Are the Chiefs Bored?

[Chiefer]

Virtually everybody has been saying we’re bored and that’s why the games have been close. See Andy Reid Longest Yard trick play.

Mahomes has looked off though, whether that’s a product of pass protection or what idk. 

[Jakuvious]

Either way, I think we'll find out pretty quickly in the postseason.

[kingseanjohn]

I feel like we've played to the level of our competition in most of our games. Not sure I'd call it boredom. But there isn't the same sense of urgency or push to perform at a high level.

[Anc360]

1 hour ago, Chiefer said:

Virtually everybody has been saying we’re bored and that’s why the games have been close. See Andy Reid Longest Yard trick play.

Mahomes has looked off though, whether that’s a product of pass protection or what idk. 

Mahomes is coming off one of his best games of the season. I would hardly say that he has looked off outside of the Falcons game. 

The Chiefs have had their eyes on the post season since the start of the year and have said as much. I honestly also think that the addition of 3rd wildcard team and the subsequent change to playoff seeding has made it even harder to self-motivate during the regular season. It was obvious prior to week 1 that the Chiefs were going to be in the playoffs and securing the 1 seed is just not a realistically attainable goal given how much it is out of the team’s control. I mean, the Chiefs are having their best season in my lifetime and still weren’t on track to secure the 1 seed until like 2 weeks ago. So I really think that since the Chiefs have won the super bowl they have been playing to win the division while largely viewing the the regular season as a formality. That doesn’t mean that they’ll just flip a switch and start dominating in the playoffs, but it does explain why the team’s effort or motivation can appear inconsistent. 

In contrast, the Chiefs face their opponents’ best effort each week. The Chiefs are a rarity in that they’re the defending super bowl champions and the consensus best team in the league, and opposing teams have consistently said that they view the Chiefs as a challenge that deserves extra attention. The Panthers game is a great example of this, as that team just threw all they had at the Chiefs in an attempt to beat them in what was pretty much already a lost season. They attempted 2 onside kicks, converted a fake punt, and went for it on 4th down another two times. One of those was 4th and 10+ in their own territory. 

And finally the Chiefs are the victims of expectations that are just too high. Every team has truly bad games. Every team gets blown out on occasion. The Chiefs literally have not experienced either of these things since Mahomes became the starter. With this mindset close wins look like failures. If the Falcons game happened during the Alex Smith era I think people would be viewing this game very differently. 

Sorry for the long post. 

[Jakuvious]

49 minutes ago, Anc360 said:

And finally the Chiefs are the victims of expectations that are just too high. Every team has truly bad games. Every team gets blown out on occasion. The Chiefs literally have not experienced either of these things since Mahomes became the starter. With this mindset close wins look like failures. If the Falcons game happened during the Alex Smith era I think people would be viewing this game very differently. 

I do wholeheartedly agree with this. It's just odd to think about, really, that the forum, the media, the fans all see a one possession win as a disappointment, from the Chiefs. Like, that's absurd, isn't it? We're 14-1, and the sentiment from everyone is, yeah, but how much have they won those 14 games by.

[Chiefs_5627]

I could see a bit of complacency. Mahomes has had an extremely high level of success since he set foot on the field and I could see how A. that makes him a little more harder to please and B. makes us fans expect perfection. I've been a Chiefs fan for a loooong time and this is a new feeling for me in regards to how I feel week to week and I'm obviously not playing. I think it's one of those things that we're still building the culture here, with many young guys to boot. I think the boys will start "unleashing" once the game has more stakes, Andy included. I'd place a small wager he's holding back on some things.

[Mizter_Clean10]

I feel like the play calling over the last 3-4 weeks has been almost preseason like. I know we’ve ran a few gimmicky plays but other than that I feel like even I know when we are running or throwing and everything has seem pretty basic. 
 

first I will say I think the partly a product of really poor OL play BUT I also think they are trying to show very little. Teams have played two high safeties on us far to much for Reid to not have figured out a solution but if we are “squeaking out” wins why put the solution on tape. 
 

could be wrong but it’s what I am telling myself.

[onejayhawk]

4 hours ago, Mizter_Clean10 said:

I feel like the play calling over the last 3-4 weeks has been almost preseason like. I know we’ve ran a few gimmicky plays but other than that I feel like even I know when we are running or throwing and everything has seem pretty basic. 

first I will say I think the partly a product of really poor OL play BUT I also think they are trying to show very little. Teams have played two high safeties on us far to much for Reid to not have figured out a solution but if we are “squeaking out” wins why put the solution on tape. 

could be wrong but it’s what I am telling myself.

I was saying before the game that the staff would tinker. Part of that was was a vanilla game plan to make it easier for the guys from the bench more than usual, but another part is trying gimmicks. The OL did not play well, but the Falcons DL played well. Their defense allowed 21 and 24 points to the Saints offense and held the Raiders to six. Because of their 0-5 start, it's easy to forget Atlanta is basically a .500 team.

It was good to see what Willie Gay could do with extended minutes. Seven tackles and a forced fumble will get a game ball. Mecole Hardman played significantly more than he has lately. Darrel Williams had 14 touches. All four TE played as did Gehrig Dieter and Byron Pringle. No wonder the offense was a bit out of synch. 

J

[BigTrav]

I don't see either boredom or Mahomes being off

 

Either way, it will only take a Texans like game in the playoffs to snap them back into intrigue mode. Once this team gets behind (i.e vs Pats in playoffs, vs Texans, vs Titans etc) that's when the viper strikes.

[mayanfootball]

When the playoffs start, I guarantee you the "juices" will flow. Everyone will be up. The effort level will be "over the top". There is just no comparison for what awaits a team if they win the playoffs. The regular season is just a means to get there and the excitement level is much lower.

[onejayhawk]

For game #17, I do see Mahomes being off. Maybe not the whole game, but I expect Henne to get snaps.

Against Atlanta, we saw the bench getting extra play,, and that was in a close game. For the last game, I expect starter minutes for some players who have been situational players, such as Gay, Thornhill, Pringle.

The OL will be interesting. On one hand, they are still trying to get a stable group together, but it is also a chance to play Durant at OG or to rest someone with a nagging injury, like Fisher. 

J