We welcome in Arrowhead Pride for five questions on the Cardinals heading into the Chiefs game at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday.
With the Arizona Cardinals traveling to Kansas City to take on the Chiefs we talked with Pete Sweeney of Arrowhead Pride to discuss the Chiefs, their ascension to historical offense and more.
Enjoy.
1. With the Chiefs offense taking off to new heights, Patrick Mahomes being the MVP favorite and Andy Reid getting CotY consideration, how would you divvy up the pie of success for the first half of the season?
That is a great question.
I think a lot of people, especially those who don’t follow them day to day, look at the Kansas City Chiefs and their eyes instantly pan to Patrick Mahomes as the sole reason for their success. And he’s a huge reason, no doubt, but know this: Mahomes wouldn’t be doing this well without the guidance and play-calling of Andy Reid.
Of course, there are many aspects of Reid’s game-planning that Mahomes affords him the ability to do, so we definitely have ourselves a chicken-egg situation in Kansas City.
If I had to split it up, I’d say the pie goes as follows: Patrick Mahomes 35 percent, Andy Reid 25 percent, John Dorsey/Brett Veach (GMs) 20 percent, Skill-position players 15 percent, Defense (doing just enough) 5 percent
2. While the offense is on a historical pace, the defense has had struggles, how much has injury had to do with it?
The Chiefs will tell you quite a bit, and I’d agree. Most people around the league know that Kansas City has been without Eric Berry for 24 games and counting, but not many realize that inside linebackers Anthony Hitchens and Reggie Ragland had injuries all training camp and their first real action came Week 1 of the season. Justin Houston has been out for four games with a hamstring injury. Daniel Sorensen, the safety in line to play next to Berry ahead of training camp, had preseason surgery and has been out all year.
The Chiefs have also lost role players in LB Terrance Smith and rookie S Armani Watts for the season. What’s amazing is they have managed an 8-1 record despite all the defensive injuries.
The Cardinals game at Arrowhead should mark the returns of both Houston and Sorensen, so the reinforcements are coming.
3. Mahomes, Kareem Hunt, Tyreek Hill, Travis Kelce and Sammy Watkins are known commodities, who is an under the radar type for the offense?
Sammy Watkins injured his foot last game, so you may get to know one this weekend in Chris Conley. Conley would be the next man up at receiver—he has 14 catches for 127 yards and two touchdowns on the season. He also is party responsible for Mahomes’ prettiest play of the season, in my eyes, against the San Francisco 49ers. Conley fittingly makes a nice catch against the 49ers directly in the Dwight Clark memorial portion of the end zone.
Happy Monday—If you need something to get your day going, enjoy this Patrick Mahomes to Chris Conley touchdown, again, and again, and again, and again. #ChiefsKingdom pic.twitter.com/gy8NzwVYmo
— Chris Roush (@ChrisRoush30) September 24, 2018
Happy Monday—If you need something to get your day going, enjoy this Patrick Mahomes to Chris Conley touchdown, again, and again, and again, and again. #ChiefsKingdom pic.twitter.com/gy8NzwVYmo
— Chris Roush (@ChrisRoush30) September 24, 2018
Another under-the-radar player to watch is running back Spencer Ware, who was the Chiefs’ leading rusher in 2016 before missing 2017 and the emergence of then-rookie Kareem Hunt. Ware is back to old form.
4.Does the regular season change the narrative on Andy Reid or is Reid at the point where only postseason success will matter?
Andy Reid is a Hall of Famer if the playoffs did not exist. I would argue that based upon how many times he has made the postseason and played in the conference championship game, he should be in regardless. I don’t think everybody necessarily sees it that way.
I think the Hall of Fame matters a lot to Reid because when he talks about former players and mentors that he really likes, he will always mention that they should be in the Hall of Fame. Reid has broken into the top 10 in wins in the history of the game, but the all-important ring as a head coach has been elusive.
Hopefully, for his sake, Mahomes gets him over the postseason hump.
5. How do the Cardinals compete with the Chiefs? Maybe a BBQ eating contest?
Time of possession, time of possession, time of possession. I think if the Cardinals can keep the ball out of Mahomes’ hands and get a stop or two with their solid pass defense, maybe this is still “a game” in the fourth quarter. And if that’s the case, you never know. The Bills did beat the Vikings this season.
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