Dumb Halloween joke incoming:
Kid walks up to the door on Halloween and rings the bell. Someone answers.
Kid: 'Trick or Treat'
Treater: 'Well, and what are you suppose to be?'
Kid: (looks sideeye at treater) 'I'm a pirate'
Treater: 'If you're a pirate, where are your Buccaneers?'
Kid: 'They're on my fuckin head!'
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Originally Posted by Direckshun:
Well, who wants to hear a ghastly, unpopular opinion?
Trap game.
The Bucs defense is still very good, and while they are missing two fantastic receivers, Baker is playing at an MVP level right now.
I don't think Kareem is going to do much of anything on the ground. Vita Vea is a Hall of Fame caliber run stuffer, and Kareem has slowed down each of the following weeks. The Chiefs have to rotate RBs this week, or they're going to face the consequences of Kareem collapsing before Pacheco can return. Because I'm envisioning Kareem running the ball like 14 times for 20 yards.
As a result, Mahomes is going to have to air it out to win this game. I think his odds of doing that are better -- I like the Bucs interior passrush more than their outside rush, and our interior line is where KC is strongest. But the Bucs still field a really talented back seven, that's also extremely intelligent. Lavonte Davis has the ability to man up Kelce, and the Winfield/Whitehead reunion has again given the Bucs one of the best safety tandems in the league.
On the other side of the ball, I think it's doubtful that White/Irving/Tucker can get much going on the ground, but they don't need to. They only need to get a little going on the ground, to give Baker some breathing room. The Bucs' second-string receiving corps is underrated, however, and they'll give the Chiefs' depleted CB room some issues occasionally.
Get ready to see Josh Williams on the screen a ton. If he plays well, the Bucs are going to have a lot of problems scoring. If he doesn't, well...
Mayfield is well protected on the edges, so can Jones/Wharton disturb the pocket a ton from the interior? The Bucs have a good interior, but I'd bet on Jones/Wharton.
There's a lot of factors going into this being the best chance of an upset we've had in a while: the Chiefs will have no running game, their passing game will be contained by an intelligent/talented Todd Bowles back seven, Baker is arguably a Top 4 QB right now, and the Bucs are an NFC team that the Chiefs don't really care about with the Broncos coming up on a short week. I think this game will come down to turnovers, and Mahomes is giving the ball away a lot right now. Baker, not so much.
It's MNF, and the Chiefs should win this one? But it has the feel of an upset to me. All the things you need for an upset are there, and if it happens, it'll be some ugly one at like 16-13, something like that.
Please stop posting football takes
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Direckshun actually makes some good points. A big part of the reason TB's defense has been so bad for most of the season has been injury related. Kancy their other starting DT got hurt in TC, and they only got him back a couple games ago.
They lost B. Hall in Week 1 to a broken leg/ankle, and he was their third-best CB, and he was also their NB, iirc.
Then a couple weeks later, they were without both Winfield and Whitehead and were forced to put Izzy (can't remember his real name), who is a good DB, but had never played S before.
Vea sprained his MCL vs. DET, and missed the DEN game, but returned after that, but has been playing in that dinged up wheel since. He does seem to be trending towards being fully healthy though.
The worst issues coverage-wise for them have been the loss of a couple LBs, Denis and another guy I can't remember his name. But those two were balling until they got hurt vs. DEN and DET. And now they can't cover TEs, except LVD, but he's lost a step, and they're asking him to try and defend the run as well as blitz on occasion. It hasn't worked very well so far.
In short, the defense hasn't been together almost the entire season. And if we're honest, no NFC teams do well vs. BAL, so you almost throw that game out.
But in the couple games they were relatively healthy, they were good against the run. And last season, with almost the exact same group, they were 7th vs. the run.
I think it's a real long shot, but if they play anything like they did vs. DET for example, where they played like it was a playoff game, our offense will have real trouble running. And they could get real pressure on Mahomes. I don't they they'll be able to pull it off, but it's possible.
And if Baker deals like he did in the DET game, he'll put up 20+ pts. I still think that was probably his best game of the season, not stats-wise, but his command of the offense and his pocket manipulation was Drew Brees-like, and when he plays like that, it doesn't really matter who he's throwing to. And for those that think he folds under pressure, go watch that game. He got sacked 5 times and got hit 12 or more times; it didn't faze him in the least. He threw dots and bombs all day.
Again, I don't expect it to happen, but it's not outside probability either.
As for his weapons, right now his best target is going to be Otton. Who isn't great, but he's reliable. Then it would have to be McMillan, a rook, but he can run some great routes. Sometimes he runs the wrong routes though, and one of those cost Baker an INT when he drew his defender right into the passing lane. He cost Baker another INT when he pulled a KT and let a perfect pass bounce through his hands and into a DB's stomach. And he's had a couple other drops. So he's got inconsistent hands. But when he's good, he's a tough cover.
After that, I'd guess it's Trey Palmer, who's their Worthy. A smallish burner that we'll have to cover deep. If he catches one in stride, we aren't catching him.
Shepard's been inconsistent. Don't think he'll be a big threat. Tucker and Irving are both good runners and good receivers. Irving is twitchy and has good vision, but Tucker is another burner. He can take it to the house from almost anywhere. But he's a rook, and not nearly as developed as Irving, so we won't see that much of him. He's kind of their gadget guy right now.
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