The Kansas City Chiefs enter the second year of the Patrick Mahomes era with an enthusiastic bravado of expectations. After a plethora of off-season moves, the Tyreek Hill investigation saga coming to an end, and managing expectations as a Super Bowl contender, some fans feel slighted over rankings, predictions, and opinions saying this team isn’t going to be as good as they were a year ago.
Since training camp began in late July, I’ve heard from fans who feel slighted about the national perception of their beloved Kansas City Chiefs football team. Between blog sites, national sports sites, NFL Network, and anyone with a prognosticating voice, there is chatter that challenges the Chiefs’ legitimacy to reign as Super Bowl Champions.
Sure, some have picked them to take home the Lombardi Trophy in February and Las Vegas has their odds atop the money line, but still, fans are taking it personally when pundits state this team’s defense still isn’t good enough, or the San Diego Chargers will win the AFC West. To be fair, those are legitimate issues, and as we learned in the AFC Championship game a year ago in Kansas City, nothing is certain – especially for this team when it comes to January football.
Winning another Super Bowl in Kansas City depends on so many factors, and the chase to return this franchise to the glory it last tasted in Super Bowl IV remains a journey that won’t be easy to accomplish – even though this the most talented team in franchise history.
Yet the overwhelming enthusiasm for this team rests once again on the shoulders of Patrick Mahomes to lead this franchise as he did in 2018. The reigning NFL MVP was terrific last year as he took the league by storm. If we’re being honest, he took us on an incredible journey that came one offsides penalty away from completing a magical season.
Granted that loss to the New England Patriots was bitter, and to some, it still stings, but it also served as the driving force that fueled a defensive overhaul long overdue.
Still, I wonder: had Dee Ford not been offsides, what would have happened if Kansas City defeated the Patriots at Arrowhead last January? Perhaps Bob Sutton is still the defensive coordinator. Maybe Tyrann Mathieu and Frank Clark are not on this roster. So for that alone, I’m grateful.
General manager Brett Veach did a terrific job giving new defensive coordinator, Steve Spagnuolo, enough parts and pieces, not to mention a new coaching staff to back him up. Head coach, Andy Reid, can design new plays for his high-powered offense, and stop worrying about his defense.
Last season, Reid had to manage Sutton. At times, he insisted certain players needed to play over others, and had to implement some scheme changes to help out his offense. Now let’s be clear: Reid is the head coach, and I doubt that distraction held his offense back, but it did add the pressure to be perfect on every drive. His inclusion in the defensive gameplan bridged the divide in the locker room between the offense and defense. That was evident after the loss to the Patriots.
Still, after that loss, Reid had to keep Mahomes grounded and put the young QB in a situation where he didn’t feel like he had to make every play because the defense was woeful in the clutch last season.
In 2019, that’s not going to be the issue.
That doesn’t mean Mahomes will throw for more than 50 touchdowns and 5,000 passing yards as he did a year ago, but this defense is going to be able to make more stops than it did a year ago. If that occurs, that’s more than enough for Mahomes.
Reid was wise to act swiftly in bringing in Spagnuolo and signing off on the cost to bring in a top-notch defensive staff with Super Bowl experience. In charge, with the culture of this defense, Reid has the most complete team of his coaching tenure to date.
With the regular season upon us Sunday at Jacksonville, I’m sure Reid is giddy about the possibilities of this team heading into 2019. He’s never had a quarterback like Mahomes, or an offense with so much speed. If you factor in all the talent, speed, and playmaking ability under Reid’s control, I’ll make the case they will be nearly impossible to stop. If Reid can avoid player injuries and tweak his playbook even more, NFL defensive coordinators not named Spagnuolo will be forced to contend with a team that can score points on every snap.
Think about that for a moment.
If the offensive line can perform at a slightly higher level than it did a year ago, Tyreek Hill, Sammy Watkins, Mecole Hardman, Demarcus Robinson, De’Anthony Thomas, Travis Kelce and Damien Williams, Darwin Thompson, and the recent addition of running back, LeSean McCoy, will provide Mahomes with the ability to launch the ball anywhere on the field to a plethora of playmakers who can score on any given snap.
Still, before I state this team is going to average forty points per game, they must avoid the injury bug and any off-the-field issues. The team dodged a big bullet when the league decided wisely not to suspend Tyreek Hill – which led to the team signing Hill to a contract extension. They also received a bonus that Watkins heeded the advice of trainers, spent the entire off-season focusing on his body, and put himself in the type of physical shape, moves that could elevate his play to Antonio Brown status – the good one, not the bad one.
If that’s not enough, Hardman brings his electric speed to the offense that will allow Reid to dial up another speedy receiver into the mix that even the Patriots can’t stop in the postseason. In the AFC Championship game, the Patriots took out Kelce and Hill. They let Watkins run free, but had the Chiefs had another viable receiving threat like Hardman, I think we’d be talking about this team as defending Super Bowl Champions.
Despite all the defensive changes, the speed on offense, and the expectations overflowing from the fired-up fanbase, this team won’t get caught up in the fact that fans feel slighted about the national conversation.
So, with the regular season upon us Sunday, let’s just enjoy the run and stop worrying about all that other noise. Because at the end of the day, the only number that truly matters is 54!
It’s been 50 years since the team last won the big game, and I’m darn tired of talking about my ’60s idols, such as Len Dawson and Bobby Bell to name a few from an era that saw me hoisted upon my dad’s shoulders at Old Municipal Airport, celebrating the team’s successful return from New Orleans after defeating the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IV.
This year, I want to hoist my three-year-old son atop my shoulders in celebration of a Chiefs Super Bowl victory.
