Confession: It’s after 10 p.m. on Sunday night as I’m sitting down to write this and I’m exhausted. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good kind of exhausted since I have just returned home from a day at Arrowhead Stadium. Any day at Arrowhead is a good day, but a day at Arrowhead that includes a Chiefs win is a great day.
While a full day of family, friends, tailgating and Chiefs football (as well as several hours on the road) does wonders for the soul, it is not always conducive to coming up with a well-researched, well-written, and cohesive post for you, the fine readers of Arrowhead Addict, to enjoy on a Monday morning. So today you’re stuck with this Armchair Addict’s post game ramblings. I’m not using any notes. There is no real structure to speak of. This is basically my unfiltered thought process after the game for better or for worse.
Be afraid, be very afraid.
Let’s get started…….
* My overall impression of that game was that KC came out and put the smack down on a bad team in the first half and then basically coasted through the second half, which allowed the Jets to stick around longer than they should have. The final numbers actually look like NY outproduced KC, but that was mostly in the second half when KC was in stall mode. When the game was up for grabs early on, the Chiefs were clearly the better team. Despite their uninspired play in the second half, the defense still stepped up when needed to keep the Jets out of the end zone.
* Alex Smith was once again really solid, but not spectacular. He completed 67.7 percent of his passes for 199 yards, two TDs and no interceptions. It was enough to get the job done. He didn’t look like an all-world, elite QB, but he was certainly in control of the game.
* The Chiefs used their playmakers and once again, (surprise, surprise), it paid off. A few weeks back I discussed how I thought that the majority of offensive touches need to go to Jamaal Charles, Dwayne Bowe, Travis Kelce, De’Anthony Thomas and Knile Davis because they are the ones that can really make plays with the ball in their hands. Well on Sunday, the Chiefs had 45 combined receptions and rushing carries, and 37 of them were in the hands of those five players. That’s 82 percent of their offensive touches and if they continue to feed them the ball, this offense should keep producing.
* I was impressed with the offensive line’s pass protection today. The Jets have a couple of dominant defensive linemen in Muhammad Wilkerson and Sheldon Richardson. With KC’s guards being a perceived weak link that could have led to a very long day for Alex Smith facing pressure up the middle. However, not only was Smith sacked just one time, but for the first time this season (I think), he didn’t have one single scramble. He was always able to get the ball off. Despite the Jets only getting one sack today they are still tied for fifth most sacks in the NFL so it’s not like this was against a struggling defensive front.
* Justin Houston is going to get PAID! The man is on pace for 24 sacks this season. At this point KC may likely have to franchise tag him because every week that goes by the leverage in negotiations shifts more and more in Houston’s favor. 24 sacks!!!!!
* While the fact that Dee Ford is hardly seeing the field gets most of the attention when it comes to the Chiefs draft class this season, John Dorsey deserves a tip of the cap after this week’s game. His third-round pick Phillip Gaines has been coming up huge with all the injuries they’ve had a CB. His fourth-round pick De’Anthony Thomas is already proving to be a serious weapon on both offense and special teams. Finally, his sixth-round pick Zach Fulton continues to hold his own at the starting RG spot. If Ford eventually develops into a good player, this could prove to be a home-run draft class.
* While KC’s win over San Diego looks a little less impressive after the Chargers’ current three-game slump, the fact that the Dolphins and Patriots have both been playing really well of late makes those wins look even more impressive. Even the Rams who KC disposed of 34-7 last week have looked decent with wins over the Seahawks and 49ers sandwiching their loss at Arrowhead.
* The rest of the AFC West went 0-3 on Sunday and was outscored by a combined score of 110-45. Mwahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
* Game Tip: If you are at a game and get overly excited when the Chiefs make a big play and accidentally dump an entire beer down the back of the person in front of you (my wife), please have the common decency to offer to go get some napkins or paper towels. While saying “Dude, that’s my bad…..sorry,” is a start, let’s treat your fellow Chiefs fans better than that. Sigh…..
* I was struck with an overwhelming sense of history as Priest Holmes was inducted into the Chiefs Hall of Fame and his name revealed on the Ring of Honor on Sunday. The fact that I will be able to tell my son stories of watching Priest play and then be able to add that I was there the day his name was added to the Ring is very cool. He was such an amazing player to watch. I will say that it also made me feel a little old. Having guys up there from the Marty years is one thing because those teams were from my childhood, but I think of Holmes as a much more recent player than that (at least in my mind). It also makes me wonder how many future Chiefs Hall of Famers are on the current roster? Jamaal Charles? Tamba Hali? Derrick Johnson? Justin Houston? Eric Berry?
* Finally, is there any team in the AFC that you don’t think the Chiefs could beat on any given Sunday? Every team out there has shown weaknesses at some point. I think you can now make a case for the Patriots being the top team in the AFC, and KC throttled them on Monday Night Football. If the epic postseason run of the Kansas City Royals taught KC fans anything, it should be that you never know what can happen if a team can just get themselves into the playoffs. The Chiefs are now on pace to do just that and at the same time the rest of the AFC is showing some weakness. The Chiefs appear to be on the verge of becoming a complete team that makes plays on offense, defense and special teams. I can’t imagine anyone would look forward to facing a team like that come playoff time.
I think that about does it for me. I’m sure there is more but this week my brain is a little too fried to go any further. I’d love to hear what you thought of the game in the comments below. Do you agree with my observations, or have I gone delirious with exhaustion at this point?
As always, thanks for reading and GO CHIEFS!!!!!!!!!!!!!