Defending the KingdomThe Reasons Behind 9-0 w/ Leo Chenal | Defending The Kingdom
In the Chiefs Kingdom.
Nine and oh means hey, tying a franchise record of twenty three and twenty thirteen. Outside of the Chiefs Kingdom, it has been bewilderment. How could that team go nine and oh? Is this the worst nine and oh team in NFL history. We'll just pay attention over the next minutes on defending the Kingdom. We'll jump in to why we think the Kansas City Chiefs are a legit nine and oh ready to go ten and oh in Buffalo and a lot of you will be there in Buffalo because of Ticketmaster. Ticketmaster is your connection over these next eight regular season games and into the playoffs.
As we see a lot of you on the road, us down. Let's just tickets. Blood.
It's bucked. That's blood the chief buck. They're gonna stay undefeated.
However, you wan.
I'm Mitcheld, his voice of the Chiefs along with Senior team reporter award winning Matt McMullen. I'm fired up this week. I'm fired up this week. I'm driving home from the game after this one percent chance to win. And by the way, Leo Chanel will be with us on the show.
You do not want to miss it. It's coming up. He blocks the field goal.
But I'm hearing Pundit's talk and two guys on a national show and one is asking, let's talk about the Kansas City Chiefs.
And the other guy goes, do we have to?
And they're saying, this is the worst nine to zero team ever in NFL history. I almost drove off the road and I thought, nope, I'm already in buffalo mode. We're going to jump into but you aren't you It's driving me crazy if people go they can't appreciate what this Chiefs team.
Is, so we shouldn't let it bother us. But I do give this some thought. First of all, the Chiefs have won three Super Bowls in five years and are coming off back to back Super Bowls and they're undefeated, So I'm not really sure you can take anything away from this team. What it is is Nationally, people cannot explain how a team can sustain success like this because it doesn't happen really in any sport. Golden State War maybe are the most recent one in the Big four sports, but it just does not happen where a team wins every year no matter the circumstances, and it frustrates people, and a lot of these people their favorite teams aren't winning and they can't figure out why does that team keep winning when mine does? And so that's what I chalk it up to, because if you use facts and logic and reason, the Chiefs are doing what they've done every single year since coachried got here. It still feels like the season just started. We just locked up already, our twelfth consecutive winning season. Twelve consecutive winning seasons. Think about that. The Bills ironically are the next closest team in terms of consecutive winning seasons with an active streak. I think they have like five or six. So yeah, I mean, if people around the country want to take away from this team, be my guest. I guess, but the Yous have beaten five teams this year that are either five hundred or above right now. A team that's not included and that is Cincinnati, who will we agree is better than the record says. So yeah, if you want to take it away from the Chiefs, that's fine. I guess we will just keep winning.
Buffalo, We're going to get into them. Mad respect for him, but they've only played three teams of the winning record. They're one and two, so it's been very different of what the teams have faced up to this point.
That's okay, we're gonna get there.
We're into facts and we're gonna get to that in a second and some opinion based on fact.
Yeah, but let's go in for there you go.
Yeah, but again, Leo Chanel will be with us on this episode. Uh, and we're entitling it. How does his team nine and oh and ten and oh in Buffalo? Okay, let's go around the world though, as we get ready to tell the world what you and I think?
Why we think the chiefs for nine and oh got a bunch today. So I heard from Tyler and Lebanon, Missouri.
Yeah, the Yellow Jackets.
By the way he wrote that down was one Jackets baby, Yeah, home of the Yellow Jackets, not Lebanon, Kansas.
Some of the Broncos. There's a yeah, I think there's a whole bunch of them anyway, Yeah, Sedars of Lebanon.
And this is a little bit somber, but it's also a good story. So he's been a fan of his life, shared that one of his best friends is diagnosed with cancer and two has a night team and his dream was to see the Chiefs won the Super Bowl, and he did that right before he passed. So it's more than football, you know, it's more than a football team.
We get that.
So shout out to you, Tyler. Jason is in Topeka, a new listener. Thank you for listening.
Jason, Topeka, West topeaka High Washburnurial, Shawning Heights, Hayden.
What do we got need more information? Let us men, you care paravel the Lions, we don't know.
Let us know.
We have a listener who lives near Fort Drum, New York, famous for being, oh don't know, the home of the tenth Mountain Division.
Ooh huh.
Now you'll never forget that.
I will never forget it.
Yeah, and I love this year's Salute to Service because when we talked about the Marines on Sunday, it was awesome.
My whole game day set up on the radio was about the Marines. But those cool Salute to Service hats and hoodies we wore, Yeah, reminded me of the tenth Mountain Division. It reminded me of when Army played Navy and they were in the tenth Mountain Division. Unis basically in the snow. It was too cool. If you look at the history of the Tenth Mountain Division, what they did in World War II in Italy, amazing, incredibly brave group.
They've done an awesome history. So yeah, Tenth Mountain.
Fort Drum, New York.
Now Trump New York.
Chris is in the Philippines. We've got so many listeners in the Philippines. Shout out to everyone in the Philippines. Chris said that he watched Sunday's game at two am on Monday, so I respect it. Greg is in Russa Rito on the Baja California in Mexico. I definitely mispronounced that, but he's on the Baja California in Mexico. He's seventy two. I've been a fan all his life. Thanks for listening.
Greg.
Jim is in San Diego, originally from Wichita though, and the Monday night football win against the Bucks a few weeks ago was on his birthdaysty belated birthday, Jim.
We picked up a lot of San Diegans we have when the Chargers left them in the dust.
They needed a team. They'll go.
They don't like the Broncos of the Raiders, but they didn't mind the chiefs. We picked up a bunch in San Diego and you were all welcome.
Yes, thank you.
Charles was part of the Army Security Agency and wanted to think us for recognizing our veterans on last week's episode. But no, thank you Charles for defending our country. We truly appreciate it, and thank you for listening as well. Ricky has been a fan since the nineteen sixty nine season. That was a good year and remember his watching Super Bowl four with his dad. Shout out to you, Ricky. I heard from several people who either have spent time in South Korea or currently live in South Korea, and they are willing and able to help me plan my trip. So thank you to all of you that reached out. I will be reaching out to all of you for your tips and tricks because I don't know what I'm doing, So thank you to everyone.
You'll be hearing from me shortly.
I cannot wait for you to take that trip. That's going to be almost almost going to need a daily report. Yeah, and it's so cool that you, Neil I get to do that.
Yeah, I cannot wait. It's going to be amazing. I met Andrew at the game on Sunday, Great Beating You. Andrew also met Riley and Cooper at the game on Sunday. They drove in from Arkansas for the game at Great Beating You both. I met Matt from Fremont, Nebraska in the locker room club after the game, and him and his family had flown in from the Dominican Republic like on vacation the night before and made sure they made it to the game. He saw quite a game, didn't you so? Great Beating You, Matt. Then lastly, shout out to Susie Mark and the entire group of German fans that came to Kansas City over the last two weeks. Mark is based here at Fort Levenworth, but the rest of them came from Germany and I think they just had the best time. They were here for two weeks. Susie went to the Miszoo game on Saturday night. A few of them stayed here and went to the KU game that was here in Kansas City. So they had just an amazing two weeks. Its great seeing all of you, and how about that they came for two walkoffs at home, two walk off wins.
So shout out to all of you. You're the best, great Cenia.
And I wish I would have thought of it as soon as it happened, but I didn't. But I'm calling the game not a walk off, but a block off.
The block off.
I wish I'd have thought about it right away, but anyway, kind of hit me later.
But you're not expecting necessarily a one percent chance happening the block off.
I was ready for it. I'm ready for a block off.
That German group and they came to the Kingdom show. Yeah, So on Tuesday night after the Saints game, short week getting ready for the Broncos, they came so Andy from Mendon Ganeine from Frankfort, right, Robert from Frankfort, from Cole. I think I'm saying that, right, mag Magdalena, Johann Lars, you mentioned Susy and from Dusseldorf, Patrick, and then there's Casey Alice from Cologne.
Okay, okay, And I got a Stutgart Stutgart Serge shirt.
As did I.
Yeah.
They are amazing, wonderful people. They represent the Kingdom so well over there, so great seeing y'all come back whenever you want.
So this game too is interesting because there is a growing sub cell of the Kingdom in the Twin Cities. Okay, but they are claiming dual citizenship. We talked about this last week, yes, yea right, yeah, And so Daniel Abraham came to his first every game he had to come to Arrowhead Stadium, GHA Field at Aerohead Stadium, he came.
They are called the school Chiefs.
Okay.
They are now named school chiefs with dual citizenship. So when the day come like last year when we play the Vikings, they must decide.
But other than that they're both okay.
So we appreciate all our school chiefs and Daniel now leading the way on defending the Kingdom around the world for that.
And we'll bring in Paul Allen. We may have to have Paul Allen sometimes.
I would love that as I'd love to meet out.
He's so intriguing.
Yeah, he's just a really awesome to play by play voice of the Minnesota Vikings. To bring in this whole school chief dynamic and see what he says.
So we'll have him on DTK.
You know that crazy whin the Vikings had over the Bills a couple of years ago, ironically talking about Buffalo where Justin Jefferson had like the catch and quadruple coverage on fourth and forever.
Looked liked hop against the Bucks.
He did.
Yeah, their booth is going berserk and they had like the GoPro and they're booth like they do for you, and it's just so funny. And their team reporter, I think spots on the road as well. So for those that don't know on the road, all often spot for Mitch, which means I basically help him with who is making plays And I don't speak, so I have to be silent, but I'm losing my mind. Well, their guy was losing his mind too, and like rocking back and forth, and it's just so great. So I just saw it kind of like us in them and vice versa. So shout out to them.
They're great.
Well, we're going to jump into why Matt and I think the Chiefs are nine and oh while the rest of the world outside of the Chiefs Kingdom is perplexed.
Or angry at don't I don't either.
Can't be proof scientifically, well maybe it can, but we're going to go into offense, defense and special teams and give each one of our opinions why I think this team is nine and oher and this team is unique, different than the other teams. That's what coach Reed says every year. Every team's unique. And you know what Buffalo is unique. They're different than they've been. We all think it's the same team. It is not the same Buffalo team that we've seen in years past. But they're eight and two and they've done an excellent job. Sean McDermot and Josh Allen Okay, my opinion on the offensive side, and I like to look at beyond the obvious stats many times, and it's the hidden yardage of why this team is so much better booked the book right now, the twenty three team, and it's the fact that when you look at drops last year, the Chiefs led the galaxy and drops, it was ghastly. Depending on how you view a drop from the different sources, anywhere between thirty five and forty three. Well, if pat averages at nine yards of completion, do the math, and if one hundred yards equal seven points, do the math even further. This year the Chiefs have only sixteens have fewer drops in the Chiefs that adds up to almost seven points. The other one and this is the big one, is penalties that the third fewest penalties in the league on the Kansas City Chiefs, third fewest penalties, And when you're playing a team like Denver or coming up.
This week against the Bills, who are number one in the league, enforcing penalties against their opponent, you are gaining yardage back.
Last year the Chiefs finished fourteenth.
I looked at it booked to book they were worse than that at this point a year ago. You add those two together, drop passes or way fewer drop passes a whole bunch of only seven compared to let's say forty. Then that and the penalty yardage, which is way better, you're actually getting somewhere in the range of ten to thirteen points you didn't have a year ago. That's how you win close games. And to me, that's two overlooked areas of why this Chiefs team is nine to zero.
That exact kind of overall category is why we lost some games last year. I think about the Lions game, for sure, penalties and drops, the Packers game, the Broncos game in Denver for sure, the Raiders game on Christmas, no doubt, and the Bills game was a penalty at the very end or else. We've done that game, So I'm with you one hundred percent on that. Another one, and this is a bit more obvious, but it is kind of a fun one. It's third down efficiency. Our third down offense has been excellent this year. Were the number one third down offense in the NFL at fifty two percent. And it's not just a certain distance. Really all over the place, we've been really good and efficient. On third and four to third and six, we're converting seventy two point four percent of the time, best in the NFL. Third and seven or longer we're at thirty four point six percent of the time, also best in the NFL, and specifically third and ten. Nobody ever wants to be in third and ten, but we're best in the NFL on third down at third and ten as well, at thirty two point one percent. We've converted nine third and ten or longers this year. Since d Hop got here, we're even better. We're sixty two percent overall on third down, best in the NFL since he got here. And looking at some advanced metrics as well, are you familiar with EPA, yep, So, looking at EPA, it's expected points added it's basically a measure of how well a team performs relative to expectation, kind of like war and baseball, and of course, like take it with a grain of salt. I mean, it's not a hard fast stat but there's some subjectivity to it. But overall, EPA you.
Have to start like win's above replacement in baseball.
Where's your start as a baseline, Yeah, there's got to be a point, So just take it for what you will. But in this case it helps my point because in terms of EPA on third down, the Chiefs are the best offense in the NFL in terms of total EPA and success rate. They're also sixth and explosive play rate on third down. Based on EPA, it means they stay on the field all right, and Casey leads the NFL and drives of ten or more plays with twenty six and when they finish in the red zone, this formula.
Is just very very difficult to beat.
And the Chiefs had done that for a couple weeks from week seven through nine, they were eleven for thirteen in terms of a red zone touchdown efficiency. Last week just won for four. That's why the game was close. That difference there is twelve points if the Chiefs finished in the red zone just one more time last week. We're not talking about a game winning blockoff, So anyway, for me, it's third down efficiency. The Chiefs have been nails on third down all year long. Got to be good on third down against the Bills.
And to your point you mentioned the third and ten plus the Denver Broncos outstanding defense.
We saw it. We laid it out for you last week.
We're two of twenty seven in dislacking twenty five out of twenty seven times they disallowed a first down on third and ten plus, and those two were scrambled runs, not passes. The Chiefs had two in this game of thirty yards or more, the p Ryan play of thirty three yards and the d Hop play of thirty one. And if you look at Pat's comparison of his life with the hop and without the hop, then you'll see one of the reasons reason that this team actually has a ceiling moving forward because the numbers are drastically better. So offensively, there's our opinion of why we think the Chiefs are nine to zero that you're not going to hear from the national pundits. We're mystified that why is this team the worst team to be nine to zero?
Maybe not?
And this team has ceiling that O'll frighten everybody who doubt and disrespect and dislike the Chiefs. All right, defense, you get the first one defense. So I'm gonna go with our run defense this year. And this is a super basic answer, but I think it's at the core of why any defense is good.
And you got to stop the run first. And the Chiefs defense has been excellent against the run this year. We're allowing three point sixty five yards per rush this season. Only Baltimore has been better. We're allowing just eighty three point two rushing yards per game, third best in the NFL. We've allowed only sixteen runs of ten or more yards, second best in the league. And the only player who has had any success on the ground against us this year has been Lamar Jackson. Lamar rushed for one hundred and twenty two yards in Week one. Almost all of those were scrambles, and Lamar is a unique player right, very difficult to stop him because he's also a quarterback who can throw the football. Everyone else this year against the Chiefs has struggled to run the football. Listen to all these players who had double digit carries against the Chiefs. Jordan Mason just fifty eight rushing yards, Derrick Henry forty six rushing yards, could be the MVP of the league forty six yards, JK Dobbins thirty two yards, Bjean Robbinson thirty one yards, Alvin Kamara had twenty six yards, and Alexander Mattinson on the Raiders just fifteen rushing yards on fourteen carries. We're making team one dimensional every single week and you force these quarterbacks to make plays, and sometimes they will, but if you make them, you force them to make plays every single time. Eventually they're going to make a mistake, there's going to be an incompletion, something's gonna happen. And that's one of the main reasons the defense has held thirty consecutive opponents under twenty eight total points.
Now we're back all the way to the early days of Andy Reid in Philadelphia, to the last time that was Jim Johnson's defense, amazing defensive coordinator. And I will add mine why I think this team is nine to zero, and I'll take it down to a personal player. There are three players who have gone not one notch higher, but two notches higher. Think about ninety days ago in the discussion about and I love Lageria Snead, I love him, I love him. But Jamari Connor booked a book as playing at a level higher than Lagerius Snead was at this time in his career.
Chamorroy Connor has been brilliant.
Oh yeah, coverage open field tackling, which is overlooked in this league. He is one the best open field tacklers, much like Sneed was in the National Football League. Big jump higher for Tamari Connor. Another one is Turk Wharton. We saw it in OTAs, we saw it in training camp. They usually do not lie in that eye test. And what Turk Wharton has done is elevate to a level that most thought he would never reach. And another one is Leo Chanal. Leo Chanal his play and we're going to get into it with Leo here in a second. His play against Yushchek on the wheel route in the San Francisco game.
We saw it last year in the Super Bowl.
Impact plays there, the block pat forcing fumbles. But Leoh has taken his game to two levels higher, and why not jump in and check out with number fifty four of the Kansas City Chiefs. This week's guest Leo Chanal. Why wouldn't we have him on defending the Kingdom? Leo Chanal incredible with the block field goal. But I'm going to ask you to start. What people are trying to figure out is how we're nine and oh and that's the thesis of this show. What would you say? Why is this team nine and oh? Because it's mystifying the world, like the chief should not be nine and oh the worst nine or o team ever? What would you say?
I just say that we really really find a way to win, whether it's offense, defense, special teams.
You know, when when one area is.
Kind of slacking, not playing up to the standard, I feel like, you know, the other the other phase kind of pulls pulls the slack a little bit.
It's it's kind of crazy to.
See, even for me being here for three years, the way that we find a way to win, you know, pull each other up when again, when offense or defense slacking and we're like we always hype each other up on the sideline going out, It's you just see a bunch of guys just constantly pulling out each other.
It's kind of like synergy.
Man, It's like working together, and it's like a constant you know, it's throughout the week two. You know, it's it's guys pulling each other up when somebody miss up play. It's it's constant, you know, just encouragement.
You've been a part of a lot of big wins, a lot of big moments here, as in you've been in Kansas City. Where does the electricity in the stadium rank?
Though?
And I mean everyone just lost their minds. How cool is that? Uh, It's it's unreal. It's it was.
It was so much disbelief, you know, I was saying earlier, it's like you feel the feeling of the ball, you know, hit, You hear the sound, no greater sound, you know you you sense all that, and you still got to like look around like did this really happen? And you just see the smiles and the excitement with everybody, your teammates, the fans, all that. It's so hard to beat and there's very few moments that I could, you know, compare to.
It even got Coach Read to smile.
You were talking about this earlier off camera, but if you watch the broadcast. Even coach Reid is like whoa and smiles all big. It's just the best.
Yeah, yeah, I mean yeah, I brought that up because I'm like, man, this guy, like during game, he is stoic, you know, he's so serious when there's a great play, a bad play, you know, he's just always just like he's like locked in, you know.
And just seeing that was like, Okay, that's pretty sweet. I've told Matt this many times.
There's no sweeter sound in football then that thump of a block kick, whether it's a field goal or a punt. But the belief that you had when we talked to you after the game on rewind the belief that you had. And I'm gonna add this one with the question the class of twenty two. I was impressed with you guys the first day you walked in the building. But Cochrane blows the dude, you're coming, Carl Loftis is coming right behind you. Start with the belief that you guys were going to pull that off one percent of one percent chance to that class, and the fact that you guys are so strong mentally.
Yeah, I mean, to start it off, it's it's just that that unit that we have.
You know I mentioned it.
Uh, it's the punt return safe unit, it's the field goal block unit. It's anytime you know, guys are on special teams that aren't normally on special teams, and it's everybody but that specific group. They're they're starters on defense. They don't you know, a lot of people get by with not giving you know, one hundred percent effort. Eight maybe they're good ninety percent effort. But if you watch just our punt return team when when they're in, those are some of our biggest plays when the defense stay is in, They're they're really going hard every play. You see Turk and everybody running downfield, you know, blocking guys up in the line, and then field goal block.
It's just one hundred percent.
Like you go on fifteen to twenty play drives and they're just zooming off the ball still. You know, just Jay Reid, you know someone I mentioned, like I'm constantly competing with him. He's he's out there way more plays than me and he's just beating me off the ball and it's just insane. And uh, you know, we kind of we kind of knew like, okay, we can we can do this. You know, it's all on us right now, and you know we love that we we love that we have the opportunity. You know, we've been waiting for times like this and we haven't had a big play on field goal block you know, all year, and we kind of we kind of had a confidence and we had that coolness too. It's like all right, like let's try this. Like Derek Noughty, like that's overlooked too.
You know.
He had a perfect swipe and the momentum of you know, the on the lineman came down which allowed George you know to come free right there, and you know, the great get off of Jack and Jay Reid on the outside you know, made everything possible. And you could see George too, he was about to block it if I didn't. So we just had a great all around just effort there and uh and then to our class. You know, I think it's it's really cool to be part of it. We got some you know, we got some great players all around. I can go up and down, you know, the whole list. But you know, you guys know, and you know we're just we're just doing our best, you know, to you know, help out this defense and do the best we can. But yeah, I mean that can't say much to it. We've we've just got great players. Let me go back, though, you're talking about defense on the field. How much of that was mccole's punt return against San Francisco one two? How close were you thinking on the kick six, thinking you're gonna get an Auburn Alabama kick six out of McCole at the end of the half? Oh, I mean it's crazy, Yeah, the pump return with McCole. I mean it's we have some great returns, you know, with with defensive Stay, like even last year, the year before, it's like almost all our bigger turns, you know, defensive Stay. You know, we got to score, and we talk about that too, like it's coming and coach Toves has constantly pushed us and has been a great motivator for us.
You know, we got we're gonna score. We're gonna pop onver these.
Because I don't know if defense days really ever scored, maybe very little.
Maybe we won't want to be the first if it hasn't been. What was the next one?
Uh?
Talking about the getting the kick six? Oh yeah, the Auburn Alabama kick six. Thinking Okay, sixty yarder misses here he comes.
Yeah, he said, all the way after the fifty Yeah, I mean he's okay. We set up, you know, it's obviously a lot of teams would go to the bench, you know, setting up for that. And he starts running away and we're like, I'm like, where are you going. I'm like, I'm like sprinting back, like trying to get a block over there, and like somehow he gets out of it and Jay Reid, like if you watch Jay Reid on that play, he does a hip by takes out like two or three guys, you know, just kind of spring him, and.
You know, he almost got out.
It was like one guy and like barely tripped him up, and then we had a whole, like a whole bunch of guys kyler Ree just waiting, you know, to leave him in.
I thought it was Tante Hall two thousand and three for a minute. It was so close.
Leo.
I've asked you this before.
When you think about your twenty twenty two draft class and when you were at Draft Fest all those years ago, there's so much excitement about what you guys could achieve, and looking back too, Super Bowls best defense in the NFL. You're nine to zero in your third season. Now, it's what's it mean to you to be a part of this and to reflect on all the success that you've had and your short career so far and the success you can hopefully have moving forward to.
Yeah, I mean it's it's been a while, and but it's it's gone so gone by so fast, you know, especially for me, and just a lot a lot of things happening in life, a lot of a lot of big things, and it's so easy for it to just like go, let it go by fast and be like all right, whatever, you know, on to the next thing. But you know, we really do have to like stop and appreciate it and like look back at you know, where we were, and you know what we've accomplished, and also look at like what we can accomplish still that's the biggest thing. And you know, I look back to that, you know, the post combined deal, and I remember, you know, the guy I sit on my sideb Cook, and you know, trying. You know, it's just we've come we've come far, and you know, it's it's pretty cool to be a part of and with all those same guys a lot a lot of times. You know, you see teams break up and split apart, and you know, we we do a really good job here at just retaining guys. And it's it's really cool to have that kind of like family feel to it. And the biggest thing, like I said, is just keep moving and keep doing doing more.
He had the crowd at day one of Draft Fest like everyone was like, this guy's perfect, he's awesome.
Well, I asked him, what do you bring to the Chiefs Kingdom? He goes violence and physicality.
That's ascounting for you.
Uh, it's been awesome to see you grow in your game and it really I thought, I mean, you're a menace man, and I thought it just hit warp speed in the playoffs last year. But I'm gonna ask you about a single play because I asked Brandon Daylor about it when you covered the wheel route by us check in the San Francisco game, and I'm going, I'm calling it on the air, going that's Leo covering up the field.
How big was that play in the fact that how much you've grown.
In coverage, Yeah, I mean it means a lot because you know, going to the draft process, you know you don't want to like focus on negativity obviously as a player. But you know, I had a GM, you know, talking on the phone that said, like, you know, you're bad at coverage.
You'll never get better. He told me that straight up, and.
Uh, you know, I look at that and I'm like, man, how can somebody say that to me? And I got a long ways to go, you know, But just to be able to improve, you know, and kind of show that you know, I can improve, and it just means a lot. And that specific play, you know, obviously coaches b D. Brennan, coach daily is preparing me for that, like all right, like you played aggressive right here last time, like, and they have this in their pockets, so just be aware for it. So you know, we kind of saw coming because I was, you know, prepared for it. So it's kind of kind of cool to be able to make that and be like, all right, well I can do this a little bit.
There's a losing organizations and winning organizations and winning organization.
It gave you a shot. You're obviously making the most of it.
What do you think about Buffalo obviously a big matchup here coming up with Josh Allen in that offense.
What do you think about stopping the Bills?
Man, it's one hundred percent respect to that team. You know, it's you know I was saying earlier, it's We've had some amazing, historic, iconic battles with it, some historic calls, you know, But you know, it's it's just you know, playoff atmosphere, no matter if it's the playoffs or not, it's it's going to be a battle to the end, you know, whether it's four quarters, over time, whatever it is, and no team is out of it. You know, you got thirteen seconds, you got whatever it is. You have to be locked in one hundred percent of time. Because they got great players. Josh Allen is so good, you know, improvising, and he's got some great weapons around him. I got a ton of respect for James Cook. You know what is he able to do, How versatile he is in the running game, in the passing game.
So it's definitely a great challenge. When they go tempo, they'll go tempo.
We saw Denver go tempo and Josh Allen actually took a game over here in twenty one prior to you when he went tempo. Dealing with tempo offense, especially against Josh and his ability to run and pass.
What are the keys as a defense.
And for you personally, I mean, I think one of the big things just keeping your cool, taking a deep breath, you know when they when they don't want you to, they want you to kind of be like, all right, what's the play?
What's the playing?
Kind of just panic and worry about like what you know, specific things and not give you time to you know, trust your instinct or trust your keys what you've.
Been taught all week.
So it's really just kind of keeping your cool and you know, going back to you know practice and what we've been you know, preaching all week, and and then kind of slowing it down, you know, slowing the game down when they want to make it fast for us. And obviously we got to keep containing in those in the in those moments because the improvisation of you know, Josh Allen and it's just a lot of key factors that we got to slow down, you know, when they want to make it fast.
Come, I get you back in that four point stance in the red zone. The best ever man talk to coach nagging man. I've been nagging him a little bit for it, so we'll see. Gotta let you carry it in there. Just dig in there.
I an old time wishbone full back and then I was slamming in there. That was uh, Grantsburg, Wisconsin, one thousand and three hundred and eighty one people. Now, Matt knows. I'm a small town guy that's crazy about football. It's a crazy football town where I grew up. I love it on small town guys. How cool was it growing up in Grantsburg, Wisconsin as a pirate?
You know, I grew up in like West Sweden, went to school in Frederick, so you know it was at nil deal then, yeah, and a cheese deal.
Yea cheese dealer there you go.
But yeah, I mean just growing up in the area is really cool. Everybody it's so it's so tight knit. You know, I already have a big family and everything, so I'm close to my siblings. So it's like a mini town already. But every everybody knows like everybody, So it's cool, and there's there's definitely a community feeling. Everybody helps each other out, the neighbors, like it's just a connection to it and that you don't get, you know, in a big city. So it was pretty cool and being in Grantsburg specifically, it's you know, it's the same way. You know, I moved there my freshman year high school. It's it's definitely good feeling.
And you know.
It was part of Let's see the Supernatural Sharp Teeth Season nine episode Are you were the Hey?
Supernatural?
Yes, dude, Oh my gosh, I'm binging Supernatural right now, right now?
Have you seen episode nine? Okay? Where are you at on binging it? What? I'm in? The season six episode twenty? Okay, I'm not. I remember.
I remember that it's in the It's in film and Canada. I was so excited to like see that scene. I'm like, man, this is not grand scene.
It's like when they shot Ozark, but it was in Georgia.
Yeah.
Yeah, Sharp Teeth was the episode? Okay, season nine? Were you at season one? I'm at season six, episode twenty. I won't blow up for you.
It's coming up, don't man, Hey, shout out Jensen Ackles, Jery Petalacky. It's I'm telling you season season nine. It's in You're in Gransburg's in it?
Oh man, Let's go come on, yeah.
Let's go to Buffalo and go ten and oh with this guy.
Leo Chanel. Wow, Kingdom is now discovering more and more about Leo Shanal.
He's the best, just an awesome guy on and off the field. An incredible moment at the stadium. I mean, we've had so many great moments like I asked him, and great games, but the electricity in the stadium in that moment was just incredible. It is phenomenal, right, and he was right in the middle of it. Another reason why this team is nine to zero and why we've had so much success over the last several years is the Chiefs win on Day two and Day three of the draft. And you talked about Treshaun Wharton, undrafted free agent back in twenty twenty, Chamari Connor fourth round pick a couple of years ago, and Leo Chanell getting him in the third round. A lot of teams hit in the first round. That's important. We talk about top ten picks and all that, but the Chiefs are going to be picking at the bottom of each round every year because we're good. How do you adapt? How do you keep that success going? You find players like Leo in the third round who maybe some GMS man that's crazy, isn't it. A GM told him that he would never be good in coverage, like, okay, the guy's like twenty one years old. Whatever, Well, he finds a way to be an impact player. And the Chiefs roster is full of guys like that that maybe didn't have all the fanfare coming out of college. They weren't a first round pick, but the Chiefs say, let's give you a chance, let's see what you can do in this system, and they thrive, and it says a lot about the culture here.
I loved what he said about special teams. We're going to close it out this way because you and I have given our opinion of why we think this team is nine and zero while the rest of the world is mystified by it. And I love what he said about special teams. Even when it's the defense out there on teams and they want to get a return. They almost got it with McCole Hardman against San Francis, so close, so awesome. But I would say on special teams, we're looking at it why this is different? And my thought is McCole hardman, honestly, his confidence is back.
The punt return.
That punt return is nearly kick six at halftime against the Broncos. Mc Coole Hardman is back in the return game with his confidence that he was in twenty nineteen when he started all this with that fifty eight yard kickoff return in the rally against the Houston Texans. And then there's other contributors, guys like Jayden Hicks, Cam Jones and others who have Jack Cochran that we mentioned there. But to me, special teams wins games. We just saw it literally and literally just saw it. But attention to detail your thought on why special teams in this team is nine to now.
The coordinators always speak to the media on Thursday. I can't wait to see just the swagger that tobwalks in up to the press conference rom on Thursday. He's going to be the happiest guy in the world. Myanzer is Mattaiza at punter. He's averaging fifty point five yards per punt this year, only punted twenty six times as twenty seventh in the NFL. The Chiefs don't punt a whole lot, but al those twenty six punts, he's dropped eleven of them inside the opponent's twenty yard line. And think about the formula for the Chiefs this year. So it's this ball control style of offense. It's converting on third down kind of grindings moving down the field.
Hopefully they score.
But if they don't score, okay, we'll bring out matt Riza, maybe one of the best punters in the NFL. Pen you deep in your own territory, then let the best defense in football go to work. Let's say the opposition goes three and out, they punt. Now we have the ball at the fifty, so matt Riza. You can break it down a whole bunch of games this year where maybe the offense is struggling a little bit, but he booms like a sixty five yard punt, the defense makes a play and then we score. So the field position game isn't a super fun thing to talk about, but Matta Riza has been such a weapon for the Chiefs this year.
Remember, everybody is net punting. Don't look at gross as much as net punting. But when he hit that one in the fourth quarter at the nine exactly, that was a gigantic play in that game. And then Felix was able to smell out the play that they were waiting to run on the design run by bow Nicks, but to get him stop back there led to the go ahead field goal, So I'm with you on matt Riza.
So there you go, folks.
That's just some of our thoughts of why this Kansas City team is nine and oh and how good is Lee O?
And can the Chiefs go ten? And oh?
And set an all time franchise record in Buffalo
