Long-time Chiefs insider and historian Adam Teicher of ESPN Kansas City reviews another Mahomes victory over Lamar and Ravens to start the NFL campaign.
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
chiefs, game, years, ravens, feels, big, offensive line, division, taylor swift, winning, afc championship game, baltimore, play, lose, adam, figure, chris jones, good, coach, playoffs
SPEAKERS
Adam Teicher, Nestor Aparicio
Nestor Aparicio 00:01
Welcome home. We are W, N, S T, Dallas, Baltimore, Baltimore, positive. We are positively into the long wait. You lose the opener. You got to sit around for 10 days and you got to wait it out. Adam Tigers got his video working for us. He was at the game on Thursday night. He is with the worldwide leader. He’s been a friend for many years out and can’t see, you know, everything but the barbecue man, everything but the when you come in here for that AFC Championship Game, I’ll make sure you got crab cakes. Um, well, we got a pretty good game to start the season, didn’t we? I mean, we don’t feel so good about it here in the offensive line and the bad and all that. But I would think that most people in the stadium thought that was a touchdown until it wasn’t at the
Adam Teicher 00:41
end, huh? Yeah, I mean, I can’t remember a game that’s ended like that, where it was Do or die and it came down to half a toe or whatever it was. So yeah, it was quite the dramatic finish. And I sure thought Baltimore was going to score there at the end. No doubt,
Nestor Aparicio 00:58
you covered the Chiefs a long time. And you know, I always looked at the Chiefs as the len Dawson era, and then everything, you know, Montana, everything after that, this last couple of years, just where the lights go on and you become the Patriots for a while, or what the 40 Niners were for a while, or, you know, that dynasty thing that’s going on, big picture for you in the after, because we can get to the game and all that, but just the phenomenon that is not just Travis Kelsey and Taylor Swift and all that, but this has been a crazy awakening for you as a journalist at this point to have this thing sort of land in your lap and in the way that the New England people did 20 years
Adam Teicher 01:37
ago. Yeah, it is, it’s, it’s an amazing phenomenon, you know, to think where the chiefs were 1012, years ago. I mean, there was a real rough stretch there before Andy Reid got to town and and it’s not just the winning, you’re right, it’s all the off field stuff. And there’s all the it players that play for the chiefs. So yeah, to me, it’s more than just them winning championships. It’s what this franchise has become that’s truly the big change. Well, the
Nestor Aparicio 02:06
Ravens have become that kind of franchise through Ray Lewis and Joe Flacco and Hall of Fame players and all of that, but, but this is different when you’re winning these games and the Ravens are losing these games right now, and you know, Patrick mahomes Is the kryptonite for all of this, for everybody in the way that maybe Brady and Manning were for a lot of other people on our side to pound sand and say at the end of the game, I thought maybe mahomes would say, Well, we’ll see in January, or maybe if you can get there. But it certainly feels like Kansas City is not going to have any problem. It feels like there is a well oiled machine there, and the Ravens through winning but not winning last year atrophy, losing coaches trying to refigure out the offensive line, paying their quarterback $50 million it feels like the chiefs are a better team right now the morning after the game. And I felt that way the whole game Thursday night. It just felt like the ravens are still chasing them. And
Adam Teicher 03:00
that’s the key is right now. But the Ravens don’t other than last night, they don’t have to be better for the than the Chiefs for a few months now, again, assuming they see him again come January. It’s a one thing I’ve learned here. It’s a long season, and things can change over time. I just remember, even heading into the last couple games of the season last year, the chiefs just didn’t look like the chiefs, and their record wasn’t that good, and they were like, I think nine and six and and this team, there’s no way this team’s making a deep run in the playoffs, right? And look what happened. So don’t make too many conclusions off what happened last night. I think the ravens are going to be a double digit win team. I think they’re going to make the playoffs. I don’t know about winning the division, maybe, but I think they’ve got time to fix some of the problems that we saw last night. Look, Luke
Nestor Aparicio 03:51
and I’ve talked a lot about the offensive line and Derek Henry and the X heavy expectations, right? I only tell you you’re in Kansas City Adam, heavy expectations for what it is, and then your own one you sit around for a week and a half wait for the raiders and the Ravens have tough games. They got to go to Dallas next week, and week after next, they have they have buffalo coming in. They got Cincinnati me. They got big, hard games to try to figure out what this offensive line is and what they’re going to be. They have a new defensive coordinator. How did you feel about the chiefs, because, to your point, they didn’t look good until the last couple of games, the last year. The whole year you watched it all, all the drops and the all the things that went wrong for them last year that they became known for, until they had to, until Taylor Swift showed up and they won the title again. Watching them, what were your concerns off season? Obviously, the cornerback position and all that. But how do you think they came out of the game? How do you feel about the chief 60 minutes into this?
Adam Teicher 04:46
Well, the one thing that they their off season was about here was bringing the big play back to the passing game. They they they didn’t feel like they could make it work the way they wanted, grinding it out. And taking short gain after short gain after short gain and win consistently that way. So, you know, they drafted Xavier worthy, they signed Hollywood Brown. Those were two big they’re too big offseason additions. So, you know. And I think they got off to a pretty good start last night in getting those big plays. You know, I think what, five or six plays of 20 some yards or more? So, you know, I think they’re off to a good start. You can see some possibilities for that passing game now, defensively, a little bit hit and miss there, but I think that we expected that they had so many key guys who either didn’t practice at all or play in the preseason or practice little and played little in the precinct. So many key guys. Chris Jones was one of them, Nick Bolton was another, Justin Reed, so you sort of thought that the defense was going to be a work in progress. So I think that for just from what I saw last night, I think the chiefs are on track. Certainly, there’s some things to clean up, but they, they, I think the pieces are there.
Nestor Aparicio 06:05
I’m guessing spagnolo is the highest paid defense coordinator League. He’s not, he probably should be, or John to pay him more and bring him back here. Um, that the game plan. And John and Andy and you talk about, well, mahomes is better than Lamar. That’s fan talk. How about Andy out coaching John almost every time they get together, and spagnolos closeness with John and breeding that I’m gonna line Chris Jones up. I’m gonna figure out what that that big guard you got that’s too big to be a guard. We’re just, we’re gonna go after him, and we’re gonna move Chris pre pre snap, and he’s just going to attack. And to have a player like that, to have a weapon like that, boy that’s just right up spagnolos alley, to on every single play, find an Achilles heel. Yeah,
Adam Teicher 06:51
yeah. He’s He’s so good at taking his player’s strengths and his weak their weaknesses, and making something something good out of all of that. So absolutely, very creative mind. And, yeah, there’s no doubt. I mean, the chiefs have a solid coaching staff, and that’s one of the reasons they are what they are. You surprised Andy still doing this? Nope, not in the least, not in the least. Listen, you coach your whole career to get a quarterback like Patrick mahomes, and to have a team that’s given you a fistful of rings now and you with the possibility of more, and you’re going to walk away. What’s he going to do? I had some one of his assistant coaches, Dave Toad, told me one time, hey, he doesn’t hunt, he doesn’t fish, he didn’t play golf. This is what he does. He He’s a football coach, so I remember Andy Reid himself was telling some friends that I talked to. He’s more worried about himself outside of football than inside of football in terms of his health and taking care of himself. So I think there’s a lot of reasons for him to stay and so no, I think he’s going to be with the Chiefs for the foreseeable future. I, you know, health willing. I think he’s going to be around for a little while.
Nestor Aparicio 08:05
I got to know Dave tob a little bit when he was in Chicago back in the day. He was a friend of baldingers, and I just one of the guys I’ve met through my life’s travel. What an impressive man. And every single time, and this was, you know, we’re going back with 1718, years that he was there. How is he not a head coach yet? Yeah,
Adam Teicher 08:24
he, he sort of was in that mix there for a few years ago. He got an interview with the Chargers one year. I think that’s when Brandon Staley got the job. They clearly screwed up. I think, I think Dave tob would be an excellent head coach. He certainly, yeah, I think he would be fantastic head coach. Like to see him get the chance, but I think it’s passed him by at this point.
Nestor Aparicio 08:48
Most importantly, have you met Taylor Swift?
Adam Teicher 08:50
I have not. I
Nestor Aparicio 08:52
didn’t think it did.
Adam Teicher 08:54
I only saw her other than the shots that show on TV. I’ve seen her one time, and that was in your town. I saw her on the field after the AFC Championship game last year. I was down there after the game, and she was down there, and that’s the only time I’ve actually so now I know it’s not just some Hollywood thing. They’re they’re rigging some shot that she shows up on TV. She’s really at the Games. Well,
Nestor Aparicio 09:19
Adam Tigers here from ESPN. He covers all things chiefs. He’s the ultimate chiefs Insider. We could not get him on in front of the game because he’s too damn busy as a short week. It’s great to have you on after so from a that way the game played out, and the thoughts about the Ravens offensive line and where that would be. Lamar ran too much. Lamar got hit too much. All the stuff we’ve talked about here for five years, they got behind, and Lamar had to get in the phone booth, and almost, damn near did, made the big play down the sideline the Bateman, which is a heck of a play, but in neutralizing Lamar, what is it about the chiefs that create that sort of kryptonite for him? Because they clearly look at him as their. Biggest rival, they came in and took our lunch money and brought Taylor Swift with us eight months ago, right?
Adam Teicher 10:05
Yeah, I don’t have an answer for you there, other than it’s just what Steve Spagnola does. He’s so good, going from week to week and match up to match up, finding things that frustrate the opponents, that take away their strengths and and hammer away at their weaknesses. So, yeah, it was, it was, hey, you know you’re talking about the Ravens failing last night. I mean, they came this close to winning that game, or at least having a shot to to win it with the two point conversion. So, and that AFC Championship game last year. I mean, it wasn’t Lamar Jackson’s fault. It wasn’t John Harbaugh’s fault that. Well, Jerry Sneed punched the ball out of zay flowers hands as he’s going into the end zone. So, you know it, they’re right there. And you know, we’ve talked about this a lot out here, chiefs are just seem to be the team with the knack to make the play at the big time, at the right time. And it’s just, it’s an amazing phenomenon that more often than not, they’re that team. I mean, you feel like if the chiefs were in the same situation as last night, their guy would have found a way to get the toe down and score the touchdown. It’s just, it’s just, that’s just the things we’ve seen from them in the last few years.
Nestor Aparicio 11:21
We got the Raiders next week, and we got big games coming up here. Um, division wise, it it feels like things have calmed down a little bit in our division, where Pittsburgh feels like they’re going to struggle, Cleveland feels like they can’t get out of the wrong way. Part of this is being at a time where, you know, Raiders haven’t been so good charges of fame, like they might be okay, Broncos kind of stunk. I mean, it feels to me like the chiefs are settled into January, because nobody comes and gets them in their own division.
Adam Teicher 11:52
Yeah. You know, I think that’s one of the things that is been surprising to me about their run here, eight straight AFC West championships, is how their division just has not been able to figure out a way to field any kind of consistent challenge to them. That’s why
Nestor Aparicio 12:09
patriots had that too. There’s other jobs, frankly, and I
Adam Teicher 12:13
thought when the chiefs were getting started here, I thought, hey, this is not going to be as easy for the chiefs, because their division rivals aren’t going to bungle things like that, like the bills did for so many years, and the dolphins did for so many years, and the Jets did for so many years. But that’s a little bit about what we’re seeing here with these teams. I don’t know if they’ve been able to figure it out yet. We’ll see maybe the chargers, whoever Harbaugh and the Broncos under Sean Payton can figure it out, but, but right now, that’s been one of the real disappointing things, is how, how weak these challengers have been.
Nestor Aparicio 12:48
You have a celebrity coach division. I didn’t think about that. You start when you name them back to back. Adam titres in ESPN, please go follow him. His work on the chiefs. You know, I guess it’s barbecue, not crab cakes, if there’s a tie breaker, and that really is the biggest thing out of all of this, and losing the game, yeah, it sucks to lose and all that. But when you start to match it up at the end of the year, and I mentioned your weak division, I just feel like it’s going to have to be in Kansas City this year, based on what I saw on Thursday night. If
Adam Teicher 13:15
the choice is barbecue or crab cakes, how can you lose? Right? Either way, there
Nestor Aparicio 13:20
are no losers in that. At least we don’t have to go to Pittsburgh or some godforsaken place like Cleveland, Adam, take care of yourself. We got a long season. I’ll tell you to do with Luke. Ice up, rest stop. We got 16 more and playoffs to go. And I always appreciate you. Well, you making time. And it was even better having you on in the aftermath. We had more to talk about. I talked about eight months about not knowing now we finally got, you know, some some game film, which is happy watching on Sunday, we get an afternoon
Adam Teicher 13:45
off. No doubt, no doubt, it’s a beautiful thing. Appreciate you.
Nestor Aparicio 13:49
Adam Tiger, ESPN, t, e, i, C, H, E, R, make sure you go check him out. He’s out on all of the socials, if you want to keep up with Taylor and Travis and Patrick and all the royalty out there in Kansas City. I’m Nestor. We are wnst. Am 1570 Towson, Baltimore, the oyster tour underway. I’m getting full up. I might need some beer to go with those oysters. Stay with us.
