Chiefs Ten Things About Today's EIGHTH STRAIGHT Win - Page 3

**gblowfish** · 10:07 AM

Ten Things About Today's Game

10. Before we begin, I'd like to thank "Phobia" (Phil) for sitting in for me last week. On Friday I had a little medical scare that ended with some poking and prodding and a machine that goes BING taped up to my tits at the doctor's office, and after getting out of there, I learned my best friend Gary's dad passed away that same morning. So it knew I would be highly distracted for a few days and couldn't even do my normal mediocre job of writing about a rainy, sloppy Chiefs-Bolts game. I did read the entire thread though, and from the various pointed comments learned that many of you think I'm long winded, or don't like when I mention stuff like where I went (today was Johnny's Tavern in Lee's Summit) or what I ate (Cheeseburger) or drank (Boulevard wheat) or who I hung out with (Gary's first day out after burying his dad on Thursday). I'll try not to talk about stuff like that this week, OK?

9. When the Chiefs were 1-5 the CP had basically melted down, and we were talking tanking for a draft pick. Andy Reid has now ran off eight straight, and that's a miraculous accomplishment no matter how you slice it. The last team in the AFC to go 1-5 and make the playoffs were the 1970 Cincinnati Bengals. So it's been 45 years since a team pulled that off. We haven't pulled it off yet, but things certainly look much brighter for us than they did after the Bears Game, when we blew a lead in the last two minutes and Charles went out for the year. No matter what happens from here on out, you have to applaud Reid for keeping his team engaged, and not giving up. Character matters in the league. That's the truth.

8. Usually the goal of a playoff team is to win all or most home games, and go at least .500 on the road. So anytime you win a road game, even if it's over a team down to their third string QB and missing virtually every star player on their roster to injury (Flacco, Steve Smith, Suggs, etc) you still appreciate the win. This would have been a classic Chiefs trap game, where they go out a lay a turd. KC got an early lead, got tied briefly in the first quarter, then basically ran away and hid the rest of the game. We all know Alex does not play catch up well, but generally does quite well when protecting a lead. That's what happened today, and except for one stupid Hail Mary play, the defense won the game. More on that later.

7. It's maddening that KC's QB threw for negative yards! Just kidding, I'm talking about Chase Daniel. And he did throw for -2 yards. If I told you going in that the Ravens' third string QB would throw for 100 more yards than Alex, throw the ball 20 more times than Alex, and throw twice as many TDs as Alex, you'd think Alex had a bad day. He didn't have a great day, but as the game wore on, Andy's play calling got more an more conservative. Alex did pretty well, got Kelce back involved in the mix, got a TD to Maclin -remember last year, ZERO TD's to wide outs?- and had a couple nice runs to get out of trouble. He was sacked three times, but did not turn the ball over. Alex was basic Alex, and today that was good enough. I'll take that every time it means a win.

6. The defense won the game, but there's still some cause for concern. The defensive front wall was missing in action all day. Poe, Bailey, Devito, no sacks, not many tackles. Howard had one sack, but not much else. All the leading tacklers for KC were linebackers and defensive backs. DJ and Berry were in on the most stops, which shows you how much of a blow it was losing them both for the season last year. I guess we can keep Dee Ford's Pro Bowl appearance on ice for awhile, he made one nice play...one...and the rest of the day was pretty much invisible. Tamba tipped a pass, and that was about it for him. 14 points from defensive turnovers -the Branch fumble return and Peters pick six, matched the offense's efforts for TDs today. If you get 14 points from your defense, you should win, and this win was by 20 points going away.

5. Marcus Peters can make you cringe or cry with joy. The Ravens were picking on him for a good part of the game. Peters was playing off in coverage, bouncing off tackles he should have made, tried to strip balls when he should have been tackling. But the kid is a ball hawk. His pick six was the dagger in the second half, and his second pick snuffed all chances period for Baltimore to attempt a comeback. I told Gary after the Hail Mary that Baltimore had used up all its luck for the game on that play, and the defense would adjust and shut down Clausen in the second half. And that's exactly what they did. Kudos to Sutton for adjusting at halftime, and slamming the door on the road.

4. The Brazilian Midget did a great job today. He nailed a 53 yarder, not an easy kick in December in an unknown stadium, and that pad let the Chiefs keep a two possession lead going in to halftime. Hammond was lousy on punt returns again this week. When DAT gets over his concussion, Hammond is at Sears selling Lady Kenmores. Kudos to special teams for stopping the fake punt. Baltimore's special teams is their best remaining unit. They beat Cleveland by blocking a field goal a few weeks ago. They're above average,so sniffing out the fake punt and stopping it was a big momentum changer. Nice to stick that sneaky stuff right back up Harbaugh's ass. Well done.

3. KC went conservative in the second half, punting at least twice in no man's land just over midfield. Third down conversion was just under 40%, which is tolerable, and the team was better on avoiding penalties. KC had one less than the Ravens: KC was 6 for 55 yards, Baltimore 7 for 63 yards. If you can get more penalties called on the home team, you're playing smart football.

2. Andy was slow pulling out his red flag for a challenge in the fourth quarter on a two feet in catch for Baltimore. But as luck would have it, Clausen did a hurry up call on the next play to get the ball snapped, threw the ball into triple coverage, hit Peters right in the two-two and it was a 90 yard pick six. Karma's a bitch when you try to cheat the Football Gods. I told Gary before that drive that Clausen was either going to lose the ball in a sack or throw a pick. He ain't Phyllis Rivers, and ain't gonna convert three fourth downs in one drive. Sure enough, he spit it right up. Third string QBs will eventually kill you.

1. The last time the Chiefs made the playoffs, they ran off a bunch of early wins against a laundry list of teams who had been decimated by injuries. We all know the story about how KC beat a long list of second string QBs. Then went to Denver, got an ass kicking, played mediocre football the rest of the way and blew a 28 point halftime lead at Indy. We all know the nightmare. I tend to take wins like today with a bit of reservation and suspicion. Yes, good teams should win games like today. Yes, the Chiefs were the better team - they didn't fall in a trap. They look poised to make the playoffs for sure; possibly even win the division if the chips don't fall right for Denver. I think this team has much more backbone on defense now than two years ago. I don't see them melting down if they get a lead. The problem is, Alex has to get them that lead, because it's highly doubtful he's going to bring a team back against a playoff caliber opponent. The cool thing is, every team in the AFC has warts now. Five Head and Luck are still hurt. New England lost their running game, and the last time we played Brady we kicked his ass at Arrowhead. Rapistburger is one good hit away from being down and out. Fitzpatrick with the Jets? Seriously? That guy is a fuzzy sawed off Cassel-like journeyman. There's no team, not one, in the AFC that KC can't beat. But I still have that nagging battered wife syndrome... Because....Chiefs. I'm trying to be optimistic as Lucy is teeing up the ball for me one more time. Next up, I think we should all bring a bunch of Sonic cups into Arrowhead next Sunday and wave them at Bowe. If he even makes the trip and suits up.

The Browns game comes after Christmas, so let me take a moment to wish each and every one of you CPers... even the bat shit crazy ones in the DC section - a MERRY CHRISTMAS. and all the best to you and yours. See you next week.

Chiefshrink · 12-20-2015, 08:21 PM