Anyone else concerned about the Chiefs?

[Broncosballer32]

They were not a 2 win team last year. I mean they had 6 pro bowlers, and you will never see that again. A team with 2 wins that has 6 pro bowlers.


They are legitimately good.

For that matter, Mike McCoy is a really good in San Diego imo. He is an outstanding coach and the Chargers will also be pretty tough.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

They were not a 2 win team last year. I mean they had 6 pro bowlers, and you will never see that again. A team with 2 wins that has 6 pro bowlers.


They are legitimately good.

For that matter, Mike McCoy is a really good in San Diego imo. He is an outstanding coach and the Chargers will also be pretty tough.

I think you should be...PHI did everything they could to give KC that game, but they forced those turnovers last night...Hali is a beast still and the big boy Poe upfront is showing maybe he was worth a top 10 pick or whatever he was. On OFC...Avery was great last night, but 1 catch from Bowe is not going to cut it.

 

[cdumler7]

I am worried but not worried at the same time. I am worried for the future as the Chiefs do seem to have a lot of young talent that has finally found a coach that knows how to use them. The defense for them is pretty darn talented although watching the game last night Sean Smith if he was going up against a more talented WR like what we got he would have been burned all night. The Chiefs offense though playing against a pretty weak defense still struggled to do anything and the protection up front does not look good which is not good for them considering we will have Von Miller back by the time we play them going up against a rookie RT.

So mostly for this season I am not scared of them although I do think we could lose @Arrowhead this year. I do think the Chiefs will now make the playoffs considering how weak the AFC is after about the top 3 teams in the AFC. Honestly 9-7 should get a playoff spot this year so the Chiefs are a 1/3 of the way there and only have to finish 6-7 the rest of the way.

As for the Chargers they honestly do not scare me at all. The protection for Rivers is better and he looks like he is getting rid of it quicker but they have very little run game and their receivers are dropping like flies. Defensively they look like they have regressed some from the year before. They were a top 10 defense last year (I know we are early into the season so maybe they can get back to that level) but they had a ton of turnover on that side of the ball and right now at least they are missing some major assignments at times.

 

[TDs3nOut]

Just posted this in a thread about KC on the general board. Might not be worthy of a "reprint" (LOL), but it expresses my thoughts on this subject:

Nice start to the season for KC. I knew that there was more talent on that team than their record last season suggested. Add to that the addition of Reid as HC and I'm not too surprised that they are 3-0 to start the season.

One player who I am surprised about, however, is DT Dontari Poe. He is really a force in the middle of a defense that already features a number of really good players. I didn't expect that, since I thought when KC drafted him 11th overall in 2012 he was destined to become the next guy who had a great Combine after doing little in college and would then fail in the NFL. Pioli clearly knew better than I did, which isn't too surprising.

The game against the Eagles last night was the first game I've seen KC play this year. In addition to their solid running game and defense, the one thing that struck me was that they never tried to throw the ball down field and the offense was very conservative. Such an approach made sense last night, since the defense staked them a lead that they were never in too much danger of losing. Seems to me that a big question that will determine just how good the Chiefs are this year is whether they are capable of making big passing plays down the field. In order to beat some of the better teams I suspect that they will have to do that.

 

[TDs3nOut]

One thing related to "concerns about the Chiefs" that arose while watching them play last night is how much we might miss Clady against elite pass rushing DEs. I know that a lot has already been said about how PMFM's unique abilities will mitigate that loss and I think that is probably at least mostly right. Watching Hali work over Jason Peters a few times last night, however, did raise some concern.

 

[cdumler7]

One thing related to "concerns about the Chiefs" that arose while watching them play last night is how much we might miss Clady against elite pass rushing DEs. I know that a lot has already been said about how PMFM's unique abilities will mitigate that loss and I think that is probably at least mostly right. Watching Hali work over Jason Peters a few times last night, however, did raise some concern.

My guess is against the Chiefs the Broncos will game plan with the idea that a TE or RB will be on the left side of Peyton 90% of the game. Pretty much the game will boil down to Franklin having one on one with Houston which is no easy task in itself but I think one that he can win most of the time. My guess is the Broncos will also run a lot more of the 12 personnel sets (2 TE's) compared to the 11 personnel (3 WR) to help take on the pass rush plus help in the run game. I would bet the 2 Chiefs games will be 2 of our lower scoring games of the season 1. the Chiefs offense just isn't going to put up big points on many teams and 2. we will make sure to protect Peyton against the better pass rushing teams in the league.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

No doubt DEN has a better team than KC...it will be interesting to see if they can sustain it because on OFC they are lacking TE play, and I think they have to get more out of Bowe if they are going anywhere. Smith is going to be conservative with the ball which imo mean not a ton of big plays downfield.

 

[Broncosr0k]

I am not concerned about either the chiefs or chargers this year. The chiefs had a good defense last year it just had to deal with that terrible offense. Considering the chiefs have played the jags and an eagles offense that gave up 19 turnovers I am not surprised that won those. Even after the turnovers the offense struggled to capitalize on them.

As long as the broncos can stop hemorrhaging starters we should be fine, this year.

 

[WalkerBoh]

Do I think KC will be a serious challenge to us for the AFC West? No. Not this season. I still think we take the West w/out much problem. Our offense is more potent, and our defense matches up well to KC's offense and what it does.

However, I think there's a strong chance we'll see Denver and KC split their games (which are only a few weeks apart, BTW).

KC's good, but I don't think they have the depth Denver has yet. Their O-Line is still suspect, and Philly just showed you CAN run on KC's defense. They got gashed for 200+ on the ground. Plus, I don't think they have the secondary depth to cover D. Thomas, Welker, J. Thomas, Decker, etc.

They have a good pass rush, and are ball hawking a lot better, which makes the rest of their defense much more potent.

Their offense will most likely stay on the conservative side. Smith just isn't that type of QB in this league. He's a definite upgrade over Cassel though. Smith will be really tested if he has to come back from a big deficit, especially against Denver.

 

[randymon]

Hmnnn.....Yes KC D looks pretty good although Vick and the offense moved the ball down the field pretty good,they just kept shooting themselves in the foot with turnovers. I haven`t cked box score, but I`ll bet Eagles stats are much better. As far as KC offense, I am not worried at all. Smith reminds me of an ex Denver Qb who plays for Dallas now. Doesn`t throw the ball further than 5-15 yds down field and gets nervous and erratic throwing with pressure. I don`t see Denver dbs/ lbs having any trouble with Avery, Bowe ( non-factor last nite) 2nd string tes and Charles at all. I think KC was givin the game by Eagles and should feel lucky myself. I see Chiefs winning as much as 5 of remaining home games and losing as many as all 7 road gms left. From what I`ve seen of Chargers, I`d put them ahead of Chiefs and neither worries me much. Of course it`s always tough to play in KC ( that`s why the possible 5 win above) and Denver and most everyone else will struggle but KC is going get their butts kicked big time on the road. Unless its Jacksonville Serious though, not impressed by KC at all

 

[cdumler7]

Do I think KC will be a serious challenge to us for the AFC West? No. Not this season. I still think we take the West w/out much problem. Our offense is more potent, and our defense matches up well to KC's offense and what it does.

However, I think there's a strong chance we'll see Denver and KC split their games (which are only a few weeks apart, BTW).

KC's good, but I don't think they have the depth Denver has yet. Their O-Line is still suspect, and Philly just showed you CAN run on KC's defense. They got gashed for 200+ on the ground. Plus, I don't think they have the secondary depth to cover D. Thomas, Welker, J. Thomas, Decker, etc.

They have a good pass rush, and are ball hawking a lot better, which makes the rest of their defense much more potent.

Their offense will most likely stay on the conservative side. Smith just isn't that type of QB in this league. He's a definite upgrade over Cassel though. Smith will be really tested if he has to come back from a big deficit, especially against Denver.

The Chiefs are the type of team that have to stay on schedule. The big difference of this team from last year is the fact that they are not turning it over and not falling behind early having to play catch up. I'm really interested to see what happens to them when they get down early and have to actually rely on Smith to make plays with his arm.

I will say the defense of the Chiefs has impressed me especially with Poe stepping up his game...the kid truly had bust written all over him yet he has really risen to the occasion. I think the Broncos though have some good counters to that vaunted pass rush with some quick throws to Wes and Julius plus some good ol runs when they try to bring the house that could go for some big gains. Nothing frustrates a pass rusher more than see a quarterback that keeps getting rid of the ball before they even have time to think.

The one guy on the Chiefs defense that I think the Broncos could easily take advantage of though is Sean Smith. He did decent last night but Cooper sucks and has no speed. He had Smith burned a couple of times yet because of his lack of speed and well lack of catching ability (dropped some great throws) he made Smith look better than he was. I don't think that will fly against the Broncos receivers.

 

[KwitYerWhinin]

I'm not worried about the Chiefs. The defense looked ok, but not entirely organized. Of course that should improve as time goes on but who knows if it will or not. The offense looked like any other year. The only difference I see between Cassel and Smith is that Smith throws it away where Cassel would throw an interception in an effort to make something happen. until late in the game, Charles was averaging just over 2 yards a carry, not what I would call scary. Plus it was just way too easy to take Bowe out of the game entirely. The Eagles looked like the keystone cops out there, I think even the Jags could have beaten them last night. What I give the Chiefs credit for is a semblance of stability. While they didnt do anything fantastic, they didnt really do anything egregious either.

 

[TDs3nOut]

Do I think KC will be a serious challenge to us for the AFC West? No. Not this season. I still think we take the West w/out much problem. Our offense is more potent, and our defense matches up well to KC's offense and what it does.

However, I think there's a strong chance we'll see Denver and KC split their games (which are only a few weeks apart, BTW).

KC's good, but I don't think they have the depth Denver has yet. Their O-Line is still suspect, and Philly just showed you CAN run on KC's defense. They got gashed for 200+ on the ground. Plus, I don't think they have the secondary depth to cover D. Thomas, Welker, J. Thomas, Decker, etc.

They have a good pass rush, and are ball hawking a lot better, which makes the rest of their defense much more potent.

Their offense will most likely stay on the conservative side. Smith just isn't that type of QB in this league. He's a definite upgrade over Cassel though. Smith will be really tested if he has to come back from a big deficit, especially against Denver.

Definitely agree that KC is capable of at least earning a split against us. Everyone knows that late season games at KC are always potentially very tough to win.

Not so sure that I infer from last night's game that the KC defense is particularly vulnerable to the run. I think that Vick got a lot of those +200 yards on a few long scrambles and McCoy, who is already one of the best RBs in the league, is made even more dangerous by Philly's offense forcing opposing defenses to spread out.

 

[WalkerBoh]

Definitely agree that KC is capable of at least earning a split against us. Everyone knows that late season games at KC are always potentially very tough to win.

Not so sure that I infer from last night's game that the KC defense is particularly vulnerable to the run. I think that Vick got a lot of those +200 yards on a few long scrambles and McCoy, who is already one of the best RBs in the league, is made even more dangerous by Philly's offense forcing opposing defenses to spread out.

Vick got about 95 yds I believe. McCoy had 158 yards. But my point was that it's possible to run on them, not that they're particularly vulnerable. Run D is one of the Chiefs' stronger suits. But I still think our run D is playing better ball.

 

[cdumler7]

Definitely agree that KC is capable of at least earning a split against us. Everyone knows that late season games at KC are always potentially very tough to win.

Not so sure that I infer from last night's game that the KC defense is particularly vulnerable to the run. I think that Vick got a lot of those +200 yards on a few long scrambles and McCoy, who is already one of the best RBs in the league, is made even more dangerous by Philly's offense forcing opposing defenses to spread out.

I think the Chiefs are better against the run than what last night showed for sure but I do think they are vulnerable in the sense that Hali and Houston are both looking to get to the quarterback and teams can use that aggressiveness against them. Running a few delayed draw plays against them could find some success. I also think the screen game can have more success than what the Eagles showed last night against this defense. I definitely cannot wait to see this Chiefs defense against our Offense. Should be a good test for our group.

Offensively for the Chiefs honestly the only difference from last year to this year is the fact that they are not turning the ball over. Smith has shown that he realizes his number 1 job is to protect the football and seems very hesitant to try anything deep. Kind of surprises me since an Andy Reid offense has in the past really liked the idea of the deep ball and spreading the defense out. They also have the speed with Bowe, Avery, and the guy from San Fran all having decent speed.

 

[Broncos6482]

I am not concerned about either the chiefs or chargers this year. The chiefs had a good defense last year it just had to deal with that terrible offense. Considering the chiefs have played the jags and an eagles offense that gave up 19 turnovers I am not surprised that won those. Even after the turnovers the offense struggled to capitalize on them.

As long as the broncos can stop hemorrhaging starters we should be fine, this year.

This is great and I pretty much agree.

Just to add my thoughts to it. I came away with it more unimpressed with the Eagles than impressed with the Chiefs. That first half against the Redskins is looking more and more like a fluke. Other than McCoy and Jackson nobody on that offense scares me and their offensive line is really bad. The way Vick is getting hit, there is no way he'll make it through the season.

On to the Chiefs, with their schedule, they should be a playoff team, and they may even beat Denver once (Arrowhead is always tough for us), but that's about their ceiling. They remind me a lot of Marty's teams from the 90s; winning with good defense and running game. That will only get you so far, especially in today's NFL.

I do think their defense is good enough to keep them in a lot of games, but against legitimately high powered offenses they'll struggle to keep up. Looking at their schedule, that looks like their games against Denver, Houston, and maybe Indy.

As for their offense, again I don't see anybody that will scare a defense other than Charles. Bowe was even a total non-factor last night, and is anyone really afraid of Donnie Avery? The right side of their line looks bad, especially Eric Fisher who has really struggled in pass protection. They remind me a lot of the 2009 Broncos on offense; everything is short. Good defenses will shut that down and they'll eventually have to throw the ball downfield and challenge those defenses. But with their pass protection coupled with their lack of deep threats, I don't see them really being a threat.

My bottom line on the Chiefs: I think they're a 10 win wild card type team, but they are not a legitimate threat to win the division away from Denver.

 

[Broncos6482]

Smith has shown that he realizes his number 1 job is to protect the football and seems very hesitant to try anything deep. Kind of surprises me since an Andy Reid offense has in the past really liked the idea of the deep ball and spreading the defense out. They also have the speed with Bowe, Avery, and the guy from San Fran all having decent speed.

Bowe's not really a deep threat, never really has been. He doesn't have that speed. The main issue is the right side of their line hasn't passed blocked very well, especially Eric Fisher, so they can't really challenge deep until that gets better.

 

[cdumler7]

Bowe's not really a deep threat, never really has been. He doesn't have that speed. The main issue is the right side of their line hasn't passed blocked very well, especially Eric Fisher, so they can't really challenge deep until that gets better.

He might not have the top end speed but he does have the ability to go up and get the football. He is like a lesser version of Brandon Marshall in that sense. Neither has speed but are known as deep threats because when they get that one on one coverage it is worth still just throwing it up and seeing if they can come down with the football.

 

[Broncos6482]

He might not have the top end speed but he does have the ability to go up and get the football. He is like a lesser version of Brandon Marshall in that sense. Neither has speed but are known as deep threats because when they get that one on one coverage it is worth still just throwing it up and seeing if they can come down with the football.

Brandon Marshall is not really a deep threat, either. Sure, you might throw it deep to either one every now and then, but that's not really their game. Neither have finished in the top 10 in yards per catch, and really the only time either was close was Bowe in 2010 when he averaged 16.1 yards per catch, good enough for 12th in the league. But his career average is just 13.7 (Marshall's is 12.7).

They may go deep occasionally, but that's not really what they're known for.

 

[cdumler7]

Brandon Marshall is not really a deep threat, either. Sure, you might throw it deep to either one every now and then, but that's not really their game. Neither have finished in the top 10 in yards per catch, and really the only time either was close was Bowe in 2010 when he averaged 16.1 yards per catch, good enough for 12th in the league. But his career average is just 13.7 (Marshall's is 12.7).

They may go deep occasionally, but that's not really what they're known for.

I understand your thoughts I am just saying both can be deep threats because of their ability to high point the ball over the top of most corners in the league. Andy Reid likes to stretch the field so it is surprising to me with Avery and Jenkins both having speed and Bowe having the size that he does that Reid is not trying to push the ball down the field a little more. I think a lot of that though has to boil down to Smith not being known as a deep ball quarterback. He had this same problem in San Fran where they had players that could take the top off the defense yet Harbaugh rarely pushed the ball down the field with Smith in the game. Instead he played a lot of small ball and relied on the defense to keep them in games.