Will Alex Smith finally beat Denver?

Nov 01, 2015; London, United Kingdom; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith (11) reacts during the first half against the Detroit Lions at Wembley Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Flynn-USA TODAY Sports

What’s up Addicts, I hope all your weeks are going well. We were starved last week from any Chiefs football, some of you may have appreciated a week without football frustration but others were left famished and in need of nourishment.

Regardless, the team is back and scheduled for a very important match-up in Denver this week. If you were like me, you paid attention to the games featuring our divisional opponents as we are continuing to monitor the vital signs of this Chiefs season.

Kansas City so far has benefited from a Raiders and Chargers loss but the Broncos loss realistically doesn’t affect the Chiefs as they are in no position to challenge for the division. Any playoff hopes will strictly be related to making it in as a wild card.

The Chiefs have a very difficult task in heading down the dreadful path to Mordor (Denver) where Kansas City has not achieved a win since 2012. This was that weird season where a struggling Chiefs team had a wormhole open up and Kyle Orton dropped in to help the team pick up some quality wins including a win against an unbeaten Packers team.

However, since Orton departed from Kansas City and Peyton Manning arrived in Denver, success against the Broncos is a long and forgotten memory. Kansas City is now 0-7 in the Manning-Broncos era and this upcoming game may just be the last game we face him again in his career. This is why the Chiefs have to win this game.

Neither Manning or the Broncos would say how much it would mean to them to stay undefeated against Kansas City in his tenure with the team but it matters to them, I can assure you that. Owning something is a special feeling, it’s yours, it’s your possession, no matter if you worked hard for it or if it was given to you.

On that same token, owners don’t like their possessions taken away from them no matter what the value or worth is of the item is. I see it all the time from my two-year old son. He could be playing with something as worthless as a rubber band and if someone were to take it away from him it’d be almost as if all the toys he owns were taken away from him based on his reaction.

The Broncos have owned the Chiefs for years. It’s become a routine thing, no matter if we host them in Arrowhead or if we travel out to Denver, they beat us.

Similar to when your mom makes you your favorite meal when she visits you from out-of-town or when you go out and visit her, you have set expectations to eat that meal. The Broncos would like to keep this routine in place for as long as possible and stay on that steady diet of wins over the Chiefs.

Now that we’ve established who the dominant one is in Kansas City and Denver’s relationship, let’s talk about how that can be changed.

Here’s What We Know:

1. The Broncos 7-1 record is heavily relied upon the greatness of their defense
2. The Broncos and Chiefs are mirrored pedestrian offenses both averaging 345 yards per game
3. Alex Smith hasn’t beat a good team on the road in a Chiefs uniform to date
4. DeMarcus Ware most likely will miss this game
5. Aqib Talib will be possibly suspended for the game
6. Andy Reid is 14-2 in games following a bye week
7. Homer Simpson didn’t want to own the Denver Broncos

So let me start by saying that before the Ware injury and Talib suspension I was near a 100% sure that Kansas City would lose this upcoming game against Denver simply due to Alex Smith’s track record. I’m not a Smith basher, I think he’s a middle of the pack quarterback that’s been over paid due to a starved market.

That said, in my history of watching Smith play I’ve come to the conclusion that Smith isn’t one of those quarterbacks that elevates his level of play under pressure, it’s usually quite the opposite. The Broncos do a great job of putting quarterbacks in a pressure cooker with blitzing and excellent coverage to force mistakes. That puts Smith in a difficult position in being asked to do something that he’s rarely succeeded at, playing well under pressure.

If you watched the Colts and Broncos play this last Sunday, you saw Andrew Luck under enormous pressure for most of the game and took several hits. The difference between what Luck was able to do and what Smith isn’t was staying in the pock and throwing strikes while taking hits. Smith tends to panic, will quickly leave the pocket and run for 3-5 yards than make a throw and take a hit.

If Ware and Talib miss this game, my perspective obviously changes as that’s one less great pass rusher to block and one less lock down corner which would open up passing lanes. I’m rooting for Smith to succeed, I’d love for him to get a win in Denver. Maybe this would boost his confidence and elevate his play against good teams on the road? That would be a huge step in the right direction.

Regardless of who’s missing in the defensive lineup, this will still be a difficult task to beat the Broncos in Denver. You have to think that psychologically for the Chiefs there’s a large hurdle to clear after so many losses in a row and giving away this last game in Kansas City. They must have weighing in the back of their minds “will we ever be able to beat the Broncos?” They have another opportunity to exorcise their demons this Sunday at 3:25 PM Central.

That’s what’s on my mind Addicts, what’s on yours?