02-02-2020, 07:37 PM
As much as Bosa/Ford is menacing, Kansas City has much better Tackles than Minnesota. Fisher is enough better than Reiff even in an injury-plagued, down year like this one. Schwartz is probably the 3rd best RT in the League.
Personally, I'd flip my DEs on a decent number of snaps. Fisher struggles more with speed and Ford could give him some issues. Schwartz struggles against nothing but Bosa is a complete player. But I do expect both Ends to try like hell to not give up contain. They're both fast enough to catch Mahomes if he tries to scramble. So I think you won't see much from either Bosa or Ford trying to spin to the inside shoulder of the opposing Tackle. Dee is a bit undisciplined though, so he might get caught giving up his lane.
The real struggle will happen on the interior. I was dismayed that San Francisco had their run-stuffing DT Sheldon Day in as much as they did and were still getting pressure from Amstead and Buckner to his left. With as little as the Chiefs run the ball Day might see way less than the 22 snaps he's had each of the last two games. That means BOTH Armstead and Buckner in the middle. Can the Chiefs' interior stop them?
San Francisco can't get pressure on every snap even if that Line plays brilliantly. So how does their Cover 3 hold up against the fastest Wide Receiver corps in the League? It's a great scheme to prevent big shots with its combination of Man and Zone. You need 1 CB who's good in off coverage and disciplined, dynamic Safeties. The 9ers aren't the Legion of Boom that played the same Cover 3. But they do have good Safeties in Ward and Tart. And Sherman is still an upper Tier off coverage CB.
Kansas City struggled against the Chargers and they also play Cover 3 and have good DEs. San Francisco has better DTs and more athletic LBs that can really cover so should fare better than San Diego. But Andy Reid is the master at coming out of a bye. He'll find ways to get Hill and Watkins and Hardman into the spots were the Zone becomes Man and take shots. I also think he's patient and expliots the holes in the flats and underneath stuff the are the normal way to attack a Cover 3. But he's also stubborn. So it will be interesting to see how much he runs it and how many deep shots he calls from that lethal formation where he's got 3 receivers bunched on the right and one to the left. Whether it's Hill or Kelce on the left he loves going for chunks out of that look. If it's not happening early will he keep trying or take what the Defense is giving?
And how about Saleh? They don't blitz much and Mahomes kills blitzes. But do you sprinkle some in to keep him off balance? Do you mix in some Man looks to try to confuse him? Do you do any stunting?
On the other side of the ball Kansas City has been sneaky good. Actually something like the best over the last 6 weeks. Can Chris Jones make hay against the average interior of San Francisco? If he can and the run game is disrupted can Garoppolo produce? Or produce enough if it becomes a high scoring game? Can Breeland and Badger and Ward and Sorenson contain Kittles and Sanders and Deebo and Bourne?
I fully expect easy touchdown drives from both teams to start the game. The best two innovative Playcallers in football with extra time to prepare. Yikes! But Saleh and Spagnolo will adjust and I expect by the 3rd drive for each Offense it will be back to their respective breads and butters.
Prediction: Kansas City 31-San Francisco 27. The 9ers are actually brutal in RedZone Defense. Kansas City is actually not a great RedZone Offense but I expect them to convert more trips inside the 20 into TDs instead of FGs than San Francisco. Might well be lower scoring than that but I keep picking that number all Playoffs and this my last chance to get it right! Should be a fun game to watch.
Personally, I'd flip my DEs on a decent number of snaps. Fisher struggles more with speed and Ford could give him some issues. Schwartz struggles against nothing but Bosa is a complete player. But I do expect both Ends to try like hell to not give up contain. They're both fast enough to catch Mahomes if he tries to scramble. So I think you won't see much from either Bosa or Ford trying to spin to the inside shoulder of the opposing Tackle. Dee is a bit undisciplined though, so he might get caught giving up his lane.
The real struggle will happen on the interior. I was dismayed that San Francisco had their run-stuffing DT Sheldon Day in as much as they did and were still getting pressure from Amstead and Buckner to his left. With as little as the Chiefs run the ball Day might see way less than the 22 snaps he's had each of the last two games. That means BOTH Armstead and Buckner in the middle. Can the Chiefs' interior stop them?
San Francisco can't get pressure on every snap even if that Line plays brilliantly. So how does their Cover 3 hold up against the fastest Wide Receiver corps in the League? It's a great scheme to prevent big shots with its combination of Man and Zone. You need 1 CB who's good in off coverage and disciplined, dynamic Safeties. The 9ers aren't the Legion of Boom that played the same Cover 3. But they do have good Safeties in Ward and Tart. And Sherman is still an upper Tier off coverage CB.
Kansas City struggled against the Chargers and they also play Cover 3 and have good DEs. San Francisco has better DTs and more athletic LBs that can really cover so should fare better than San Diego. But Andy Reid is the master at coming out of a bye. He'll find ways to get Hill and Watkins and Hardman into the spots were the Zone becomes Man and take shots. I also think he's patient and expliots the holes in the flats and underneath stuff the are the normal way to attack a Cover 3. But he's also stubborn. So it will be interesting to see how much he runs it and how many deep shots he calls from that lethal formation where he's got 3 receivers bunched on the right and one to the left. Whether it's Hill or Kelce on the left he loves going for chunks out of that look. If it's not happening early will he keep trying or take what the Defense is giving?
And how about Saleh? They don't blitz much and Mahomes kills blitzes. But do you sprinkle some in to keep him off balance? Do you mix in some Man looks to try to confuse him? Do you do any stunting?
On the other side of the ball Kansas City has been sneaky good. Actually something like the best over the last 6 weeks. Can Chris Jones make hay against the average interior of San Francisco? If he can and the run game is disrupted can Garoppolo produce? Or produce enough if it becomes a high scoring game? Can Breeland and Badger and Ward and Sorenson contain Kittles and Sanders and Deebo and Bourne?
I fully expect easy touchdown drives from both teams to start the game. The best two innovative Playcallers in football with extra time to prepare. Yikes! But Saleh and Spagnolo will adjust and I expect by the 3rd drive for each Offense it will be back to their respective breads and butters.
Prediction: Kansas City 31-San Francisco 27. The 9ers are actually brutal in RedZone Defense. Kansas City is actually not a great RedZone Offense but I expect them to convert more trips inside the 20 into TDs instead of FGs than San Francisco. Might well be lower scoring than that but I keep picking that number all Playoffs and this my last chance to get it right! Should be a fun game to watch.
