2017 Chiefs: How Serious are the Chiefs?

wiffleballhero

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I dunno.... they seem pretty solid.

Beat the Pats, handed a solid Philly team their only loss, and beat a respectable Houston team (in a few minutes from this post) without too much trouble, on the road. Also, they don't have a ton of tough regular season games left. Pittsburgh next week and Denver in Denver might be high hurdles, but otherwise they look like they have the inside track on HFA for the AFC and they don't suck.

They don't turn the ball over, they maintain solid time of possession and, as far as I can tell, don't have any obvious black holes in their game.

Andy Reid has been a SOSH punching bag since the 04 Super Bowl, but he is better than 28 coaches. So...
 

( . ) ( . ) and (_!_)

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It'll depend on how they weather the storm of attrition. They've lost Eric Berry for the year and their defense hasn't really skipped a beat. But there are a lot of games left. I have no idea how good or thin their depth may be. But in a year with no standout team it feels like it may be the healthiest team that comes out on top.
 

riboflav

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I dunno.... they seem pretty solid.

Beat the Pats, handed a solid Philly team their only loss, and beat a respectable Houston team (in a few minutes from this post) without too much trouble, on the road. Also, they don't have a ton of tough regular season games left. Pittsburgh next week and Denver in Denver might be high hurdles, but otherwise they look like they have the inside track on HFA for the AFC and they don't suck.

They don't turn the ball over, they maintain solid time of possession and, as far as I can tell, don't have any obvious black holes in their game.

Andy Reid has been a SOSH punching bag since the 04 Super Bowl, but he is better than 28 coaches. So...
The fact that BB respects Reid so much considering how little respect he seems to have for most NFL coaches says a lot.
 

ilol@u

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I feel KC is the equivalent of Oakland last year or Houston a few years ago. There's always supposed to be a non- Peyton Manning led team/Pittsburgh/Baltimore team that is supposed to upset the Patriots in the AFC, but it rarely ever happens.

KC will be the flavor of the year in the AFC until the playoffs. In my opinion its still the Patriots and Pittsburgh as the class of the AFC.
 

pokey_reese

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I feel KC is the equivalent of Oakland last year or Houston a few years ago. There's always supposed to be a non- Peyton Manning led team/Pittsburgh/Baltimore team that is supposed to upset the Patriots in the AFC, but it rarely ever happens.

KC will be the flavor of the year in the AFC until the playoffs. In my opinion its still the Patriots and Pittsburgh as the class of the AFC.
I'm assuming you didn't catch any part of Pittsburgh being dismantled by the Jags and Ben throwing FIVE interceptions today?
 

lars10

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I'm assuming you didn't catch any part of Pittsburgh being dismantled by the Jags and Ben throwing FIVE interceptions today?
Or see the first five Pats games.. (although I assume they'll be much better come playoff time).

All of this is so hard to predict..especially on a day like today, when two major players went out for the year..or a team like the Giants basically lost all of their receivers to injury or like concussions in the KC game.
 

tims4wins

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Let’s put it this way: through five weeks, the only team I’d rather be right now in the AFC is KC. Every other team as of right now has major issues. That Pittsburgh loss was awful yesterday; as someone posited in the game thread or survivor thread, Ben may be mentally checked out. I’d put my money on the Pats as the #2 seed right now and it may only take 11 wins or even 10 if that includes a H2H win against Pittsburgh.
 

soxfan121

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Kansas City is a very talented team and Andy Reid is one of the best regular season, regulation coaches of all time.

However, unless he's suddenly gotten a whole metric fuckton better, he still manages the clock / late game situations as if his name were Simple Andy. There is no reason to fear an Andy Reid team in a big situation, or with time winding down, as there are multiple decades of evidence that he completely sucks at it and will pee down his leg when crunch time arrives.
 

mauf

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The Chiefs are 5-0 with a head-to-head win over NE and a manageable schedule — @DAL is the only remaining game where they’re likely to be an underdog (leaving aside a Week 17 tilt @DEN that’s likely to be meaningless for one team or the other). They’re about as heavy a favorite for HFA as you can be five weeks into the season.

Will they be formidable in January? Who knows? Alex Smith isn’t going to become an elite QB at this stage of his career, but there’s plenty of precedent for teams winnng Super Bowls with non-elite QBs.
 

wiffleballhero

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I'd say Alex Smith is better than most though. He is not Aaron Rodgers but he is not a fool out there either. For 2017 I'd take him over 3/4 of the starting QBs in the league, maybe more. Highest completion % in the league/ no INT so far.
 

dcmissle

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It'll depend on how they weather the storm of attrition. They've lost Eric Berry for the year and their defense hasn't really skipped a beat. But there are a lot of games left. I have no idea how good or thin their depth may be. But in a year with no standout team it feels like it may be the healthiest team that comes out on top.
+1. Injuries have already turned some teams upside down and we're a third thru the season. They are the dominant factor in this League right now.
 

Number45forever

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Chiefs are legit scary. It's going to be a really hard road for anyone to overtake them for the #1 seed, and personally I want no part of going to Arrowhead in late January. That place is really hard to play in and KC knows they play the Patriots well. We're still so early though, a ton can change.
 

Silverdude2167

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I am not ready to buy into the Chiefs yet as a juggernaut. They have come out very hot and have an innovative offense but let's see if it gets figured out over the next 13 games. As everyone says its more important to play your best football in December and January that it is to play it in September.

Also, I feel like they are getting way to much credit for beating the Pats.
That was a 1 point game till they scored with a little over 5 minutes left. Based on what we now know about the Pats defense and the missed opportunities by the Pats offense, that game should not be looked at as a game that was a KC rout, but a game that they very easily could have lost.
 
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Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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That offense cannot play at this level, or really anywhere close, the entire year. They have some new looks in their scheme that seem to have been very effective and Hunt is pretty dynamic but they're playing like one of the top offenses of all time (by DVOA) and they just don't have the talent to keep that up.

My guess is that the hold on for the #1 seed but that they enter the playoffs not meaningfully better than 2-3 other teams in the AFC. Home field is an advantage and Arrowhead is tough in general but they haven't won a playoff game there in 25 years. I'd much rather play there than in Denver.
 

streeter88

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Have the Chiefs avoided the injury bug better than other AFC contenders thus far?

It's a pretty scary list (week due back in parentheses or S for out for the season), and just putting key players on here for now - and might have missed some players

NEP: Edelman (S), Gronk (6), Mitchell (9? S?), Valentine (S), McClellin (9?)
PIT: no key injuries, but Big Ben is... throwing ducks? Unclear
HOU: Mercilus (S), Watt (S)
MIA: Tannehill (S), Timmons was out 2 weeks
OAK: Carr (6), Janikowski (9)
DEN: Ray (9)
 

j-man

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KC if they win the next 4 games will be a lock for 14 wins maybe 15 read debate will be to rest players or go for 19-0 at that point

looking at KC Sch
Pitt W
@OAK W
DEN W unless we start charles and he goes for 200 y
Dal tossup
bye
@NYG W
BUFF W
@NYJ W
OAK W
LAC W
MIAMI w unless they rest
denver Tossup my guess is if they have the 1 or 2 seed locked they rest
worst case for them lose to pitt dal LAC @DEN this means at best u can only afford to lose 1 more game can u run the table after week 7 i wouid favor NE in every game form here on ex week 7 and 10 lets assume NE will be 13-3 can KC lose 4 games that is the Q
 

j-man

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Have the Chiefs avoided the injury bug better than other AFC contenders thus far?

It's a pretty scary list (week due back in parentheses or S for out for the season), and just putting key players on here for now - and might have missed some players

NEP: Edelman (S), Gronk (6), Mitchell (9? S?), Valentine (S), McClellin (9?)
PIT: no key injuries, but Big Ben is... throwing ducks? Unclear
HOU: Mercilus (S), Watt (S)
MIA: Tannehill (S), Timmons was out 2 weeks
OAK: Carr (6), Janikowski (9)
DEN: Ray (9)
carr will be back in week 6 or 7 ray will be back 10/30 for the monday night game
 

nothumb

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These assessments just tend to change so drastically over the course of an entire season. The KC front 7 leans pretty heavily on some older guys with serious injury histories. I think all things being equal luck-wise, some portion of their offensive improvement is real, but there will be some regression, and their defense is going to wear down. I think there's like a 90% chance either NE or KC is the 1 seed, but probably not a huge gap between them in terms of which one.
 

sonofgodcf

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This team reminds me of the 2004 Steelers. Not the same style of play, but really good with a lot of key pieces on the cusp of putting everything together. Hopefully their season ends in the same fate, but an experienced QB may be the difference.
 

Ralphwiggum

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This team reminds me of the 2004 Steelers. Not the same style of play, but really good with a lot of key pieces on the cusp of putting everything together. Hopefully their season ends in the same fate, but an experienced QB may be the difference.
That's a reallly random comparison, particularly since you note that the QB situation on the two teams are completely different and they don't have the same style of play. Other than a hope that the Pats lose a regular season game to them and then beat then on the road in the playoffs, please provide your basis for comparison between the 2017 Chiefs and the 2004 Steelers?
 

j-man

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why the 1999 rams a new innvonate off that can hurt u in so many ways
2011 4gers 2004 eagles smith and reid's best teams
2011 packers because i couild see kc 15-1 lose to den/or jax in the div round btw this is ne best hope of a super bowl app this season
 

wiffleballhero

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Well, that was a bit of a takedown yesterday. I watched most of the game but frankly found it relatively ugly and boring and I somehow don't see this as validation that Pittsburgh is getting things together. KC still has something of a pole position for HFA and they still play a mostly soft schedule, but a home loss where they can't move the ball at all until the 4th is telling.
 

RedOctober3829

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This year is turning out to be interesting regarding playoff seeding. It might benefit this year to not be the #1 seed when you look at matchups. The likely #5 seed is going to be the AFC West runner-up and it might be a better team than whoever finishes with the #3 seed.
 

tims4wins

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This year is turning out to be interesting regarding playoff seeding. It might benefit this year to not be the #1 seed when you look at matchups. The likely #5 seed is going to be the AFC West runner-up and it might be a better team than whoever finishes with the #3 seed.
Maybe, maybe not. Denver is only 3-2 now. We have no idea which teams are going to make the playoffs as the wild cards, or the South winner. The way I see it, NE, Pittsburgh, and KC are likely to end up as the 1-3 seeds in some order. The 4-6 seeds are totally up for grabs.
 

johnmd20

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Maybe, maybe not. Denver is only 3-2 now. We have no idea which teams are going to make the playoffs as the wild cards, or the South winner. The way I see it, NE, Pittsburgh, and KC are likely to end up as the 1-3 seeds in some order. The 4-6 seeds are totally up for grabs.
I mean, the NFL is so upside down, the Chargers could end up making the playoffs. Doubtful because their schedule is tough, but the records are pretty tight. Right now 3-2 wins the Wild Card. Everyone is close except Cleveland.
 

tims4wins

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I mean, the NFL is so upside down, the Chargers could end up making the playoffs. Doubtful because their schedule is tough, but the records are pretty tight. Right now 3-2 wins the Wild Card. Everyone is close except Cleveland.
Exactly. Buffalo holds a H2H tie breaker over Denver.
 

NYCSox

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Maybe, maybe not. Denver is only 3-2 now. We have no idea which teams are going to make the playoffs as the wild cards, or the South winner. The way I see it, NE, Pittsburgh, and KC are likely to end up as the 1-3 seeds in some order. The 4-6 seeds are totally up for grabs.
I don't think Denver even makes the playoffs though that's not a strong feeling especially looking at the rest of the AFC. They've already used up four home games and their QB sucks. But maybe that defense is enough for them to skate by.
 

TFisNEXT

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That was a pretty putrid performance for KC at home. They got completely dominated on both sides of the ball....the score didn't totally reflect that though. It seems all the top teams have some pretty bad performances this year that you can point your finger at. Denver's disgusting game last night, Pittsburgh's game against Jacksonville, and NE's clunkers against Carolina and KC. At least for KC, they were playing a good team, but that was still pretty bad being at home and nobody is confusing PIT for the '85 Bears even though they are quite solid. They went into the 4th quarter with something like 50 yards of total offense.
 

tims4wins

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That was a pretty putrid performance for KC at home. They got completely dominated on both sides of the ball....the score didn't totally reflect that though. It seems all the top teams have some pretty bad performances this year that you can point your finger at. Denver's disgusting game last night, Pittsburgh's game against Jacksonville, and NE's clunkers against Carolina and KC. At least for KC, they were playing a good team, but that was still pretty bad being at home and nobody is confusing PIT for the '85 Bears even though they are quite solid. They went into the 4th quarter with something like 50 yards of total offense.
PIT kind of owns them though. KC is 17-3 in their last 20 against non-PIT, and 0-3 against PIT. So.
 

edmunddantes

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Even if we are tied with KC, we lose tiebreaker H2H right?

If we want 1 seed, they have to be worse than us by a game?
 

ragnarok725

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Days like yesterday just remind you that talking about playoff seeding before week 12 or so is usually a fool's errand. Odds are every team in the league will lose 1 or more of the games we have them a "lock" to win right now.

With a couple tough divisional games coming, KC could realistically be 5-3 at the end of October.
 

m0ckduck

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It's a sign of how volatile the league is right now that, not only do the Chiefs look more vulnerable after last night's game but fully four dates on their schedule suddenly look more competitive now given how the teams performed yesterday: @NYG, @NYJ, LAC, MIA
 

dcmissle

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Days like yesterday just remind you that talking about playoff seeding before week 12 or so is usually a fool's errand. Odds are every team in the league will lose 1 or more of the games we have them a "lock" to win right now.

With a couple tough divisional games coming, KC could realistically be 5-3 at the end of October.
I think this is an unusually volatile year. Tremendous variance week to week and even within particular games -- e.g, Miami at Atlanta.

Usually by this time a couple of teams have established themselves ahead of the pack. The pecking order by the end of the season can change and usually does. But 6 games in, I see no separation near the top.

If Philly were to demolish Washington next week to go to 6-1, then we may have an NFC favorite. But not yet, and I think Philly may be too thin in places and one year away from being truly scary.
 

nothumb

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It's a sign of how volatile the league is right now that, not only do the Chiefs look more vulnerable after last night's game but fully four dates on their schedule suddenly look more competitive now given how the teams performed yesterday: @NYG, @NYJ, LAC, MIA
...and probably two of these are games that looked tough before the season, then didn't, and now do again.
 

ilol@u

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I'm assuming you didn't catch any part of Pittsburgh being dismantled by the Jags and Ben throwing FIVE interceptions today?
Yep.

KC is not a threat in my opinion - even though they beat the Patriots in week one. They will most likely finish 12-4 and will lose in the divisional round. This conference is still run by Brady and Roethlisberger.
 

ilol@u

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Oakland just beat them and KC has now lost 2 games in a row after starting 5-0.

Once again, they are a good team, but I don't think they are a serious legitimate threat once the playoffs start.
 

BigSoxFan

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Oakland just beat them and KC has now lost 2 games in a row after starting 5-0.

Once again, they are a good team, but I don't think they are a serious legitimate threat once the playoffs start.
Not sure I agree with that. Not much has changed from the team that kicked the shit out of us. Their defense has taken a hit without Berry but their offense (and, well, every offense) will still be a real challenge for us to stop.

Right now, they’re one of a handful of serious contenders in the AFC. At this stage of the season, I don’t think anyone is scared of anyone. As always, it will come down to health at the end of the year.
 

Stitch01

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Agreed. They lost two games, one to an AFC contender and one on the road against a decent Raiders team, by seven points. They have as good of a chance to win the AFC as anyone else based on what we've seen so far.
 

jmm57

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It makes some sense with Smith an impending FA, but seems risky in that just a few weeks ago fans were clamoring for Mahomes. If he has a big day vs a Broncos team with nothing to play for it could introduce a bit of controversy heading into the playoffs. Smith has been in the system a while, but I'd want my playoff QB at least getting the practice reps, even if I played the backup week 17.

Correction...Smith has a dead cap number of $3.6 mil, not a FA
 
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