Drama all over the place in the AFC, fuel for...?

Yes, we've got our own drama going on this season
To point some of them: Ben "I don't have it anymore", retirement; Bell playing under the tag; Brown's injury; Shalieve; Harrison, a-la-Anakin, joining the Dark Side; Martavis issue-non-issue; Jesse James catch overturned; and also Haley not surviving the ground...).

But it seems as if the rest of AFC contenders are not drama - free:

NE: Major stuff is going on there. Their OC/DC hot candidates for open HC positions. Tension between TB/BB/RK.

KC: QB debate, and offers for trading AS this offseason.

TEN: HC threatened, probably losing his job if they're one-and-done. Also, some stuff is going on with their RB situation, as well as Mariota's ability to handle pressure.

BUF: Well, they are the Bills. No need to go deeper on this one.

JAX: While Bortles hasn't been put on notice, chatter about Coughlin thinking about making a run for Eli could be added pressure to him.

So, distractions are a common issue in the AFC. Yes, we seem to have more issues than others, but it's this time of the season in which questions become legitimate:
Who can handle better this stuff?
Will this affect the performance (and outcome) of any of this teams?

IMHO, we have seasoned vets both in QB and HC, who SHOULD be able to handle this better than TEN, JAX or BUFF. KC and NE are in a similar place than us regarding veterans and leadership (or at least, they -and us- should).

 

But on the bright side, looks like the AFC Championship is gonna be at Heinz!

 

How so? 1st game's not over yet

 

Pretty sure Buffalo is not gonna beat Jax, but in the first half of KCs game today, they looked like world beaters. But as usual Andy Reid led team, the wheels are falling off. And Kelsey is concussed, also.

 

It’s amazing how Ben’s comment has grown and morphed.

 

How dumb are the Chiefs? They let be known they are open to trade offers for Alex Smith who just happens to have a 17 million price tag for next season. I'm sure some desperate team will make an offer but why is the question. The Chiefs can't possibly carry that salary and not start him so he could get cut and then it is FA. I just don't get it.

 

Some desperate team with cap space (Cleveland) will offer a third and get his rights. QB desperate league. Just to make sure they get him. A bad franchise only has this option and the draft. Only option Smith has is go, or retire.

 

Since Mahomes will only be in his 2nd year, I can't imagine he is making a lot. They could afford him and Smith financially (probably, I haven't looked at their cap). They could hold on to him if no one makes a trade offer they like. Even if it went past the roster cut down date, they would still have until the trade deadline. Teams will get desperate, we all know that.

If I were the Chiefs, there is no way I would release him. Especially in this QB driven league. Does the optics look good with your much higher paid vet as the backup. No but Mahomes could get hurt or falter. Worst case scenario is they keep Smith as a backup and the Chiefs don't like any offers they get (which is low on probability imo). I don't see him being a team distraction or bad mouthing Mahomes or staff, etc. Maybe I'm giving him too much credit??

Glennon sat behind Trubisky this year, Osweiler was behind Kizer early on so there's some precedent.

 

Really? The Pats just got most likely a cupcake to the AFC Championship Game. The Titans are not going to even challenge the Pats in Foxboro. They shouldn’t of beat the Chiefs. The Chiefs blew the heck out of that game.

We will most likely play the Jags and we all remember what happened last time we played. In Pittsburgh as well. I think it’s going to be a really tuff game for us but we’ll win. Then we’ll have to go to Foxboro for a rematch.

I don’t see how the AFC Championship Game will be in Pittsburgh?

 

I don’t get it with Smith. He was really good this year except for 3-4 games. You expect a couple bad games from your QB. He definitely wasn’t the problem tonight. Mahomes better be all he cracked up to be. The Chiefs lost tonight because of bad play calling. Hunt didn’t get the ball but 6-7 times after the first quarter.

 

The chiefs lost because their receivers were sucking... there were some pretty bad drops that probably shook smith's confidence in all of them after 87 went out with a concussion (he was kicking a** when he was in). #10 gets the goat award.

I can only hope DL can exact some sort of revenge on the Pats (maybe JH can be his mole??)... DL back in the burgh for the AFC title game... that would be weird.

 

According to the pre-game status.... Smith was leading the league in QB Rating (@104 for the season... holy crap) and TD/INT ratio (something like 25/5). Sadly their D was 31/32 for 3rd down conversions and boy did that show in the second half.

 

Reid / Staff deserves blame here, too. Their lack of playoff success should be enough reason to call him to the principal's office.
Conservative playcalling, abandoning the run, not involving Hunt...

 

NE has had troubles with teams with Mobile QBs and exotic Defenses. And that's what BUF and TEN have, that JAX doesn't (yes, dominant D that can scare TB, but their offense is no threat to NE firepower).

I like our chances against any of the 2 options alive (TEN, JAX), and also the chances of the two possible NE rivals (BUFF, TENN). Against BUFF that was a game, until Riveron joined the party just before halftime. And Tenn, don't overlook Mariota's ability to make plays... and LeBeau is still the old shark in the tank...

 

For 2018, Smith has a $20.6MM cap hit; Mahomes’ is $3.7MM. Per Spotrac.

 

Too many dropped passes by recievers, which one poster said probalby shook Smith's confidence. And why not use Hunt more in the run game? So what if Tennessee has a very good run defense, atleast make them honest with the run game to set up other plays to benefit from this. And once Kelce went down, Smith's security blanket was eliminated I felt it took the wind out of thier sails for their offense.

 

Pats 23 -3 and 37-16 over the Bills is not having trouble vs mobile QB's especially Taylor. Yeah the 2nd game was close right up until the "no catch" deal but then the Cheats pulled away. If anyone has trouble vs mobile QB's it's us, we over pursue so bad it isn't funny, heck look how we made Kizer look the last game..........I worry about a match up vs the Titans.

 

Andy Reid and Smith both choke in playoff games, Alex was shutout in the second half because it seemed like without Kelce he couldnt manage the offense without him, and bad play calling from the OC didnt help him at all, dropped passes and muffed kick returns hurt them the most, but still a veteran team can over come adversity....

 

Their is NO way they are keeping Alex Smith as a back up. They will trade him.

The stupid Chiefs went to sleep in the 2nd half. The Defense got worn down, although they have to share the blame, but that Offense stumbled time after time. Really thought they would have given the cheats a game if they won. After seeing that meltdown yesterday, I retract my statement.

The Titans showed they can make a comeback. Mariota showed me something last night, some fire.

Now to enjoy the Jags/ Buffalo game and rest up for the 14th. The bye week has done my heart some good...

 

I don't give a dam about all the drama and who we play. We are going to win #7 and that is all I care about.

 

Quoting yourself?........Now that's confidence.....

 

Fat Andy puckers up so bad his face turns red. You play not to lose and you lose. Be aggressive but not overly ala falcons last year lol