David Carr " Chiefs have higher upside with Mahomes"

[Deberg_1990]

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Yet, here we are looking at the same Kansas City Chiefs offense we've seen year after year.



The Chiefs have made three playoff appearances since Reid took over as head coach in 2013, losing once in the wild-card game (2013) and twice in the divisional round (2015, 2016). I'm a fan of Reid and quarterback Alex Smith, but with the way things are right now, they'll be sitting at home while Pittsburgh and New England duke it out on Championship Sunday.

I was Smith's teammate in San Francisco for one year (2010) and I got to know him well. When the weather starts playing a bigger factor in games late in the season, he's not a guy who can make tough throws in tough conditions. He's particular and wants the football a certain way. The colder the weather the firmer the ball and other conditions make the ball slippery. It's really hard to play in inclement weather as a quarterback, yet there are some guys -- like Brett Favre -- who could grab a ball out of a bucket of water or pile of mud and hurl it downfield. But everybody's not like that, including Smith. The conditions have to be right and the running game has to be there. As we've witnessed throughout his career, Smith isn't often going to transcend an offense and win a game on huge throws -- a frequent critique. He's just not that type of quarterback.

Early in the season, we saw Smith make those big plays and the Chiefs were rolling. We've seen downfield shots slowly digress as the season's gone on, a trend that goes back to at least the past two seasons. Since 2015, Smith has been far more effective throwing the ball down field (20-pus air yards) through the Chiefs' first eight games than he has in their final eight, completing more passes (42.1 percent vs. 36.7 percent) with a better TD-to-INT ratio (8:0 vs. 2:4) and a significantly higher passer rating (124.3 vs. 63.1).

Furthermore, since Smith's first year with the Chiefs in 2013, his passer rating on pass attempts of more than 20 yards has fallen off in the second half of the season.

September: 92.0
October: 111.1
November: 63.5
Dec.-Jan.: 68.8

The Chiefs' high-flying offense started to stall after the Steelers exposed a weakness in Week 6. Pittsburgh played more zone coverage and allowed them to throw the ball underneath by respecting the ability of Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce to make things happen downfield. In addition, the run game hasn't been as effective the last five games (the Chiefs are 1-4 in that stretch), averaging 81 rush yards per game. That's 70 yards per game fewer than Kansas City put up in its first five games (all wins). In my opinion, Smith needs the run game to improve or we'll likely see him continue to struggle throwing the ball downfield as this season progresses.

I know this sounds crazy, but there's a case for Patrick Mahomes, who played well in the preseason, to start in place of Smith as the playoffs near. The Chiefs gave up a third-rounder and next year's first to draft Mahomes, viewing him as their franchise quarterback of the future. He's a gunslinger who adds another dimension in the pass game when a) the weather worsens, and b) they're trying to go head to head with the AFC's best offenses.

It's definitely possible the Chiefs could find themselves in a Nathan Peterman situation, especially if they don't handle the timing of the switch well. We don't know. What I do know, though, is we can expect the same ending to the Chiefs' story if they don't change up their cast of characters.


http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap300...-limits-chiefs

[Pueblo Chieftan]

Originally Posted by bigjosh

Fill in the blanks:

1. Trade Alex Smtih

2. Profit

There you go.

Lol.. I notice that you've gott your hAndiycap on backwards:

Reid: i gotta win the superbowl ( i didn't )

Reid: I gotta pack my bags ( i got fired )

Hello! Welcome to Kansas City Mr. Gruden!!

[Pueblo Chieftan]

Originally Posted by OKchiefs

No they really aren't. Their front 7 was very solid most of the season.

Solid?

They are in last stinking place.

[Bowser]

Originally Posted by Pueblo Chieftan

Solid?

They are in last stinking place.

Denver's offense

Denver's defense


^One of those two things isn't like the other.

[Pueblo Chieftan]

Originally Posted by Bowser

Denver's offense

Denver's defense


^One of those two things isn't like the other.

No. It's a distinction without a difference.. One side of the ball that can't help the other

[TigeRRUppeRRcut]

Originally Posted by Best22

Dude went into your stadium and beat your starters straight up, with a team of backups and training camp players.

Someone clearly didn't pay attention or look at the snap counts. Talib and Harris hardly even played in that game. Witzmann, Schwartz and Ehinger were blocking. The starters in the secondary basically just let Kareem run in for that 35+ yard TD

It was coached like a preseason game. Albert Wilson has his moments but only against backups is he getting a 100+ yard game.

[Sweet Daddy Hate]

Originally Posted by PAChiefsGuy

Smitty had a good season and led us to the playoffs and our first back-to-back AFC West Championships ever. Stop over-analyzing the season like you are a psychologist. He played great this year.

You're an idiot and a hater if you can't admit he had a great season..

Your avatar is beautiful. Congrats on achieving sanity!

Anywho:

He's gone.

It's over.

Let us rejoice the new era and come together in solidified unity, an unbreakable wall of Super Bowl-bound badassness!