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

[bobbything]

I'm crushed. For about 10 seconds I thought we were legitimately going to the SB. Then they announced Dee Ford lined up offsides. A penalty that did not affect Sorenson's interception at all.

I'm legitimately crushed because I am not convinced we will be in this position again. It's so difficult to get to this point. You have to take advantage when you do...and we didn't.

Good write up though. It's going to take some serious time before this one subsides.

[bowener]

Originally Posted by bobbything

I'm crushed. For about 10 seconds I thought we were legitimately going to the SB. Then they announced Dee Ford lined up offsides. A penalty that did not affect Sorenson's interception at all.

I'm legitimately crushed because I am not convinced we will be in this position again. It's so difficult to get to this point. You have to take advantage when you do...and we didn't.

Good write up though. It's going to take some serious time before this one subsides.

Man, look at the AFCW and tell me which one of them will keep the Chiefs from winning the division next year? None of them. At worst we will be the #4 seed going into the playoffs. If the offense stays as productive and the Chiefs moderately improve the defense there is a legitimate chance they go undefeated in the regular season.

[Best22]

Originally Posted by bobbything

I'm crushed. For about 10 seconds I thought we were legitimately going to the SB. Then they announced Dee Ford lined up offsides. A penalty that did not affect Sorenson's interception at all.

I'm legitimately crushed because I am not convinced we will be in this position again. It's so difficult to get to this point. You have to take advantage when you do...and we didn't.

Good write up though. It's going to take some serious time before this one subsides.

You never know

Cowboys were looked at as chokers and “can’t win the big game” for years until they finally won SB VI

Colts drafted Manning in 1998, went 13-3 in 1999 and didn’t make the AFC title game until 2003 where they lost to New England. 2004 they lost a road divisional to NE. 2005 was a heartbreaking one and done. Couldn’t “get over the hump” until 2006, Manning’s 9th season

We never know. Maybe we go 7-9 next year, maybe we go 14-2 and win the Superbowl.

[GermanChief]

Originally Posted by bobbything

I'm crushed. For about 10 seconds I thought we were legitimately going to the SB. Then they announced Dee Ford lined up offsides. A penalty that did not affect Sorenson's interception at all.

I'm legitimately crushed because I am not convinced we will be in this position again. It's so difficult to get to this point. You have to take advantage when you do...and we didn't.

Good write up though. It's going to take some serious time before this one subsides.

The mistake of Ford is the most disappointing thing in this game. The missing OL, the bad stats, the lost coin toss, the bad running game. It's all true. But anyway we were so near to beat them. To run into offside, ok, but to start from offside. I don't unterstand. The second point are the three 3&long in OT we were not able to stop them.
It was the third season I was able to follow the Chiefs on German TV. Steelers two years ago, Titans last year, now the Patriots. I believe that it will went better next season if they learn from their faults.

[GloryDayz]

Originally Posted by GermanChief

The mistake of Ford is the most disappointing thing in this game. The missing OL, the bad stats, the lost coin toss, the bad running game. It's all true. But anyway we were so near to beat them. To run into offside, ok, but to start from offside. I don't unterstand. The second point are the three 3&long in OT we were not able to stop them.

It was the third season I was able to follow the Chiefs on German TV. Steelers two years ago, Titans last year, now the Patriots. I believe that it will went better next season if they learn from their faults.

The first sign will be if they fire Sutton.

[JD10367]

Originally Posted by bobbything

I'm legitimately crushed because I am not convinced we will be in this position again. It's so difficult to get to this point. You have to take advantage when you do...and we didn't.

The past 36 participants in the AFCCG (since 2001):

Patriots: 13
Steelers: 6
Colts: 4
Broncos, Ravens: 3
Jets: 2
Raiders, Titans, Chargers, Jaguars, Chiefs: 1

Common threads:
- solid QBing (Brady, Roethlisberger, P. Manning, Luck)
- solid organizations (Patriots, Steelers, Broncos)
- solid defenses (Ravens, Broncos)
- long tenured coaching (Belichick, Tomlin, Dungy, Shanahan, Billick/Harbaugh)

Everyone likes to point out how Marino only made it to the SB once in his 2nd year (1984). While the Fins dominated the AFC East for much of his tenure, he did have to deal with both the Bills dynastic years as well as a few pesky Patriots ones (the two years they went to the SB, 1985 and 1996). And they never had a truly dominating defense (whereas the Bills had a pretty good one to complement Kelly and the offense). I don't see Mahomes going the Marino route.

Fact #1: Mahomes is going to be the next NFL superstar, dominating the league the way Brady has.

Fact #2: Despite their playoff missteps, the Chiefs are a solid organization.

Fact #3: Despite his playoff failures, you're not going to find a better coach than Reid.

So that leaves your defense. Which is nowhere near as bad as it has looked. The front four is solid. You need a little help at linebacker and defensive back and you'll be fine. The Patriots have never had a studly defense, only a few occasional solid players (McGinest, Seymour, Bruschi, Law, Wilfork). If Reid gets rid of Sutton and gets himself a really solid DC, you'll be fine.

[Floridafan]

Originally Posted by JD10367

The past 36 participants in the AFCCG (since 2001):

Patriots: 13
Steelers: 6
Colts: 4
Broncos, Ravens: 3
Jets: 2
Raiders, Titans, Chargers, Jaguars, Chiefs: 1

Common threads:
- solid QBing (Brady, Roethlisberger, P. Manning, Luck)
- solid organizations (Patriots, Steelers, Broncos)
- solid defenses (Ravens, Broncos)
- long tenured coaching (Belichick, Tomlin, Dungy, Shanahan, Billick/Harbaugh)

Everyone likes to point out how Marino only made it to the SB once in his 2nd year (1984). While the Fins dominated the AFC East for much of his tenure, he did have to deal with both the Bills dynastic years as well as a few pesky Patriots ones (the two years they went to the SB, 1985 and 1996). And they never had a truly dominating defense (whereas the Bills had a pretty good one to complement Kelly and the offense). I don't see Mahomes going the Marino route.

Fact #1: Mahomes is going to be the next NFL superstar, dominating the league the way Brady has.

Fact #2: Despite their playoff missteps, the Chiefs are a solid organization.

Fact #3: Despite his playoff failures, you're not going to find a better coach than Reid.

So that leaves your defense. Which is nowhere near as bad as it has looked. The front four is solid. You need a little help at linebacker and defensive back and you'll be fine. The Patriots have never had a studly defense, only a few occasional solid players (McGinest, Seymour, Bruschi, Law, Wilfork). If Reid gets rid of Sutton and gets himself a really solid DC, you'll be fine.

Excellent post, thanks. Thanks to Blowfish for all of the great posts this year.