Favorite articles to read are the reviews. Whether after games or of players. Wouldn’t be opposed to a few more draft crush reviews in the off season to keep the review articles flowing. Thanks for all the content your provide us!
I expect McDuffie and Karlaftis to both play 70+ percent of the snaps. I think Cook is on the field a ton as well. One of the other CB's (both physical freaks) is a dark horse to snag a job early IMO to grab some of those CB4 snaps. How WELL they'll do with those snaps is a mystery, but they'd have to fail to not get on the field given the current roster makeup.
Chenal is the really tough one to project. He's got a clear role as a SAM, but how often are they going to use 3 LB's? Will their tendency to under-utilize Gay continue and Chenal grabs some of his snaps? It wouldn't stun me if he saw about 35% of the snaps or like 60%.
Seth your the man. I been reading you since you started and ive never been disappointed. That being said i love your articles going back to chiefs heros of the past. I think jt would be a co segment to compare some of those 2000s chiefs players to some of todays. How much DJ does willie have in him. Does Reid have any Eric Berry in him? Ect. Thanks for putting out great content
Question: With all the new QB contracts, is there a possibility Mahomes gets envious and wants a new deal, say like 5 years before his monster contact is up?
Really enjoyed the "If I were Brett Veach..." series and similar articles. And anytime we can look back and enjoy the underrated awesomeness of past Chiefs (Charles, Derrick Thomas, and more), those are great reads. Appreciate all you do while still working a "regular" job!
I think that Mahomes knew this would happen when he signed the deal, so while I believe they'll eventually restructure, I'm guessing he'll go through at least 6 years of it.
I think so, yes. Jones is the leader of the DL, and should be with Franks continuingly diminished role as one of the faces of the team. But I think Bolton and Justin Reid end up setting the tone overall.
I've been kicking around bringing back the pod for a while now, just trying to figure out a way to make it add value!
If you could redo the 2020 draft, who should the Chiefs have taken in the first round, and how what that have changed their outlook for the upcoming season?
I think Pittman or Higgins are easy choices there, and that's not really too much of a "well now we know" mentality. They were good prospects at a position of need, and KC would've been better off grabbing them.
I actually wouldn't hate Taylor there either given the current makeup of the team and the way defenses are playing them. I think he'd eat against the light boxes, etc. BUT, it's always tough with a RB that early.
Other than that, there were some CB's who had value they could've grabbed, like Diggs, who were pretty known quantities IMO.
I think any of them would make this upcoming season significantly easier. the WR corps wouldn't have needed quite as much of a makeover (or would be looking CRAZY deep right now), Taylor behind this OL would be scary, and the CB room is of course a bit of a mystery right now.
How do the offensive additions and subtractions over the last two offseasons in combination with how defenses have adjusted to the spread/RPO the Chiefs have run point towards a schematic shift and what breadcrumbs did the Chiefs leave behind at the end of last year that may show us what is to come?
I think the Chiefs will shift to operating under center just a bit more with play action stuff, bootlegs, and other things designed to punish defenses who want to play light. I think them grabbing a pair of receivers in MVS and Juju who are bigger and block decently is at least noteworthy (though they definitely needed the receiver help as well), and I think they'll become more varied in their approach as the year goes along.
Hey Seth love the content! My question was what are some realistic expectation for both Gay and Bolton this season? With LB seeming like it's now the strength of the defense can we count on the two to have a big year.
It's always tough to say, but Bolton has exceeded expectations at every level, including as a rookie last year. He was better than I thought he'd be and developed as the year went along. I still have questions about his ceiling in coverage and sideline to sideline, but he's absolutely a Mike you can line up and be very comfortable.
Gay has a higher ceiling with his absurd athleticism combined with his physicality, but for one reason or another for 2 years the coaching staff hasn't QUITE trusted him. So I think year 3 is a huge one for him whether that next step from "solid player with flashes of high level" is going to happen. I think it could, for sure, especially with him out of the Sam role and being allowed to run free a bit more as a Will.
Spags's insistence on underutilizing Willie Gay continues to be one of my biggest worries heading into next season. We can all rejoice in the fact that Neimann and Hitchens are no longer available as "alternatives." But a nagging little voice in my head keeps telling me that he'll find someone equally objectionable, in order to take snaps away from Gay.
I Enjoy all the articles, with the in depth insights, all22 clips, and your charts. You are also a cannot miss attraction when you're a guest of WHB810 radio! (a lot of sugar, but heartfelt)..
Being an old Chiefs fan from the beginning, I'd like to see comparisons of Otis Taylors career, and a case for him being inducted into the pro football hall of fame. He is an outlier and unicorn, much like Jamal Charles. Keep up the great work and Go Chiefs!
Jun 15, 2022·edited Jun 15, 2022Liked by Seth Keysor
Don - being old enough myself to have enjoyed and admired almost all of Otis Taylor's career, all I can say is YES!!!! Excellent suggestion!
Problem is, of course, I doubt Seth would be able to find much "all 22" film on him. And statistical comparisons might not be that useful because the game has evolved so incredibly much since then.
Although I will say that I definitely think AFL coaches like Stram and Sid Gilman and Lou Saban set the stage and took the first major steps towards the passing game we see and enjoy today! And "Dawson to Taylor" was a major piece of that puzzle. ("Livingston to Taylor"? Eh.... Not so much...)
May I respectfully suggest starting with Fred Biletnikoff, Warren Wells, and Don Maynard?
Cutting Wells was one of the very few egregious personnel decisions made by Stram... Wells was the Tyreek Hill of the AFL. Man, it would have been amazing to see what that offense could have done with both Otis Taylor and Wells lining up outside! (Stram ended up with Frank Pitts instead, a sort of poor man's version of Wells.)
I love podcasts. My favorite is Our Time with you, Nate and Josh. It would be great if you also did your own podcast. I enjoy and learn so much from your in depth and rather scientific thought process of evaluating players, games, teams and coaches.
It's been worth every penny Seth. I am a lover of podcasts "time's ours" is my absolute favorite. I'd love a look back at last year's season as a whole and see as a generality what stood out as the thing Andy changed from the year before and then wild speculation based on coaching changes and players signed for the upcoming season as far as scheme and player usage.
How has Andy historically used big physical receivers? What are those plays he alluded to dusting off and bringing back?
Man, congrats on 2 years! The reviews/breakdowns are the best on the web, nobody illustrates the how and why as well as you're doing it.
For year 3, is love to see a breakdown of the AFC West and what we're up against. I think you'd do a better job than "the chargers are gonna win and the raiders and broncos are gonna be much improved" that we're seeing around the web.
Love it and look forward to what you've got to say!
I like the idea of looking at the enemy a bit! Maybe breaking down each position group a little. It'll be impossible to be as detailed as I am with Chiefs players, but I like that thread. Appreciate you!
A throwback article taking your beyond the boxscore analysis to Jamaal Charles breakout year would be awesome. Review a few games before Charles started getting the starts and then review ones after. Was the line not opening up anything throughout the year and Charles just made things happen, were backs getting the initial starts just not hitting the holes that were there, or some combination of the two.
I also think a yearly article taking a deep dive into the roster and evaluating if each position group is better or worse than the previous season and how it stacks up again the Super Bowl winning roster. Another similar but different approach to the roster is looking at the "ifs" of the team that need to develop for the team to have success and the likelihood of those developing into reality. Like "If Frank Clark returns to form", "If someone steps up at RT", or "If McDuffie has a solid rookie year and Sneed returns to rookie form". Evaluate which ifs are most crucial to the season and then revisit at the end of the season. Some years seem to have more ifs or more crucial ifs that are unlikely but would be fun to see how they play out after being defined.
I mean, who doesn’t like to read your work? Well, Raider fans, Charger fans, and Bronco fans but ehhhhh who cares! The Chief in the North is slowly but surely making its way to be eligible for a “contract extension” in NFL years. Maybe a series in year 3 about the chiefs homegrown talent and their stats/improvements compared to themselves - to really see how Coach Reid + staff develops the talent Veach picks (drafted/undrafted FA).
Mailbag Questions:
1.) Who makes the biggest leap this year statistically in your opinion?
2.) Match the Chief players to their Marvel universe counterparts (Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Thanos, Spider-Man, etc.)
3.) Choose 1 player to add to the Edge room for this season… FA Jason Pierre-Paul (33), FA Ryan Kerrigan (33), or trade for Bears Robert Quinn (32+ what would you realistically offer if him)
Thanks for all the great content through writing, podcasts, YouTube, etc. Your passion for the Chiefs and involvement in the Chiefs Kingdom community has been great! Especially for this Chiefs fan who lives in Indianapolis surrounded by Colts fans. Thanks again!
Ouch! You had told me that before in an email but somehow I'd forgotten! Can't imagine how sick you must be of the color orange. Or of the ignorant crud that KOA spews out every day!
Hey, thanks! I do like the idea of looking at how guys have developed. For your questions, I have to leave one out because (gestures at the insanity of this comment section), but I'll hit two of em!
I think the biggest leap statistically this year, if I HAD to pick one (and going off career averages), is MVS. I just have a feeling about him branching out just a bit more in the offense, and the opportunities he's going to get for some big plays. Hardman is a dark horse here as well.
If I could add just one to the room it would probably be Kerrigan. I don't trust Quinn's sack production last year, and I think that they would be buying at his absolute peak value, and that's nearly always a sucker's bet. JPP looked washed more recently, so I'm going with Kerrigan.
Favorite articles to read are the reviews. Whether after games or of players. Wouldn’t be opposed to a few more draft crush reviews in the off season to keep the review articles flowing. Thanks for all the content your provide us!
I appreciate you reading and the feedback!
Can we get a post on Jamaal Charles and the utter insanity of his stats?
https://mnchiefsfan.substack.com/p/jamaal-charles-belongs-in-the-hall?s=r
Oh I know. Somehow JC just never feels real
ALL THE JAMAAL CONTENT
How many of the rookies on defense do you expect to start/get significant play time?
As for year 3, what I want to see is the same awesome writing about an awesome team by a dude with an awesome first name. 😎
I expect McDuffie and Karlaftis to both play 70+ percent of the snaps. I think Cook is on the field a ton as well. One of the other CB's (both physical freaks) is a dark horse to snag a job early IMO to grab some of those CB4 snaps. How WELL they'll do with those snaps is a mystery, but they'd have to fail to not get on the field given the current roster makeup.
Chenal is the really tough one to project. He's got a clear role as a SAM, but how often are they going to use 3 LB's? Will their tendency to under-utilize Gay continue and Chenal grabs some of his snaps? It wouldn't stun me if he saw about 35% of the snaps or like 60%.
Seth your the man. I been reading you since you started and ive never been disappointed. That being said i love your articles going back to chiefs heros of the past. I think jt would be a co segment to compare some of those 2000s chiefs players to some of todays. How much DJ does willie have in him. Does Reid have any Eric Berry in him? Ect. Thanks for putting out great content
I love writing about those guys as well, thanks so much for the idea and for reading along all this time!
Any time my guy! Im the guy who suggested you promote the newsletter as being the price of a sandwich lol best to you and your family
Question: With all the new QB contracts, is there a possibility Mahomes gets envious and wants a new deal, say like 5 years before his monster contact is up?
Really enjoyed the "If I were Brett Veach..." series and similar articles. And anytime we can look back and enjoy the underrated awesomeness of past Chiefs (Charles, Derrick Thomas, and more), those are great reads. Appreciate all you do while still working a "regular" job!
Thanks so much for the kind words!
I think that Mahomes knew this would happen when he signed the deal, so while I believe they'll eventually restructure, I'm guessing he'll go through at least 6 years of it.
Will Nick Bolton take over as the leader of the defense this year?
For year 3, would love to see the podcast come back. Go Chiefs from southern Illinois.
I think so, yes. Jones is the leader of the DL, and should be with Franks continuingly diminished role as one of the faces of the team. But I think Bolton and Justin Reid end up setting the tone overall.
I've been kicking around bringing back the pod for a while now, just trying to figure out a way to make it add value!
If you could redo the 2020 draft, who should the Chiefs have taken in the first round, and how what that have changed their outlook for the upcoming season?
I think Pittman or Higgins are easy choices there, and that's not really too much of a "well now we know" mentality. They were good prospects at a position of need, and KC would've been better off grabbing them.
I actually wouldn't hate Taylor there either given the current makeup of the team and the way defenses are playing them. I think he'd eat against the light boxes, etc. BUT, it's always tough with a RB that early.
Other than that, there were some CB's who had value they could've grabbed, like Diggs, who were pretty known quantities IMO.
I think any of them would make this upcoming season significantly easier. the WR corps wouldn't have needed quite as much of a makeover (or would be looking CRAZY deep right now), Taylor behind this OL would be scary, and the CB room is of course a bit of a mystery right now.
I second the Jamaal comment. Also love the retrospective pieces the most. A little time and a larger sample size helps a lot.
That all makes sense, thanks Dennis!
I'm surprised so many people want to look to the past -- I sure don't. The future is too exciting!
How do the offensive additions and subtractions over the last two offseasons in combination with how defenses have adjusted to the spread/RPO the Chiefs have run point towards a schematic shift and what breadcrumbs did the Chiefs leave behind at the end of last year that may show us what is to come?
I think the Chiefs will shift to operating under center just a bit more with play action stuff, bootlegs, and other things designed to punish defenses who want to play light. I think them grabbing a pair of receivers in MVS and Juju who are bigger and block decently is at least noteworthy (though they definitely needed the receiver help as well), and I think they'll become more varied in their approach as the year goes along.
Hey Seth love the content! My question was what are some realistic expectation for both Gay and Bolton this season? With LB seeming like it's now the strength of the defense can we count on the two to have a big year.
Thanks Tre!
It's always tough to say, but Bolton has exceeded expectations at every level, including as a rookie last year. He was better than I thought he'd be and developed as the year went along. I still have questions about his ceiling in coverage and sideline to sideline, but he's absolutely a Mike you can line up and be very comfortable.
Gay has a higher ceiling with his absurd athleticism combined with his physicality, but for one reason or another for 2 years the coaching staff hasn't QUITE trusted him. So I think year 3 is a huge one for him whether that next step from "solid player with flashes of high level" is going to happen. I think it could, for sure, especially with him out of the Sam role and being allowed to run free a bit more as a Will.
Spags's insistence on underutilizing Willie Gay continues to be one of my biggest worries heading into next season. We can all rejoice in the fact that Neimann and Hitchens are no longer available as "alternatives." But a nagging little voice in my head keeps telling me that he'll find someone equally objectionable, in order to take snaps away from Gay.
Seth,
I Enjoy all the articles, with the in depth insights, all22 clips, and your charts. You are also a cannot miss attraction when you're a guest of WHB810 radio! (a lot of sugar, but heartfelt)..
Being an old Chiefs fan from the beginning, I'd like to see comparisons of Otis Taylors career, and a case for him being inducted into the pro football hall of fame. He is an outlier and unicorn, much like Jamal Charles. Keep up the great work and Go Chiefs!
Don - being old enough myself to have enjoyed and admired almost all of Otis Taylor's career, all I can say is YES!!!! Excellent suggestion!
Problem is, of course, I doubt Seth would be able to find much "all 22" film on him. And statistical comparisons might not be that useful because the game has evolved so incredibly much since then.
Although I will say that I definitely think AFL coaches like Stram and Sid Gilman and Lou Saban set the stage and took the first major steps towards the passing game we see and enjoy today! And "Dawson to Taylor" was a major piece of that puzzle. ("Livingston to Taylor"? Eh.... Not so much...)
The best way to attack that would be to compare his stats to his peers a bit.
May I respectfully suggest starting with Fred Biletnikoff, Warren Wells, and Don Maynard?
Cutting Wells was one of the very few egregious personnel decisions made by Stram... Wells was the Tyreek Hill of the AFL. Man, it would have been amazing to see what that offense could have done with both Otis Taylor and Wells lining up outside! (Stram ended up with Frank Pitts instead, a sort of poor man's version of Wells.)
All good suggestions of players!
I should have thrown Lance Alworth in there too. How could I have forgotten about Bambi????
Don, you are far too kind! And Otis Taylor would make for a great statistical study, and I agree he was a total unicorn!
I love podcasts. My favorite is Our Time with you, Nate and Josh. It would be great if you also did your own podcast. I enjoy and learn so much from your in depth and rather scientific thought process of evaluating players, games, teams and coaches.
I appreciate you listening a great deal, and thanks so much for following along! I'll give some real thought to the podcast.
It's been worth every penny Seth. I am a lover of podcasts "time's ours" is my absolute favorite. I'd love a look back at last year's season as a whole and see as a generality what stood out as the thing Andy changed from the year before and then wild speculation based on coaching changes and players signed for the upcoming season as far as scheme and player usage.
How has Andy historically used big physical receivers? What are those plays he alluded to dusting off and bringing back?
You're far too kind, and I really appreciate it!
And a little wild speculation sounds fun hahaha.
Man, congrats on 2 years! The reviews/breakdowns are the best on the web, nobody illustrates the how and why as well as you're doing it.
For year 3, is love to see a breakdown of the AFC West and what we're up against. I think you'd do a better job than "the chargers are gonna win and the raiders and broncos are gonna be much improved" that we're seeing around the web.
Love it and look forward to what you've got to say!
I like the idea of looking at the enemy a bit! Maybe breaking down each position group a little. It'll be impossible to be as detailed as I am with Chiefs players, but I like that thread. Appreciate you!
A throwback article taking your beyond the boxscore analysis to Jamaal Charles breakout year would be awesome. Review a few games before Charles started getting the starts and then review ones after. Was the line not opening up anything throughout the year and Charles just made things happen, were backs getting the initial starts just not hitting the holes that were there, or some combination of the two.
I also think a yearly article taking a deep dive into the roster and evaluating if each position group is better or worse than the previous season and how it stacks up again the Super Bowl winning roster. Another similar but different approach to the roster is looking at the "ifs" of the team that need to develop for the team to have success and the likelihood of those developing into reality. Like "If Frank Clark returns to form", "If someone steps up at RT", or "If McDuffie has a solid rookie year and Sneed returns to rookie form". Evaluate which ifs are most crucial to the season and then revisit at the end of the season. Some years seem to have more ifs or more crucial ifs that are unlikely but would be fun to see how they play out after being defined.
I like both of those ideas! A very specific one and a very "10,000 feet in the air" one.
I mean, who doesn’t like to read your work? Well, Raider fans, Charger fans, and Bronco fans but ehhhhh who cares! The Chief in the North is slowly but surely making its way to be eligible for a “contract extension” in NFL years. Maybe a series in year 3 about the chiefs homegrown talent and their stats/improvements compared to themselves - to really see how Coach Reid + staff develops the talent Veach picks (drafted/undrafted FA).
Mailbag Questions:
1.) Who makes the biggest leap this year statistically in your opinion?
2.) Match the Chief players to their Marvel universe counterparts (Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Thanos, Spider-Man, etc.)
3.) Choose 1 player to add to the Edge room for this season… FA Jason Pierre-Paul (33), FA Ryan Kerrigan (33), or trade for Bears Robert Quinn (32+ what would you realistically offer if him)
Thanks for all the great content through writing, podcasts, YouTube, etc. Your passion for the Chiefs and involvement in the Chiefs Kingdom community has been great! Especially for this Chiefs fan who lives in Indianapolis surrounded by Colts fans. Thanks again!
Just be happy you’re not surrounded by Donkey fans like me! 😵💫
Ouch! You had told me that before in an email but somehow I'd forgotten! Can't imagine how sick you must be of the color orange. Or of the ignorant crud that KOA spews out every day!
Hey, thanks! I do like the idea of looking at how guys have developed. For your questions, I have to leave one out because (gestures at the insanity of this comment section), but I'll hit two of em!
I think the biggest leap statistically this year, if I HAD to pick one (and going off career averages), is MVS. I just have a feeling about him branching out just a bit more in the offense, and the opportunities he's going to get for some big plays. Hardman is a dark horse here as well.
If I could add just one to the room it would probably be Kerrigan. I don't trust Quinn's sack production last year, and I think that they would be buying at his absolute peak value, and that's nearly always a sucker's bet. JPP looked washed more recently, so I'm going with Kerrigan.