Keith Allison-Flickr
There is a reason the game is played…
Don’t do it! Don’t do it! DON’T YOU DARE COUNT THE CHIEFS OUT! Yes they are going to New England, yes they are facing a Bill Belichick led team that has probably one of the greatest QBs to play the game and a “Gronk”, but these are not your Daddy’s Kansas City Chiefs. Meaning they do more than just win a few and prepare for the draft next year.
Cheers to the Underdog
Andy Reid has taken hits and continued to win with this unit and may win a gain on Sunday in this AFC Divisional Round matchup. Yes, I said may because the very fact they are taking the field gives them a shot at victory. Any Given Sunday is one of my favorite movies because of the title. I am a full believer that “even a God-King can bleed” as was said in the movie 300. I say that because the New England Patriots may be on such a level with all of their starters playing this Sunday. If you have read my posts in the past, you know I love the underdog. And KC is definitely the underdog in this one. But lets look at the tale of the tape or at least some juicy stats going into this one.
Defense wins…
KC has one of the best Ds in the league ranking ninth against the pass and eighth against the run. They are pretty good gatekeepers as well only allowing 34 TDs on the year which is tied for sixth in the league. This team has done nothing but win since week 7. Sure some of the opponents have top picks in the draft this year but this is the NFL folks. None of those teams took that beating lying down. Ok well maybe the Chargers did in week 11 but the rest were legit. For me the most impressive win was against Rex Ryan’s Buffalo Bills. When you can put together a gameplan that can survive that nasty Ryan led defense with backup running backs and close in dramatic fashion in the end, you deserve some credit as a competitor in this league. I believe I have blown so much smoke up KC they may think I’m BBQing up in here. Let’s move on to the other side of this competition the Pats.
The Workhorse
I am a huge Julian Edelman fan, not because of fantasy football, although he does bring me good results every year. I am a fan because of this man’s heart and willingness to play wherever whenever. “Jules” has played every position from DB, to KR, WR, to waterboy for this team. He doesn’t complain he just goes and balls out. I believe he is now Brady’s favorite target even over Rob Gronkowski. You have to consider him a top WR in this league simply because of his consistency. If this were the only weapon Tom Brady had on the field, it would still be a difficult game to call. However this is not the only weapon in Brady’s arsenal. There is another little sprite who is ready to ball. His name is James White.
The Sprite
Watching this guy live, this is a RB that can really fly, he is not much help on 3rd and 1 on the ground but catching passes out of the backfield or in the flats makes this guy extremely dangerous. There’s no reason to even mention the Gronk, because his play is so loud that it towers over this very post but the dude only knows one tempo. Going hard. Let’s move over to the defense of the Pats.
Matt Patricia’s D is confusing
This team’s D is an absolute roller coaster ride. Even on that wild up and down ride you have to respect what Matt Patricia is doing on that side of the ball. They are ranked 10th in the league in points allowed (19.7) per game and they find ways to close games out with turnovers. In fact this team is tied for first in the league in forced fumbles (22). Good thing this isn’t the KC team from a few years back when they coughed up two or more turnovers almost every game.
Lynchpins to the game result
If NE can keep Brady clean and Edelman and Gronk productive, this game won’t be close. But look for Marcus Peters, Justin Houston and Tamba Hali to have something to say about that.
Another huge factor to this game is the Chiefs may be playing with out top wideout Jeremy Maclin who is dealing with an ankle injury. There are other options on the field to throw to but Alex Smith is already a limited passer. If the backups and TE Travis Kelce don’t fill the void this one will be over quick.
Rob Gronkowski has been dealing with both knee and back injuries. Should KC D-coordinator find a way to scheme this properly it could wind up being a very close game.
So there you have it folks there is the couch change on the upcoming division matchup. This is Original Sports Perspective from our couch to yours.
Jermaine Lockett is a Writer and CEO for Couch Rider Report. Follow us on Facebook or twitter.