Chiefs vs. Browns: Cleveland Fans Wanna Know
John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports
The Kansas City Chiefs are 7-0 and are just a few short days away from playing for 8-0.
If they get to that mark, the Chiefs will have gone through half of the NFL season undefeated. From 2-14 to 8-0? No matter how you look at it, that’s quite a terrific turnaround.
As is the case with most sports though, there will be a team on the other sideline trying to stop Kansas City from achieving its goal, the Cleveland Browns.
We’re pretty knowledgable over here at Arrowhead Addict, but even we can’t profess to know everything about every team in the NFL. Thankfully, that’s why we have the great Fansided network that features sites for every team in the NFL.
To get more of an inside scoop on the Browns, I talked to Dawg Pound Daily staff writer Michael Angelo and asked him some questions. In return, he asked me a few.
We’ll post his answers a little bit later, but in the meantime, here are his questions, and my take on the Chiefs:
MA: Did you ever think the Chiefs would get things turned around so quickly after last year’s 2-14 season? With that being said, it gives all of us in Cleveland some hope for next year…maybe. Hah
AK: Well, the NFL is a league full of parity, so a turnaround isn’t that surprising. Especially when considering the success that Andy Reid has had, John Dorsey’s resume and the new quarterback in Alex Smith.
7-0 certainly is a surprise though. Even the biggest Chiefs homer probably didn’t see this coming.
MA: Seems Dwayne Bowe has struggled a bit this year, still looking for his first 100 yard receiving game and only finding the end zone twice in the process. Why do you think he is having such an off year? Is he seeing a lot of double teams or just having trouble finding open space?
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AK: One, Teams are giving Bowe a lot of bracket coverage, so he’s being watched underneath and over top. Even the best receivers will struggle being double covered all the time. Two, Alex Smith tends to go with the quick underneath reads, and the offense does play into that. There are a lot that factors that go into this. This doesn’t mean that Bowe hasn’t been effective, though.
MA: How much do you attribute Alex Smith’s play to the success the Chiefs have had thus far? If you take a look at his stats, he is not having a very good year by any stretch, but the Chiefs keep winning. What are your thoughts on this?
AK: Smith isn’t the best quarterback in the league, but he’s the best quarterback for what the Chiefs are trying to do. For the most part, he takes care of the ball, he manages the offense and gets the football to his playmakers. Can he play better, especially as of late? Absolutely. That said, I still give him some credit for the 7-0 start. It’s a team thing.
MA: In your opinion, what are the strengths and weaknesses of this Kansas City Chiefs team?
AK: Strengths are rushing the passer and defense as a whole. That’s pretty obvious. Weakness is the aforementioned passing game.
MA: What are your thoughts on Andy Reid on his job as head coach as we approach the halfway point of his first season with the Chiefs?
AK: Simply put, right now, I think he’d be the coach of the year in the NFL.
MA: Lastly, what are your expectations this Sunday when the Browns travel to Arrowhead? Any final thoughts you would like to leave with us?
AK: One of the coaches I coach high school football with used to play in the NFL, and he always talks about how despite not always being good, you knew you were in for a fight when you played the Browns.
I expect nothing less this Sunday. The Browns are a proud organization and they will give the Chiefs their all. At the end of the day I think Cleveland’s quarterback situation is far too shaky though, and that won’t fly against this Chiefs’ defense.
Kansas City gets a hard-fought win.