Looking Ahead

by KennyGregoryRockThaCradle on Nov 1, 2007 5:10 PM CDT Comment 5 comments

We're seven games into the season. Coming out of the bye week, it's a good time to take the team's temperature. Questions:

How does everyone think we'll do in the final 9 games?
What will the keys be to making a playoff push?
In the grand scheme of things, is making the playoffs really the best thing for this franchise, or would a better draft pick be of more use?

BONUS- If either KU or MU wins out this year, what are the odds they get screwed out of the BCS championship?

My Personal Thoughts:

5-4. We'll go 4-1 at home (only loss to SD), but will struggle on the road, going 1-3, with our only win coming the last week of the season at the Jets, winning this game to keep scant playoff hopes alive, and to give Herm some satisfaction in taking out his old team. Plus, the Jets are awful.
Couple of big keys:

A. Tamba Hali has to step up- with Jerrod Allen's success, he will be seeing more double and triple teams. Hali has to be able to make teams pay for doing so to keep pressure on opposing QBs, keeping our pass D in the top ten.

B. Rush defense- right now we're 17th in the leaguge against the pass. We have to improve on this- Hermie ball demands that you can run the football and stop the run.

C. Eddie Kennison's Hammie- Bowe has been contained the last couple of weeks. We need a healthy Kennison making teams pay for single covering him to keep up the passing attack, which has been effective at opening up the run for LJ.

3. No, unless Brady and Manning are knocked out for the season in a bizzare set of simulataneous
credit card commercial shooting mishaps.

BONUS- Sadly, very high. What a rediculous, corrupt system the BCS is.

Poll

What will the Chiefs' Record be in their Final 9 Games?

7-2 or Better

1 votes

6-3

6 votes

5-4

3 votes

4-5

0 votes

3-6 or Worse

0 votes

10 votes | Poll has closed

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Arrowhead Pride's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Arrowhead Pride writers or editors.

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Comments

Hmmm

Personally, I think that we will either go one game into the playoffs, or miss them by one game. The Chiefs always find a way to screw themselves out of a good draft pick by winning just enough good games to keep us in the middle of the pack. HOWEVER, those middle of the pack draft picks are really starting to work out for us (Larry (more at the end I guess), DJ, Tamba, and now D Bowe.) However, if we can evaluate talent this well in the middle of round 1, think about the damage we can do at the top of round 1?

In terms of the BCS, yes they can and will be screwed over, but it wont be for nothing. They will also be used to push for the playoff style Championship that are soon to come in about 4 years I think.

In terms of Tamba, your right. He definetly has been playing injured lately, but we need him to step up so that we can continue to bring the pressure, but I think that you are getting a little greedy right here as well haha. Lots of teams dont have 1 good end, let alone a top 3 end as well as another very good one. If Jared allen is as good as we think he is, (then crown his ass!!) then he should be able to fight through a lot of those double teams to put pressure on the quarterback.

Also, I dont think that we are going to lose to the chargers. It is almost impossible for us to lose at home that late in the season (minus the ravens game) Without us completely blowing it. As for going 1-3 on the road, I also think that we will do much better their too, especially if our running game gets to a level of mediocrity.

Right now, while our belove Chiefs struggle to find an identity (besides our defense being great), we will continue to play as the team that finds a way to win when it counts. The last team that played like we are playing righ now is the Patriots at the beginning of their dynasty. They never played pretty, but they always did something at the end of the game that gave them enough W's at the end of the season. So, comparing that to the 2-14 team many "experts" predicted Les Chefs, I am completely satisfied.

Also, as for Eddie K being out right now, I don't think of that as much as a problem as it would seem. Finally, we no longer have a WR playing over the age of 30. Yes, steady eddie could be counted on, but right now we have a great reciever in D-Bo, and Jeff Web is also looking pretty goodfrom time to time. What we really need is a QB who takes shots downfield, and some O lineman who can focus on winning. My prediction for the end of the season: at 10-6 we win the division with the tiebreaker against SD, where we lose to Tennessee in the playoffs.

by Ben S on Nov 1, 2007 6:03 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

The other upside...

... to picking in the middle of the first round (aside from the aforementioned recent string of good players) is that we're able to secure good starting-quality men without the baggage of being hamstrung by the excessively large contracts that come with Picks 1-10.

The slightly lower amounts we've been paying have kept us from serious salary cap jeopardy and have allowed us to pay proven players- Tony G and LJ.

by mikvogel on Nov 2, 2007 9:39 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Great point

That's what I've been saying about getting a franchise QB in this draft. A top 5 or top 10 draft pick is expensive enough, but when you factor in it being a QB it starts to get outrageous.

Put it this way, JaMarcus Russell has done nothing in the NFL so far. What kind of money does he have? His contract is almost identical to Romo and Bulger.

Remember a few years ago in the draft when Minnesota had like the 6th pick and let their 15 minutes run out and the next few teams drafted in front of them? Think that was an accident? No, they drafted the guy they wanted (DT Kevin Williams), several spots lower, and saved themselves several million dollars.

by Joel Thorman on Nov 2, 2007 10:54 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

5-4 is right

maybe 6-3. We probably won't get a wild card. So as long as we can do very well in the division, like we have been so far, then we can potentially make the playoffs.

It's interesting that at the beginning of the season everyone picked us to do terrible. That defense is better than we all thought...

by Joel Thorman on Nov 1, 2007 9:48 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

We have an important stretch of games

after the Packers...man did the NFL screw us. We play a division game (the Donkeys come here) then at INDY, then our last three divisional games...4 out of 5 AFC West games right there in a bunch. If we win 3 of those (and one of them is SD) then we win the division. If we lose to SD we have to hope that they lose another division game or else we will be fighting for a wild card.

by PVChiefsfan on Nov 2, 2007 7:07 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs