I think the import of this game is heightened. The Chiefs Job One, is to make this game the most important game of the season and come home with a win. I am not taking the Jags lightly. I believe they will be a tough out.
OTOH, the Chiefs field the best QB in the NFL and hopefully, Travis Kelce will be able to play. With that in consideration, and, presuming that the WRs catch the football, the Chiefs should win this game. I do not expect the offense to come out and start the game sluggishly or slow. I expect play-calling to improve in week two. Further, I also expect that the Chiefs will have resolved whatever deficiency they had in 3rd down and short yardage situations vs. Jacksonville.
At the same time, I think Jags QB Trevor Lawrence is a dangerous man to face and that will prove to be a challenge to the Chiefs young secondary. Much will depend on what happens on first and second downs. If the Chiefs can force 3rd and long situations, as they did in Week One, I am confident that the defense will have similar success in Week Two.
Rather than scoring only 20 points, what I believe will happen is that the Chiefs offense unfolds and scores 30+ points.
This will be an interesting football matchup for a September 17th game!
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David Bell — ArrowheadOne
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