Rewind back to September when the Kansas City Chiefs were preparing to play against the San Diego Chargers on Monday Night Football in the season opener. Before the game, Chiefs head coach Todd Haley had some interesting words about the Chargers.
"This team we're playing on Monday we're not nearly as skilled as they are," Haley said. "It's not close. That's no disrespect to our players. It's just the way that it is."
Taken out of context that comment may look like an attack on his team but it came in a discussion of the difference between skilled and talented players.
Haley said during his Wednesday press conference with Kansas City reporters that the Chiefs aren't at the same skill level as the Chargers and then later reiterated that on a conference call with the San Diego media.
"Any time you have some guys like that, that have been to multiple Pro Bowls and recognized over time, yeah, I would say that they’ve proven it," Haley said. "Then I would say yeah, they’re a more skilled team."
Haley said at the beginning of the season that "it's the other variables that separate the skill from the talent and truly talented players." This all goes back to their theme of fielding a team that fits together very well.
The Chargers' skill didn't matter in Week 1 when the Chiefs beat them. We'll see if it matters the second time around.