Andy Reid made Alex Smith a winning QB. Say what you will about his poor clock management, but its kinda hard to deny that.

Wait, what? I'm not arguing that Andy Reid doesn't have real problems with clock management. He absolutely does. Why would anyone ever argue otherwise?

I'm also not a big Alex Smith fan. I like him well enough and I've enjoyed the success he's found in KC. He's a solid quarterback but he leaves a lot to be desired. He's not a great quarterback. He's a great leader; a fantastic locker room guy. He's smart with the ball. He doesn't take risks. But he's certainly not the best QB in the AFCW. Not by a goddamn long shot.

The Chiefs are a frustrating franchise. I'm not saying they're gonna win the Super Bowl any time soon. Hell, I don't expect them to make much of a game out of this Thursday night, frankly.

That was meant to be more positive sounding in that those fans and stadium have provided the NFL's longest running hostile environment, longer than Seattle, etc. So if the Chiefs were to secure home field advantage throughout the playoffs, I'd give them a fighting chance. I believe the NFL players annually rank that place as their least favorite to play in and that's credit to the entire org and fans.

I've got my eye on you...

I'll always root AFC over NFC and the Chiefs were instrumental in those early years of the AFL, chiefly between '60 - '69, so when I think about that franchise's success (and taking it seriously) I think of those years primarily.

I think that's probably the way most people think about them, too. So that's totally fair.

The NFL is probably secretly thrilled that Ezekiel Elliott is eligible to play in Week 1; those primetime ratings are going to be pretty high.

I'm hoping Fox can still craft good ratings in pondering how the loss of Elliott in Week 2 will hurt the Cowboys.

you're not the person i was making a counter point to

say what you will about his clock management, but he definitely knows how to take an average (or even bad QB) and put them in a position to win. And his coached teams tend to, win. They just don't know how to win, when it matters. But as an Eagles fan? I wish he never left. And compared to Chip Kelly? Andy Reid is the greatest clock manager of all time.

Do you guys think Reid will go to Mahomes at any point this year or stick with Smith?

ohthankgod

I think, barring injury or a real MASSIVE shitting the bed situation (like Smith throws 4 INTS in a half and a wayward pass that gets Hill sidelined for several weeks), Smith will start the entire season.

Mahomes may come in late in a game or two IF (and that's a big if) the Chiefs have the game locked up early. I don't expect that to be the case often.

Maybe Mahomes starts the final week if the Chiefs have a playoff spot locked up, much like Daniel did a few years ago.

Andy Reid is a good coach, but as you said, none of his teams ever know how to win when it matters...which was really my bigger point that I probably could have made in a better way...they're a good team but I just cannot take them as a serious championship contender with that coach/QB combo

Which is totally understandable. I get that. Maybe better than most. My whole initial argument was that I don't think the Chiefs are a 6 win team this year. That seems incredibly low to me. Especially as the Raiders are being anointed the AFCW Champs. Especially since the Raiders haven't beaten this coach/QB combo in two years.

Alex Smith was 19-5-1 in his last two seasons with SF.

And that shoot out w/ Brees in the divisional playoff game (in 2011, I think?)

Here's my shot at predictions:

https://playoffpredictors.com/Football/ ... uLdA05JCQA

Was so frustrating as an Eagles fan in the beginning of that run. Such a GREAT Defense, but he could never get the offense to run a clock out for the life of him. Its really amazing how many GREAT Defensive units the Eagles have had over the years to never win a super bowl. So much for defense wins championships.