Arrowhead Pride

Maybe 2

Elialready has a SB ring….may get himself his 2nd this year…Giants have a LOT of momentum and confidence right now….of the defensive teams, Giants got the best Offense IMO

Sorry to differ

But have you forgotten Brady with the twin tight ends?

craig in calgary - January 16, 2012 reply

He said "of the defensive teams"

The 2011 Patriots are not good on defense

PVChiefsfan - January 16, 2012 reply

at all...

all you have to do is slow the pats down…not STOP them completely…cause they are going to give up some points on D….

KCinAZ - January 17, 2012 reply

What about him?

He played the QB position on Saturday just about as well as it can be played.
I’m not saying he’s a stud or anything, but I’ll give credit where credit is due.

Yeah, and folks here had San Fran picking up Manning or trading for Cassel next year.

John Harbough

Is the best coach in the NFL.

Smith has been playing crazy-good under him.

I think he was talking about Alex Smith, not Torrey Smith.

How about a Harbough brothers SB

49ers and the Ravens

Jim not John

Jim out west, John out east

Ah. Thanks

And Jim >>>> John

Gotta remember that.

It may be true that three of the four remaining QBs are first rounders

but it’s also true that two of those first rounders (Alex Smith and Joe Flacco) are approximately on equal footing as a Kyle Orton or Matt Cassel in terms of overall play and ability. The fact is that teams with elite QBs like GB and NO lost because their defenses are subpar, while teams with average QBs and strong to elite defenses moved onto the championship round.

Exactly

Come playoff time the refs aren’t quite so “touch football” with their calls, and it showed.

Thats one of lookin at it, but the other is having playmakers too. Both sides of the ball.

dubld - January 16, 2012 reply

GB also lost because their offense played like shit against the Giants

There defense also faired poorly, but few teams can win when their strength becomes a liability.

Scaryclouds - January 16, 2012 via mobile reply

THANK YOU MY POINT EXACTLY

defense does not win games maybe it did 20 years ago but not today the 49er game three touchdowns scored in the last three minutes and you say defense wins games NO a well planned offense wins games

chieftimbob - January 16, 2012 reply

No, it's not defense that wins games

nor is it offense. It’s entire football teams that win games by playing complimentary football. That doesn’t mean balanced teams, a team can be more biased towards offensive style (Pats) or defensive style (Niners), but the other side of that equation needs to perform commensurate with their duties to the dominant strain.

this. can be biased but has to be ballanced (incl. special teams )

Then how on earth did the Giants beat the Packers?

turnovers

dubld - January 16, 2012 reply

that helped

but both the Niners and Giants stymied the offensive juggernauts…

PVChiefsfan - January 16, 2012 reply

That's it?

Sounds like hollow excuses to me.

At the end of the day, defense still matters come playoff time.

You say the offense won the game for the 49ers

I say the defense lost the game for the Saints. It can go both ways, but when you’ve got an entire field to defend against a QB liek Alex Smith, that’s a situation your Defense should be able to handle. Instead the Saints let Vernon Davis run roughshod all over them and now they’re watching the NFC championship on a big screen.

That's why people say defense wins championships

Because if you’ve got a bad D it’s more likely you’re gonna be sitting at home.

Hopefully...

that means the Patriots will not be there this year. Although a Giants-Patriots rematch, with Eli beating them yet again, might be worth seeing. But I HATE the Patriots, almost as much as the Donkeys and the Faiders…

Alex Smith and Joe Flacco??

C’mon man. Joe Flacco had to transfer to Delaware because he got beat out at Pitt by Tyler Freaking Palko. Let it go.

Sorry for the double post. Don't know how that happened.

And both omitted the important part - Joe Flacco? Dude had to transfer to Delaware because he got beat out at Pitt by Tyler Freaking Palko. C’mon, man.

apology accepted

I'm curious what the points per game looks like without the blowouts.

Probably a little closer to what we’re looking for.

The number is 13.4 points per game without the blowouts.

That’s definitely more in line with what we’re hoping for.

Also, I noticed something odd about the blowout losses. 4 out of the 5… we the AFC East. We got owned by them this year.

Note: I subtracted all 5 of the blowouts.

Oh I was wondering, I just subtracted weeks 1-2

However, if you want to be really fair about the statistics...

If you are throwing out the 5 blowouts… then throw out the 5 best defensive performances….

And we’re at 19 per game. That’s probably much more accurate.

I'm comfortable with that number, as long as our offense keeps developing and can hang three scores on the board consistently.

go_saleaumua - January 16, 2012 reply

Exactly

Imagine how far we go into the playoffs next year with an offense (QB) that can move the chains and even score FG’s and the occasional TD, keeping the defense fresh and potent. Cassel is a drive killer and has shown that for 3 years…even in his ?probowl? year. Sign Orton and the rest of our FA’s, use the rest of our cap space on key FA’s and the draft and win now!!!

KCfosho - January 16, 2012 reply

yes.

Cassel is a drive killer

and he’s not playing at the same level as Smith / Flacco / Orton

I wonder what the Chiefs ppg allowed would be without the Buffalo and Detroit game

I question what the points per game would be without the first 2 games. :)

saskwatch - January 16, 2012 reply

229 points allowed, without those two

Divide it by 14 games and you get 16.36 ppg allowed. Ad by 16 and you get 14.31 ppg allowed

i got 249, not 229

RamX21 - January 16, 2012 reply

this is correct. 249 without games one and two.

Yeah you got it right Ram. Typo on my part

If we are able to put together a strong ball control offense

Our defense should be all the better. In several games our offense seriously hurt us with costly turnovers or just not staying on the field that long (Jets game in particular). This eventually lead to the opponents offense having more opportunities to score.

If we are able to fix some of our offensive woes, next year should be a lot of fun.

Scaryclouds - January 16, 2012 reply

But the Jets marched down the field on their first possession like a hot knife through a cliche.

I'm telling you

Robot Romeo.

bossmanham - January 16, 2012 reply

Defense is not our problem

Why do you not like Romeo?, we after the starters are back will have one of the best defenses in the league and mark my word it will get better and meaner, since d is not our problem its the offense, and they better hire an OC, before there’s no quality left to be gotten, and we can’t win consistantly without that QB, we have needed for years and the pieces left to solidifty that OLine!!

It's a joke because of all the drama created by Kent Babb's story.

Basically saying Romeo must be a robot to accept a job in said environment. But I’m the biggest RAC fan you’ll find.

bossmanham - January 16, 2012 via mobile reply

I'd like a word with you...

but I’m willing to accept the position as #2 RAC fan in the world if you insist. And Kent Babb’s story was much ado about nothing.

Sweeping offenses off the field.

If you take away weeks 1-2 we gave up a little over 17 a game

RamX21 - January 16, 2012 reply

If, for statistical purposes, you also deduct the two best games (0 pts and 3pts) and divide by 12 instead...

Then the number is 20.5 pts per game. Which looking at the actual scores over the season is probably more realistic than 17 per game.

Not really.

If you throw out the first 2 games due to loss of Berry, game planning, out of shape etc. how we played over the last 14 games is much more accurate than taking away 2 of our best games just for the sake of statistics.

RamX21 - January 16, 2012 via mobile reply

out of shape?

The offenses we played should have been out of shape as well. I thought that was a Chiefs strength.

It was

but being in game shape is something completely different than TC shape

RamX21 - January 16, 2012 reply

With a top 10 Defense...

which SHOULD be better next year, if the Chiefs can consistantly put up 20 points a game, they should win a lot of games….

Doing the math and deducting potentially 2-3 points per game from the average...

I’d have to agree with this. Basically 3 touchdowns per game would win 12 games if our defense holds to 17 per game.

So, basically

give me a average to good QB, and a replacement for B Richardson, and we are good to go once JC and Berry come back…

As long as I get DeCastro to replace Lilja...

Yeah, I’m straight with that. Hell… Cassel might even work in this offense. But i’d rather have Orton.

No Cassel....ive seen his best,...its not good enough

cut bait, trade him, whatever….eat the rest of his contract if you have to….he cant win big games

Cassel is roughly on par with Flacco, Orton is roughly on par with Alex Smith.

The tried and true adage remains: defense wins championships. Well, defense competes for championships. Ultimately, it’ll be NE vs NYG because two of the four best QBs are represented in that group.

I am taking SF over NYG

NYG may have momentum but you cannot say SF does not. Another plus for SF is they have played this way all year, no yoyo week to week like NY. Just sayin

BDCinSA - January 16, 2012 reply

Ah but the Giants got hot right in time for the playoffs

And actually have a semi-elite QB under center who has been there before.

Eli isn't semi elite.

he IS elite. The only QBs you can put ahead of him are Brady, Rodgers, and Brees.

I approve this message.

Eli has really turned it on this year.

go_saleaumua - January 16, 2012 reply

I dunno

He’s got a fantastic WR corps to throw to.

I’m not sure I’d take him over any of a half dozen other guys. He runs very hot and cold.

Although this year it’s certainly been more hot than cold…

He put up 4,900 yards this year

I don’t care if your WRs are Jerry Rice and Randy Moss in their prime, those numbers are insane, especially playing 8 games in the NFLs windiest stadium. Eli is elite. Eli is a better QB than his brother. Eli is tough as nails. And Eli sounds like the dumbest person on the planet when he talks sometimes, but don’t be fooled, dude has a higher football IQ than 90% of the QBs in the NFL.

Better than Peyton?

I don’t know about that. But I was with you on the rest.

Yeah, better than Peyton, without question IMO

And for two reasons: clutch performance and physical confidence. Peyton is a great QB, incredibly cerebral and can diagnose a defense at the line better than almost anyone (although few people realize how good Eli is at this same thing). But when the moment is huge, I feel like Peyton gets overwhelmed by it. As smart as Eli is in a football sense, he seems really kinda dumb and goofy, and I think that due to that, he doesn’t always buckle under pressure and just kinda treats that big moment like any other and he performs well in it. On top of that, Peyton has always been really good at getting rid of the ball quick, but when he gets a lot, he really seems to fold. He doesn’t like taking hits. Eli on the other hand has got to be one of the toughest QBs I’ve seen in standing tall and getting the everloving snot knocked out of him.

Eli was KNOWN for choking before he was part of the luckiest catch ever

Now, he’s been clutch this year, but until THIS YEAR he wasn’t even in the conversation.

Peyton, when healthy, was constantly mentioned with Brady, Rodgers, and Brees. Eli isn’t in the same ballpark.

The Giants lose Eli and they still win 6-7 games. The Colts lose Peyton and completely fall apart.

Eli’s on a better team, with a better WR corps, a better line, better RBs, and a better defense.

The Pats lose Brady and still win 11 games

does that mean Eli > Brady? And Eli has been clutch since 2007. That season is where he grew up. Since then, he’s been remarkably consistent.

I was ready to write him off in his first four years in the league, but since that time, he’s steadily improved to the point where I think that right now, he’s better than his brother, even if his brother is completely healthy.

How has he been clutch

As his team runs consistently hot and cold?

There’s a reason there are rumors of their coach getting fired every year.

Eli’s a very good QB. All I’m saying is calling him better than Peyton is ridiculous.

How mnay tackles did Eli have to break before getting off the pass that resulted in the luckiest catch?

A lot

for four years I bemoaned the fact that he bitched his way out of SD thinking he was a much worse QB than Rivers. No more. I think Eli is the most underrated QB in the league. He’s starting to get his just due this year, but even still, I think too many people hesitate to put him in the elite 5. He belongs there.

I think the thing we have to do is not be static in our observations

Peyton was so good for so long that he gets considered one of the best in part on his past resume alone. Eli was so bad for so long, that he gets dissed even as he’s emerging as something special. I’m just trying to be dynamic in my analysis.

No problem with that

I base Peyton > Eli on the last time Peyton was healthy. Dude took a team filled with holes to the playoffs.

Eli couldn’t take a team with WAY fewer holes to the playoffs that year.

Now this year, Eli’s better. But only because Peyton’s in a neck brace.

I hesitate to call a QB “special” when he’s not as good as at least 3 other QB’s in the league, and the difference is more than a little

I'd take Eli over Rivers this year

I’m not so sure that Rivers wasn’t hurt most of this year though.

that's fair

But doesn’t make him better than Peyton.

I think he falls right in the middle....

he is not "elite’’…but he is better than “second tier”….he was asked at the beginning of the season though..“do you think you rank up there with brady brees etc”….he said yes..people laughed….well, he has had his best season, broke records for TDs in the 4th quarter and comeback wins in a seasons…just beat the defending chamos and has his team in the NFC Championship game…like it or not he IS the leader of that team and has them set up to win their second SB in the last 5 years…..

Whoa, whoa, whoa...

Pey-Pey gets hurt for one year and suddenly Eli’s better than him?

Not even close. Healthy Peyton over Eli all day.

I know this is a league of sudden overreactions, but that one is just too much.

Agreed!!!!!!!!!!!!

Peyton has one ring. Eli has one ring.

Comparing the two is silliness, but something they’ve been used to all their lives, because, ya know, they’re brothers.

But Eli is still playing with a chance for ring #2, and Peyton has a health issue that may, just possibly, end his career. It’s rather obvious that Eli, in the New York market, has handled much much more than anyone gives him credit for…

not to mention not going to San Diego was a BRILLIANT career move.

And Eli got his first!

and much sooner in his career, with many many more chances to get more….in the end, I think they will both be in the HOF…so who cares who is actually better

Meh he throws to many InTs on a yearly basis

Id love to see more years like his one before submitting him as one of the best of the best.

He's asked to do a lot, throwing picks is part of that.

But he’s been under a pick a game in three of the last four seasons.

Throwing picks is apart of it?

Lol whatisthisidonteven.

I know, he's coming off an injury, but...

what about Big Bro? Or how about Matthew Stafford? I think Stafford and E. Manning are comparable.

I understand

I just think that SF’s physical style of play was a greater advantage against a finesse passing team like NO than it will be against a tougher Giants team. Not to mention that NY isn’t yo yo, they’re hot lately. They just got hot at the right time (shades of 2007). And keep in mind that the Giants almost beat SF in the bay earlier this year before they started clicking.

I see your point

Not saying anyone is wrong or anything. as of late and just in time for the playoffs is exactly what I am talking about though. SF has been playing like NY is just now all year. I am pretty sure SF is #1 in takeaways too. Took 5 from Brees this week and none of them looked spoof. Thats pretty much where my take comes from. Either way I think it will be a much better game to watch then NE and Baltimore

BDCinSA - January 16, 2012 reply

I think people have to stop saying Cassel is on par with any other QB in the league, he is not

Orton couldn’t have done what Alex Smith did yesterday. The Chiefs need a new QB

Throw the ball to Vernon Davis and let him outrun a CB for an extra 40 yards?

Part of that was on the Defense.

less than 2 minutes to go, full length of the field to defend, and you’re in press coverage against a TE like Davis? WTF?

Yeah, it certainly didn't work out well

Although Smith played a whale of a game the rest of the time too.

Actually Cassel is very similar to Flacco

the biggest difference is that Flacco has a stronger arm to air it out downfield. But both are largely inaccurate on short to medium throws, although manage to get the ball within a reasonable enough zone for the WR to make a play on it, both struggle mightily with moving to second and third progressions, and both can hold onto the ball too long in the pocket and lack really good pocket awareness and footwork, I’d say Flacco is about as close to a similar style QB as Cassel as you’ll find. And that’s not to inflate Cassel’s worth, its a slight on Flacco’s worth,. But it also shows that when you have the right pieces around a guy like that (Rice/Charles, and the elite defense) you can go far even with mediocre and inconsistent QB play.

I thought Flacco looked pretty good in the pocket for the most part yesterday

he got sacked a few times, but mostly it was when the pocket just collapsed around him and he had no where to go. He made a couple plays with some side steps and did a good job keeping his head downfield as well I thought.

Granted, that was one game. Haven’t been watching him all season or anything.

I say sign Orton

and keep Cassel as a backup. Cassel would be an okay backup…

Talent

Our talent, position by position, is not that far off from where those 8 teams in the playoffs are. Actually, better talent than Denver. Our DBs, when healthy, compare favorably with anyones. Our receivers, when healthy, are a very good bunch. However, we are not close to Manning, Smith, Rogers, Brees, Brady, who are the difference makers. And the OL needs to get better

As for the defense, lets keep the good pieces in place and build on what we have. Please re-sign Carr.

HowSweetItIs - January 16, 2012 reply

If you take away all the games not played in Denver, Chicago or Oakland

they only gave up 2.0 points/game. Super Bowl here we come.

LOL.... 45% of all statistics are made up for use on blogs.

We need to get that Carr guy signed so we can keep this going.

And if we could get at least one o line men in FA, we can spend that first round pick on Vontaze Burfict. Our back 8 would be so rape.

Now THERE'S an expression I haven't heard before.

Hightower > Burfict

I would be happy with either.

Burfict will be a cancer

lots of talent….but no brain to go with it….the talent gets wasted

Probably.

But they pretty much said the same thing about Ray Lewis.

Well, im from the Tempe AZ area

When your hometown college sports analyst dont even support you, or give you kudos…there is a problem…Im not an ASU fan so I dont watch a lot of games…but i hear people round here and on the radio say all the time the dude CAN BE a total bad ass….but, his attitude and BS are not worth it….Ron Wolfly, ex NFL player is big on the radio out here…..he says he would not touch him with a 10 foot pole, he dispises his ass THAT MUCH….and like I said, like most local radio guys, they usually talk up all the local players whether they are good or not, you know how it goes…but not Burfict……Once NFL teams get more info on the kid, I expect him to drop in the draft…

I'll take a "cancer" like Burfict over a "cancer" like Hillis

HIV 2 Elway - January 16, 2012 via mobile reply

Agreed

Burfict, as far as I’ve heard, doesn’t have off the field issues. He just needs to learn to harness his aggression on the field and play with his head a little more.

Fighting teammates

Not listening to coaches/fights with them don’t constitute off-field concerns?

No, those are pretty much on-field concerns.

Off-field concerns would be drug, alcohol or legal problems.

But they didn't happen on the field

They happened off of it

Technically, yes

But all football-related. Now we’re just arguing semantics :)

Exactly.

My definition of on-field: Anything related to football and the team.
Off-field? Everything else.

I consider onthefield to be what it says

Things like penalties, bad play etc. if its all supposed to be football-related then why not just say that?

Semantics :)

So.... he's kinda like Suh?

Would his positives outweigh his negatives, such as penalties and personal fouls? Can this guy play next to DJ? Is he an unpredictable wild card? Will he actually fall into the 2nd round like several mocks have him going?

The Lions have issues as a team overall

Suh is partly a product of the environment he’s in.

And they just extended Gunther.

So that’s not changing anytime soon.

Thats why we have Romeo

Ray lewis was a cut up with off field issues, now five years after he retires he will be first ballot HOF, I would take a chance on the Kid, Romeo has been a coach for 30 years in all that time you don’t think he did not run into one player that was hard to handle, who do you think go’s bye,bye rookie are head coach handle one kid, bury his butt on the bench, trade him, are what but make sure he’s a team player talking about BS, what did Thomas Jones do but set one of our bookend wideouts back, fighting in the locker room they should have let the Clown go then, he was worst than Larry Johnson.
Burfict got that LB mentality and will get after you and thats what we need with LJ, and T.H., then all our backers would scare people trying to come across the middle, Green Bay was no fluke, we did what every other team had not, and NY followed are game plan to knock them off GO Chiefs

Burfict ceiling >>>> Hightower ceiling

As Berry said, the word “cancer” was thrown around about Lewis too. Plus with Crennel and DJ coaching Burfict, I think he could be scary good. He hits like a truck, is extremely fast, and reads plays unbelievably well.

Although, I’d also be happy with either. I’d be extremely happy if we traded back to the late first round and still picked up one of them (preferably Burfict).

7chiefs7 - January 16, 2012 reply

Yup.

Plenty of leadership on the defensive side to keep him in line. Those types of players tend to be real vocal leaders too. Something our defense needs I think.

Carr(hopefully), Lewis, Berry, Flowers
Tamba, Burfict, DJ, Houston

Scary stuff. Not sure how the dline is going to look next year though. Does Powe start? Do we draft another NT? Or do we take the FA route? Is Dorsey on the team and if not who plays RDE?

Assuming Houston keeps progressing

and we draft a solid ILB, we could be in line for one of the better linebacking cores in the league. Throw in the young secondary (with Carr of course) and that is scary.

Those are good questions. With that back eight (even without another stud ILB), I think we can do with an average DL. I liked the way Jackson played and hopefully he gets better. Hopefully Powe is good enough to at least be thrown into a rotation. If we can, sign a FA NT that can start and then draft another one. It would be nice to find a starting caliber NT through the draft, but even if we don’t, two young NTs that can be put into a rotation (which Crennel seems to like doing) would be nice for the future.

Dorsey is interesting. Someone posted on AP not too long ago (no offense to whoever it was, but credibility of source unknown) that they sat next to Dorsey’s family (uncle or something) at one of the games this year. The family member said that Dorsey isn’t happy playing in a 3-4 and thinks he’s better suited for a 4-3. If that’s the case, I could see a trade. Pioli likes to stockpile picks, and Dorsey would probably look really good in Indy or St Louis (or any 4-3 for that matter). I also wouldn’t be upset if him and Jackson stayed put. Like I said, the backers and DBs are good enough to clean up average DL play.

7chiefs7 - January 16, 2012 reply

I can get with trading Dorsey.

Gordon and Bailey can fill that spot in rotation and I don’t believe we’d lose much.

Anyone relieved

That the 2 worst defenses wont both be playin in the SB! Seein how we are gettin better on D its good to see that a good defense still wins games!

milwaukeechief - January 16, 2012 reply

Yeah, except that Houston and Cinci had bad ass defenses too.

But what don’t they have? Proven, top of the draft QBs

Yeah, I'd rather have a great QB and an average D then a terrible QB and a great D

If you can’t outscore an opponent on any given day you can’t beat good teams in the playoffs

Fixed: I'd rather have a great QB, average offense, and great D.

I'd rather have an average QB and a great D....

than a great QB and a lousy D. I think the Pats lose this week.

Remember Baltimore with Trent Dilfer won a Superbowl a decade or so ago. Baltimore’s Offense was rated only 16th this year (i.e. average), but had a great D.

I'd rather have a great QB, great offense, and great D.

Meh Houston was on there 3rd QB and were still only a botched punt away for winning

Cincis defense really wasn’t that great

Offense wins games, defense wins championships.

NFL marketers and advertisers probably ain’t happy today. If Baltimore pulls an upset, I’d bet on more pro-offense rules changes in the off season. Re-seeding probably isn’t far away.

craig in calgary - January 16, 2012 reply

I'm still not sure this post-season has proven that mantra.

You look at the 4 remaining teams and you can say “oh there it is, teams winning playing good defense”. I’m not so sure that’s the case.

To me, the only game this whole postseason that has won despite a poor offense is Baltimore yesterday. The other games all featured a fairly strong offensive attack and a bend-don’t-break defense.

I didn't say you have to have a bad offense....

But I guess I mean that the more balanced teams won. NO and GB both pretty weak on defense, top three on offense. SF and NY have decent offenses, and very good defenses.

The AFC teams are all unbalanced. Baltimore and Houston was just a coin toss. NE beat a gimick team.

I’m glad the NFC games went the way they did. I don’t want to see the NFL turn into the Arena league.

In Houstons defense..

they were pretty damn balanced/good when Shaub was healthy….

Yeah, if he was in there, I might even bet on them to beat the Pats.

Bend-don't-break defense is such bullshit

What that really means is “we count on our offense to put up a zillion points because if we don’t’ score over thirty we’re fucking toast.”

You saw the packers game last night?

Soft zone on overload blitzes, Eli was just picking them apart with those looks.

Saw it?

I reveled in it. I was tending bar at our local sports bar, listening to a “knowledgeable Packer fan” tell me how McCarthy runs a spread offense, and I was laughing inside. I asked, at halftime, how that Spread Offense was going for the Packers, and the idiot actually said “pretty good!”

bend-don't-break defense is such bull

what that really means is “if we don’t score over thirty we’re toast.”

So how did the Packers, Saints and Colts win recently?

HIV 2 Elway - January 16, 2012 via mobile reply

Defenses used to win championships, now I think great qb play is more important.

Manning, Manning, Brees, Brady, Rothlisberger, Rodgers.

saskwatch - January 16, 2012 via mobile reply

Hard to argue with that.

Especially since I want us to trade up :)

Packers were playing pretty decent defense last year.

Saints won with turnovers, specifically with fumbles which depend a lot on luck.

If Manning had a defense, he would have won more than one SB. Given his offenses, and depending on how he comes back, I’m thinking that his Colts teams might just be remembered as kinda disappointing.

The year the Colts made their run to win the SB, their defense played solid in the playoffs.

We all remember being excited about LJ against that worst in the league Colts run D. But with Bob Sanders back, their D transformed and was the strength of their team in the AFC playoffs.

The game that had no punts?

No, 2006 playoffs (technically played in January 2007)

The game that had no punts was 2003 season (played in January 2004).

Got it.

Right...

I still think there was something fishy about that playoff run. That defensive turnaround was just way too extreme, literally worst to first.

They each won the SB cuz of their defenses

Packers last year were a top 5 defense
Saints the year they won were not a good defense but I believe they led the league in turnovers which covers up a lot of that bad defense
Colts the year they won were like top 10 in points allowed on defense
Whats the 1 thing with each of those teams that hasnt changed year to year, offense and QB. The thing that changed the year each of those teams won the SB was their defense

badassz1987 - January 16, 2012 reply

RAC'd for truthiness

Like you said, the constant is the QBs and offense they field every year. But those constants only won the SB in the years that their defenses stepped up with either TOs, quality pressure against passers, or otherwise complimented the offenses strengths.

The Packers had a good D last year

It really fell off this year, not sure why.

The Saints D had as much to do in their SB run as their offense did. They were just killing QBs in the playoffs (see: the Vikings game) and it was a pick-6 that sealed the deal against IND.

I agree that defense isn’t as important as it once was, but it’s still a big deal come playoff time. Especially pass rush.

Good O allows you to beat up on weaker teams (win games).

Need that D to compete with the big boys (for championships).

Exactly

A great offense is important, but your defense needs to at least be decent to win it all.

Even the Pats defense turned it up against DEN. Maybe BB was telling them to suck on purpose until playoff time? :)

They didn't suck

They’re second worst in YPG, but 15th in PPG. PPG is what matters. Hence, they’re average defensively, and part of the reason they’re average defensively is because they score a lot and force the opponents into the same mentality, and they score score so quickly that the opponents actually have the fifth highest plays from scrimmage against them.

They also had ALOT of secondary issues this year

I thyink they where on one of thier 3rd string saftys at one point

BDCinSA - January 16, 2012 reply

Yep.

In fact, them getting patrick chung back reminds me a lot of Indy getting Bob Sanders back in 2006.

I wish there was a hyperbole font...

Now you're just being silly.

Even the Pats defense turned it up against DEN.

You don’t have to “turn it up” against Denver. You have to defend a dumbed-down offense with a Fullback behind center, and not let receivers get behind your defense. That’s it. I’m looking at you, Pittsburgh.

Hey, it worked against a whole bunch of teams

And Tebow’s unique abilities do give defenses some problems to deal with.

You can call him a fullback all you want, but he IS capable of throwing a good depp ball… his one decent skill as a QB.

That particular skill, coupled with his running ability, do cause some problems for a defense at times.

HOF Quarterbacks and a o line

Wideouts and tight ends

Not always...

A BIG reason GB did not win yesterday was their own fault….they were dropping passes right and left, they had been off for 2 weeks, Rodgers had been out for 3 weeks…ALSO…GBs offensive coordinator was out for the last 7-8 days after his son died tragically….so there had to be a little bit of disconnect there

And they let NY walk up and down the field on them and hold the ball.

Or wait….I guess that should read KC instead of NY…..

Finally

Some talk about football!!

fishhooks - January 16, 2012 via mobile reply

No!

I refuse to talk about anything except how evil Scott Pioli is!

bossmanham - January 16, 2012 reply

Lock up Carr!

I have know idea why this isn't green!

LadyChief - January 16, 2012 reply

Needs green!

G.L. - January 16, 2012 reply

Hyundai?

this just really put more into the opinion that this team needs to draft o-line....te......hb....

heavy in this draft on our run game, and getting another target at te….

packers got beat up front decimated by injuries, we must fix the line play.

oh right, and pay b-carr

SDChief - January 16, 2012 reply

I was surprised the Packers did as well as they did against NY's pass rush.

This x 1,000

LG, RT, bruising HB, and TE.

Like I said above it would be nice to get at least two of those needs met in FA (probably HB and LG)

Then we can go ILB or NT early and really take our D to the next level.

Chiefs D held Raiders, Bears, Packers and Broncos

to their lowest point totals of the season. They still need to be more consistent, though, even when the offense struggles.

craig in calgary - January 16, 2012 reply

Re: Consistancy

Chiefs D also gave up the highest points total to the Bills, Lions, Dolphins and Jets for their season.

Offense has to not get consistent 3-and-outs.

That would help tremendously.

When your on the field most of the game you would give up points too

3 an Out, all day no chance to catch your breath, time of possession, thats why we could not hold 300lb d line and D back running around all game and people have to ask why the scores were the way they were even in shape!

Actually no

The Lions scored 48 against us, but 49 against $cam Newton and the Panthers. Bills gave up 35 to the Dolphins, we only gave up 31.

Lions?

Are you sure? They hung a big number on the Packers in week 17…

If you want to play late in the playoffs you still have to play offense.

The Niners offense brought them back. The Giants offense beat the Packers. Denver is out because they had no offense. The Pats are an offensive powerhouse. Don’t get me wrong, I love our defense. We are on the cusp of defensive greatness. The last six games or so of this year our defense was outstanding. BUT…………we exited early in the playoff race because we have no offense.

G.L. - January 16, 2012 reply

as it has been said before: it has to be somewhat balanced

I always feel like someone is watching mee...

I missed out on the comments yesterday about haleys paranoia

njchiefs - January 16, 2012 via Android app reply

I have been hesitant to post comments because I worry that Joel is monitoring us.

saskwatch - January 16, 2012 via mobile reply

Oh yeah

When you are using the restroom at your house and you get that funny feeling that someone is behind the shower curtain…it’s Joel!!

Matt_Grbac - January 16, 2012 via mobile reply

Huh.

I thought it was Pioli bugging me, but maybe it’s actually Joel.

I swear

The sting of not being in the playoffs will never go away. It’s the worse feeling ever not competing for the trophy.

It’s like listening to your friend tell you about the awesome gift he got for Christmas that you didn’t get. Just pure disapointment!

Matt_Grbac - January 16, 2012 via mobile reply

SIGN

Bowe n Carr purdy please….!!!

-ChiefsNation- - January 16, 2012 reply

We come to bring the pain next year!

Can’t fuckin wait!

KCinIL - January 16, 2012 reply

Defense is fine

Let’s sign Carr and Bowe, and draft some offensive talent…

My mock draft:

1. Jonathan Martin (OT) Stanford
2. Coby Fleener (TE) Stanford
3. Ryan Tannehill (QB) Texas A&M
4. Bernard Pierce (RB) Temple
5. George Iloka (FS) Boise State
6. Emmanuel Acho (ILB) Texas
7. Nicolas Jean-Baptiste (DT) Baylor
7. Jayme Brooks (OG) Virginia Tech

Beefcakess - January 16, 2012 reply

If you take out the games where our offense couldnt keep oiur defense off the field, we were a top 3 scoring defense.

GenericBrand - January 16, 2012 reply

If Alex Smith can lead a team to the NFC Championship

that bodes well for Cassel or Orton leading us. With our defense about to be a Top 10 even possibly Top 5 squad, and getting back two of our offensive weapons, we can definitely compete in the AFC in 2012.

5280ChiefsFan - January 16, 2012 reply

Might be a bit of an overstatement.

Alex Smith played the best seven minutes of his entire life and it worked because he was playing a horrible defense and there’s a good chance he’ll never duplicate that again. Cassel and Orton are still not a viable options to take us much further then we’ve already gotten.

GenericBrand - January 16, 2012 reply

No it doesn't. People need to stop justifying going forward with either Cassel or Orton.

Neither one of them could have done what Alex Smith did yesterday.

I'm not sure even Alex Smith can do what Alex Smith did again.

GenericBrand - January 16, 2012 reply

true... it will be interesting if he can build upon that game

well, I think he's had six 4th quarter comeback wins this year

I'm not saying I'm happy going forward with Cassel/Orton...

but the front office hasn’t exactly been real aggressive over the last 30 years in getting this club a franchise QB. I’m just being realistic here, I don’t expect we will make any moves in the off-season to bring in any real QB talent.

5280ChiefsFan - January 16, 2012 reply

Where's that understatement font???

@the front office hasn’t exactly been real aggressive over the last 30 years in getting this club a franchise QB. @

dag it. I skipped my coffee this morning.

the front office hasn’t exactly been real aggressive over the last 30 years in getting this club a franchise QB.

see?

TRUE THAT

lol yeah no way they could throw 3 td passes and complete 57% of there passes ROFLMAO .....IN A HOME GAME !!

Willie Beamon - January 16, 2012 reply

I dont think cassel or orton can lead us to a SB, but they can be competitive in this NFL, and specially in our division

I say, sign orton, and trade cassel, but if the do continue wiht cassel i am fine with it, then draft a QB in the 3rd or 4th, hopefully kellen moore… or kirk cousins. then develop him and stanzi for two years then we have a championship team and a playoffs team every year.

orton: yes --- cassel: no

Defense doesn't win championships

Neither does Offense

If you’re great in one department, but horrible in another, you’ll make the playoffs most years, and maybe even luck into a gift game like the Pats did this year, but 9 times out of 10, you’ll go home before it’s all said and done.

Yes, QB play is very important. But if you’ve got a great QB who can fling TD’s every few seconds, but have a defense that can’t stop a middle school team, you get the Saints, and possibly the Patriots (them playing Denver wasn’t a good indicator of their real ability, since Denver is kind of not good).

If you’ve got a D that can stop anyone, but can’t score points, you end up like us this year, or potentially the Schaub-less Texans.

It all has to balance out. All those Super Bowls that these elite QB’s have been winning? Their defense played at least at an average to above-average level. when the defense falls off? Well, we’ve already seen it this year with the Packers and Saints going home.

Great in one and average another, or good in both

urod69 - January 16, 2012 reply

the winning formula?

New England's defensive "weakness" is one of the most overhyped memes there is.

Eventhough they’re second worst in YPG, they’re 15 in PPG. And considering that they usually open up big leads and force the opponents to press to score, that’s actually pretty good. YPG is the dumbest way to consider a defense.

this is true

I’m not sure why they chose to measure defense based on yards, since it’s not the team with the most yards at the end of the game that wins.

I honestly haven’t watched a single Pats game, so I can only go by what I’ve been hearing. With them being 15th in pts allowed, I could definitely see them going to the Super Bowl.

Lol they're still a bad defense

Even with an average ppg

but special teams can get you out of the playoffs.

look at the chargers last season, 1st offense, 1st defense and no playoffs….
the chiefs: on missed field goal and another blocked and out of the playoffs

We would have probably been one and done again anyways.

5280ChiefsFan - January 16, 2012 reply

I think we would have been able to beat the Steelers just like the Broncos did.

Going into Foxborough and winning however? No.

well but we could have been a very tough team to beat against the patriots.... crennel would have make a very good gameplan against them i think.

crenne learned from his mistakes against the broncos and then beat them….

You don't know that.

We nearly beat Pittsburgh in KC with Tyler Freaking Palko behind center… and we would have hosted them.

I would have loved to see KC with Orton in Foxborough with Hali putting Brady on his back every third play.

Actually, when you look at O and D the way they should be viewed, in PPG

SD’s defense was 10th and their offense was 2nd.

Yeahbut

how many points were given up by special teams?

Somewhere between a Metric ass-ton and a whole hell of a lot

it’s fuzzy math.

IMO, top ten is still enough to make the playoffs

i say, that is not about how good you are on offense, defense or special teams, it is about how good you are as a team and how much are you willing to do to make a team succesfull, also you have to have a close team, everybody should know everybody, and love your teammates, love what you are doing……and know your strenghts and weakness…..i believe in the chiefs…… they are close to be what they want to be, a chamionship team.

id say Giants offense id pretty darn good

lets be honest the superbowl very well can be and will most likley be Giants vs Pats. so offensive side of the ball is pretty important. both are equally important in my mind.

chiefsman! - January 16, 2012 reply

im calling giants to win superbowl

because both sides of the ball are hot right now. We need balance on both sides of the ball . A great defense like houstons number 2 or steelers number (1?) cant win without a solid offense. Id say the superbowl teams have something in common , a QB .

chiefsman! - January 16, 2012 reply

i think the ravens will go to the SB, they play grat against elite teams......and i dont count out the niners....... they know how to beat great offense and they have a great running game, sometimes that the giants didnt face against the packers

Niners vs Ravens will be a very boring superbowl

*would be

not for us who love to watch great defenses playing.

I would like to see a great D against a great O

Niners vs Patriots

agreed

I hope the Chiefs play

in a very boring Super Bowl real soon.

Don't we all

and win it

’cause playing in a very boring superbowl and not winning, means you came close to win it.

We need a premier QB straight to the point

it just goes to show for this very reason

That Scott Pioli can make a great case for keeping Matt Cassel.

Then again Eli Manning, Alex Smith and Joe Flacco are first round draft picks ad Brady…well he’s Brady, enough said.

The pendelum swings both ways and I agree with Joel Thorman that its uplifting what a good defense brings to a team, but you can’t discount how well a good QB can supplement a defense all the way to the post season.

JMagsKC1 - January 16, 2012 via mobile reply

Eli Manning is a Manning.

He has lived and breathed football all his life. You can give him an entirely new game plan THURSDAY night and he’ll know it like he’s used it since college by Sunday.

Alex Smith is what, a six-year veteran that everybody was ready to give up on for five years until a Harbaugh strode into town, a guy who played QB in the NFL but was never considered the “franchise QB.” Threw a dagger in the right corner of the end zone against one of Marty’s best teams in the playoffs, though, didn’t he?

Joe Flacco lost his job to Tyler Freaking Palko at Pitt and transferred to Delaware.

Brady was a sixth round pick.

Stop with this “gotta have an elite QB to win” bullshit. You gotta have a TEAM to win. You build teams to win. Heck, John Elway didn’t win shit until he got a running game. Dan Marino?

agree

Brady first superbowl was because of pats defense…….. and the other twos because Belichick, Brady play great but with only his playing he wouldnt have those rings…. Belichick made Brady, not Brady made Belichick

Bleedingredandgold - January 16, 2012 reply

You're completly mistaken

I never said “elite” in my response to the article. I said “good.” Is Cassel good enough? I don’t know. But where were each of the current QBs in the postseason drafted compared to Cassel?

My point is, you have to seek out a potential franchise QB in the draft. Sure it may not always pan out (Alex Smith didn’t right away), but when is it not a risk? Right now, wouldn’t you say Pioli is playing it safe with Cassel?

And yes, Eli cannot be compared to his brother’s shadow anymore and that’s obvious. But again, you’re in a sense making an argument that he is elite and that his defense is playing at that level too. Therefore, when you have a top defense and an above avg QB to run the offense complimented with a solid run game, you have a TEAM…right?

While I agree that you “gotta have a TEAM to win,” we have a defense right now…so what do we have in Cassel? Is he above avg? Is that more clear now? I think we’re on the same page, just looking at it differently.

Maybe Pioli will come out on top next year and show that with a few minor adjustments, Cassel is everything we needed and more. Maybe then we’ll be a complete “TEAM?”

JMagsKC1 - January 16, 2012 reply

Additionally

I’m not saying we need to go from RG3 right now either, but you have to do it soon. Otherwise, recycle someone else’s starter/backup and hope he pans out too…the risk you take in either scenario is the same all around. Either way, you need to have a QB who has control of the offense and can throw the “dagger’s” need as you mentioned Harbaugh did in his day or what Alex Smith did Saturday night against New Orleans. I think we can all agree on that.

JMagsKC1 - January 16, 2012 reply

Sure, gotta have a good QB

But the QB needs a good line, too. We’re fairly close to having a good Oline, I want to finish that up and have a great Oline, before gambling on a QB

Dont agree

with this.

Brady, Eli, and Alex Smith have been outstanding QBs in the playoffs. For example if Alex Smith did not play better than Drew Brees against the Saints, the 49rs would have lost. Of course this argument would also be moot if Tom Brady wins the Superbowl.

andrew33 - January 16, 2012 reply

Disagree...

You could have great QB play, and your guys could drop 8 or 9 passes, and your running backs could lose 2 fumbles, when your team has only lost 6 all season, and suddenly you’re losing by 17…You can’t blame Rodgers for 9 dropped passes and fumbles by Grant and Kuhn, and the lousy defense they played.