Ten Things About Last Night’s Game: AFC Championship: NFL 37, Kansas City 31 in OT

[mnchiefsguy]

Thanks George. God Bless Ya this offseason, be well!

The future is bright, but the pain still hurts.

[L.A. Chieffan]

Thanks for the Ten Things all year George. I've said it before but it's always good to hear from the perspective of the fans at the game since I can usually only watch on tv. I'm always looking out for you when they show the players near the tunnel.

My dad is 74 and has been rooting for the Chiefs since their inception. He went to a bunch of games at the old Stadium. We watched this game together with my 17 year old son. I can feel a new tide coming. Thanks again for being there as well as everybody else that showed up last night in the cold. Thank you

[gblowfish]

Originally Posted by L.A. Chieffan

Thanks for the Ten Things all year George. I've said it before but it's always good to hear from the perspective of the fans at the game since I can usually only watch on tv. I'm always looking out for you when they show the players near the tunnel.

My dad is 74 and has been rooting for the Chiefs since their inception. He went to a bunch of games at the old Stadium. We watched this game together with my 17 year old son. I can feel a new tide coming. Thanks again for being there as well as everybody else that showed up last night in the cold. Thank you

You're welcome. If you look for me and Mrs. B, the Chiefs bench has behind it two sets of stairs that lead down to a tunnel to the locker room. As I face the field (the press box is at my back) I sit over the set of stairs to the left (west) at about the 49 yard line. I've been on TV a lot. I refuse to act like Mr. Crazy Fan who loses his mind when a TV camera is pointed at me. I was on the other side of TV cameras for the first ten years of my professional career, so excuse me for not going full Bozo just because ESPN points a camera my way. Another interesting thing was, I didn't recognize most of the people sitting around me last night. Most of the regulars who sit by my side or behind me had apparently scalped their tickets. The guy who sits to my left went to some Mexican beach, and sold his three seats for $4200 total. I guess if I was more mercenary, I could have made off with the big bucks. I just don't tick that way. Probably why I'm a middle class sales dude living in Independence. Oh well, I'm happy usually

[Sweet Daddy Hate]

George, I'm with you all the way INCLUDING your acceptance of the facts of NFL life coupled with the reality of business. Thank you for the write-ups this season, I always enjoy getting your perspective, the perspective of a fan who has literally seen it all in person.
Pat's time, and by extension the Chiefs, will come. Even Brady's kale pajamas and hyperbaric chamber can't stop the march of father time. If the Chiefs had fielded even a modicum of something resembling a competent defense( not ranked 31st overall ), we would probably be singing a different tune today.

[tk13]

Thanks for another great season George.

We made it farther than I think any of us expected but it's still disappointing. It was right there. There's just never any guarantee you get back to this point. You have to stay healthy, you have to have a GM who is finding the right players to improve the defense, etc. But with Mahomes we'll at least be in the conversation.

When the Royals came so close and lost, it really did light a fire in them and the next season they came to training camp early and were completely locked in and on a mission to finish the job. They were as focused as any KC team we've seen. Honestly even compared to other championship caliber teams... there aren't many examples of something comparable to that lineup having 9 guys all locked in at the same time in the playoffs. Almost every single player on that team carried their weight.

Hopefully this creates the same thing for the Chiefs. I said it a while back over in that Tom Brady thread but the Pats aren't going away. Their offense is not reliant on big passing plays, it never really has been. The Patriots just play smart and are able to find your weaknesses and exploit them. And as long as they have Belichick they'll have good defensive gameplans. The Chiefs absolutely have the talent to beat them but it's not really about that, it's about being focused and disciplined and making adjustments as the game progresses. You just have to be locked in against them every play and not make simple mistakes or they'll get you.

I'll say this though, Andy Reid has done an amazing job making adjustments against Belichick. Yes having Mahomes helps, but even two years ago when we beat them at Foxboro the Chiefs scored 28 second half points. The two times we played them this year we scored 31 in the second half. That is some impressive work against maybe the best defensive coach in history.

I've been complaining about the defense all year and how it's going to kneecap us so there's no reason to beat a dead horse, but hopefully Veach and Reid take it seriously and make some serious changes to that side of the ball. Or we'll be here again next year.

[Marcellus]

7. The defense had only given up seven points until less than 30 seconds left in the half. That’s decent. Brady probably would have had 21 if not for Ragland’s pick in the end zone to keep the Chiefs from getting blown out. Nelson continues to suffer from Bartee Disease and seems to either drop a pick, or get burned for a TD every single week. In the second half they had one fourth and one stop. The defense could not hold a four point lead with two minutes to a trip to Atlanta. Then in the OT they gave up three consecutive 3rd and 10’s. They couldn’t get the Pats off the field, so they did not deserve to win.

This sums it up, defense choked and failed PMII.

Great write up as always.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

You deserved better, George.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

I just wish Veach had a greater sense of urgency. Dante Fowler caused the game-changing pick for the Rams. There were multiple good or elite DBs available in-season and he made a run at none of them. Having Reid or Earl Thomas back there changes that defense.

Mahomes, Hill, and Jones will never be cheaper. Windows slam shut quickly in the NFL, look at Atlanta, and Jax.

[tk13]

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

I just wish Veach had a greater sense of urgency. Dante Fowler caused the game-changing pick for the Rams. There were multiple good or elite DBs available in-season and he made a run at none of them. Having Reid or Earl Thomas back there changes that defense.

Mahomes, Hill, and Jones will never be cheaper. Windows slam shut quickly in the NFL, look at Atlanta, and Jax.

I think we have a better QB than those teams but there was a time where Luck made the AFC title game and it was going to be the first of many. The decade's over and he's still only been to 1.

I think we have a good shot to get back to this point but if we spend 4-5 years trying to fix the defense like we did under Vermeil it's possible that's about as far as we get.

[Randallflagg]

Originally Posted by tk13

I think we have a better QB than those teams but there was a time where Luck made the AFC title game and it was going to be the first of many. The decade's over and he's still only been to 1.

I think we have a good shot to get back to this point but if we spend 4-5 years trying to fix the defense like we did under Vermeil it's possible that's about as far as we get.

I learned this from 55 years of football playing and watching - "Never count your chickens BEFORE they come home to roost"

Mahomes is the real deal - but so was Marino, Luck, Rivers, on and on and on.

There is ALWAYS the possibility that Pat will never see another championship game. Hopefully - that won't be the case - but one player does not a "team" make.

The Chiefs defense is a train wreck, to say the very least. From the coordinator to the trainer - they are terrible and here is the part that disturbs me the most - fat Andy knows this, too.

I would LOVE to be Andy's friend and associate because (apparently) accountability seldom comes into play with him and his "associates". Bob Sutton needs to be packing his office up right now and a new coordinator should be searched for NOW.

I sincerely hope that it will happen - but sadly - I don't expect it too. I expect Buttons to be back next year and minor changes to be made on Defense. They will go into the season at the bottom of the list, yet again and it will fall on Pat Mahomes to continually "bail them out" by scoring touchdown after touchdown after touchdown. At some point - that luck runs out.

In other words - same old, same old. Welcome to 1979........."Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it" - Santayana


Great job George! Thanks for a season of great writing!

[Hammock Parties]

Am I crushed? No, actually I’m strangely satisfied with how everything went down this year. We made it to the final four. We got the home playoff loss monkey off our backs last week. We got an AFC title game at Arrowhead and took the greatest NFL dynasty team of the last 20 years into overtime with a rookie QB. They fought like Hell, didn’t embarrass the city, and came up a bit short. I can live with that.

Feel exactly the same way.

Our time is coming.

[kc rush]

Thanks George. I hated reading this one. No fault of yours though.

[swifty32661]

Originally Posted by kc rush

Thanks George. I hated reading this one. No fault of yours though.

[GloryDayz]

I wish we had one more of these great write-ups to come for this year.

[suzzer99]

Thanks George - I'm in the process of trying to get over the game and be happy with the season. Your post helps.