Bengals at Chiefs - Week 7 - Preview Post for Prime Time Game

I'm going to pound out a quick preview post now because I will have no time tomorrow, and while I will be watching the game I will have little time after the game because, again, it is an evening affair.

I've always wanted to treat each individual game on the merits, but let's face it. We are all looking for two things:

- In what ways will Patrick Mahomes and the explosive offense astound us?

- In what ways will the defense disappoint and will we finally see any rays of hope from any improvement?

So yeah, tomorrow after the game I'll briefly put down my answers to those questions.

For now I just wanted to address the deep concerns I had for last year's team, right there in the middle of the season when we so abysmally floundered. Remember that? It was so bad -- suffering through completely inexplicable losses to the three New York state teams -- that I shouted at the top of my blogger lungs for Andy Reid to replace Alex Smith with Patrick Mahomes.

It was indeed a thoroughly justified response. Alex Smith had shown that he simply could not deal with a good Cover 2 defensive look, and while he did finish strong and get us into the playoffs he could not finish in a playoff game, scoring zero points in a second half against a Titans team that we had no business losing to.

On the other hand, the point of this post is that, yes, I'm very very very glad Reid did not put Mahomes in.

The reasons for this are critical to our success this year.

One, Mahomes was able to learn a ton from Alex Smith and just rest taking the entire season to gather information and process. For whatever the liabilities of Alex Smith, he is extraordinarily smart and affable, just the right combination for a youngster like Mahomes to absorb what he must to be ready to fully take the reigns in his second year.

Two, starting right at the beginning of the season with Mahomes at quarterback gave him the privilege of being assured this team is his. No quarterback controversy, and no second-guessing what Reid is going to at quarterback. Sticking with Smith for the entirety of the year last year also gives Mahomes the confidence that Reid will go with him for the duration no matter what -- even when he struggles, everyone knows, Mahomes is the man.

Even though we ended up tanking the season last year, Reid's decision to stay with Smith meant that this year will be better than it would've been otherwise. I am certain of that, and I'm sure most NFL prognosticators and Chiefs fans would agree.

On to Sunday Night Football!
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