Prior to the season starting, I predicted the Chiefs would go 11-5 and win the Super Bowl. That insanity was on the heels of the fourth preseason game and learning that Tony Moeaki was done for the season. Obviously, I was putting on my delusional Chiefs fan hat with that not so bold prediction.
Arrowhead Pride, I usually predict that the Chiefs will win the Super Bowl every year (one of these years I will be right.) This season the prediction looked to be blown out of the water right away. There is really no need to rehash the start of the season and all of the losses yet again, so I will refrain from doing that today.
During the Chiefs four game winning streak I canned my overbearing positivity in fear that my positive vibes might somehow mess with the Chiefs 'mojojestic' winning ways. Somehow, I felt that my wishful look into the crystal football was responsible for our Chiefs disgraceful start, mostly because it was so public. Well, after the Miami Dolphins beat the 'superstition' out of Kansas City Chiefs last week at home, I figured it was safe to return to my blind, less pessimistic ways.
Once a winning streak is over, all bets are off. Bearded superstitions are reset, and it is time to go back to the drawing board. The Chiefs are in that mode now, they are on the 'half empty' side of .500 and have to face a division rival tomorrow with a quarterback that has prayers named after himself, "Tebowing."
Really, I don't know what to expect tomorrow from the Kansas City Chiefs at home. Every single time you think that you know something concrete about this team, they do another thing with the 'opposite of greatness' that makes you scratch your head.
What I do know is that the Chiefs have beaten the Broncos 55 times overall, and we should definitely discuss how they can do it again tomorrow.
The Denver Broncos -
The Broncos are not a very good football team this year. They have won three games by a total of 19 points and that total is effected by the most recent game against the Raiders. In that particular game the Broncos won by a score of 38-24, which would indicate that they are a team on the rise with Tim Tebow riding in on clouds to save the day.
If you look closely at the game though, it is something that will not be easily duplicated often. The Broncos had 299 yards rushing against the Raiders, their highest total of the season by 104 yards. Also, they created three turnovers, another season high for Denver. It was one of those games where the Broncos won the turnover battle and had less penalties than the Raiders did.
On defense the Broncos have given up over 375 total yards offense five times this season, while only reaching that total twice with their own offense. Does that mean that they are incapable of putting together a great game plan and throwing some points on the board? No, but it does point out that this is an inconsistent team in the NFL.
Like the Chiefs, the Broncos are a team that is inconsistent in all phases of the game. Week to week, their fans don't know what the product is going to be like on the football field. They started out the season with Kyle Orton as their QB, his play was questioned by everyone and Tebow was then surgically implanted into their QB position. Some would say he had to be surgically implanted, because he definitely doesn't fit as an NFL caliber QB in this league.
Nevertheless, the Chiefs will have their hands full with Tim Tebow tomorrow. He is a gamer that can make plays with his feet and can dump the ball off with Matt Cassel like grace. A huge part of me is worried that he will throw for 500 yards and run for 8 Tds tomorrow, but logically I can see the Chiefs matching up pretty well against this Denver team.
It starts with -
The Chiefs defense, they have to step up their game in this one. If they let Tim Tebow run free, they will lose this game tomorrow. They need to be consistent, aggressive and not give up the big plays.
We also need to see the return of the turnovers, in the Raiders and Chargers games this team was a turnover machine, harvesting 10 turnovers in just two games. Last Sunday against the hapless Dolphins, they got beat on nearly every play. It was like only the Chiefs were playing in quicksand and the Dolphins were injected with liquid 'not suck' before the game.
The Chiefs have not allowed less then 300 yards total offense even once this year. Their lowest total was against the San Diego Chargers on monday Night Football with 322. This defense is going to need to learn to stop an opponent from moving the ball up and down the field if they want to be more competitive starting with the Broncos tomorrow.
The higest total rushing yards that they have given up this season was to Buffalo with 163 yards. To me, that says that the Chiefs should be able to contain Tim Tebow and Willis Mcgahee from getting numbers like they had (299) against the Raiders. However, this Chiefs team never fails to surprise its fans with how inept or successful it can be, so it can go either way when it comes to stopping the run.
The Kansas City Chiefs -
Who are the Chiefs?
They are not a passing team, even though with Dwayne Bowe, Steve Breaston and Jonathan Baldwin they should be hurling the pigskin on every other down. However, they do have Matt Cassel, so I understand the hesitation.
They are not a running team, even though they try to strap the ball to Dexter McCluster and run it as if he is Jamaal Charles sometimes (he is not Jamaal Charles.) Thomas Jones runs like a man possessed with a paraplegic ghost and they don't seem to understand how to utilize Jackie Battle anyone yet.
They are not a defensive team, even though they did a good impression of one against the Raiders and San Diego in their two most recent victories. We all know that great defensive teams don't get beat by 28 or more points three times in 8 games, right?
Everyone seems to wonder just who the Chiefs are. Are they average, good, terrible, poorly coached, under motivated, under the influence? What is it?
Right now, the Chiefs are a team in need of a win, that is who they are. It is as simple as that, they need to go out there tomorrow and beat the Broncos in front of 70,000+ screaming Chiefs fans. This team can't afford another loss tomorrow and they definitely have the ability to go out there and earn a win.
The question is, will they? Will the Chiefs team that came to play against the Chargers on the Halloween edition of Monday Night Football show up? Or will it be the Chiefs that showed up against the winless Dolphins last Sunday and got humiliated at home by the better team?
The funny thing is, there is no way to know which team it will be. If you ask me what I think will happen, I will tell you that I have no idea, because the Chiefs have an identity crisis. Personally, I want the Chiefs to go out there tomorrow and put together their finest game of the season. A complete game, where they are successful in all three phases of football.
Something like a 34-9 victory where they hold the Broncos to just three meaningless field goals. Really, I believe the Chiefs have it in them to do just that, or something similar. Yet, I am hesitant, because I know this team could just as easily go out there and get brutalized in front of dozens of all the Broncos fans "Tebowing" around the world simultaneously.
Nobody wants to see that tomorrow.
What I do want to see is a Kansas City Chiefs football team that goes out there and plays like it cares about being in first place. A team that plays as if losing isn't even an option, a team that is prepared and focused on beating the Broncos in their own house and acts like playing in front of the best and loudest fans in the NFL actually means something.
Will we see that? We will all find out tomorrow.