NGT- Are the Chiefs in a decline?

[LennG]

The other WR outside of Toney should have said something to him also. He can plainly see Toney is at least 1 foot or more over the LOS.

[uconnjack8]

I think the Chiefs are contenders.  Yes their offense is having a down year.  But this is the best defense the Chiefs have had during the Mahomes era.  It's amazing that none of the WR group has been able to step up with Reid, Mahomes and Kelce doing everything they do.

The AFC in general has taken a bit if step backward and is more like a game of QB survivor:

Rodgers
Jones -benched
Allen
Tua
Pickett - should be back this season
Burrow
Watson
Richardson
Stroud
Lawrence
Tannehill
Mahomes
Herbert
Garoppolo
Wilson

I think with Watson, the Browns might be the best team, but I dont see it without him. 

If Buffalo can get going and get in to the playoffs they are probably my pick to win the AFC.  If not, it will be the Ravens. If the Dolphins eventually beat a team with a winning record, they'll be on my list as well.

[Bob In PA]

New angle of the lineup shows it wasn't even close.

Lenn: I guess they should have him fitted for glasses. lol  True, it was not even close.

I believe a lot of the fuss from Mahomes/Reid is related to the fact that refs sometimes will inform a player if he's lined up off-sides, especially if the player asks the ref to do so (obviously).

But that mostly relates to players who are spread out wide (i.e., near the sideline officials). 

"Knucklehead Smith" (of the Andy Devine Show) had six or seven other players to reference in locating the LOS.

IMO he was reviewing the upcoming play in his head rather than paying attention to the positioning of his feet.

Bob

PS. Heard the Chiefs have asked him to switch his jersey number to zero. lol

[MightyGiants]

https://x.com/ProFootballTalk/status/1734287297640587346?s=20

[TDToomer]

Toney did another really awful thing on this play that once his coaches review the tape may lead to him being cut/inactive. While the play was still live and the ball went to Kelce instead of Toney there is another camera angle showing Toney flipping out in disgust that the ball wasn't sent his way and about to give up until suddenly Kelce pitches him the ball for the TD that was called back. They showed the video this morning on the NFL network.

[DaveBrown74]

New angle of the lineup shows it wasn't even close.

He's offsides by a full stride. Ridiculous that there was even a shred of controversy involved with this. The idea that the refs should swallow the whistle with something this flagrant is preposterous. Does Mahomes want them to do the same thing if blatant encroachment was committed by a defender?

I also don't buy the excuse that it's somehow the ref's responsibility to let the player committing the infraction know that he's committing the infraction before the play. There is no requirement of that. Bottom line it's on Toney to line up onsides.

Even if his ego is too big to do it publicly, Mahomes should apologize to the official(s) he berated. He was way out of line. He also criticized them very directly in the press conference. Doesn't the league fine players for that?

[Painter]

No! Of course, in the NFL, everything is relative and nothing is certain. Still, for any team we may consider to be an ongoing contender to somehow signal its decline is rare and unlikely except for those who are more comfortable with retrograde thinking. Wouldn't you say?

Cheers!

[Painter]

As for the Toney focus, as I'm sure you know, there is no one who is more pleased, more satisfied than I that that HorsesAss is no longer wearing blue.

Cheers!

[MightyGiants]

https://x.com/AndrewBrandt/status/1734265140508295579?s=20

[Bob In PA]

I was rooting for the Bills but shut the game off before it ended to watch Giants reruns. lol

[MightyGiants]

New angle of the lineup shows it wasn't even close.

https://x.com/mlombardiNFL/status/1734286416664772617?s=20

[uconnjack8]

He's offsides by a full stride. Ridiculous that there was even a shred of controversy involved with this. The idea that the refs should swallow the whistle with something this flagrant is preposterous. Does Mahomes want them to do the same thing if blatant encroachment was committed by a defender?

I also don't buy the excuse that it's somehow the ref's responsibility to let the player committing the infraction know that he's committing the infraction before the play. There is no requirement of that. Bottom line it's on Toney to line up onsides.

Even if his ego is too big to do it publicly, Mahomes should apologize to the official(s) he berated. He was way out of line. He also criticized them very directly in the press conference. Doesn't the league fine players for that?

One thing I heard talked about today is how officials overlook similar things regularly,  like the OTs being lined up further off the line than rules allow. It's a bit of whatacoutis, but the officiating should be consistent.

I think it's a penalty and if Toney has asked the official prior to the snap it wouldn't have happened.

[kartanoman]

Are the Chiefs in decline or are the refs so blind that not even LASIK surgery can spare them from making (seemingly) obvious calls on the field? There may be more splinters to this conversation but I'll keep my two pennies to these.

The first (i.e. the Chiefs) is a subject a lot of folks offered some good points but I'm shocked the obvious flew over everyone's head that the point hadn't even been whispered, much less mentioned. The Chiefs are the reigning Super Bowl Champions who won the whole enchilada by the skin of their teeth out here in the Valley of the Sun early in this calendar year. They, along with the Iggles, have had the least amount of off-season to prepare, have had their respective staff plucked from by the rest of the league, players come and players go and you logically conclude every team is coming at you harder because you're the standard. In spite all of that, they remain in the running for a playoff spot and likely will get to the post-season because they are champions who know what needs to be done. But it isn't the same as last year for KC no more than it isn't the same for Philly. Note that both teams lost to playoff-bound opponents yesterday who have had to take a back seat to those two teams. But let's stick to KC. The Bills had this game circled on their calendar and played with purpose. Regardless of the drama of Mahomes' reaction to the offsides penalty, the Bills won the game fair and square. In the heat of the playoff chase, Mahomes and company will have no choice but to move on and get ready to win at New England next weekend.

As for the referees in general, you see it in almost every sport. In football, however, there's 17 games per season per team and one bad call could potentially have a far greater impact than if we were talking baseball, hockey or basketball. We've discussed this all season and it's not limited to the NFL as it has been just as egregious in the Australian Football League (AFL) I follow where one bad call ended up costing a team a playoff berth last season. It can be difficult for officiating teams to all call a game exactly the same; however, if you are going to call a game a certain way, at least be consistent in the manner with which you call the game THROUGHOUT the game! I think most players and fans can live with that.

Finally, competitors, in the heat of battle, sometimes say things they later will regret. If Mahomes doesn't recant his words, which hit the network audio, he's going to lose credibility as a face of the NFL. It would be in his best interest to ask for pardon on his words, which were spoken in the heat of the moment, and later on he came to the realization that was a mistake he made, he owns it and apologizes to the refs and fans and moves on. As someone who has played competitive sports, I've had my share of moments like his and, after cooling off, realize it has nothing to do with trying to be right. It's all about sportsmanship and playing and acting with class on the field. You represent more than just yourself and you damage your team when you make an a$$ out of yourself. Let's all hope he does the right thing because he is a positive image in the NFL and, despite his silly insurance commercials, has a lot to offer in being a good example for young football players.

Peace!

[DaveBrown74]

One thing people should bear in mind with the Chiefs before declaring them finished for the season or even going as far as to suggest the whole Mahomes/Reid era is over: their final four games of this season are:


At New England
Vegas
Cincy
At Chargers

There is actually a not unrealistic chance they win all of those games and finish 12-5 with as high as the two seed in the AFC. I'm not saying that WILL happen - just that it's not wildly unrealistic. Which of those teams does anyone feel confident will beat them? Personally I don't about any of them.

If the Chiefs go into the playoffs as a 12-5 team having just won four games in a row, people will view them very differently than they do right now.

Again I'm not predicting they will definitely run the table. More just that the situation with them is pretty fluid still.

[T200]

One thing I heard talked about today is how officials overlook similar things regularly,  like the OTs being lined up further off the line than rules allow. It's a bit of whatacoutis, but the officiating should be consistent.

I think it's a penalty and if Toney has asked the official prior to the snap it wouldn't have happened.

I think we all agree that the officiating should be consistent. As much flak as Mahomes is getting, I think his beef is getting overlooked, which is the inconsistent enforcement of the rules. He even referenced the non-call last week.

However, there was a game the Giants played against either Dallas or Washington when their receiver asked the side judge if he was lined up and the official approved but when the ball was snapped, he threw his flag for that same receiver behind lined up in the neutral zone.