Cowboys at Chiefs - Week 11 - Record: 7-4

The Chiefs have not traditionally done well against the Cowboys. This is one of the major rivalries in NFL history, really, because of the whole battle for Dallas when the AFL was born in 1960. These teams only meet once every four years however, so this match-up is always a special occasion.

Today: a really good thing to note and a really bad thing to note, as well as a somewhat good thing to note and a somewhat bad thing to note related to the actual on-field game action.

The really good thing was that the Chiefs did the best thing in addressing what happened to the little girl related to the violent traffic incident involving Andy Reid's son the Thursday before the Super Bowl. It has been my contention that this has been a huge weight on the Chiefs even affecting their play on the field ever since then. Yes, it may not have had anything to do with the incident, I know. But something has been afflicting the Chiefs play ever since then. 

As far as this particular incident that left a small child disabled, the Chiefs finally arranged to meet all of the girl's medical needs as well as provide her any care and aid she needs to get her going and enjoying a quality life. From the details of her story there is very good news about her -- she was able to actually start school earlier this year.

The really bad thing was how one of our players behaved today in an on-field incident that was absolutely shameful. After a Cowboys player grabbed Rashad Fenton's helmet for a blatant and violent face-masking, Fenton leapt out of the tussle and was making crazy gestures toward the Cowboys out there in the middle of the field. The most disgusting one was his pretending to cock and shoot a shotgun. 

Now I may be incorrect about all of this, but if that was the case, Fenton should not only have been penalized but ejected and certainly face a fine and suspension time. After seeing the Chiefs do the right thing and make sure to care for that little girl who suffered at the hands of a Chiefs employee last year, now we see another Chiefs employee, one of the players -- in fact one who has shown he's a pretty good D-back -- go off and do something like that. If what I saw was what it was, I can't see how there isn't more appropriate and severe censure of such actions.

As far as the game goes, the somewhat good thing was our defensive effort. Today it was again nothing less than excellent. Yes, the Cowboys did not have their fine WR and fine OT, so Dallas was a bit hamstrung, but our defense still did the job holding the opponent to zero touchdowns on the day. This is a team they said was the top scoring team in the NFL. Our defenders were hitting their marks, making plays, tackling with authority -- and our pass rush was ferocious. Frank Clark looked strong, Chris Jones was a monster yet again, and Melvin Ingram again made his presence felt. All this besides the fine play of our linebackers and D-backs -- Charvarius Ward made the interception of the year to stuff a real Dallas threat.

The somewhat not-so-good thing was our offense. Our first drive was standard Chiefs Andy-Reid-designed Patrick-Mahomes-executing amazingness. After that? Ugh. Clyde Edwards-Helaire was back in and actually had good runs. Mahomes did make some fine throws and our receivers did well enough, particularly Tyreek Hill who made a nifty move after a catch late to get a clutch first down.

But the problems with consistent Reid-arranged pass routes and steady Mahomes-hanging-in-the-pocket-just-long-enough-to-hit-those-receivers to get that needed yardage on offense was again just not there throughout the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th quarters. Half the time Mahomes just looks too timid to fire that ball right in there through a small window. It just seems like he's expecting a receiver to be more wide-open than he can be, when he is good enough to make the throws he's simply not making.

Against the Raiders he and Reid had it down. Make your reads then get what the defense gives you. Don't worry about anything else. Dallas has a fine defense, give them credit, they have a rookie pass rusher who was as disruptive as anything.

Funny, we are at 7-4 right now, the same record we had in our Super Bowl year when our last loss was to the Titans -- same as this year. We have a bye coming up, then we play a tough Broncos team who earlier beat Dallas themselves in Dallas. We'll see if we can get our offense untracked, keep our defense stifling, and make sure our players don't do idiotic things that derail the integrity of the Chiefs Kingdom.

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The photo is from Andrew Mather at the official Chiefs site, thank you.

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Chiefs at Raiders - Week Ten - Record: 6-4

Another prime-time game for our team. As up-and-down as we've been so far this year, as much as the heaviness whatever-it-is weighs on this fine team, we are a national television draw. Mahomes is still a marquee caliber player. This offense is still Hollywood spectacular quality.

For the first time it really looked as though Andy Reid was in the best form calling a football game. For the first time this season I'm sure we all got the feeling this team was being coached and our players were making the plays as they should be. 

Mahomes was doing more to simply step up in the pocket and hang there for just that tick more to get that throw to his receiver. He was doing less drifting -- when he does it is still messy. When it is planned, like his rollout to get their second touchdown, it is great! When he gets those short routes available to him, it is great! Williams, Pringle, of course Kelce were the main beneficiaries, very nice to see all of that making for very nice, long, multi-play drives.

Also nice to see more of those bang-bang plays, quick throws from Mahomes, tonight showcased by that quick TD sling on 4th-&-goal to Noah Gray who'd just dropped two passes. 

Thing is, Mahomes has just got to take something off when heaving his deep passes. He had a number of shots way down the field that just sailed.

Much kudos to the other parts of our game tonight. Our O-line did a terrific job of protecting our quarterback as well as getting our backs grinding. Andrew Wylie even did a terrific job of neutralizing their fine DE Maxx Crosby.

Darrel Williams had a phenomenal night, highlighted by an amazing catch at the end zone! I think he really wanted to make up for his drop back in the Super Bowl on that amazing Mahomes pass while he was in the air vertical.

Our defense also did fine work. It seems as though the pickup of Melvin Ingram has been a difference maker, but it is mostly Steve Spagnuolo just getting his players in the right places doing the things they do best. I think everyone agrees the Chris Jones-at-DE was an unsuccessful experiment. Juan Thornhill playing regularly is key, Rashad Fenton being given substantive playing time has been key. Willie Gay and Nick Bolton anchoring the front seven has been key. There were other contributors -- Jarran Reed for example, he had his first real impact game.

Overall it may just be the case that our poor play up to this point has lit a fire under these guys, moving them to realize they can't just rely on the raw talent. The way it looked out there tonight their extra work paid off.

If you can believe it, this team is now in first place. The Chargers at 5-4, Broncos at 5-5, and Raiders now at 5-4 have just been sputtering and we're looking revitalized. We'll take it.

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Both images are from Steve Sanders at the official Chiefs website. Thank you.

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Packers at Chiefs - Week Nine - Record: 5-4

Today's game is that extra game they added to make the season's total 17, here right smack in the middle of the season.

I'm pounding out this post right at the beginning of the game, not sure how much I'm going to write here about the actual game. Just thinking about the controversy right now, much of it related to what happened with Aaron Rodgers this week.

Rodgers told the truth about Covid realities and he has been effectively ostracized. This is a guy who is a huge part of the NFL's success. The NFL is demonstrating its prolific idiocy yet again by benching him when the matchup between Rodgers and Mahomes is a marquee event. The last time these two teams met we didn't get that matchup because the Packers game was the one right after Mahomes messed up his knee in 2019 and had to sit out a couple games.

This time the NFL didn't like that Rodgers refused to get vaccinated, and anyone of entertainment must be on board with their marketing designs, and let's face it, the NFL is just entertainment with a bit of bone-crunching. If you are high-profile in the popular culture eye, you'd better be in with the hegemony's orthodoxy no matter how destructive it is.

I could spend some time getting into it, would love to do so even here, but I'm just going to go ahead and upload the post I wrote a couple weeks ago. It is my consideration of why the Chiefs are struggling. From the little that I see from the Chiefs web remarks, the reason we are not doing on the field what our talent should bring is any number of meaningless reasons. 

In fact right now as I watch this game, here in the middle of the 2nd quarter, the Packers are just better. They are not better with their talent or anything else except that are just that intangible kind of better. And it is my consideration that the reason is in the post that I'm putting in right now.

We may indeed win this game on the talent merits alone. Not because we're better but because they are and we just have this thing hovering over us. 

Right there, there's a play that exemplifies why I feel the way I do. Mathieu had a pick-six right in his hands, and let it slip through his hands only to have the ball bounce around and drop into the hands of the receiver anyway.

This is just a fine example of the team just not quite being right there where we should be. We're still committing penalties. Missing marks. Stumbling about. Appearing very unsharp. Letting the other team make crazy plays. Just not looking on-track at all in any way. You could even say the most important one of all: Patrick just regularly throwing the ball all over the place instead of into receivers' welcoming arms.

I have a theory.

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Before sharing that, I'm now at the end of the game. We did pull out the win.

Be honest, give the Packers credit, their defense was terrific. Our Chiefs bumbling about can be largely due to our opponent's fine defensive play.

On our side, four quick notes.

L'Jarius Sneed made plays. That interception when he really just snatched the ball right out of the grip of All-Stud receiver Davante Adams was amazing.

Our kickers were also making plays. Butker had a key 50+ long field goal, and because of our generally inept offense Tommy Townsend was punting a lot today. That'd be bad, but he himself was booming them. One he got at the two yard-line, and twice their guy muffed his punts -- can't beat that as a punter.

The play of the game, however, was just a testament to the talent we have at QB and WR. On 3rd-&-10 at midfield only up 13-7 with just a couple minutes left, Mahomes had to scramble hard right and found Hill for the game-closeout first down. It was very reminiscent of the 4th-&-9 play against Baltimore three years ago.

But again, there we were, this talented offense only mustering 13 points.

I have a theory...

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The image is from Chris Donahue at the official Chiefs site. Thank you.

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Chiefs Mid-Year Report 2021

[This post was written before the Chiefs game against the Giants last week.]

Even though it is only after the 7th game in a 17-game season, I can't not put down some thoughts about this Chiefs team. One of the things that is moving me to do this now is I'm watching a bit of the Packers-Cardinals game here on Thursday night football. I usually do not watch any of this other stuff because I just can't stand it, but my wife has it on the television and I'm seeing it.

And you know?

I just can't stand it.

All I've seen so far is the Packers drive at the end of the 3rd quarter. They scored to go up 24-14 over a 7-0 Cardinals team. The Packers themselves are 6-1. 

A far cry from the 3-4 Chiefs.

I just want to compare.

Now some say we'll be fine, and we may be. It may be like 2015 when we started 1-5 and ran the regular season table even winning a playoff game. That was very cool, it was.

Okay, maybe it'll be that way. I hope so.

But I have my doubts.

Let's get to this Packers drive. Aaron Rodgers is there just picking apart the Cardinals defense, and it isn't even funny. He doesn't even have Davante Adams out there, and the Packers are still getting it done. They're mixing up their plays, making those plays happen, running, passing, catching, blocking, holding on to the football all exceptionally well -- touchdown Packers.

Then there are the Chiefs.

I heard from someone saying all it is is turnovers. That's it. We clean that up and we'll be fine. We can fix turnovers, quit yer bitchin.

Bullshit.

I call bullshit on all of that because for one, good teams don't turn the ball over. They just don't. We can say all we want this is not symptomatic of a Chiefs team. The fact is we're still doing it. Solid, precision, executing teams don't do that.

But the Chiefs have been doing that. And they, and Patrick Mahomes, have been messing up all season long.

That is the second thing.

And it is the key thing that I do believe is afflicting the Chiefs.

Remember...

Against the Browns we were having our hats handed to us. Then we got three fortuitous second-half turnovers to rescue us.

Against the Ravens CEH fumbled at the worst possible time snatching sure defeat from the jaws of victory.

Against the Chargers early in the game we moved the ball really well then fumbled and bumbled and threw picks and lost a close one just not ever looking like we were going to win at all.

Against the Eagles their quarterback missed open looks all day long and we still had to work much harder than we needed to put away a poor Eagles team.

Against the Bills we were in it, being a bit outplayed even though we had a chance to win when at a critical juncture late Rashad Fenton intercepted Josh Allen only to have it wiped out because right after that Frank Clark couldn't keep from pile-driving the QB into the ground.

Against the Once-Redskins we played one of the worst first halves ever in our history, then played well enough in the second half against a poor team to win.

Against the Titans, well, ::ker-blarff:: you know, it was just his past Sunday.

In every single one of those games we've looked baffled, flummoxed, befuddled, just generally all around messed up. We have the talent, but we are so all-over-the-place that not even Patrick Mahomes has been able to put a nice window-dressing on all this. Whenever I look at the players faces underneath those helmets I just see defeat, I'm sorry but I do.

Why? Here's what I think.

This stuff has been happening since the Super Bowl. 

I know we can blame our Super Bowl failures on the offensive line all we want, or on any number of other things like those dratted dropped passes, but I've already shared my assessment of what happened. It is here for your review. It is simple -- what I am seeing on the Chiefs football field is merely a prolonged extension of that thing. And unless it is addressed more openly and fully and truly in a way where the spiritual connection regarding what happened is just not having an effect on making our team look like this, I think we'll still struggle. 

To put it simply, I believe that thing is what happened on that Thursday night just before the Super Bowl, with Andy Reid's son criminally negligent in a serious traffic accident that left a little girl permanently disabled, and the intangible fallout from that incident.

Now you could argue that has nothing to do with the Chiefs as a team. I respect that. I just disagree. I simply do not see the full-on competitive integrity -- just that feeling that these guys deserve to be doing well simply on a moral plane. You know over the past two years in every game before the Super Bowl, you could see the Chiefs players have that assurance, that confidence in their authentic merits. I'm sorry, but if you're convinced there is some moral issue weighing on you, it can impede anything you do well.

You may disagree with this assessment, but the fact is the Chiefs are still led by Andy Reid. They take their cues from Andy Reid, their very character as a team is formidably shaped by Andy Reid and who he is and what he does, not just with football. Maybe the thing with his son doesn't have anything to do with it, okay. 

But the truth is Andy Reid has just not been himself. After a game this season he even went to the hospital for a health scare. I hope he's okay, always, in every circumstance. Nothing against him personally, he's amazing. He may have made restitution or been genuinely apologetic and made his peace with all of the stuff that happened. I do know it was his son and not him. It is not for me to judge.

But there is still the football stuff, and something related to Andy Reid is not good for this team.

Frankly, all the football stuff has just not been what is had been, this Chiefs team is simply not the team that was last seen in the AFC Championship Game against the Bills. Every single game since then, every single one.

Maybe it will be addressed. Maybe I'm totally wrong, that's cool. Maybe it is something completely not-that and they'll address it, and we'll see the pre-last-Super-Bowl Chiefs out there again. Maybe Andy Reid will get back to his good ol' spectacular opponent backbreaking playmaking.

But I'm telling you I won't believe it until I see it. Until I see again those plays drawn up, run with confidence, and the players' thrill at doing it all shines in their eyes, I just don't think we've got anything for this season unless the thing that needs to be addressed gets addressed.

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Giants at Chiefs - Week Eight - Record: 4-4

This very day is the 11th anniversary of my baseball team, the San Francisco Giants, winning the World Series for the first time ever in The City. It was a joyous day.

This is why it is kind of funny to watch my football team, the Kansas City Chiefs playing the pro football team named the Giants.

Still.

Errgh.

Errgh errgh errgh.

This game was stupendously aggravating. We should have won going away 34-10, but barely eeked out a 20-17 win. We had 12 penalties tonight, yet on our last FG drive we were bailed out by a couple of critical Giants penalties to keep things going so we could kick in what would-be the game-winner.

I could say a ton about this game, and may still post my mid-season report that elucidates the one key thing that I believe this Chiefs team is simply not the same one that left the field there after the AFC Championship win over the Bills last season.

That's for later. For now it's late for me, I'm tired, this game was utterly draining, I have work tomorrow -- all that.

I went ahead and charted every possession in my notes, and I could just transcribe it all, but again, whew. I will tell you I had a bunch of sad faces, but also a bunch of happy faces. Our team is still very talented and showed that talent out there tonight. To wit:

Happy faces: Hardman, Hill, Gore, Williams, Clark, Jones, Gay, Bolton, Butker... and I'm sure there are at least half-a-dozen other players who played well and hard to pull out this win. There were plenty, that's great.

The most rotten ugly gruesome drawn faces? Right there next to any stupid penalty, stupid turnover, stupid stupid thing that was happening all night long.

And hate to say it, but this is a heads-up to what I really think the issue is, and that is Andy Reid. Hate to say it, but the buck stops there. As a team we still look like very unsharp, undisciplined, unadjusted.

Here, here's a good one. Why was Derrick Gore in there being amazing mid-game, then in the second half he was barely touching the ball? This was a point just made by the television commentator talking about the Chiefs woes. Great point that.

What's with that, Andy Reid?

Of course now they're telling us the Chiefs have the most difficult schedule for the rest of the season, by far. That's nice.

Actually, that's nice, because really, let's face it, at this point we have nothing to lose, and if we do make a playoff run it will be because we've earned it. That's nice actually.

But it will mean squat unless that thing is fixed.

(Ah, I can't help but add what Ryan Clark is saying right now as I finish up this post, there on the ESPN broadcast review of the game. Damn. It is exactly what I am saying about our wonderful team... Stay tuned...)

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The photo is from Andrew Mather at the official Chiefs website. Thank you.

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