I think the refs are letting them play and allowing much more contact than in the regular season. This would normally be a huge concern facing BB, but I think Mahomes' elite improvisational ability will counter this and the wrinkles BB is famous for.
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If you don't make an attempt to turn your head around, they don't give any leeway at all really. You either have to turn your head around or not make contact. Otherwise it's a penalty.
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The Chiefs do have a traditional fullback on the roster. He made the Pro Bowl this season.
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Here's the thing.

The Patriots often rough up WR's. The hold Travis Kelce all the time. They do it well, and it doesn't get called.

If our DB's have a primary weakness, it's defensive holding/PI.

The Patriots are going to mug our guys, it's a given. But if the refs are letting them play a little bit because it's the playoffs, our DBs will get to do the same thing.

So while it's not an advantage for the Chiefs, it at least levels the playing field.
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:-)
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25 and dry IMO weather just a minor factor. That is still cold where players have to think about it but it is not brutal. I guess easy for me to say watching the game indoors but I have played/practiced football in 25 degree weather and worse than that so know what it is like at a super low level -- high school.

You probably know much more about the upcoming KC weather than me but when writing that post, I was assuming something like 18 degrees. So bad enough to be a real factor but not brutally/historically bad.

Colts may have been torched in part because of the miserable weather and they are used to the dome.

Patriots given BB old school football upbringing/mentality and where he has coached in the NFL(Giants/Cleveland/Patriots) pretty much always built for cold weather.

On the other hand, Andrew Luck played college ball in sunny CA at Stanford, high school ball in brutally hot Houston and then NFL football in a dome.... going to bad weather for playoff games is probably not easy for that guy!

Yes, Brady raised in sunny Ca but played college ball in Michigan and then in cold with New England.

KC players will be used to it as well to a reasonable extent since I suspect many of them live in the area and they obviously have been practicing in it a lot this year -- I can't picture Reid not having them practice outdoors. But Patriots have had home playoff games pretty much ever year since Brady hurt his ACL so other than the first year players, pretty much any Patriot should really be used to it.

Don't get me wrong. I think KC players from flat out living in KC will be used to the bad weather but just given all of their playoff games and BB philosophies, I think his team has an advantage in cold weather since I think he drafts and constructs rosters for horrible cold weather.

A gun to my head with my life on the line, right now I would would give the Patriots a very slight edge in this game -- maybe that is me being a homer --but I would pick AGAINST the Patriots in the Super Bowl.

Maybe KC can win this game with ease without Mahomes/Hill/Kelce being touched banged up but I have a feeling if the Patriots win, the game will literally be a "BLOOD BATH" with a key Patriot player or two on offense being out the Super Bowl or severely compromised.

This will NOT be a walk in the park for the Patriots like it was against the Chargers.
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Yeah, all I was saying is that if it's in the mid-20's, I don't think it's much of a factor.

The weather was a factor for both teams last week, not because it was cold but because it was wet. The snow was thick and slushy. They did a great job with the field but there was still some slipping and sliding. Plus you could see some passes for both teams that were affected by it being wet.
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Actually Ryan Grigson, Mort, Irsay and a band of Goody's NFL brownshirts started it

Ole Clete was a puppet who didnt do his job and Ted Wells made him look like an idiot

He did the AFCCG last year and was fine.
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I agree with all of the above, and took that into account. I still think this is a slight advantage to NE since BB is famous for it. Granted KC can make NE pay for missing at the line more than NE can exploit KC. So, that may even it all out...
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See the trick is we don’t have to line up on the line, expect motion like crazy and a return of the shovel pass
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You're one of the few that believe this way, though.
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There has never been a time, either as a Jayhawks fan for 35 years or a Chiefs fan for 43, where I've enjoyed fans bitching and arguing about the refs or claiming there is some kind of idiotic conspiracy.

It's so boring and dumb.
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You’re picking it up. Good work!
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Yep, if anything else happens, just remember.........















:-) Mahomes :-)
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With Patriots for good or bad, it isn't just the fullback which a lot of teams don't have or Brady being used to cold weather but the team has tended to usually favor hitting/strength over speed.

Eugene Chung and Rodney Harrison kind of examples of some players that other teams may not have prioritized near the end of their careers but I think BB has valued for cold weather/playoff football. They are the sort of players that would play hurt in 0 degree weather and make big hits without flinching.

There is often a tradeoff. Players can have equivalent abilities but one modestly faster player a better at track meet football and others at cold weather playoff football.

I suspect Reid values a fairly traditional balance while BB clearly builds his team for cold weather so at times Patriots are at a speed disadvantage.

That is why in part Patriots fans are more concerned about Hill than other Chiefs opponents.

Put yourself in the Colts gm shoes during the Manning era. Why not build your team with the dome in mind and just hope you get HFA in playoffs. Super Bowl played in warm weather pretty much ever year nowadays.
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