Chiefs Will Get The Upset

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harrisonhits

harrisonhits

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Thought a lot about the Chiefs - Ravens matchup that all the talking heads and mediots are picking the Ravens to win handily.

I don't think so. I see a Chiefs win.

1. Most importantly Weiss and Crennel. They are going to feed their guys all week long with the mantra of nobody thought the 2001 Pats had the slightest chance either. They will play the disrespect card in a big way and have those guys at a fever pitch by the time the game starts.

2. Weiss and Crennel again. 3 SB wins and a hell of a lot of experience coaching against the Ravens. They know their schemes which haven't changed much over the years.

3. Baltimore's offense. It has really struggled lately and has been very inconsistent at best. They definitely have a confidence problem and are going into one of the loudest stadiums in the league to play in. I see a lot of offensive miscues coming for the Ravens.

4. Matt Cassel and the running game. Matty doesn't have to win the game with his arm, which is good with it looking like Bowe being out. Weiss will have Matt playing as a game manager the same way he did with Brady in 2001. They will go with high percentage low risk throws and play action to open up the run game. After Brady, Cassel has the fewest INTs in the league this year for any starter. Brady was 36 TD, 4 INT, Matt is 27 TD, 5 INT. If he'd had better receivers he probably would have numbers equal to Tom.

5. Chiefs like the Pats don't turn the ball over much. They will be merciless in taking advantage of the slightest mistake by the Ravens offense and I expect the Chiefs D to hand the offense the ball at least twice this game.

It will be hard game but I think KC wins by a TD.
 
The earlier the Ravens get knocked out, the better for the Pats.
 
A lot of people are predicting a smoke show but I think KC has a really good chance at winning this game. Their defense is relatively young and has been solid on most accounts, some of this contributed to the job that Romeo has done for them this year. Their offense is good as well with Cassel improving thanks to Weis and Haley, and the strong running game.

However, in recent weeks we've learned that the offense changes significantly if Charles and the run game is shut down. That'll probably be their number 1 priority--stopping the run. We all know how good Baltimore can be stopping the run, so that's what they will probably focus on--stopping the run game so that Cassel needs to throw more than pass. Cassels WR core has come along with their #1 guy Bowe playing well. So generally, looks good for KC and I think they're more than capable of winning.
 
Arrowhead is as tough a place to play as there is when things are going right.

Given the drought they've gone thru I expect the 12th man to be obscenely vocal for this one. And Flacco seems to wither a little when the pressure mounts.

I wouldn't be shocked with a home team victory in the least.
 
I might have bought this prior to the Oakland game. Now, I think Baltimore handles them with relative ease.

I'd love to be wrong, but damn did KC look lost against the Raiders.
 
Looking at the injury report the Ravens are a lot more beat up than KC as well.

Haloti Ngata DT Thigh Did Not Participate In Practice --
Terrell Suggs LB Knee Did Not Participate In Practice --
Matt Birk C Knee Full Participation in Practice --
Derrick Mason WR Abdomen Full Participation in Practice --
Michael Oher T Knee Full Participation in Practice --
David Reed WR Wrist Full Participation in Practice --
Dannell Ellerbe LB Head Limited Participation in Practice --
Tavares Gooden LB Shoulder Limited Participation in Practice --
Jameel McClain LB Back Limited Participation in Practice --
Ed Reed S Chest Limited Participation in Practice --
Josh Wilson CB Head Limited Participation in Practice --
Tom Zbikowski S Back Limited Participation in Practice --

Ngata is probably their best Dlineman, Suggs is a good player even though I can stand his endless whining, not sure how important the other three LBs are. And if I was a receiver I'd slam Ed Reed in the chest blocking on the first couple run plays and try and take him right out of the game.

Chiefs

Quinten Lawrence WR Illness Did Not Participate In Practice --
Brian Waters G Illness Did Not Participate In Practice --
Dwayne Bowe WR Illness Full Participation in Practice --

So basically if the three Chiefs can kick the flu or whatever they have, they are at full strength.
 
Dwight Schrute said:
Arrowhead is as tough a place to play as there is when things are going right.

Given the drought they've gone thru I expect the 12th man to be obscenely vocal for this one. And Flacco seems to wither a little when the pressure mounts.

I wouldn't be shocked with a home team victory in the least.
Click to expand...
7-1 @ home. Nuff said. Go Chefs
Posted via Mobile Device
 
harrisonhits said:
4. Matt Cassel and the running game. Matty doesn't have to win the game with his arm, which is good with it looking like Bowe being out. Weiss will have Matt playing as a game manager the same way he did with Brady in 2001. They will go with high percentage low risk throws and play action to open up the run game. After Brady, Cassel has the fewest INTs in the league this year for any starter. Brady was 36 TD, 4 INT, Matt is 27 TD, 5 INT. If he'd had better receivers he probably would have numbers equal to Tom.

5. Chiefs like the Pats don't turn the ball over much. They will be merciless in taking advantage of the slightest mistake by the Ravens offense and I expect the Chiefs D to hand the offense the ball at least twice this game.
Click to expand...

Matt Cassel doesn't have to win the game with his arm, but he can't lose it. He had a poor performance against Oakland last week after being very solid for most of the season. He can't do that against an Ed Reed defense.

I do think the Chiefs will be able to run the ball on Baltimore more effectively than most people think. Jamaal Charles is the wild card. If he can run effectively then I think KC's offense will control the game. If not, I'm not sure the Chiefs can win via the air.

But I generally agree that the Chiefs have a much better chance than most people are giving them credit for. I'd love to send the Ravens home early.
 
PumpDee said:
I agree, but I REALLY want the Pats to get revenge for that embarassment last year. I want the Ravens to come to Foxboro with their hopes up, only to get blown-the-f**k-out.
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In my ideal world, KC knocks out the ravens and travels to Pittsburgh, while the Jets beat the Colts and come here for a follow-up seminar on back door penetration.

Then Pittsburgh comes here for another AFC game where (according to the Steelers) the better team loses, the Dallas Reservations get canceled and the parade just fades away into the mists of the Monongahela.

Cheers, BostonTim
 
Ras said:
The earlier the Ravens get knocked out, the better for the Pats.
Click to expand...

The Ravens are a minimal threat to the Patriots. In many ways, I want them to get their Foxboro comeuppance because I think NE will beat them rather easily.
 
I dont see how KC beats Baltimore. Beyond home field, Baltimore has the advantage at every turn. Can it happen? Sure, but Im not counting on it.
 
KC was 7-1 at home. The lone loss coming to the Raiders.

The competition they defeated at home:
SD, SF, JAX, BUF, AZ, DEN, TEN

They barely beat Cleveland in Cleveland, they blew out Seattle up there, and handled the Rams easily in St. Louis. Those are their other 3 wins.

I subscribe heavily to the "it's not how you start, it's how you finish" philosophy and they are treading water of late. Until they beat a legitimate opponent, I'm not taking the bait. It's certainly not a groundbreaking opinion, however, it's not unreasonable either.
 
Precisely. I'm also concerned with the coaching distractions, line, Bowe's health and Cassel's health- he was killed in the Raiders game, very slow to get up after getting hit several times.
 
Flacco blows in the playoffs 1 td 6 INT. I'm not a fan of his anyway but even I was surprised at that. This is one reason why I HATE all that media BS about Qbs "having" W-L records and how FLACCO has LED HIS TEAM to all these playoff wins and HE won playoff games as a rookie and HE is the youngest QB to have his team in the playoffs 3 years in a row or whatever that BS is.
Last time Chollie was leaving his team for a college gig, that team steamrolled peeps in
the playoffs. Doesn't mean anything necessarily...but just sayin'.
Maybe I'm just sick of hearing about how great the Ravens are when they are a good not great team but I do think KC has a decent shot at winning this one also.
 
I 100% believe that Joe Flacco is that teams' Achilles heel but I still think they're good enough to get past KC. I definitely believe that however far they go, it will be on the shoulders of Flacco. It just won't be this week.
 
The Chiefs have played 3 games vs teams over .500 this year.
The Chiefs are 1-2 in those games. That win was against the Chargers in the 1st game of the season. The Chargers were awful back then.
Baltimore has a lot of experience in playoff games while KC has none.
Baltimore has a very solid defense against the run.
Baltimore, flawed as they are, should win easily.
 
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