Kansas City Chiefs General Thread

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FootballDad

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Word is that Leo Chenal is also having a good camp. Tranquill was out for a little while with a neck injury of some sort, but he's back at it. Although Karlaftis had a good year, he still needs lots of technique work. In college he relied quite a bit on bull rushes, but in the NFL with stronger O-linemen that has not worked as well. Off-season he worked a great deal on hand work and various martial arts with Tamba Hali. He should be an absolute terror this year.
 

Don Wassall

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You're right about Chenal, I should have mentioned him also. Unfortunately the signing of Tranquill may delay Chenal's development as he now looks to be fourth in the pecking order behind Bolton, Gay and Tranquill and the Chiefs usually play only two linebackers. He'll hopefully surpass Gay at some point as Gay's performance to date has been underwhelming, but Bolton's a mainstay and Tranquill's trying to beat Gay for the other starting spot.
 

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You're right about Chenal, I should have mentioned him also. Unfortunately the signing of Tranquill may delay Chenal's development as he now looks to be fourth in the pecking order behind Bolton, Gay and Tranquill and the Chiefs usually play only two linebackers. He'll hopefully surpass Gay at some point as Gay's performance to date has been underwhelming, but Bolton's a mainstay and Tranquill's trying to beat Gay for the other starting spot.
A lot of that depends on coverage skills. Ben Niemann was on the field for over 50% of the snaps his last year there because he was good in coverage (and still hated by DWF's). Bolton is a good 'backer but they still take him out in a lot of passing downs unless he's going to blitz. Spagnuolo is a fan of these guys from what I've seen in camp, I expect that it will be a strange year in KC with 3 palefaces in on defense for maybe a majority of snaps. You're correct about Gay. He's fast, with decent instincts, but makes mistakes and a Tom Iron rule kind of player.
 

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white lightning

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Good article on WR Justin Watson that compliments him and his time with the Chiefs so far. The writer is also expecting him to play a bigger role this year while other names are getting all the off-season hype. Overall an enjoyable read.

https://amp.kansascity.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/vahe-gregorian/article277802188.html

Like Don mentioned on another thread this fall is shaping out to be a good year for white receivers all around the nfl. I hope Watson
does play a bigger role as the talent is there and he deserves a chance to contribute alot more!
 

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I believe that if Watson is ever to overcome his ridiculous racial apprenticeship he needs to find a way to become indispensable to the Chiefs passing offense. For an admittedly great team they have a lot of question marks at receiver. Watson is an obvious NFL capable outside starter, so maybe he will "emerge" and be a star. If not, business as usual. . .
 

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I believe that if Watson is ever to overcome his ridiculous racial apprenticeship he needs to find a way to become indispensable to the Chiefs passing offense. For an admittedly great team they have a lot of question marks at receiver. Watson is an obvious NFL capable outside starter, so maybe he will "emerge" and be a star. If not, business as usual. . .
Being in KC I watch every Chiefs game. Watson was used a LOT last season but was not targeted as often percentage-wise as others. Almost like he was used as a "decoy". He worked from the outside a lot and ran deep routes to clear the middle which doubtless helped others get their balls, but everytime I watch film he's always open, or at least has a step.

Good news is that this year's receiver corps is a little thin. Pundits have high hopes on Kadarius Toney, but I'll be shocked if he manages to play 8 games he's so injury-prone. Skyy Moore, last year's # 2 pick does not impress me, I can't see him making a big leap. Richie James, Toney's old teammate from the Giants looks to be very average but will probably be one of the better players for the Chiefs. They have a couple of rookies, Rashee Rice and Justyn Ross that will pitch in here and there, but the door is wide open for Watson to shine. Wouldn't that be something?
 

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Oh, always nice to post a picture of a beautiful family. Drue Tranquill and his.....
1691618131852.png
 

Don Wassall

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Being in KC I watch every Chiefs game. Watson was used a LOT last season but was not targeted as often percentage-wise as others. Almost like he was used as a "decoy". He worked from the outside a lot and ran deep routes to clear the middle which doubtless helped others get their balls, but everytime I watch film he's always open, or at least has a step.

Good news is that this year's receiver corps is a little thin. Pundits have high hopes on Kadarius Toney, but I'll be shocked if he manages to play 8 games he's so injury-prone. Skyy Moore, last year's # 2 pick does not impress me, I can't see him making a big leap. Richie James, Toney's old teammate from the Giants looks to be very average but will probably be one of the better players for the Chiefs. They have a couple of rookies, Rashee Rice and Justyn Ross that will pitch in here and there, but the door is wide open for Watson to shine. Wouldn't that be something?
Decoy is a perfect word to describe how Watson was used. He was easily the team's third receiver the second half of the season as far as usage but ended up with the stats of a scrub despite being open so often and having deep speed.

The Chiefs' receiving room is as murky as any, which gives Watson a chance. But he's facing competition that was drafted earlier than him (Toney, Moore, Rice) and of course they have more supposed "upside" even though Watson obviously has lots of upside that has yet to be tapped.
 

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And an Ivy League student as well. So he will not be a problem in the clubhouse or getting in trouble with the law.

Hope they finally give him a fair shake
Speaking of Drue Tranquill, in the preseason game this weekend against the Saints, he had 5 tackles and a sack in a little over a quarter of work. He looked like the best player on the field.
 

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Tranquill and Chenal continue to shine. Can't see Bolton being close to being benched at this point, but if Tranquill and Chenal can push Gay down to fourth among the ILBs, it will help both be on the field quite a bit during the regular season:

Winners: Leo Chenal and Drue Tranquill​

Leo Chenal came on strong and received more and more playing time down the stretch of last season, and he continued that success on Sunday. The second-year man logged three tackles, got a pressure on the game's opening drive and was a very active contributor in run support as well. Tranquill, the new kid on the block but a veteran in his own right, finished second on the team with five tackles and also had a sack. He made a case for more playing time with the first-stringers, which was also a testament to Kansas City's impressive linebacker depth for this season.

Loser: Nick Bolton​

Speaking of the Chiefs' linebacker depth, Nick Bolton is the leader of the group and normally offers sound tackling, an aggressive mindset and mostly steady play. When he was on the field against the Saints, though, things didn't come easily for him. Not only was Bolton a bit hesitant to attack at times, but he also got washed out of too many plays and wasn't quick enough to react while Derek Carr and New Orleans' offense drove down the field. Bolton's track record gives him plenty of wiggle room to have a poor showing in the preseason, but this can't be a hint at things to come.

 

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It’d be smarter for Chiefs to axe Bolton. He has a bigger deal, roll with the honkeys on cheaper deals with same/better production. That White Man Discount so to speak.
 

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It’d be smarter for Chiefs to axe Bolton. He has a bigger deal, roll with the honkeys on cheaper deals with same/better production. That White Man Discount so to speak.
Not to mention that Jack Cochrane fellow. He looked very good during his time in the lineup on Sunday. And he gets paid peanuts.
 

SneakyQuick

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You could probably assemble a decent all white team of guys who have been jammed by the caste system and it would be significantly cheaper overall.


Don’t think there is too much incentive for it unfortunately though
 

white lightning

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You could probably assemble a decent all white team of guys who have been jammed by the caste system and it would be significantly cheaper overall.


Don’t think there is too much incentive for it unfortunately though

When I used to play sony playstation decades ago I would create custom all white teams and it was so much fun to see them have success. Yeah
in the real world it would never happen unless things changed beyond even all of our dreams. Like Don has said many times at least when
we see cracks in the caste damn it gives us some hope for better things if the damn ever breaks.
 
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Don Wassall

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You could probably assemble a decent all white team of guys who have been jammed by the caste system and it would be significantly cheaper overall.


Don’t think there is too much incentive for it unfortunately though.
Just one? How about easily a majority of teams.

No, not much incentive at all; if there was there wouldn't be a Caste System.

Keep reading, keep learning. . .
 

Bucky

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Not wrong about the no incentive though. All the teams split an equal profit on sales. If that were to ever change look out lol.

You would think the incentive would be to win, but we know how much $ drives things.
 

SneakyQuick

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Yeah I don’t ever look at the economics of each of the respective leagues enough to know, but at least in football it doesn’t seem like building a team of overachieving lunch pail carriers to save some dough is much of a priority.
 

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Interesting that according to most of the folks around the Chiefs organization, they will keep Drue Tranquill, Leo Chenal (no surprise with those two) and Jack Cochrane. Nick Bolton and Willie Gay Jr being the only black LB's on the roster. We will likely see the Chiefs with a snow patrol out on the field at times this year, a radical departure from a typical Fat Bastard team. Cochrane, of course is a key WSTD, so that helps cement his place on the roster, but he was the best LB for the Chiefs this preseason (barely beating out Tranquill for that honor.)
 

Bucky

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Interesting that according to most of the folks around the Chiefs organization, they will keep Drue Tranquill, Leo Chenal (no surprise with those two) and Jack Cochrane. Nick Bolton and Willie Gay Jr being the only black LB's on the roster. We will likely see the Chiefs with a snow patrol out on the field at times this year, a radical departure from a typical Fat Bastard team. Cochrane, of course is a key WSTD, so that helps cement his place on the roster, but he was the best LB for the Chiefs this preseason (barely beating out Tranquill for that honor.)
Possible Snow Patrol in KCMO is a good sign! Winter is coming.
 
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