Originally Posted by -King-:
Time to load manage properly then. Give him the start but split snaps with Gray. That way he gets more rest between plays and can be more effective when he's in, and saves him the wear and tear from the regular season.
This.
Gray and Wiley seemingly have been underutilized these first three games.
He's being phased out. Nothing wrong with that we have to move on eventually, but they must get him involved. He can't be just running around and never get some catches. [Reply]
Originally Posted by -King-:
Time to load manage properly then. Give him the start but split snaps with Gray. That way he gets more rest between plays and can be more effective when he's in, and saves him the wear and tear from the regular season.
Exactly.
If you're going to 'save him for the playoffs' then save him for the playoffs.
If you're going to 'keep him fresh' then do so - play him 30-40 snaps instead of 60+.
As I've said from the start of this thread - playing 90% of the snaps at 80% effort isn't worth shit for anyone. Not for the Chiefs and not for Kelce.
Play him half the snaps at full speed if that's what you have to do.
But what they're doing is just not the right way to go about it. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DJ's left nut:
Play him half the snaps at full speed if that's what you have to do.
But what they're doing is just not the right way to go about it.
I don't get this "he's playing at 80% and at greater risk of getting hurt" talk.
He's playing at 100%, he's just out of shape. Partying around the world will do that to anybody. He still draws double coverage which frees up others. Reducing his snap count will only draw more coverage on Rice.
Just let this play out. In a few weeks defenses will adjust and start doubling up Rice. Kelce will show up without the goofy mustache, having grown a full beard in a week, and will make defenses look bad. [Reply]
Originally Posted by myselff77:
I don't get this "he's playing at 80% and at greater risk of getting hurt" talk.
He's playing at 100%, he's just out of shape. Partying around the world will do that to anybody. He still draws double coverage which frees up others. Reducing his snap count will only draw more coverage on Rice.
Just let this play out. In a few weeks defenses will adjust and start doubling up Rice. Kelce will show up without the goofy mustache, having grown a full beard in a week, and will make defenses look bad.
Because if he's out of shape, it's not coming back at 35 years old. That's just not the way aging works.
He's not at an age where he can play himself into shape in-season anymore. That's a young man's game.
I'm HOPING he's playing at a reduced speed because if he isn't, then we're not getting the 'plus' version of him at any point this season. He can't make up for 4 months of relative inactivity over the span of 10-12 weeks while simultaneously taking NFL hits and trying to rest between games.
If there are two doors here - the "He didn't do the work this offseason so now he's not ready to play football" door and the "Andy is trying to manage him for the post-season" door, we'd better HOPE it's door #2 because if it's door #1, we're not going to get much out of Kelce this season.
And when teams adjust, we're not gonna have much to adjust back with. [Reply]
Originally Posted by KCUnited:
While I'm sure it was mostly tongue in cheek he pretty much admitted to "smelling like tequila" for months after the Eagles SB so I highly doubt he partied harder after winning the last Super Bowl while in a serious relationship
Likely just father time and adjusting to that like Brady did with extreme diets and such
If he wants to ride off into the sunset (or into the podcast booth?) after a great career, more power to him.
If he wants to keep playing NFL football at his age, smelling like tequila for months isn't the way to do it. [Reply]
Ignorant statement. Taylor jet sets all around the world and in good shape. He has the finest chefs available to him. He can work out in the jet. At the 4 seasons. He even said before the season that he is in his best shape ever and has never physically felt better. He isn't out there gasping for breath every play like a fat lineman. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DJ's left nut:
Because if he's out of shape, it's not coming back at 35 years old. That's just not the way aging works.
He's not at an age where he can play himself into shape in-season anymore. That's a young man's game.
I'm HOPING he's playing at a reduced speed because if he isn't, then we're not getting the 'plus' version of him at any point this season. He can't make up for 4 months of relative inactivity over the span of 10-12 weeks while simultaneously taking NFL hits and trying to rest between games.
If there are two doors here - the "He didn't do the work this offseason so now he's not ready to play football" door and the "Andy is trying to manage him for the post-season" door, we'd better HOPE it's door #2 because if it's door #1, we're not going to get much out of Kelce this season.
And when teams adjust, we're not gonna have much to adjust back with.
I thought Andy was load managing him last year where it seemed like he came out of the game after every reception. He obviously hasn't been the target of enough receptions this year to tell if that is still happening. I highly doubt the load management plan is for Kelce intentionally playing slower than he is capable.
I'm just an idiot with an opinion. You could certainly be right. Let's see how it plays out. [Reply]