[suzzer99]

Something I think about a lot is how all of the local and national pundits say stuff like, "The Chiefs don't need a top 10 defense. They just can't be historically bad. Just average, or even a little below average, is good enough."

The players all hear that shit. I'd probably have a tough time getting motivated for my job if I heard every day, "We know you suck, can you just please try to be mediocre today?", especially if my job entailed risking permanent injury. Obviously they're getting paid a ton and should be professionals. I'm not defending the players. I'm only saying I can see how it happens. They are human beings.

It seems to be the same dynamic with Clark and Jones that happened with Houston and Berry. They say all the right things, but their body language and lack of going all out on every play says they're just picking up a paycheck.

I think Honey Badger polices the secondary pretty well. But we need more guys who play with fire and we need our best players to lead by example. That hasn't happened in the front 7 since we had DJ and Hali in their primes. Bolton could emerge as a leader for the LBs. But we desperately need a stud DE who plays hungry.

The first thing we need to do after this season is unload Jones imo. He's too talented for Reid to bench, and it's just not Reid's style to publicly humiliate a player like that. But I truly think his lack of effort is a cancer that infects the rest of the team.