Getty Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes reacts to a penalty flag on November 1, 2021.
The Kansas City Chiefs managed to survive Monday Night Football in Week 8 with a narrow home victory over the New York Giants, 20-17.
To quote the infamous Dominic Toretto: “It doesn’t matter if you win by an inch or a mile, winning’s winning.” The Chiefs won last night. They are now 4-4 and how they got there really makes no difference, but some analysts may beg to differ.
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Ryan Clark Is at It Again
Former NFL safety turned ESPN analyst Ryan Clark has not been a fan of Kansas City this season. From his un-retire troll to his record-breaking prediction, the ex-athlete has seemed to target the Chiefs franchise week after week.
In his latest attack, Clark called the franchise “boring,” adding that they “have no identity” right now. Here’s the full quote on Scott Van Pelt’s MNF postgame show.
They used to be fun to watch. [Now they’re] boring. This team isn’t what it used to be, it used to have energy. We used to watch these games and think to ourselves, look at these huge plays, look how much fun they’re having, they’re running around, Andy Reid is dialing all this stuff up. Now when he dials those [plays] up, it almost looks like he’s trying to force it, like he’s trying to get them back to what they used to be — the underhand throws, the shovel passes, moving people around, having Travis Kelce come in and play quarterback. It’s not as effective as it used to be because this team now has no identity, Scott.
The NFL analyst didn’t stop there, explaining the blueprint that teams are using to beat the Chiefs offense.
“So it was late in the [2020] season, and it’s Raheem Morris and the Atlanta Falcons… They play everything from a two-high shell… [which] means that a split-safety defense — so you have safeties standing on either side of the field, deep in the half 18-20 yards [downfield] — either he would bring a guy down to get Tyreek Hill on the deep cross when he was at number three which is the last wide receiver close to the line of scrimmage, or they would just play two-high which makes Patrick Mahomes think. It makes Patrick Mahomes play slow. And now when we watch him we’re seeing the slowness of his decisions now cost him in interceptions, cost him in turnovers, cost him in fumbles in the pocket… When I say they don’t have an identity I mean this, the two-high safety shells [and] the zone defenses are going to make this team be something that it’s not. They need to run the football. They need to become a team that can be physical. Patrick Mahomes needs to become a quarterback that’s okay with taking the check down.”
Clark finished by saying that the Chiefs have to pivot their game plan because they are “an average football team right now [and] a boring football team right now.”
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Is There Truth to This Insult?
In the past, Clark’s insults have been more hyperbole than truth but this time, maybe he’s on to something. This KC offense isn’t working as it used to and both Reid and Mahomes seem resistant to change.
“We can move the ball on pretty much any coverage.”
Patrick Mahomes is still confident this Chiefs offense can be a scary threat to defenses this season.
The book is out! As the expression goes, and every defensive coordinator in the NFL has read it.
Now, some readers may be wondering, if the Chiefs know what defense is coming at them why don’t they exploit it? That’s a great question and we did see running back Derrick Gore show some physicality in the ground game with 4.4 yards per carry and a touchdown, but we need to see more.
Clark’s answer was that Coach Reid is still trying to “force it.” Sometimes you can’t teach an old dog new tricks but Big Red is a future Hall of Famer, not some Joe Shmoe. The major question the rest of the way is simple — can this team adapt?
The defense has played better in recent weeks and one could certainly argue that they won Kansas City the game on Monday night. That means if the offense can figure things out, the Chiefs could become an instant Super Bowl contender once again.