Thanks for this, Seth. What is the time table for an Achilles injury? I thought it was basically a full calendar year. I was pleased to see a feisty Instagram post from Schwartz - it didn't sound like a guy hanging them up. But I don't know if there is any certainty about either tackle spot, or how guys who haven't played in a year will show up.
If football fans stepped behind John Rawl's veil of ignorance, lost all our past allegiences to NFL teams, cities, players, and then came out and picked a team from scratch, the world would have 100% Chiefs fans. Will the Chiefs be the team of the 20's? Maybe not, but surely it is a gamble between the Chiefs and the field. I know these questions all came in the immediate aftermath of a hugely disappointing game. I couldn't sleep until I wrote some things down. But the future is brighter than ever.
I don't know why the schedule would appear tougher next year except for the downgrading of the teams we played this year in retrospect because we already beat them. We get the NFC East instead of the South, which sure feels easier. And we get the AFC Central instead of the East, which is maybe a smidge harder, but I think it is at least as likely that Pittsburgh and Cleveland take a step back as a step forward - their records were all boosted this season by getting to feast on the NFC East, and nobody looked that great in the playoffs. Is anybody in the division scary? I'd bet there is a wildcard team from one of them next year, mostly because we'll beat up on the NFC East. Buffalo looks really good, but any better than Baltimore 12 months ago? If anything, I think the 2021 schedule is a mite easier than the 2020 one.
We knew the patchwork O-line was going to be an issue. I don't think we could anticipate all the failures of his receivers and those failures absolutely sabotaged any hopes of seeing the Chiefs team we've grown accustomed to. The most stunning part of all was the inability or unwillingness of the coaching staff on both sides of the ball to make the necessary adjustments to set them up for success. It was a Murphy's Law Superbowl, to be sure. Looking forward to your extensive breakdown of Pat's amazing performance despite everything crumbling around him.
The receiving failures were really the straw that broke the camel's back. Hill and Kelce hanging on to those two huge first half plays changes the entire complexion of the game and forces TB to play very differently on offense.
You said the offense should have had a better plan or adjusted quicker--using CEH more in draws or short passes to him and others. I have also heard people say they might have kept in an extra TE or running back to help with the blocking and not always send out 5 receivers--use more screens and RPOs. Dink and dunk once the Bucs defense became clear.
My question is does this failure to adjust harm EB's chance of being a future head coach? I know Reid is the main play caller but couldn't EB have forcefully told Reid what was needed before it was too late? Perhaps Reid was off his feed by his son's issues but EB should have done something to prevent the trainwreck that was happening. If EB didn't feel he could confront Reid, then does that says something about his ability to be a HC? I would have thought a change would be made after the first quarter. Certainly at halftime.
It seems to me we had a head coach as well as an offensive coordinator failure.
I don't know how it'll affect EB's chances one way or another. Getting to the Super Bowl is a huge deal, and one would imagine that detractors can't have it both ways... they can't say he doesn't get credit for the consistent excellence of the offense but then blame him when it doesn't go well.
And FWIW, believe me... EB isn't afraid to confront anyone.
"I don’t think the Chiefs need to get too carried away. They’re not perfect, but they were the best team in the NFL all season until a really tough Super Bowl where virtually everything that could go wrong did go wrong."
This is the key quote IMHO - the Chiefs had a fart of a game against a VERY talented team and their weakest link (OLine) was going up against arguably the best DLine in the game of football.
The cliché 'the game is won in the trenches' exists for a reason and we didn't have much of an answer outside of Mahomes Hero Ball.
And THEN when Mahomes DID become a Superhero (a perfect pass while parallel to the ground? Are you serious? Inarguably the greatest throw in the history of football) the receivers didn't catch the ball.
This team had the talent to win the Super Bowl if Fisher doesn't get hurt but the timing and the lack of depth after he went down (which isn't KCs fault really, you really shouldn't expect to have 10 NFL starters on your Oline) the straw broke the camel's back.
I'm very excited for next year because Mahomes is gonna be PISSED because of this game and I do not envy the defenses that have to deal with his 'revenge tour'.
It's a testament to Mahomes/Reid's brilliance that we didn't realize the Oline situation was so poor until the SB. Our starting OLine (Fisher,Osemele,Reiter,LDT,Schwartz) is an *excellent* offensive line. But we just got unlucky all year there.
I wouldn't go that far. Our starting OL was accurately described with words like "adequate", "acceptable", "passable", and "average" before the defections and injuries. And as starters dropped out, the line went from "below average" and "occasionally doing their job" to "non-existent" and "turnstile" in the Super Bowl.
I'd think of it this way... imagine what that game would've looked like (imperfect analogy, but bear with me) had the Chiefs OL been healthy and JPP, Barrett, Vea, and Suh were all injured. While the trenches aren't necessarily the end-all-be-all in the modern NFL, massive mismatches lead to big problems.
I don't know if this is the place for this, but since you mentioned it....Finding out about Terez yesterday was a gut punch after I was just starting to recover from Sunday evening's gut punch. But it, along with the loss of Marty Schottenheimer, helped bring back a bit of perspective. As Grunny said on 810 when he was saying a few words to honor the passing of Marty, the Chiefs have been to 2 straight Super Bowls and Marty would have given almost ANYTHING just to get to 1. So on that note, a big shout out to Marty and Terez: a Chiefs legend, and one that was in the making. RIP.
This might be too late to get an answer, but why doesn’t KC go to a no huddle O when playing the teams with a stout front 4 ( or stout front 7). Before the SB54 I thought they might in order to put pressure on the D line and wear them down faster. When they finally did go to a hurry up, you could see the 9ers D tire even more than they were but it also let PM get into a rhythm on offense. With all the running the Tampa’s D-line did it seems like that might have paid dividends??
Seth, how is the mailbag availability communicated? I don’t recall seeing any notification. Since all subscribers receive the newsletter via email, could you send us all an email heads-up? Or did I miss it? Thanks as always, Dave.
It's generally via twitter, so those who aren't there might miss it. Maybe I'll try to do it more in a group chat format or something similar at some point!
The two biggest correctable failures in this loss were by coaches and receivers . Andy drew up a game plan to beat man coverage, with a huge proportion of 5 man protections for a decimated offensive line. Then he failed to adjust to what Tampa was doing on defense. Mahomes made multiple highlight worthy throws that receivers either dropped or didn’t expect. Hill, Kelce, Hardman, and Robinson all had big misses. I can’t blame the offensive linemen when they were put in a position to fail. I certainly can’t blame Mahomes for his receivers failing to make crucial plays.
And most specifically I am done with Mecole Hardman. His physical talent is undeniable but his mental mistakes are killers. Two muffed punts in three weeks, then not even trying to field any in the Super Bowl (on orders from Toub?). Failing to turn his head in time on a sure touchdown in the first Tampa Bay game. Failing to turn his head in time on a hot route that could have been a touchdown in the Super Bowl. Falling down on what should have been a fairly routine cut in the Super Bowl. He’s sort of the anti- Ben Nieman: super talented but totally unreliable.
Regarding our lack of adjustment to the Bucs’ game plan, I wonder if we refused to adjust or had not prepared alternate responses. If so, it brings back a memory to me. I once heard military tactical planning described as “Do not plan solely on what your enemy is LIKELY to do; plan as well for all responses they are CAPABLE of implementing.”
Shocked if Andy and crew failed to anticipate the Bucs tactics. But did they?
I'm wondering if it's a combination of maybe a bit underpreparing but also not being able to really modify much of the gameplan with 4 backup lineman. You can say 'help them out' but what if you help them out and nothing changes? Then you wasted precious plays testing a strategy that failed.
I think a lot of the issues were that since it was the Super Bowl they had no wiggle room to test things out. There was no 'next week' and they looked like they thought the best way to go was go empty and just let Mahomes be a Superhero since that was likely their best shot (I also tend to agree with them based on what happened)
Felt like that was a problem, OR perhaps they didn't think certain things would work given the mismatch up front and thought they'd go with what they knew they could (in theory) do?
Did the Bucs do anything in the D backfield that was different than other teams? Obviously their pass rush was superb against our 2nd & 3rd string linemen and I suspect it was the biggest defensive difference maker for them, but I was not sure if the D-backs did anything that confused KC???
This article gave me peace. At the end of the day, you always learn more in defeats than in triumphs. I can't wait to see what the future holds for our Chiefs, and which changes they bring. :D
This made me feel a little better but how we got beat is so deflating. Sad Fans on Reddit definitely helped though.
It was actually easier for me to take than a heartbreaker. I'd processed it emotionally by the end of the 3rd Q lol.
Thanks for this, Seth. What is the time table for an Achilles injury? I thought it was basically a full calendar year. I was pleased to see a feisty Instagram post from Schwartz - it didn't sound like a guy hanging them up. But I don't know if there is any certainty about either tackle spot, or how guys who haven't played in a year will show up.
If football fans stepped behind John Rawl's veil of ignorance, lost all our past allegiences to NFL teams, cities, players, and then came out and picked a team from scratch, the world would have 100% Chiefs fans. Will the Chiefs be the team of the 20's? Maybe not, but surely it is a gamble between the Chiefs and the field. I know these questions all came in the immediate aftermath of a hugely disappointing game. I couldn't sleep until I wrote some things down. But the future is brighter than ever.
I don't know why the schedule would appear tougher next year except for the downgrading of the teams we played this year in retrospect because we already beat them. We get the NFC East instead of the South, which sure feels easier. And we get the AFC Central instead of the East, which is maybe a smidge harder, but I think it is at least as likely that Pittsburgh and Cleveland take a step back as a step forward - their records were all boosted this season by getting to feast on the NFC East, and nobody looked that great in the playoffs. Is anybody in the division scary? I'd bet there is a wildcard team from one of them next year, mostly because we'll beat up on the NFC East. Buffalo looks really good, but any better than Baltimore 12 months ago? If anything, I think the 2021 schedule is a mite easier than the 2020 one.
My understand of Achilles injuries is similar to your own, a full year.
Schwartz coming back would be MASSIVE. I almost can't overstate it. And I agree, the future looks incredibly bright!
We knew the patchwork O-line was going to be an issue. I don't think we could anticipate all the failures of his receivers and those failures absolutely sabotaged any hopes of seeing the Chiefs team we've grown accustomed to. The most stunning part of all was the inability or unwillingness of the coaching staff on both sides of the ball to make the necessary adjustments to set them up for success. It was a Murphy's Law Superbowl, to be sure. Looking forward to your extensive breakdown of Pat's amazing performance despite everything crumbling around him.
The receiving failures were really the straw that broke the camel's back. Hill and Kelce hanging on to those two huge first half plays changes the entire complexion of the game and forces TB to play very differently on offense.
You said the offense should have had a better plan or adjusted quicker--using CEH more in draws or short passes to him and others. I have also heard people say they might have kept in an extra TE or running back to help with the blocking and not always send out 5 receivers--use more screens and RPOs. Dink and dunk once the Bucs defense became clear.
My question is does this failure to adjust harm EB's chance of being a future head coach? I know Reid is the main play caller but couldn't EB have forcefully told Reid what was needed before it was too late? Perhaps Reid was off his feed by his son's issues but EB should have done something to prevent the trainwreck that was happening. If EB didn't feel he could confront Reid, then does that says something about his ability to be a HC? I would have thought a change would be made after the first quarter. Certainly at halftime.
It seems to me we had a head coach as well as an offensive coordinator failure.
I don't know how it'll affect EB's chances one way or another. Getting to the Super Bowl is a huge deal, and one would imagine that detractors can't have it both ways... they can't say he doesn't get credit for the consistent excellence of the offense but then blame him when it doesn't go well.
And FWIW, believe me... EB isn't afraid to confront anyone.
"I don’t think the Chiefs need to get too carried away. They’re not perfect, but they were the best team in the NFL all season until a really tough Super Bowl where virtually everything that could go wrong did go wrong."
This is the key quote IMHO - the Chiefs had a fart of a game against a VERY talented team and their weakest link (OLine) was going up against arguably the best DLine in the game of football.
The cliché 'the game is won in the trenches' exists for a reason and we didn't have much of an answer outside of Mahomes Hero Ball.
And THEN when Mahomes DID become a Superhero (a perfect pass while parallel to the ground? Are you serious? Inarguably the greatest throw in the history of football) the receivers didn't catch the ball.
This team had the talent to win the Super Bowl if Fisher doesn't get hurt but the timing and the lack of depth after he went down (which isn't KCs fault really, you really shouldn't expect to have 10 NFL starters on your Oline) the straw broke the camel's back.
I'm very excited for next year because Mahomes is gonna be PISSED because of this game and I do not envy the defenses that have to deal with his 'revenge tour'.
It's a testament to Mahomes/Reid's brilliance that we didn't realize the Oline situation was so poor until the SB. Our starting OLine (Fisher,Osemele,Reiter,LDT,Schwartz) is an *excellent* offensive line. But we just got unlucky all year there.
I wouldn't go that far. Our starting OL was accurately described with words like "adequate", "acceptable", "passable", and "average" before the defections and injuries. And as starters dropped out, the line went from "below average" and "occasionally doing their job" to "non-existent" and "turnstile" in the Super Bowl.
I'd think of it this way... imagine what that game would've looked like (imperfect analogy, but bear with me) had the Chiefs OL been healthy and JPP, Barrett, Vea, and Suh were all injured. While the trenches aren't necessarily the end-all-be-all in the modern NFL, massive mismatches lead to big problems.
There was never a time where you had zero following. I haven't been to that site much since you left
Oh man, BELIEVE me, there was hahaha.
I don't know if this is the place for this, but since you mentioned it....Finding out about Terez yesterday was a gut punch after I was just starting to recover from Sunday evening's gut punch. But it, along with the loss of Marty Schottenheimer, helped bring back a bit of perspective. As Grunny said on 810 when he was saying a few words to honor the passing of Marty, the Chiefs have been to 2 straight Super Bowls and Marty would have given almost ANYTHING just to get to 1. So on that note, a big shout out to Marty and Terez: a Chiefs legend, and one that was in the making. RIP.
Always appropriate to honor great people!
This might be too late to get an answer, but why doesn’t KC go to a no huddle O when playing the teams with a stout front 4 ( or stout front 7). Before the SB54 I thought they might in order to put pressure on the D line and wear them down faster. When they finally did go to a hurry up, you could see the 9ers D tire even more than they were but it also let PM get into a rhythm on offense. With all the running the Tampa’s D-line did it seems like that might have paid dividends??
I've often thought about that, and I haven't seen a great answer provided.
Seth, how is the mailbag availability communicated? I don’t recall seeing any notification. Since all subscribers receive the newsletter via email, could you send us all an email heads-up? Or did I miss it? Thanks as always, Dave.
It's generally via twitter, so those who aren't there might miss it. Maybe I'll try to do it more in a group chat format or something similar at some point!
The two biggest correctable failures in this loss were by coaches and receivers . Andy drew up a game plan to beat man coverage, with a huge proportion of 5 man protections for a decimated offensive line. Then he failed to adjust to what Tampa was doing on defense. Mahomes made multiple highlight worthy throws that receivers either dropped or didn’t expect. Hill, Kelce, Hardman, and Robinson all had big misses. I can’t blame the offensive linemen when they were put in a position to fail. I certainly can’t blame Mahomes for his receivers failing to make crucial plays.
And most specifically I am done with Mecole Hardman. His physical talent is undeniable but his mental mistakes are killers. Two muffed punts in three weeks, then not even trying to field any in the Super Bowl (on orders from Toub?). Failing to turn his head in time on a sure touchdown in the first Tampa Bay game. Failing to turn his head in time on a hot route that could have been a touchdown in the Super Bowl. Falling down on what should have been a fairly routine cut in the Super Bowl. He’s sort of the anti- Ben Nieman: super talented but totally unreliable.
Hardman's 3rd year is going to be incredibly important.
Regarding our lack of adjustment to the Bucs’ game plan, I wonder if we refused to adjust or had not prepared alternate responses. If so, it brings back a memory to me. I once heard military tactical planning described as “Do not plan solely on what your enemy is LIKELY to do; plan as well for all responses they are CAPABLE of implementing.”
Shocked if Andy and crew failed to anticipate the Bucs tactics. But did they?
I'm wondering if it's a combination of maybe a bit underpreparing but also not being able to really modify much of the gameplan with 4 backup lineman. You can say 'help them out' but what if you help them out and nothing changes? Then you wasted precious plays testing a strategy that failed.
I think a lot of the issues were that since it was the Super Bowl they had no wiggle room to test things out. There was no 'next week' and they looked like they thought the best way to go was go empty and just let Mahomes be a Superhero since that was likely their best shot (I also tend to agree with them based on what happened)
Felt like that was a problem, OR perhaps they didn't think certain things would work given the mismatch up front and thought they'd go with what they knew they could (in theory) do?
"Neimann has struggled". Really, Seth, this is way way way too nice.
Heh, there's no need to bury a guy. I do think we tend to over-state how good AND how bad players are.
Did the Bucs do anything in the D backfield that was different than other teams? Obviously their pass rush was superb against our 2nd & 3rd string linemen and I suspect it was the biggest defensive difference maker for them, but I was not sure if the D-backs did anything that confused KC???
Not particularly, no. Nothing they hadn't seen before in terms of cover 2 and cover 4 with match coverage and zone.
This article gave me peace. At the end of the day, you always learn more in defeats than in triumphs. I can't wait to see what the future holds for our Chiefs, and which changes they bring. :D
I concur!