Random thoughts about Chiefs/Patriots playoffs game

[Frankenchief]

1- Thank you KC Chiefs. It was a great ride. 11 in a row, after we all had left you for dead. 12 would have been nice, but you have already treated us to a great season.

2- This was another reason to lament the stupid loss in the 2nd week to the dirty Donks. We lost that game more on our own than on any Denver prowess. Without that loss we win the division and play a woefully depleted Pittsburgh Steelers at Arrowhead tomorrow. EVERY freaking game in the NFL regular season means something and losing just one can come back to bite us in the behind.

3- This was a game of two teams who were on two different trajectories. NE had all of their crucial players back and rested. We, for all practical purposes, were without Maclin, Houston, Ware, and DAT. Not to mention Jamaal Charles and Half of Tamba hali.

4- #2 looms large here, because we would have won this game if WE were the ones who had the opportunity to rest our banged up players and playing the Pats at Arrowhead.

Now enough of positives and justifications (notice I did not say excuses). To be fair lets get a bit negative here:

5- In the first half the Pats had two long drives to our two. They finished theirs with TDs and we only came up with FGs. We left 8 points on the field. Guess what, we lost the game by 7. If we want to play the big boys and beat them for the big prize we need to learn to finish our drives.

6- Travis Kelce, I'm still a big fan, but if you don't want to be called Baby Gronk you don't disappear. You got a lot of work to do and dedication to get to the next step. Use the off season to get Gronky.

7- Hammond is a better receiver than a kick returner. But that's not saying much. He needed to take one home to get back to my good graces. He didn't. I had a feeling DAT would have had one today. I am very excited about Chris Conley and I think he will have a break out year next season, but we should still add to our WR quality either from the draft or FA market.

8- Speaking of receivers (a temporary return to positives) Jason Avant was our best receiver today. Kudos.

9- Alex wasn't sharp on his deep throws. The pass to Maclin with Maclin having a step on the defender should have been 6. He was high on a couple of other deep throws to.

10- (Another temporary return to positives) Alex did have an overall good game. Alex had some effective runs for 1st down and good short/intermediate passes. On a 3rd and 7 he did a total Russel Wilson and avoided like 4 sure sacks in one play and connected with Avant for a much needed 1st down. Matt Cassel would have crapped his pants 4 times in one play there.

11- The stadium was almost Arrowhead-loud and it affected our O. Don't these guys know they live in Boston?! Anyway I chalk up Fisher's jump and the earlier delay penalty to the loudness of the stadium. Fulton did not hear Alex's signals and was late with the snap. Just another way to say home stadium is a warm and fuzzy place in the playoffs.

12- Andy Reid = at least one stupid sequence in time management. But I think he is the best HC we have had since the great Hank Stram.

13- The offense was not the main reason we lost. Sad to say, I blame the D a bit more. They played subpar to the standard they have spoiled us with. Sutton had no answer for Edelman. The two step drop and quick toss to him was working for them all day. And where was DJ? And is it me or did sean Smith leave his heart in KC?

14- Knile was playing with a chip on his shoulder and then he inexplicably fumbled. I doubt if he is with us next year. I will miss his returns though.

15- The 42 yard pass in the 3rd quarter from the golden boy to Martin originating from their 2 yard line was pure luck. Brady was aiming for Gronk whom we had covered with 3 defenders. Martin was running the wrong route (too close to Gronk) and found himself with a gift ball. That, along with the game sealing deflected pass that ended up in Edelman's grasp for 1st down were incredible strokes of luck worthy of Denver Broncos. The latter could have very well wound up in the hands of our defender for a last minute game-tying pick 6. Frustrating.

Now let's finish with more positive thoughts.

16- This team played far from its A-game and only lost to a sharp Brady and a fully loaded New England club that was playing very close to THEIR A-game in their house. Considering all of our essential players who did not contribute, I am very proud to be a KC Chiefs fan.

17- There are things to be excited about. I truly think Dee Ford will have a breakout year next year. I hope Hali stays and plays at least on a part time basis to extend his career with us. Also as I mentioned, I think we will see Chris Conley get over the hump and become a dangerous receiver. I also actually think our Oline is one very good RT away from approaching awesome next year. Maybe Decker in the first round? Barring injuries, next year could be ours for glory. Let's hope so.

[Chiefster]

Great read Franenchief!

I, too, would like to thank the Chiefs, Coach for creating the Crowd and all the great Chiefs fans who make the Crowd home throughout the year! Thanks to all my fellow Mods and a special thanks to Topeka Roy for all the awesome game day threads. Your all great Chiefs fans!

[NickheadKCAU]

at some point, the chiefs defenders should have jumped into a pass earlier than they did... it was obvious the pats would throw as long as the chiefs were giving those cushions.

by rights, the d should have had at least three int's if they had been more aggressive.

[ctchiefsfan]

Frankenchief....

I'll respond in some detail tomorrow, for now I'll add.....

#18...Sean Smith....You had a GOLDEN PICK-6 early on when it was 7-3. I know....that ball was bouncing around in the air, but MAN YOU SHOULD HAVE HAD THAT!!!!!! Would have changed the whole momentum of the game.

[brdempsey69]

Frankenchief....

I'll respond in some detail tomorrow, for now I'll add.....

#18...Sean Smith....You had a GOLDEN PICK-6 early on when it was 7-3. I know....that ball was bouncing around in the air, but MAN YOU SHOULD HAVE HAD THAT!!!!!! Would have changed the whole momentum of the game.

I haven't watched the game yet, but from what I keep hearing, even the ball didn't take the right bounce in the game against NE.

[ctchiefsfan]

I haven't watched the game yet, but from what I keep hearing, even the ball didn't take the right bounce in the game against NE.

Yup. The "breaks" did not go our way at all....at least not for the 2 quarters I got to watch.

[chiefsfan35hey]

The deeper team prevailed however I cant wait for next year when we get healthy plus through free agency we needore skilled people to facilitate Alex smith . Stop crying about clock management read comments by smith. No way we were going to score even if we did use those 2 timeouts. It is an honor to talk to all my chief friends on line Go tomahawk 2016-17

[Coach]

To me, there were 3-4 main reasons we lost this game.
1. The Knile Davis fumble. The Chiefs got the ball to start the 2nd half and were marching down the field. They were already in FG range when Knile Davis pulled a 'Knile Davis'. That was an enormous momentum shift. Good riddance Knile.
2. No pass rush. We've seen it so many times under this DC. We can beat bad/avg qb's without a healthy pass rush. But to beat good QB's, we have to get solid pass rush. No Houston, no Hali, big problems. Brady systematically picked us apart. New England's game plan was the same as the Denver 2nd half game plan against us in the 1st game. Spread us out, quick passes, and we can't stop it with our scheme.
3. Jason Avant was our best receiver tonight. That should tell you plenty. Avant couldn't make another roster in the NFL, much less be the best option. The loss of Maclin was too much to overcome against another good offense.

There were other issues like clock management, dropped int's, etc. But not having Maclin, Jamaal Charles, Justin Houston, and others proved to be too much to overcome when playing on the road against a great team. Kudos to this team for breaking the playoff curse. This was likely an end to an era for this defense. Tamba, DJ, Berry, and Sean Smith are all big question marks to return.

[rodu]

Frankenchief....

I'll respond in some detail tomorrow, for now I'll add.....

#18...Sean Smith....You had a GOLDEN PICK-6 early on when it was 7-3. I know....that ball was bouncing around in the air, but MAN YOU SHOULD HAVE HAD THAT!!!!!! Would have changed the whole momentum of the game.

I think he would have been tripped up but very least would have been an int

[Coach]

Btw, slot receiver is a gaping hole on our roster. It needs to be addressed this offseason. Every scoring drive took 10+ plays. We need a more explosive offense. Overall, this season was a step in the right direction but there are many holes on this roster.

[jason1981]

Good season. But still a wasted season with all the talent we have. Next year instead of momentum going in to the playoffs il take being healthy instead of momentum. Momentum is overtated.

[Frankenchief]

3. Jason Avant was our best receiver tonight. That should tell you plenty. Avant couldn't make another roster in the NFL, much less be the best option. The loss of Maclin was too much to overcome against another good offense.
I find this one quite unfair. Avant, who despite what you can opined CAN make most rosters in the NFL, had an unusually great day. Perhaps his greatest day in his career, past and future. But,IMO, he is not better or even as good as Chris Conley is going to be.

[Frankenchief]

Btw, slot receiver is a gaping hole on our roster. It needs to be addressed this offseason. Every scoring drive took 10+ plays. We need a more explosive offense. Overall, this season was a step in the right direction but there are many holes on this roster.
Isn't DAT supposed to be our Edelman?

BTW, last year I kept bringing up one person who was great in the slot if not awe inspiring in other receiver roles. Not an Edelman type, but a physical possession receiver. He was too expensive for just that role. His name started with "D" and ended with "waine Bowe." I would take a humbled Bowe back for that role if he is let go by the Browns. A lot of you may disagree, but I think that arrangement could be very effective.

[doobs_05]

Quick passes, KC Ds kryptonite.

The offense needs a huge fix in the passing game, still.

The offense relies to heavily on the turnovers the D gets.

How was Amendola (and OBJ and Burfict in the past) not ejected? I don't think it would of made a difference, but still.

Need to start beating the top teams and not just below . 500 teams and backup qbs.

[doobs_05]

Isn't DAT supposed to be our Edelman?

BTW, last year I kept bringing up one person who was great in the slot if not awe inspiring in other receiver roles. Not an Edelman type, but a physical possession receiver. He was too expensive for just that role. His name started with "D" and ended with "waine Bowe." I would take a humbled Bowe back for that role if he is let go by the Browns. A lot of you may disagree, but I think that arrangement could be very effective.

Matthew and I would of loved him back for this reason. Needs to be less money

[NickheadKCAU]

if bowe couldnt crack the browns roster even as a third receiver, what makes you think he would fair any better with a team he already had a chance to play for....

entertaining bringing him back is not a very good idea.

[rodu]

Bowe is done

[Frankenchief]

if bowe couldnt crack the browns roster even as a third receiver, what makes you think he would fair any better with a team he already had a chance to play for....

entertaining bringing him back is not a very good idea.

Not making the starter status could have many reasons and all but one have nothing to do with lack of talent. Who knows what went on between Bowe and the coaches? It just seems like their old HC didn't like him and wasn't willing to give him many opportunities. All I know is (1) Bowe loves Andy and (2) he was almost unstoppable in the slot.

[Frankenchief]

Bowe is done
Typical fan discard and replace reaction. IMO DB has several more years of slot receiving in him. But he has to be available for a reasonable salary and used in the right way. Don't forget he was also a very good blocker as a WR.

[kcvet]

bottom line our D gets its plow cleaned

[rodu]

Typical fan discard and replace reaction. IMO DB has several more years of slot receiving in him. But he has to be available for a reasonable salary and used in the right way. Don't forget he was also a very good blocker as a WR.

he will be 32 this September, he is at the point where many football players start to decline

[2010chiefs]

I think our defense was the no.1 reason we lost. Brady and Edelman picked us apart and then the 40 yard completions we allowed were uncharacteristic for us. We gave up big 3rd down plays when we had them on their heels.
Our offense and Alex Smith were actually there usual selves. Alex ran the ball well and made some good throws. He did dissapoint at times on the long throws but when doesn't he. He still got us this far. The Knile Davis fumble was a back breaker and definitely lost us the game because once again our defense couldn't stop them. We put up 20 points but gave up 27. The offense did there job but the defense didnt. I thought if we lost it would've been the other way around. Overall it was still a great year and I'm proud of our Chiefs. Let's get better.

[jason1981]

Yeah our def was soft today. They threw on us like butter. Did they even run at all? Bob sutton is to inconsistent as a def cord. Maybe he needs to take a lessor role and promote someone else as def cordinator. His game plan stunk.

[jason1981]

Heck no to bowe. He is done. Have you forgotten how many drops he had? I think maclin and conley will be good 1 amd 2 wr. Maybe if we can get another outside wr move maclin into slot. I think maclin will excel in the slot if we can get an outside threat. Still not sold on wilson. I think conley can become a #1 but not sure how long it will take him to get there. I wont mind drafting oline or wr with our 1st pick.

[Frankenchief]

The Knile Davis fumble was a back breaker and definitely lost us the game.
Off topic: the Steelers just lost the same way way to the Donks. They actually had the game in hand before their RB fumbled.

[Chiefs4life24]

And here we thought the offence was the problem we've got some holes people

[Bike]

There is a lot to be said about getting that first round bye. Teams are beat up at the end of the year and an extra weeks rest AND no travel can do wonders in a run to the Superbowl. This is what we need to aim for next year.

[KCMASS]

Off topic: the Steelers just lost the same way way to the Donks. They actually had the game in hand before their RB fumbled.

I thought the same thing. But the Steelers were winning @ that point. We were always behind.

[mejohnm]

There is a lot to be said about getting that first round bye. Teams are beat up at the end of the year and an extra weeks rest AND no travel can do wonders in a run to the Superbowl. This is what we need to aim for next year.

I agree with you. If we also had the week just to get healed, then things could have been different.

[jason1981]

Always take the bye week if can. Being healthy and fresh is better than momentum. Plus its once less game which mean lesss chance of a player getting injured as such happened with maclin. That in itself is the biggest reason. Anygame you risk another injury and a guy to go down.

[Almighty chief]

all i saw was a scared team... its like we were playing not to win.. Smith was shaky, overthrowing open targets. guess it don't help either our OL banged up making it harder, they were mostly playing out of their position too like Fulton.. it's not like they blew us out, we could of had a 10 pt lead if we executed.. oh well nice run im proud of our team. it wouldn't haven't felt right anyway making the SB WITHOUT Jamal Charles.

[Eydugstr]

To the OP -

Good post.

1. Complete agreement. It's weird because even though we lost against the Patriots, it's hard for me to be too angry with this team. Going from 1-5 to win out to go 11-5 was amazing. Getting a playoff win against Houston after all these years, was awesome.

2. IMHO the Green Bay, Vikings and Cincinnati losses were worse, because we were NEVER in those ball games it seemed. What stung about the Denver loss was because we shot ourselves in the foot, in front of our home crowd. The first Denver game loss sucked (and yes it did contribute to losing the next four) but paybacks are a (&*ch and the Chiefs did EXACTLY what they needed to after losing to Denver in KC - They marched into SA stadium and kicked trophy boy in the nards. The Bears game was another game that we should've won but didn't.

3. Agreed. Injuries suck. No offense to CW or Ware, who've done a wonderful job trying to fill JC's shoes, but if JC had been available, it might've forced NE to play closer to the LOS and opened up more holes in the secondary.

5. We've got a good team but we have some work to do before we're a DOMINANT team. Dominant teams finish tough drives with TD's. Those eight points plus KD's fumble were the backbreakers of this game.

6. If Kelce improves his blocking, and becomes more of a complete player at the position (like Tony G was), he'll make himself that much more of a weapon. Tony G had some growing pains, too.

7. If Hammond had taken one back against NE...People would forget all about DAT. To be fair to Hammond, he did have some good moments in that game but just didn't deliver a great punch to NE when it was really needed. Not sure if Reid will let him go, though - He tends to be really patient with players (look at how long he kept Avery and Bowe around despite all the drops and issues)

8. Am assuming that the only reason why we didn't make better use of Avant earlier in the season was simply to invest more reps in Wilson and Conley. I'm hoping that pays off next season, when they've gotten more of Reid's/Childress' playbook more absorbed. If they kept Avant around I wouldn't complain, but we need to get another WR threat opposite of Maclin to make our deep pass game more effective.

9 & 10. Agreed. Alex was consistently throwing the ball too high, throwing jump balls. Alex isn't going to break away from what he does, one or two checks and if that's not open he's off to the races.

11. Paybacks are )&%ch. We were plenty loud to them when we beat them soundly last year. With that being said, the '15 Chiefs were better on the road than they were at home!

12. Yes Reid sucks at time management. Until someone steps it up and wins a couple Lombardi trophies for KC, no one is going to forget Hank Stram. Neither DV or Marty could, hopefully Reid can.

13. While I think the entire team did play a little "flat" (did they fall for the old trick of partying with NE players all night before the game?) keep in mind Brady was threading needles the entire game. It didn't help to have our best pass rusher on the sidelines. It could've been much worse but thankfully Edelmann was dropping passes left and right at the beginning of the game.

14. I'm hoping Reid doesn't give up on Knile. Yes the fumble sucked, and he does have a history of fumbles, but we have no idea what JC is going to be like when he gets back (JC has a history of fumbling at bad times, too.) If anything I trust KD with the kick return duties over Hammond.

15. We have way too many "almost interceptions". We need to turn those into more back-breaking INT's for other teams to deal with. Peters did a really good job of that this year. To the point it seemed like Brady was not throwing the ball Peters way very often at all.

17. Definitely agree there's a lot to be excited about. While we need to get the RT/RG situation fixed, and another WR developed to complement Maclin, we really don't have any glaring weaknesses that stand out. Which means Dorsey can go after more BPA's instead of being hand-tied to getting team needs, and that alone might generate some surprises for our opponents. The ship is pointed in the right direction.

[Frankenchief]

2. IMHO the Green Bay, Vikings and Cincinnati losses were worse, because we were NEVER in those ball games it seemed. What stung about the Denver loss was because we shot ourselves in the foot, in front of our home crowd. The first Denver game loss sucked (and yes it did contribute to losing the next four) but paybacks are a (&*ch and the Chiefs did EXACTLY what they needed to after losing to Denver in KC - They marched into SA stadium and kicked trophy boy in the nards. The Bears game was another game that we should've won but didn't.

6. If Kelce improves his blocking, and becomes more of a complete player at the position (like Tony G was), he'll make himself that much more of a weapon. Tony G had some growing pains, too.

7. If Hammond had taken one back against NE...People would forget all about DAT.

8. If they kept Avant around I wouldn't complain, but we need to get another WR threat opposite of Maclin to make our deep pass game more effective.

12. Yes Reid sucks at time management. Until someone steps it up and wins a couple Lombardi trophies for KC, no one is going to forget Hank Stram. Neither DV or Marty could, hopefully Reid can.

17. Definitely agree there's a lot to be excited about. While we need to get the RT/RG situation fixed, and another WR developed to complement Maclin, we really don't have any glaring weaknesses that stand out. Which means Dorsey can go after more BPA's instead of being hand-tied to getting team needs, and that alone might generate some surprises for our opponents. The ship is pointed in the right direction.

2- If the we hadn't lost to the Donks the way we did we would have not lost to the Bears and would play Green bay a lot closer. That Denver loss messed with our players' heads and morale. That's why I call that one our most important loss of the season. Without that loss we would have been the #1 seed in the AFC.

6- Talking about messed up heads, that fumble in a game (I forget which) where he caught a much needed first down pass and instead of stepping out foolishly turned inside really messed with his head for the season. I really think it did. He is an emotional guy and emotional guys tend to allow failures affect them negatively. He did some good blocking in the playoffs as well as subpar ones. Because of his emotional nature I think the Chiefs need to make it a priority work with his head this offseason. But like you said even Gonzo took a few years before becoming great. Keep in mind Kelce did not have his first year head start either.

And speaking of TEs I saw encouraging signs that Demetrius Harris was finally getting a hang of it. I have been rooting for his development all along and frankly by midseason this year started having my doubts. Glad he the coaches didn't give up on him. I love the potential of those ex-basketball players playing TE. That was one of the main ingredients in Gonzo's greatness. As ex b-ball players turned TEs go Harris was as ray as they come. Now maybe not so much. He is turning into a football player before our eyes.

7- Yeah but he didn't. On the one return that looked hopeful, Hammond had ONE bigger guy to juke out and sail home. I think that would have been DAT's 6 point return for this game.

8- Yeah but is there a 9 foot tall wide receiver in the upcoming draft? Alex needs to get more accurate with the deep ball especially in big games. He tends to go too high. On the one to Maclin if it is half a foot lower it would have been 6 and a totally different game.

12- DV could have. If he didn't treat the D like a ******* child from a drunken one night stand with an ugly shrew. If he fielded a D remotely resembling what we have now we could have had a couple of Lombardi trophies in a row. That offense was awesome.

17- Not a total BPA. If at pick 28 of the draft there is total stud at any of the RT, WR, ILB positions there he should pounce on him. If, for example, OT Decker falls, he is my choice. Pitt WR tyler Boyd might also be a great pick there.