AFC Game Of The Week
Kansas City Chiefs at New England Patriots
Chiefs– Since Andy Reid took the job in 2013 as head coach, the Kansas City Chiefs have been a good team, but I wouldn’t necessarily label them a great team because they can’t seem to advance once playoff time rolls around. I like their set up. They play the game with an old school mindset. They don’t run any reverses, wide receiver sweeps or any plays like that. They want to control the line of scrimmage, run the football, take shots down the field when it presents itself and they have the best tight end in football not named Rob Gronkowski in Travis Kelce. Also, they have a quarterback that controls the clock and takes care of the football. Defensively, they want to beat you up in the trenches, rush the passer (helps when you have a guy like Justin Houston) and their secondary is one of the best in the league today. Marcus Peters has become an elite cornerback and Eric Berry continues to leave it all on the field and has become the team’s heart and soul, each team has one. Last year, the Chiefs won the AFC West for the first time since 2010 and were the two seed in the AFC playoffs. They just couldn’t get the job done against the Steelers. The two biggest losses for them this off-season came at running back where they lost both Jamaal Charles and Knile Davis. Spencer Ware and Charcandrick West can be a formidable duo once again and they also signed C.J. Spiller. On defense, they lose their best run stopper in Dontari Poe. A new season is set to begin and they’ll open the year up against the New England Patriots tonight.
Patriots– 2016 was quite the year for the New England Patriots. We all know what happened by now. Brady misses the first four games and they go 3-1 without him. When he comes back, they don’t miss a beat and in the 12 games he played in, New England wins 11 of them. Another 14-2 finish, a first-round bye in the playoffs, another conference championship appearance and they’re back in the Super Bowl for the seventh time under Bill Belichick. They were down 25 and erased that deficit to win their fifth Super Bowl in 16 seasons. When I look at this roster for their team this year, I can’t help but think of how much this team resembles the 2007 group that went 16-0. Brady is still there and has shown no signs of slowing down, they finally have an explosive number one wide receiver in Brandin Cooks, their first true number one option since Randy Moss, other weapons offensively (Gronk, Hogan, Dion Lewis, Dwayne Allen) and they loaded up on defense as well. Stephon Gilmore signed with the Patriots this offseason and the potential tandem of he and Malcolm Butler could be a scary one if it pans out and they signed David Harris to boost up their linebacking core. Their most important move they made this off-season was resigning Dont’a Hightower and he’s their most important player. It’s safe to say these guys are loaded and how they went about business after the Super Bowl, you would’ve thought they lost the big game but they are seven months removed from winning it all. The title defense starts now.
Chiefs Player To Watch: Chris Conley– We all know how the Patriots prepare for their opponents. They take away what you do best and most importantly, who does it best. Travis Kelce will be the first guy mentioned in their game plan, then, Tyreek Hill will be the second. Someone has to make something happen and this is where Chris Conley will have to step it up and make some big time catches. He’s a bigger receiver that can position himself to jump up for the ball.
Patriots Player To Watch: Chris Hogan- When Gronk went down with an injury last year, someone had to step it up and no team abides by the “next man up” phrase than the New England Patriots. That was Chris Hogan last season and with Edelman down for the year, he’ll be targeted a lot. Number one, the guy is always open and finds a way to get down the field. This is the same guy that averaged 18 yards a catch in 2016. I was a fan of them signing him and he’s panned out well for them. He was used in a “Gronk like capacity” last season and this year, he’ll be targeted and used as Julian Edelman would be.
Final Analysis: It’s a national holiday, football is back! We’ve waited seven long months for this and it’s finally returned. The Chiefs have the formula to beat New England. They have the pass rushers, they can rush up the middle (which you have to do to get to Brady) and they can run the ball. They also have the secondary to match up with those receivers. New England’s new look offense will have my eye. How will Brady and Cooks click?
Prediction: Patriots 45 Chiefs 21
