As a fan of any NFL team, returning from the bye week presents a chance to recharge from the NFL season. It’s always odd to tune in to an NFL weekend and have zero to root for; this is the nature of the bye week. It’s a great time to complete your honey-do list or your non-football fall thing. Now that the Chiefs bye week is behind us, it’s time for serious football.
Speaking of returning, I was on a flight this summer returning, and the pilot decided we should practice his touch-and-go skills. Have you ever experienced this? We were coming in for a landing, looking out the window, thinking about the traffic on the way home, where on earth I parked, and then whammo – next thing you know, the nose of the plane is up, and we are climbing fast! If you’ve experienced this, you notice that the cabin goes radio silent. No one says a peep. There’s that truly uncomfortable feeling of what happens next. I have a suggestion for the Pilots at this moment. I know whatever made you return up must be critically necessary, but do you have to wait that uncomfortable 10 minutes to clue us all in? In those 10 minutes, your imagination runs wild, I tell you. Is the landing gear still up? Is a plane on the runway? Are you practicing your touch-and-go moves? Thankfully, we made it and returned safely.
As we prepare for the Chief’s return from the bye week, a date with NFL history is on the line as the Chiefs prepare to become the only three-peat Super Bowl winner. To assist our Chiefs, we’ve had a couple of ex-Chiefs return to our Offense and help us along the way. The return of Juju Smith-Schuster and Kareem Hunt has been a game-changer, crucial in filling the gaps left by the injuries to our wide receiver and running back room.
Juju and Kareem have carried a big part of this Offense in successive weeks. In the game vs the Saints Juju caught seven passes for 130 yards and appeared to find his fit in the Chiefs Offense. Kareem Hunt carried the ball 27 times for 102 yards in that same game. The output that this Chiefs Offense received from these returning Chiefs was hugely important to the style of Offense we will now see down the stretch. This is a different offense that will be physical with the run, and we will rely on JuJu as our sure-handed receiving option until Brett Veach can find some additional firepower before the trade deadline.
As the trade deadline approaches on November 5, the notable areas that can help these Chiefs will be at Left Tackle or another wide receiver. Let’s not overreact to what other teams do in the trade market. We trust Chiefs GM Brett Veach to get us the right player to fit this new Chiefs Offense. A Boss move by Veach would be to fill both needs. Do we have cap Money? Will we need to restructure deals? These are all interesting questions that Brett Veach is more than capable of addressing.
Meanwhile, we will count on the returning Chiefs to power this new-look Chiefs offense. If you squint just a little in the distance, I wanted to remind you that you can see help is on the way. This week Clyde Edwards-Helaire is available and could provide some meaningful snaps to platoon with Kareem Hunt. Squinting a little harder, I can see Isiah Pacheco in the next 2-3 weeks, followed by Charles Omenihu to provide some muscle to our already stingy defense, and call me an optimist; I can see Hollywood Brown joining us at some point, perhaps in January, maybe earlier?
This week, it’s time for a return rematch of the Super Bowl vs the 49ers. Although the 49ers are 3-3, almost everyone knows that the 49ers are a talented Super Bowl team with their own injuries. This game in San Franciso will be a great test. Winning this week will require an outstanding performance by our Defense, some physical running by our strengthening running backs, some quality Juju play, and wouldn’t it be a bonus if we could get a special teams boost from return man Mecole Hardman? Calling Mecole Hardman – this week would be a great time for a return TD or a big return! Let’s go!