So it has seemed that the playcalling is off this year, no question. It has led a lot of people to speculate that Andy Reid is not making all of the calls.
I personally was not in those ranks; I didn't think there was any chance the Chiefs, who just signed a franchise QB to a half a billion dollar contract, would change up playcalling during a Super Bowl window.
But I do think the Mahomes/Bienemy spat on the sideline gave the game away (because why yell at Bienemy if you hate the playcalls?). And just so you don't think I started a thread based on only my intuition, my suspicions were echoed by extremely sharp Chiefs analysts Tod Palmer and Nick Jacobs on their "4th & 1" podcast. They don't think Reid is calling all the plays.
There is some circumstantial evidence to that. The Chiefs have been run-happier-than-usual on 2nd & longs for much of the season.
We've also seen Mahomes demand plays coming in repeatedly this year, which I've suspected was a kind of angst or anxiety but I think what's happening there is Bienemy's playcalling rhythms may be slower than Reid's, with whom Pat's synced up with for years.
I think I read Mahomes' lips during the sideline spat, saying "call the fucking play" and "call it." Which could very well be a dispute over the playcalling itself, or really just the rhythm.
Either way, that may account for some wonkiness in Mahomes' play this year. [Reply]
Originally Posted by notorious:
35-45 mph wind can affect the flight of a football.
Yeah they kept saying it - then when we'd see the camera settle in on the endzone, the flags on the uprights were barely moving. Every time, so, not sure, I guess it was gusts? [Reply]
Josh Gordon and Hardman seem like they are barely even out there. And they are probably the most physically talented WRs we have outside of Hill. [Reply]
If Bienemy is truly the one calling plays then this could be part of the reason why he can't get a HC job. Teams realize that Andy is truly the genius behind the offense and EB is more of a figurehead. We can blame dropped passes and bad penalties all we want, but the reality is this is the first time in the Mahomes era where these things are critical. In previous years 3rd and Long meant nothing to this team. Now on the other hand it's almost drive killing. [Reply]
Originally Posted by tredadda:
If Bienemy is truly the one calling plays then this could be part of the reason why he can't get a HC job. Teams realize that Andy is truly the genius behind the offense and EB is more of a figurehead. We can blame dropped passes and bad penalties all we want, but the reality is this is the first time in the Mahomes era where these things are critical. In previous years 3rd and Long meant nothing to this team. Now on the other hand it's almost drive killing.
I am not sold that this is happening. Seems like pure speculation. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Simply Red:
Yeah they kept saying it - then when we'd see the camera settle in on the endzone, the flags on the uprights were barely moving. Every time, so, not sure, I guess it was gusts?
The wind outside the stadium was really bad, but inside it didn’t seem terrible. Probably worse on the field and easy for me to say. Butker did manage a 56 yarder in it and it was blowing sideways. [Reply]
Originally Posted by O.city:
Looked to me like Denver played the typical 2 high match they always play against us.
Seemed like a pretty conservative game plan. Maybe knowing Denver's offense is a dumpster fire they didn't expect to need a ton of points.
After the drops it looked like Mahomes was not interested in going back to Hill, I don't think he threw him another pass after the deflected INT. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Hammock Parties:
OMG - would you idiots stop it.
Drops and penalties and a couple of bad throws are the only issue they have right now.
Mahomes was bitching at the sideline because the Chiefs were sitting on the ball running clock up 13 points with less than two minutes to go.
Whining about playcalling in this situation is Chief fan being an idiot again. MOAR SCREENS anyone? Fucking morons.
As I previously posted, drops and penalties never hurt this offense before. Why now? What has changed? This is the same offense that could score 28 points in a quarter. Now they are lucky to get that in a game. [Reply]
Originally Posted by MahomesMagic:
I am not sold that this is happening. Seems like pure speculation.
It is speculation no doubt. It's just something being thrown out there. Regardless this offense isn't playing at the elite level we have all expected outside of the usual first 15 or so scripted plays. [Reply]
Originally Posted by tredadda:
As I previously posted, drops and penalties never hurt this offense before. Why now? What has changed? This is the same offense that could score 28 points in a quarter. Now they are lucky to get that in a game.
Yep. I never use to worry if we got a holding call or any penalty really because Mahomes\offense would usually get most of it back or more the next play.
We are back to the Alex offense of if we get a penalty that drive is done. [Reply]
Did we win? Yes, so everyone can just :-) about the play calling.
I don't know about the stadium, but the winds here, about 25 miles NW of Arrowhead, were sustained at 29 MPH with gusts over 45 coming from NNW. [Reply]
