Congrats to Hemmingway

Sunday's Broncos-Chiefs game was filled with ebbs and flows, so much so that Kansas City Chiefs WR Junior Hemingway found a fitting analogy to describe the back-and-forth opportunities between the AFC West rivals.


"It was two heavyweights going at it and it came down to the wire," Hemingway said. "There were some plays that we could have made, but we have to get over it real quick and regroup; we'll regroup, I'm not worried about that part, we just have to regroup and come back next week."


Despite Sunday's outcome, one of many noteworthy performances for the Chiefs came via the pass-catching and tackling abilities of Hemingway. The 6'1, 225-pound WR caught his second-career TD on Sunday and led the team with four special teams tackles. The signal-caller responsible for throwing both touchdown passes to Hemingway, Chiefs QB Alex Smith, spoke to #88's reliability.


"I think every time he gets an opportunity, every time his number gets called, he steps up and makes a play," Smith said. "Every time I turn (and look at) special teams, he's out there making a play. He's just a good, good football player and obviously a talented receiver, no question. Like I said, every time he seems to get an opportunity, he makes a play."


While Smith noticed Hemingway's receiving and tackling skills, so too did the team's head coach, Andy Reid.


"Junior is a good blocker, a tough kid," coach Reid said. "You saw how well he did on special teams, likewise then, he also has sure hands. He is a good catcher. We have increased his playtime here as the season has gone on; I think he has done a good job with that."


On Sunday, Smith found a season-high 11 different Chiefs pass catchers, helping Kansas City rack up 452 yards of total offense, marking the highest offensive output since the Chiefs accumulated 507 net yards of offense on Dec. 23, 2012 vs. the Indianapolis Colts. Junior finished with three catches for 42 yards (14.0 avg.) and one touchdown, but instead of talking about individual statistics, he described the team-wide mindset, leading into Week 14.


"One thing we can say is, it's not over with," Hemingway said. "We just have to keep playing football. We have to come back next week and win out."


Chiefs fans are hoping that's exactly what their favorite team does, beginning Sunday, against Washington.


For a look at the best images from Broncos vs Chiefs in Week 13, click here.

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just like we've all been saying since we've seen him SHINE in PRESEASON. I sure hope he gets involved more Bowe, Jenkins, HEMMINGWAY, then Avery IMO

I've never understood why Hemingway hasn't gotten more playing time than he has. All he does is get open and catch the ball. He had a TD reception in game 1 and then for many weeks after, he hardly saw the playing field & had me wondering why. Time for him to displace Avery, as Avery has dropped too many catchable passes.

He's a monster blocker as well. I think he and an Jenkins are gonna get more time. They both played very well in a high pressure situation.

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Originally Posted by brdempsey69

I've never understood why Hemingway hasn't gotten more playing time than he has. All he does is get open and catch the ball. He had a TD reception in game 1 and then for many weeks after, he hardly saw the playing field & had me wondering why. Time for him to displace Avery, as Avery has dropped too many catchable passes.

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I think his excellent play on the special team works against him getting opportunities as a WR. Maybe Andy thinks if Hemi gets a full time WR job his availability on the ET will decrease. But even if that's the case I think his value is more on the offense than on the ST simply because aside from Bowe we don't have a WR as good as Hemi.

Hemmingway has looked pretty good everytime i have seen him from pre-season on.. Why he doesnt get more play??

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Originally Posted by Pro_Angler

Hemmingway has looked pretty good everytime i have seen him from pre-season on.. Why he doesnt get more play??

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Frankenchief's analysis of why Hemingway isn't getting more playing time is possibly the correct reasoning. I believe it is.

By the same token, Alex Smith has spoken publicly regarding Hemingway's reliability & perhaps Alex could lobby for Hemingway to get more playing time.

Hemingway clearly reminds me very much of Chris Carter -- the type of WR that all they do is get open and catch the ball on a repeated basis.

Then again, who knows, maybe Andy Reid's plan all along was saving Hemingway for the late season.

An ESPN article on this same subject: http://espn.go.com/blog/kansas-city-...dropped-passes

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Originally Posted by jap1

An ESPN article on this same subject: http://espn.go.com/blog/kansas-city-...dropped-passes

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I'm not too sure how much quicker Jennings and Avery are than HEMMINGWAY, the dude is a gunner on special teams, he's got plenty if speed

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Originally Posted by Justin5772002

I'm not too sure how much quicker Jennings and Avery are than HEMMINGWAY, the dude is a gunner on special teams, he's got plenty if speed

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they probably are speedier than Hemingway but both have proven less reliable catchers. You would think if the DBs had to worry about another good receiver on the field they would not play Jenkins (forget Avery) so tight and he could use his speed better for separation.

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Originally Posted by Frankenchief

they probably are speedier than Hemingway but both have proven less reliable catchers. You would think if the DBs had to worry about another good receiver on the field they would not play Jenkins (forget Avery) so tight and he could use his speed better for separation.

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Dave taub was speaking HEMMINGWAY in this weeks coordinator media addresses and taub said Hemmingway was 100% on his blocking assignments last week, I'd imagine if he were on the field more JC would be able to break for longer runs also so our offense dynamic would soar. At the same time though our Sp. Teams would suffer for losing him cause he'd be in the offense more.

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Originally Posted by Justin5772002

Dave taub was speaking HEMMINGWAY in this weeks coordinator media addresses and taub said Hemmingway was 100% on his blocking assignments last week, I'd imagine if he were on the field more JC would be able to break for longer runs also so our offense dynamic would soar. At the same time though our Sp. Teams would suffer for losing him cause he'd be in the offense more.

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At this point you have to wonder if his ability to actually secure a pass outweighs his gunner responsibility on ST. Reid has already shown a willingness to shuffle the O line for players that are more effective, wonder if Junior gets his shot still this season. Either way I'm excited for the kid moving forward.

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Originally Posted by #58ChiefsFan

At this point you have to wonder if his ability to actually secure a pass outweighs his gunner responsibility on ST. Reid has already shown a willingness to shuffle the O line for players that are more effective, wonder if Junior gets his shot still this season. Either way I'm excited for the kid moving forward.

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Actually this was due more to injuries, than lack of effectiveness on the O-line. Both SD and the Donkeys Defensive front 7's were not at 100% the last 2 weeks, as well, which may have made the O-Line look more effective than in previous games.

WR is a different story. It's not injuries, it's dropped passes & receivers not getting open.

Injury provided the reason against San Diego but their effectiveness in that game led them to starting the Denver game even though both "starters" were healthy though.

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Originally Posted by #58ChiefsFan

Injury provided the reason against San Diego but their effectiveness in that game led them to starting the Denver game even though both "starters" were healthy though.

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Both starters weren't healthy. Fisher and Asamoah had gone through light practices all week long & both were listed as questionable for the Donkeys game at Arrowhead. Reid said that Asamoah still isn't quite 100% going into this game against the Skins.

They were ****ing available Jesus Christ if you want to be right that ****ing bad then Ried never said he was keeping the line the same as San Diego because the guys played their asses off. Gotcha.

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Originally Posted by #58ChiefsFan

They were ****ing available Jesus Christ if you want to be right that ****ing bad then Ried never said he was keeping the line the same as San Diego because the guys played their asses off. Gotcha.

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Woah! It's not about wanting to be right. Dempsey is right. If Fisher and Asamoah were healthy they would have played. All Reid was saying is that there is no need to rush them back out onto the field because the O-line did a good job without them (with his "a little of both" comment). Players that are listed as probable almost always play but players who are questionable usually don't even though it's supposed to mean 50/50. And when they do play they don't usually play as well as they normally do because they are playing with a significant injury.

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Originally Posted by #58ChiefsFan

They were ****ing available Jesus Christ if you want to be right that ****ing bad then Ried never said he was keeping the line the same as San Diego because the guys played their asses off. Gotcha.

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Hey slick, COOL IT !! Reid said it was a combination of both the replacements ( Stephenson and Schwartz ) playing well & the injuries to the starters & the starters not being 100% and getting the practice time needed <--those were his exact words. That does NOT suggest the starters being benched because of poor play.

I'm not even sure why we're worried about this...It's not like Denver's D had the ability to walk over our O-line at will.

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Originally Posted by Eydugstr

I'm not even sure why we're worried about this...It's not like Denver's D had the ability to walk over our O-line at will.

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Agreed. What's going on with the O-Line is a whole different world than what is happening with the WR group. The subject is about Hemingway and why he should get more playing time & add to the fact that I've seen somewhere that the Chiefs rank #4 in the NFL in dropping catchable passes <---that's not the same scenario as injuries occurring on the O-Line.

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Originally Posted by brdempsey69

Agreed. What's going on with the O-Line is a whole different world than what is happening with the WR group. The subject is about Hemingway and why he should get more playing time & add to the fact that I've seen somewhere that the Chiefs rank #4 in the NFL in dropping catchable passes <---that's not the same scenario as injuries occurring on the O-Line.

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Didn't mean to drift...And yes, over the course of the season watched a lot of dropped passes. What kills me about the dropped passes, is what it means for our offense stat-wise. In every dropped pass, consider how much yardage and how many possible 1st downs that could have been, let alone scores. If Hemingway's out there making tough catches, willing to block and getting the routes down there's no reason NOT to give him more opportunities. Same for Jenkins.

With their speed, if we get into third and really long situations, I'd love to see both Jenkins and Avery out there at the same time. That would really turn that backfield into a track meet, and possibly open up some draw plays for JC or Knile Davis.

I think we REALLY NEED to get Hemmingway more involved in the Offense this week. The scumskins are not denver or San Diego and RGIII is not manning or Rivers, but he can be a real handful for our dinged up Defense. I think we are going to need to put up some serious points to win this weekend and we REALLY need to win this game. I hope Hemmingway gets a lot of work with the Offense Sunday. He blocks well. He get's open and most important, when the ball comes his way he catches the damned thing. And we are going to need that.