Kansas City vs New England Saturday January 16, 2016

[BigKen]

Are the Chiefs contenders or pretenders? Everyone is in a froth about their 11 game winning streak. Only problem is that the last quality they've beat are the Denver Broncos 9 weeks ago. The Broncos were in a bit of disarray with Peyton Manning back then. The Chiefs have not had done well at all against most of the playoff teams during the season. Lets look at their season.....

KC 27 Texans 20
KC 24 Broncos 31
KC 28 Packers 38
KC 21 Bengals 36
KC 17 Bears 18
KC 10 Vikings 16
KC 23 Steelers 13 (no Ben)
KC 45 Lions 10
KC 29 Broncos 13
KC 33 Chargers 3
Kc 30 Bills 22
KC 34 Raiders 14
KC 10 Chargers 3
KC 34 Ravens 14
KC 17 Browns 13
KC 23 Raiders 17

KC 30 Texans 0

KC just hasn't played anyone during the streak and they could beat anyone in the playoffs other than the Steelers without Ben Rothlisberger and the Broncos when they were dealing with multiple injuries and a messy situation at QB.

I don't think that the Patriots will have much of a problem with the Chiefs offense, especially if Maclin is being doped up so he can play. Without him, they are weaker than the Pats without Edelman. I'm not sure they've faced anything like the Patriots with their full compliment of receivers and the speed that Brady will be able to release the ball.

My prediction..........................Patriots 38 Chiefs 17

 

[ohiopatsfan]

Hope you are right, BK. I am still concerned about the offensive line, however. The only player returning is Vollmer at LT. Also, Jackson will be the bell cow at RB. He hasn't been that involved in a football game for a long time. I would feel much less concerned if BB activated Montee Ball as a backup.

 

[PatsFan2003]

The Chiefs D could give the Patriots a lot of problems if the Oline is still a mess.

BTW who have the Patriots played in the last month? They haven't done so well.


That said. I think the Patriots D can give KC real problems and hopefully the returning warriors coming back on offense can make the difference. Do I have to say, no turnovers.

The Patriots should win but we won't really know how good they are until Saturday.

Green Bay looked good today, so the regular season isn't everything.

 

[realityball]

Unfortunately, it'd be a bigger surprise to me if they do well and beat KC by 10 or more ...




I hope I'm shocked

 

[BigKen]

Just having the offensive line back to small bit of normalcy will be a huge help to Brady. Without Vollmer over the past 4 weeks, Brady has had to hold the ball for as long as 6 seconds, which has resulted in throw-aways, dirt balls and badly timed throws.

That and having Edelman back will reduce Brady's hold time. Before Edelman broke his foot, Brady was releasing the ball in an average of 1.7 second. After Edelman was out, that time went to 4.1 seconds. Being able to throw a pass in 2.5 seconds will be a gigantic improvement.

The most important difference will be that the KC defense will not be able to stack 8 in the box or Brady will torch them. The Chiefs have a good secondary but with Edelman, Amendola, LaFell, Gronkowski and Martin all in the pattern, KC defense will have to play legit. If they double team Gronk, they'll have to play the best defense against the pass ever and that will open up Steven Jackson for the screen.

 

[Southieinnc]

State of NE offense:
Gronk can't play by himself - gets his team back,
Edelman back,
Amendola much better when Edelman is on the field - same for the whole offense,
Martin hamstring will be 100%
LaFell much better when not used as a #1
Banged up O-line will be rested and Vollmer back,
I like our chances. We will score more against the Chiefs D the the Chiefs O can score against us. + win!!!!!

 

[Rex Racer]

Chiefs are a tough bunch and winning 11 in a row is impressive, no matter who they played.

I think the Pats will have their hands full on Saturday and they will have them more than full if the O-line doesn't show some serious improvement over what we've seen in the last 6 weeks.

I guess we could say this is a big revenge game since KC beat the tar out of NE last year, but then the Chiefs can come in with some swagger and confidence knowing they pummeled that Pats last year too.

Should be fun!

 

[ohiopatsfan]

The first tell as to who has the edge in this game will be which team controls the line of scrimmage. In the games the Pats recently lost, they consistently lost battles in the trenches. If KC controls the line, it could be a long and painful day for TB.

 

[Sunny Fire]

NE is going to win, but for some reason I expect that win to come at a cost. It's going to be a test for that O-line. Brady will find a way to get a touchdown or two. I also expect this game to go down to the wire. It will be really close.

Patriots - 30
Chiefs - 28

 

[BigKen]

From all of the reports from practices and the film I've seen, KC seems to be extremely pumped up and confident. Sometimes adrenelin can be a killer. Players get so pumped up that they literally overplay. By the time they start to calm down, the damage is done. Belichick has historically kept his teams very calm during practice and prep for playoff games and his 22-9 playoff record tends to indicate that he's doing something right.

Like most fans, I'm concerned about the offensive line getting things back into pace. I also have tremendous faith in Gooch to get them to where they need to be Saturday.

Funny tho......no one is talking much about the Patriots Defense and their front 7. If Maclin can't play Saturday, the Chiefs will have to make running the ball the primary weapon. Other than Maclin, they have no one to go downfield. Brandon Marshall was on NFL Today and said that he had a minor high ankle sprain this past season and could not play for four weeks. If Maclin plays, he will be at less than 60% and could make the sprain much worse. Marshall stated outright that he should not play, even as a decoy. I think Andy Reid is saying that Maclin is a possibility to force the Patriots to include him in their preparation and practice.

I also think the Patriots defense is going to win this game. They'll load the box and force Smith to throwin the pocket. I think that Jones, Sheard and Ninkovich can get to him and make him release faster than he wants or make him throw the ball away. If the defense gets off to a strong start, I'll be able to relax and enjoy the game.

 

[NEhomer]

McCourty's return will be felt imo.

 

[realityball]

Chiefs are a tough bunch and winning 11 in a row is impressive, no matter who they played.

I think the Pats will have their hands full on Saturday and they will have them more than full if the O-line doesn't show some serious improvement over what we've seen in the last 6 weeks.

I guess we could say this is a big revenge game since KC beat the tar out of NE last year, but then the Chiefs can come in with some swagger and confidence knowing they pummeled that Pats last year too.

Should be fun!

Patriots are gonna have to show something they haven't shown over the last six games ... that said, KC kicked the Pats ass last year at the line that frustrated Brady who had one of his worst games ever with many people wondering if he was at the end of his career — he was that bad. I think Brady will be chompin at the bit to have another chance at that team.

Add to that, you know Belichick will be crammin those game videos down the team's throat. Last year it was humorous to hear BB repeat "It's on to Cincinnati" over and over to forget that KC game. I think the team will get a refresher course ...

 

[redseat]

Keep Smith in the pocket and don't let him run!

 

[CreepCreep2014]

This will come down to the defense. If we can stop the run, I think we will be good. Even is Maclin plays, it's hard to think he will be 100%, which will help Ryan. The biggest weapon is Kelce IMO. I think you need to double him or put Ryan/Collins on him. I think this will be on the defense.

I honestly have no clue about the offense right now. KC def is legit, and the pressure will get to Brady. I see Martin being the difference maker with JE, Gronk, Dola, LaFell back....then again how healthy is any of those 4. The OL is going to have their hands full, but the OT have me most concerned. Stork, Kline, Jackson can handle the guys in the middle. Not sure if we can handle the speed on the edge. Here is hoping Houston is a still a little slow...

 

[SDGuy73]

This will come down to the defense. If we can stop the run, I think we will be good. Even is Maclin plays, it's hard to think he will be 100%, which will help Ryan. The biggest weapon is Kelce IMO. I think you need to double him or put Ryan/Collins on him. I think this will be on the defense.

I honestly have no clue about the offense right now. KC def is legit, and the pressure will get to Brady. I see Martin being the difference maker with JE, Gronk, Dola, LaFell back....then again how healthy is any of those 4. The OL is going to have their hands full, but the OT have me most concerned. Stork, Kline, Jackson can handle the guys in the middle. Not sure if we can handle the speed on the edge. Here is hoping Houston is a still a little slow...

Houston missed the last 5-6 games due to a hyper extended knee. He played against the Texans with a knee brace on and re-injured it and I don't think he came back into the game. IF he plays....he wont be close to himself.

 

[BigKen]

Big thing is that Gronk had that injection in his back. It was reported that he got a shot to the knee but upon further investigation they found out that his back is really giving him a problem.

Hope it works itself out by tomorrow.

 

[Fountain City Blues]

Just dropping by to say it should be a hard fought game tomorrow; and may the best team win. Kind of rooting for the Pats to win the SB if the Chiefs can't this year. The Deflategate scandal has long gone past the point of sanity.

 

[SDGuy73]

OL - Tre Jackson is out.

 

[SDGuy73]

Just dropping by to say it should be a hard fought game tomorrow; and may the best team win. Kind of rooting for the Pats to win the SB if the Chiefs can't this year. The Deflategate scandal has long gone past the point of sanity.

Chief's have a good shot at making the SB. If the Pats were healthy...I'd say we go to the SB but it's not going to happen. Whoever comes out of the AFC, they are going to get their asses kicked by far healthier and better NFC teams. Minus GB.

Good luck and good health.

 

[CreepCreep2014]

OL - Tre Jackson is out.

Jesus, he was active 2 weeks ago and played. Did he get hurt? How does NE get all these injuries off a bye week. LOL. The injury report looks terrible too. So that means Mason at LG and Kline at RG, or does Stork move the a OG spot and Andrews at C?