Would You, Could You Chiefs Fans? 7-3-19

Would You, Could You Chiefs Fans? 7-3-19 – Like any other fan at ArrowheadOne, I dream dreams about the Chiefs signing only players who are upstanding citizens, players we’d be proud to throw a parade for in the middle of winter. I also daydream of someday having the best quarterback in the league, one who wins the MVP and puts up 50 TDs and 5,000 yards passing in one season… oh wait. I must be living the dream.

Yes, I have spent a lot of time in the land of “What if-ing?” … it’s very close to the land of “There’s No Fudging Way!!!” … but it is also my great hope to be visiting both of those lands this coming February when the Chiefs dominate their way to a Super Bowl victory in Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida, on February 2, 2020. You know, “2” is my favorite number: I was born on July 22, 1952, at 22:22 (my father had just gotten out of the service so I use those numbers) and I am the second son of a second son… oh yeah, and, my paper route was 522 when I was 12 years old. So… of course the Chiefs will win it all this year… yep, “because it’s all about me”… I can hear you whispering that right now. Well, whisper softer, you’re being 2 loud.

Would You, Could You? – Think that the average Kansas City Chiefs fan would be happy/satisfied if… Tyreek Hill is only given a two game suspension and then the Chiefs sign him to a Sammy Watkins type deal of 3 years and $48M dollars. Note: in March of last year, the Chiefs signed FA Sammy Watkins to a 3-year, $48 million deal and he received a $21M signing bonus, which was part of his $30M guarantee package.

So, would you think the average fan of the Chiefs would be okay with GM Brett Veach handing out that kind of dough for a player with Hill’s history? Hill’s base salary in 2018 was $630,000 and it is scheduled to be $1,965,036 in 2019, the last year of his rookie deal. In a piece at azcentral.com called, “Highest Paid Wide Receivers: Ranking NFL WRs by Salary for 2019 Season” in which it states:

“46 NFL wide receivers now make at least $5 million in average salary per year per overthecap.com, a site that tracks NFL player contracts (through May 27, 2019).

22 of those make at least $10 million.”

Since many rank Tyreek Hill in the top Ten WRs in the league, and some as high as the 5 best WRs, it seems reasonable to assume Hill would land in the $15M-$16M per year range. Here are the top ten:

• • 1. Browns WR Odell Beckham Jr.: $18 million
  • 2. Raiders WR Antonio Brown: $16.7 million
  • 3. Buccaneers WR Mike Evans: $16.5 million
  • 4. Texans WR DeAndre Hopkins: $16.2 million
  • 5. Rams WR Brandin Cooks: $16.2 million
  • 6. Vikings WR Adam Thielen: $16.2 million
  • 7. Chiefs WR Sammy Watkins: $16 million
  • 8. Browns WR Jarvis Landry: $15.1 million
  • 9. Bengals WR A.J. Green: $15 million
  • 10. Packers WR Davante Adams: $14.5 million

Would you, could you?

Would You, Could You? – Consider the Chiefs signing CB Josh Norman as a Free Agent this August — assuming he’s let go by Washington — who would not only signal that the Chiefs are all-in this season but mean the end of the line for Kendall Fuller after 2019. Norman signed a 5 year, $75M deal with Washington Redskins in April of 2016 and still is owed $14.5M this year and $15.5M in 2020: $30M in all. For the Chiefs to sign him, they’d likely have to come up with a Bonus to entice him but his salary next season would mean Veach couldn’t afford to re-sign Fuller. Ian Cummings of riggosrag.com wrote a piece called, “Breaking Down the Redskins Cornerback Depth Chart for 2019,” in which he says this about Norman,

“He hasn’t mounted an All-Pro or Pro Bowl berth since his monumental 2015 season with Carolina, but he has been a quality starter for Washington. He’s slowly regressed over time, but even in 2018, at age 31, he was able to make plays on the ball, amassing three interceptions, five pass deflections, and three forced fumbles.”

So, maybe you’re wondering why I’d even suggest signing a CB such as Josh Norman at this point in his career? Number one, an injury to any of the Chiefs top three CBs and they will be in the worst shape as a group that they’ve been in since Andy Reid arrived six years ago. Also because, aside from Kendall Fuller’s 12 passes defensed, Norman’s numbers, across the board, would be better than any other Chiefs CB on the squad.

Introducing corners Norman and Fuller, plus Breeland and Ward this year, would signal to other teams that the Chiefs are to be seriously contended with in the defensive backfield. It would also very likely signal that the Chiefs intend to hold off on re-signing any of their current players… for now, and that may be a bit of a sticky wicket.

Would you, could you?

Would You, Could You? – accept that Chris Simms of ProFootbalTalk.com has a current ranking system in which he lists Patrick Mahomes behind Aaron Rodgers as the best QB in the league? Simms said he had Mahomes ranked first, then went back and forth before deciding that the experience factor gave Rodgers the nudge. He said it’s really like 1A and 1B but, because of Aaron Rodgers experience in the league, he edges Mahomes out for the best, for now. Simms acknowledges Mahomes specialness and ability to play outside the pocket, but in the end, it’s Rodgers being able to sit at the top of the league for a number of years that was the difference.

Simms said of the Chiefs first year quarterback,

“The one thing we saw last year with Patrick Mahomes, we saw all the greatness, all the things like that, were there some plays, you’ve heard me say, were left on the field? Yes, but it really didn’t matter because the offense was so good that it made up for it at some point, and they have so many weapons around him.

But we saw too that the inexperience hurt him a little bit, in games where teams did some different things, right? The New England patriots, both times, we thought wow, this is as inconsistent as we’ve seen Mahomes in this offense all year.”

It’s hard to argue with Chris Simms on his overall statement about Patrick Mahomes play. However, he was far and away the best player in the league and a h-u-g-e step better than Aaron Rodgers in 2018. Rodgers being able to limit his INTs to 2 in 2018 was exceptional… but in every other category Mahomes crushed him. Rodgers had half the TD passes of Mahomes with 25, and helped his team produce 6 wins, once again, half the win total of the Mahomes led Chiefs.

We’re all itching to see what a little more experience will do to enhance Patrick Mahomes game. In the meantime, Chris Simms can go….. whatever.

Would You, Could You? – Accept the new league policy, first of all, is only a one-year rule (a try-it-on-for-size year I guess) which allows for Instant replay review off the field for calls as well as non-calls. The new rule, as is listed by NFL.com, looks like this: “6c. For one year only, expands the reviewable plays in Instant Replay to include pass interference, called or not called on the field. Also expands automatic replay reviews to include scoring plays and turnovers negated by a foul, and any Try attempt (extra point or two-point conversion).”

NFL owners met earlier this spring and came up with one rule… then met again and came up with the revised rule you see above. That may not mean much now, but the first rule they came up with was over the top so this is an adjusted framework and meant to be a rule they will form a permanent opinion about next offseason, after they’ve seen it in action this season.

While I think this rule could have saved the New Orleans Saints season last year and propelled them to the Super Bowl, I can’t see how it would have helped the Chiefs when the officials called a clear cut foul on Dee Ford for lining up offsides, even though the standard practice of referees is to give the team a warning first before calling it a neutral zone infraction. So, under normal circumstances, a referee would have gone to Andy Reid and warned him that his player was lining up in the neutral zone, but instead, this time, they just went ahead and threw a flag on Ford. Fair? No. Would this new rule change that? No again.

Oh well, I guess the Chiefs will just have to win the old fashioned way… by blowing them out. That is the idea this year, right?

Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne

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