Sunday, November 24, 2013

A Return to Winning Ways?

This week, the Chiefs relished in having a very good problem on their hands. For the first time this season, KC must now learn to react to a loss. In a long-awaited return to Arrowhead, the Chiefs will have San Diego and the often-unbearable Philip Rivers to overcome this week. How will they react to their first defeat, and how often will Philip Rivers make you, for any of numerous reasons, want to slap him through your TV screen?

The Chiefs return to Arrowhead for the first time since November 3rd for the teams' 107th matchup. The 4-6 Chargers have won the last two meetings and 8 of the last 10. In their first year with former Broncos offensive coordinator Mike McCoy at the helm, the Chargers are potent but unpredictable. They started the year 2-3, fought their way back to a winning record, then promptly plummeted to their current position below .500 with a three-game losing streak. They've won against the Colts and played well against Denver, yet they lost to Oakland and Tennessee.

Kansas City is looking to return to their winning ways and avoid the start of a potentially mojo-killing losing streak. This is a huge game we'll be watching. With another face-off against Denver looming seven days in the distance, the Chiefs have a talented and bitterly angry squad to deal with. Will KC be able to overcome Rivers and Sandy Eggo at home today? Finish up with my five predictions to find out.

1- Ryan Mathews will absolutely not have the kind of day he had against Miami last week, when he took 18 carries for 127 yards. Look for the Chiefs to cut that yardage nearly in half today, limiting him to 70 yards or less on the ground.

2- An angry Jamaal Charles, on the other hand, should abuse the 16th ranked running defense in the league. Doug Pederson gets wise and connects with him on at least two successful screen passes as well, giving #25 at least 110 total yards today.

3- Once again, KC probably needs to win the turnover ratio to win the game. Expect Shaun Smith, Marcus Cooper or both of them to snag a timely pick.

4- Rivers will get big yardage through the air, at least 300 yards, without turning it into a win.


5- At least three times, Rivers whines and makes facial expressions that anyone beyond elementary school should be embarrassed to make, as the Chiefs go on to win 20-17. I really do love to hate that guy.

Monday, November 18, 2013

One-Loss Woes, and Why They're Overblown

The first loss of the season is never fun. No matter when or how it comes, it will always bring with it new feelings of fear and uncertainty. This year, it came after a surprising 9-0 start that provoked just as much commendation as it did scrutiny. How bad will this hurt the team, and what does it say about their ability to compete against the league's best?

We should all take a deep breath, Chiefs fans. This loss doesn't prove KC to be a fraud in any way, as humbling as it may now feel. If anything, the Chiefs proved yesterday that they're just a couple adjustments away from beating the Broncos with their style of football.

The Chiefs held the Broncos to their lowest points total and Manning to his lowest completion percentage all year. That says a lot when you consider that KC never got to Manning all night. I predicted that Peyton would dink and dunk KC to death and limit sacks, but I sure as hell didn't think he'd go completely unblemished. It seems the Chiefs DC Bob Sutton was unwilling to blitz often, which is something he'll need to remedy in the very near future. Sadly, that's just one of the ways coaching lost this game for Kansas City.

Jamal Charles touched the ball 18 times last night. 7 of his 16 rushes went between the tackles, and his 2 receptions (for -6 yards) came with less than a minute left in the 4th quarter, when the game was effectively over. While running up the gut clearly isn't Jamaal's specialty, the coaching staff can't be blamed for that one. KC's offensive line struggled, especially at the tackle positions, and their inadequacy allowed way too many rushing attempts to fail. To succeed on offense, OC Doug Pederson and the rest of the offense have to figure out ways to give their best asset big-play potential. Wasn't Jamaal supposed to be the new Brian Westbrook or Lesean McCoy? Please, give that man a damn screen pass.

Without properly using their most valuable player, winning the turnover ratio, sacking (or even knocking down) the opposing QB or completing half their passes on offense, the Chiefs still had Peyton furrowing his massive brow in concern until the last few minutes of the 4th quarter. KC should be able to improve their blitz game, give Jamaal the ball in open space to beat Denver at home two weeks from now. Before that fateful game, the Chiefs have the impressively whiny Philip Rivers to deal with next Sunday. Tune in later this week for a look at the upcoming divisional face-off against the Chargers at Arrowhead.

Doug LaCerte operates this blog and writes a bunch of other stuff for Rant Sports. Follow him @DlaC67 for more Philip Rivers hatred, send any and all funny Chiefs GIFs to him on Facebook and add him to your network on Google.



Sunday, November 17, 2013

Bye Week Breakdown Part 2: More Mile High Moments

Game day is here, Chiefs fans, and what a game it should be. Tonight's matchup at Mile High with Peyton and the Broncos is arguably the biggest regular season game in decades. Here, we have the league's best offense facing off against its best defense. Now that they're led by the same legendary quarterback that booted KC from the playoffs time and time again, the Broncos have become the two-headed monsters of bitter rivalry.

Both teams' impressively high level of play now makes the rivalry even more heated. These teams' combined winning percentage is the highest of any late-season matchup in the NFL since 1969. Tonight, we could be watching the most intriguing Broncos/Chiefs game since 15 years and 1 day ago, when Shannon Sharp recited Derrick Thomas' girlfriend's phone number to him before every snap. Win or lose, this game is destined to go down on the list of all-time great Broncos/Chiefs battles.

If you're not excited about this, you're soulless, and I don't think we could ever be friends.

When it comes to predicting a winner in this game, a lot of the focus will, and should go to Peyton and this studly Chiefs defense. However, it will be the Denver defense that will stop Manning from pulling away more than anything else. Only seven teams have allowed more points to be scored, and only five have given up more first downs. Denver actually allows more than twice as many points per game (26.4) as Kansas City (12.3).

Turnovers could be another huge factor in this game. While the Chiefs still comfortably lead the league in turnover ratio at +15, the Broncos are sitting in the bottom half at -2. Alex Smith continues to impress with his smart, conservative play, and the special teams squads have executed to great effect without any fumble problems (better knock on wood for that one.)

A win tonight proves a small nation of Chiefs naysayers wrong and shows that KC has it was takes to beat legit competition. A loss gives the Chiefs a tie for the divisional lead and a new sense of insecurity. We know this team is fallible, but we also know they can win close, hard-fought games. Thing is, those hard-fought games have often come against mediocre competition. After tonight, we'll have a better understanding of how they can contend against the league's best teams in the upcoming playoffs again (go ahead and knock on wood again, just in case.) Here are my five predictions for tonight:

1- The Chiefs, who still lead the league in sacks with 36, will look to muck things up for Denver by never giving Manning time to breath. Unfortunately, this forces football's quickest-thinking improviser to, uhh, improvise quickly. KC's offense keeps this one close, and a couple timely turnovers make it even closer. In the end, well-executed screen plays and at least one blown coverage gives Denver the edge. 27-23 Broncos, but man do I hope I'm wrong.

2- Alex Smith is an underrated passer, and Andy Reid isn't afraid of going over the top. Look for Smith to get his first huge connection with Donnie Avery against the aging, struggling Denver secondary. Beers will be spilled in the Chiefs Kingdom.

3- The offensive lines for both teams are flawed, but that won't necessarily translate into a lot of sacks. Expect a lot of hits on the quarterback, but don't expect a boatload of sacks from Tamba and/or Houston. Neither team will sack the opposing QB more than 4 times tonight.

4- Both Smith and Manning will be looking to get the ball out of their hands ASAP tonight, and both QBs are known for being smart and decisive. Despite constant pressure, expect both of them to complete over 60% of their passes.


5- The Chiefs love scoring in unorthodox ways. Expect at least one score from the defense or special teams in the second half to make wrinkles of concern appear on Peyton's billboard-like forehead.


Doug LaCerte operates this blog and does a bunch of other writing for Rant Sports. Trade jokes about Peyton's bulbous head with him on Twitter @DLaC67, "Like" his rude comments about John Elway's teeth on Facebook and add him to your network on Google.

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Bye Week Breakdown Part 1: Hopes and Fears

 The Chiefs are now more than halfway through their two-week Peyton preparation, and fans are awaiting this week's Sunday Night Game O' The Week with high hopes and chewed up fingernails. Before we get into some in-depth Bronco talk, let's take a look at how the Chiefs got this far without a loss to their name.

KC entered this opportunely timed bye week after pulling out an unimpressive win against the lowly, injury-riddled Buffalo Bills. Once again, the Chiefs proved that they can make a game exciting in the ugliest of ways. Despite plenty of errant play, KC yet again found a new way to win – just outscore the other team with your defense. Oh, and get really damn lucky.

A multitude of dropped passes by Buffalo receivers, an Alex Smith fumble that absolutely should have been recovered by the Bills' starting punt returner Leonis McKelvin, a horribly overthrown pass from an unknown QB for an easy pick, several missed Bills tackles that included would-be sacks, a 100-yard INT return for a touchdown and several more fortunate turns of events helped the Chiefs to their current undefeated status.

People are pointing out this kind of thing constantly in the Chiefs Kingdom. Although the record remains unblemished, fans know this team has barely snuck away with more than one win against a sub-par opponent. How scared should fans be about facing Peyton at Mile High?

Pretty god damn scared. Were you expecting me to lie or something? This upcoming game is worthy of our fear, if only because it will be the biggest test so far for a team that has barely been passing the NFL equivalent of elementary school spelling quizzes lately. The Chiefs' last two games were harrowing, and they leave fans to wonder how their team will fare against legitimate, playoff-caliber competition.

In their last game, the Chiefs defense gave up 470 yards to a 3-5 Bills team led by a third-string QB. The week prior they allowed Jason Campbell to throw for 293 yards, 2 touchdowns, no picks and a 61% completion percentage. Fans have every reason to fear the most prolific quarterback in the league when their secondary has been this porous.

This weekend, the Report will return to explain why your hopes are just as legitimate as your fears. Tune in then to get a more in-depth breakdown explaining why the defense, on both sides of the ball, could make this game much more interesting than Donkey fans would like to admit.


Doug LaCerte operates this blog and does a bunch of other stuff for RantSports. Make him feel falsely important by following his Twitter @DlaC67, leave him rude comments on his Facebook and add him to your network on Google