What do we know about the Chiefs? Thoughts on the game...

I think this week is a real big test. I think this game will go a long ways in foreshadowing if this version of the Seahawks is a true contender or not. The Chiefs are a very good football team and are always good at home, but, the specific matchups favor Seattle.

In 2013 the Seahawks found a way to defeat the teams they should, home or away. So far in 2014 they’ve lost a close game they shouldn’t have and couldn’t find a way to defeat the Chargers. The Rams and Chargers games are ones which the 2013 Seahawks would’ve won, period. They would’ve found a way…which is what made them the champs. If they’re going to be a legit contender this year, they need to find a way to win this Sunday. The match-ups favor them.
When the Seahawks are on defense teams can only beat them one of two ways; those long sideline throws or right behind the LB’s where Wags and Kam usually are.

The long sideline throws usually require a high-velocity throw, under duress to a freakish WR making a very difficult catch. The window to throw those balls too is more force than finesse. It requires a frozen rope in most scenarios. I don’t think Alex Smith can make those types of throws.

What Alex Smith can do is pick apart that middle area. Smith is a TE’s best friend. He’s making average TE’s look great because he doesn’t have enough arm to zip the ball into windows beyond a deep MLB. The Chiefs also play the screen game very well. Both of those facets of the Chiefs’ offense will just have to be accepted. The Hawks defense will have to be content with a bend but don’t break approach; betting they’re speed and usually sure tackling at LB keeps those plays in front of them.

Coyle and Kam will have to play big. And, I think they will. The Chiefs will get some long drives but I don’t expect a lot of TD’s. The longer the drives the greater the possibility for a fumble/interception. I think they can fool Smith once or twice enough to get a big play.

When the Seahawks have the ball, I think its advantage Seahawks. The best things any team can do vs a legit pass rush is make them think/hesitate for a moment, by rolling the read option out. I think Russ is going to have to once again be the 2nd running back, at least for a while, to keep those DE’s honest and moving. I think plays like that misdirection pitch to Michael will freeze the DE’s. They have to establish Wilson’s legs, early, to quell that pass rush a bit.

This is a game the Seahawks SHOULD win. This is the type of quality win SB contenders are made of. Personally, I think if they don’t win this they’re not in legit contention. They HAVE to get this one.

Honestly, Seahawks are in a dogfight.

KC is exactly the type of team to give the Seahawks fits.

But...

SEA is exactly the type of team to give the Chiefs fits.

Chiefs have a huge HFA.

But...

SEA imo has more depth to last strong into the 4th QTR.

So, for this game I think the winner, and its really no surprise, but the team who wins time of possession and makes the less mistakes.

For me, what it will come down to is Russell Wilson being top form and mistake-free.

Explain why it's a tough matchup for Seattle. Not saying to be a dick, I'm (bi) curious.

Good stuff. I don't have much to add and this will probably be a regurgitation of what you already said but I'm bored at work so here we go....

I hope we see more of the misdirection stuff with Michael and Lynch. As you already pointed out it would help slow down the pass rush. Okung has to play like the pre injury version. Last week was encouraging so hopefully he is back. KC is also pretty pedestrian against the run so I expect Seattle to take advantage of that with a game plan pretty similar to last week. Wouldn't be surprised to see a screen or two with Michael. The running game being successful is two fold in purpose: exposes their weakness(rush defense) and their strength(pass rush)...Anyway advantage Seattle when we have the ball. Our strength is their weakness.

I also like our chances while on defense. Smith should be able to sustain some longer drives with a conservative approach and attacking us over the middle as teams have been doing this year. Hopefully Kam is healthier than he has been and I think KPL and possibly Smith if he is healthy should help in this regard. Still going to be tough to score once in the red zone though when the field shrinks down. Charles will have his moments but Seattle has been incredible against the run this year. The Bills held KC to a field goal until a couple of late TD's and I think Seattle has similar success.

Good stuff Austin and peaches (aka Ryan A Davis)

Justin Houston vs. Justin Britt is matchup nightmare for us.

Houston is powerful and fast. He already has 12 sacks this year and does most of his damage coming from the right side. Britt has allowed 16 QB hurries in the last four games, which is a big reason why Russell WIlson has struggled to get into a rhythm. On the other side they have Tamba Hali, who is starting to show his age but obviously has a stellar reputation for sacking the QB and generating fumbles. Wilson has been at his worst when the pressure comes from both directions at once.

I want to see them line up Garry Gilliam at TE on the right side to support Britt, like they were using Zach Miller. They know we want to run the ball, so might as well keep a sixth linemen in there.

I think our D-line needs to step up and make Smith’s life tough all day long. I think Irvin could be key here once again. Without Mebane in the middle though, it will be a tall order. If Jordan Hill is the guy he will need to have lots of help from Bennett, Avril and Schofield. As someone mentioned earlier we will need great play from our Line-backing corps. Again, I think Bruce may be the key to letting Coyle and KJ succeed here. Coyle will need help, no question. Wish we had Farwell available for those red zone matchups! Hopefully we get Kam back for this game. I think the rest of the secondary is about as healthy as we are going to get for the rest of the year. And that isn’t a bad thing with Maxwell and Lane back and Simon and Burley doing a pretty darn good job as well.
Offensively we need our Captain to have “all of his excrement in one sock” as the saying goes. Wilson has been off a bit in recent weeks and this could be a great chance for him to get back on track. Expect large doses of Beast Mode this game, and expect them to expect it! This is where I am hopeful that we can get Michael, Tukuafu and Turbin involved. If we can sustain 4-5 yard runs and extend drives, control the clock, we can dominate this game. Then a lethal dose of RO and Beast mode in the later stages to seal the deal. I really would love to have Miller back for this game also, but it aint going to happen. Helfet seems to be our most reliable option at the moment in his stead. Not sure what the status of Willson’s ankle is, but the status of his hands is not promising. Haven’t heard if Moeaki is active for this game yet. I really want to see a lot of Lockette, Richmond and Norwood this game. Baldwin will be there, Kearse I am less sure of at the moment. Our now healthier OL will have their work cut out for them this game. That is a certainty.

It will be a defensive battle. KC can not pass the ball downfield so Seattle needs to do what they did to the Broncos in the Super Bowl and hit them hard and hit them often. If KC can sustain drives and beat the LBs like San Diego did then we will lose this game.

Agree with much of that Pe, though I think Travis Kelce's an above average TE. Their running game could worry us, especially with Bobby and Bane out, that's what they should be leaning on. Our third down defense is key to this (duh) I'm expecting a lot of 3rd and short-mid situations.

Their passing D is the stingiest in the league, and was averaging less than 200 passing yards per game before they played the Bills. I actually think Russ could surpass that total. They're going to be touching cloth this week watching the tape of us running, and hopefully that'll give Russ the opportunity to pass a little more freely, I bet they're biting on play action early.

They've got an impressive pass rush, in a loud stadium, we know how much that's worth. Britt needs to bring his best and we can expect a couple of 'false start, number seventy-six, offense' penalties. That said, I expect our line to continually improve as they get familiar with each other, let's hope none of them miss any practice this week!

Dink and dunk seems to be Kryptonite to our defense, but ultimately I think we'll be able to keep them out when it matters. I think I'll pick up their Kicker in Fantasy Football though, this game's got field goals-galore written all over it.

I know this isn't a prediction thread, but I think we'll win, and reasonably comfortably too.

We get it, you two are British. No one cares. Arseholes.

Kansas City plays into the Seahawks hands actually.

1. Their strength is running the ball (We excell and stuffing the run)

2. They arent great at stopping the run (especially between the tackles)

3. They have slow, inconspicuos WRs, outside of Kelce

They have stregths of course, mainly Charles, Niles Davis, Kelce and great pass rushers.

If they flush Wilson out on passing down he will do serious damage.

Kam needs to light Kelce up early, or anyone catching passes across the middle for that matter. He's had two weeks off, let's hope he's back to form. I'll take one of those BS hits on a defenseless receiver calls if that what it takas, but PLEASE, just blow someone... up.

Hill can fill in nicely. Mebane done for the year...ouch.

peachesenregalia":2f5e43db said:

2. KC has yet to give up a rushing TD this year. they're also top-half in the league against the run (I could be wrong here) as far as yards go. Yes, we have the best rushing attack in the league, but we'll have to bring our A-game if we want to be able to turn rushing yards into TDs.

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The italicized part is correct. They are allowing an average of 4.7 yards per carry, good for 30th in the league, and 115.6 yards per game on the ground, good for 20th in the league.

Chiefs Offensive Ranks: 22nd overall in yds/game; 14th overall in pts/game; 30th in passing yards; 5th in Rushing yards
Chiefs Defensive Ranks: 7th overall in yds/game; 2nd overall in points/game; 1st in passing yards; 20th in rushing yards

Seahawks Offensive Ranks: 10th overall in yds/game; 7th overall in pts/game; 31st in passing yards; 1st in Rushing yards
Seahawks Defensive Ranks: 3rd overall in yds/game; 10th overall in pts/game; 8th in passing yards; 4th in rushing yards

Not a lot of separation between us. Throw in home-field advantage and no Mebane for us and it looks like a tough task.

If I could only watch one position next week it would be our linebackers. We have the speed to contain Charles and KC will not come up with many explosive plays down field. Wagner probably won't be ready but Smith is back, and I really like what KPL has done in limited snaps. He'll earn more snaps as the season progresses even with the return of Wagner.

While a win against KC this week is hugely important for playoff reasons, I don't think this game will tell as much about either team as we would like. It's hard to look at a single die face and guess what is on all of the other sides. The 2013 Seahawks weren't destined to win the close games that they did and a replay of last year could turn out differently. The 2014 Hawks might have won the games against the Colts and Cardinals last year, and the 2013 Hawks could have dropped the Broncos game.

CodeWarrior":14xueqjm said:

Kam needs to light Kelce up early, or anyone catching passes across the middle for that matter. He's had two weeks off, let's hope he's back to form. I'll take one of those BS hits on a defenseless receiver calls if that what it takas, but PLEASE, just blow someone... up.

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Do we even know if Kam is playing?

If we play like we did last week, I think we can beat KC. They don't do anything particularly well, they just play good sound football in all areas and don't make a lot of mistakes.

So if we don't regress back to lots of stupid penalties putting Russell in 2nd and 3rd and longs and don't commit turnovers? I think we win like 24-17.

I have a feeling scoring wise, it will much like the Panther game few weeks ago. Sensing a lot of field goals from both sides.

peachesenregalia":1xsgapat said:

BlueBlood":1xsgapat said:

Kansas City plays into the Seahawks hands actually.

1. Their strength is running the ball (We excell and stuffing the run)

2. They arent great at stopping the run (especially between the tackles)

3. They have slow, inconspicuos WRs, outside of Kelce

They have stregths of course, mainly Charles, Niles Davis, Kelce and great pass rushers.

If they flush Wilson out on passing down he will do serious damage.

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Not that I necessarily disagree, but allow me to play Devil's Advocate:

1. 'Bane is out. He's far and away our best d-lineman and run-stuffer, we're going to hurt without him and Bobby in the game. Expect to give up yards on the ground

2. KC has yet to give up a rushing TD this year. they're also top-half in the league against the run (I could be wrong here) as far as yards go. Yes, we have the best rushing attack in the league, but we'll have to bring our A-game if we want to be able to turn rushing yards into TDs.

3. How many times have we said this about opposing teams then been made to look like chumps? Kelce is legit and will have fun all day long over the middle against Brock 'molasses in winter' Coyle. The only thing going for us here is Smith's propensity to keep things to the short-intermediate distance, but make no mistake, they are a well-coached team and have a huge HFA.


I DO think we can find running room, but so will they. this one will be close and I reckon will come down to turnovers. Whoever wins the turnover battle wins the game, or my name's not Ryan Adam Davis.

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Of course I posted this before Mebane was officially ruled out. Hopefully Kam comes back to help stop the run. Should be a close game regardless.

AgentDib":789trt11 said:

If I could only watch one position next week it would be our linebackers. We have the speed to contain Charles and KC will not come up with many explosive plays down field. Wagner probably won't be ready but Smith is back, and I really like what KPL has done in limited snaps. He'll earn more snaps as the season progresses even with the return of Wagner.

While a win against KC this week is hugely important for playoff reasons, I don't think this game will tell as much about either team as we would like. It's hard to look at a single die face and guess what is on all of the other sides. The 2013 Seahawks weren't destined to win the close games that they did and a replay of last year could turn out differently. The 2014 Hawks might have won the games against the Colts and Cardinals last year, and the 2013 Hawks could have dropped the Broncos game.

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My assertion that this is a huge game is personal opinion and hyperbole. It would show me something which separates this team from others.