Chiefs News 6/19: Justin Reid ‘glad’ Ravens stopped running vs. Chiefs

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Justin Reid ‘glad’ Ravens stopped running the ball in AFC Championship | The Sporting News

In the Ravens’ 17-10 loss to the Chiefs, they only gave six combined carries to their running backs. Lamar Jackson also ran the ball eight times while Zay Flowers ran it twice. In total, the Ravens gained 81 yards on 16 carries, as the Chiefs stifled their offense.

Chiefs safety Justin Reid doesn’t understand why the Ravens went away from the run, either, but he’s not mad about it.

While speaking on “The Green Light” podcast with Chris Long, Reid was asked if he knew “why” the Ravens abandoned the run.

“You know what, I’m not exactly sure why they abandoned it, but I’m glad that they did,” Reid said.

Reid said that while the Chiefs knew Jackson is a “dynamic passer,” their game plan was to stop the run.

“That team is brute and brawn and is blue-collar and is going to run the ball down your throat,” Reid said of the Ravens. “We knew if you don’t stop the run, they’re not going to stop running it. So, the emphasis was to stop the run and we wanted to make a statement there that we could both match and exceed that physicality and try to change the dynamics of the game. Try to make them change what they’re doing and try to make them find a different way to beat us than running the ball.”

Magic 8 Ball predictions for the 2024 Kansas City Chiefs | Yardbarker

Will the Chiefs become the first team to three-peat as champions in the Super Bowl era?

Magic 8 Ball says: Signs point to yes

Accomplishing this feat will be difficult. The Chiefs face fierce competition in the AFC, including the Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills and Houston Texans. Still, Kansas City may be up to the task. Last season, it became the first team since the 2004 New England Patriots to repeat as champions.

This offseason, the Chiefs kept important pieces, re-signing first-team All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones, linebacker Drue Tranquill and Super Bowl hero wide receiver Mecole Hardman. They also added WR Marquise Brown (one-year, $7M deal) in free agency.

Jones thinks the moves will pay dividends. At the Chiefs’ Super Bowl LVIII ring ceremony, he told The Athletic, “I still think we can be better than we were last year.”

Is the receiving corps better?

Magic 8 Ball says: Most likely

Chiefs pass-catchers floundered last season, as K.C. led the league in drops (44) and finished second to last in average target depth (6.2 yards), per Pro Football Reference. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes could only do so much with the inconsistent wideouts. In 16 games, he tossed 27 passing touchdowns, his lowest mark since 2019.

K.C. prioritized upgrading its receiving corps in the draft and free agency. Along with signing former first-rounder Brown, the Chiefs selected Texas WR Xavier Worthy with the 28th overall pick of the draft.

Worthy broke the 40-yard-dash record (4.21 seconds) at the NFL Scouting Combine in February. His game is about more than speed, though. In three seasons with the Longhorns, the 21-year-old wideout recorded 197 receptions for 2,755 yards and 26 TD catches, the third most in program history.

“The Chiefs haven’t had a speedster with high-end receiving ability since trading Tyreek Hill to the Dolphins two years ago,” wrote Pro Football Focus’ Jim Wyman and Dalton Wasserman. “With Worthy, that element should be firmly reestablished in this offense.”

Chiefs gave Super Bowl rings to more than just players | Kansas City Star

A year ago, the Chiefs gave out roughly 700 Super Bowl LVII rings or pendants to people in the organization. That’s way more than the 53 players on the roster, the 16 on the practice squad and the entire coaching staff.

And it appears the Chiefs repeated that mass distribution of rings, beginning with last week’s ceremony at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.

You likely have seen photos of the Chiefs players getting their Super Bowl LVIII rings and acting like little kids on Christmas morning. Here are some of the people with the Chiefs organization that shared photos of their beautiful rings.

Elyse Ricigliano

A sales and marketing producer for the Chiefs, showed off her rings and a friendship bracelet.

Anthony McGee

A pro scout for the Chiefs, McGee displayed his collection of rings.

Travis Hogan

Hogan is the Chiefs’ head groundskeeper and he now has three Super Bowl rings.

Why the Miami Heat boss has keen rooting interest in KC Chiefs’ quest for 3-peat | Kansas City Star

Nobody outside of the Chiefs and their fan base have a bigger rooting interest in a third straight Super Bowl championship than Miami Heat president and former coach Pat Riley.

Why Riley? Is there a Kansas City connection? Is he a friend of Chiefs coach Andy Reid? A Patrick Mahomes enthusiast, perhaps?

Riley’s interest is strictly business. He owns the trademarks to various versions of the term “three-peat.”

The Chiefs, presented their Super Bowl LVIII championship rings last Thursday, are bidding this season to become the first team to win a third straight Super Bowl. That would be a three-peat. Or 3-peat.

Riley has owned both terms since 1988.

The Chiefs are well aware of the deal. “We’re going to have to figure that out,” said Chiefs president Mark Donovan. “Our big question would be, do you just pay the licensing fee? Do a deal, incorporate him into what we would do?

Donovan said the Chiefs, if they walk off the field in New Orleans next February as Super Bowl LIX champions, could come up with their own description for winning three straight. The Chiefs’ “Nobility Trilogy”? Or “KC-3”? That’s just to get the ball rolling.

Other teams have attempted to find workarounds with Riley. In 2005, when USC was bidding for a third straight college football national championship, Trojans coach Pete Carroll tried to sell “Three-Pete” T-shirts. Sales were discontinued when Carroll was warned that he was infringing on the Riley-owned trademark.

Frank White laments border war as Kansas, Missouri battle for Chiefs, Royals | KSHB.com

“The state of Kansas is considering using STAR bonds at unprecedented levels to attract our teams across the state line, despite the historic 2019 agreement to end the economic border war between Missouri and Kansas,” White wrote Tuesday.

In August 2019, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly signed an executive order, two months after Missouri Gov. Mike Parson signed a bill passed out of the Missouri General Assembly that called off the conflict.

Despite Gov. Kelly’s executive order, Kansas legislators never formally passed any legislation.

However, at an April 2022 event with reporters, Kelly said the truce didn’t include the Chiefs.

“When I signed the border war truce with Missouri, it didn’t include the Chiefs,” Kelly said at the event.

While the definitions of the details of the border war truce appear to differ, White said Tuesday his office “remains open to conversations with the Royals, Chiefs, lawmakers, and other stakeholders.” However, White reiterated any proposal would need to “be a complete and transparent plan that offers tangible benefits to our taxpayers.”

Around the NFL

David Bakhtiari says he wants to play in NFL a couple more years | ESPN.com

Bakhtiari, who was released by the Green Bay Packers after 11 seasons in March, said in an interview on “The Adam Schefter Podcast” that he’s “really happy” with the progress from his latest surgery, a major procedure that took place in November — so much so that he hopes to play another couple of years.

“A lot of other people wanted me to just kind of grit through it, but no one experiences what you truly experience,” Bakhtiari said of his decision to have the fifth surgery in November. “Look, I’ve been gritting through it for three years. I’m in constant pain. I’m so happy now to be on the other side of it and get the actual surgery that I needed because my knee was not in a good place.”

Bakhtiari’s knee troubles began when he tore his ACL on Dec. 31, 2020. In the past three seasons, he played in only 13 of a possible 51 regular-season games.

He said that the surgery “had a lot of big question marks” going into it but that he feels “really good” now and credited his surgeon, Brian Cole, for doing a “phenomenal job.”

“My goal right now is just to make sure that I not only fully recover but I can withstand and play the game that I want to play but also play and be there for a team no matter what,” Bakhtiari said. “I’m not a reliever guy, I am your cornerstone guy. Someone that’s not only going to play in September but in December and into February and obviously hopefully for another couple of years.”

Austin Ekeler explains leaving Chargers: ‘They want a guy they can hand the ball off to 300 times a year’ | NFL.com

Speaking recently on the Up & Adams Show, Ekeler harbored no ill will toward his previous organization and stated matter-of-factly that the new brass was looking for something different than what he brought to the table.

“I think you can kind of see how they’ve been building the team so far this offseason,” Ekeler said. “Went out and drafted a tackle first round, brought in some bigger backs over from Baltimore. So it’s like, hey, they want a guy they can hand the ball off to 300 times a year and, look, I haven’t had that capacity to do that. That’s not my game. That’s not how Austin Ekeler’s gonna be the best on the field. So there was the misalignment there, which, no harm, no foul, I’m going to go find somewhere else where Austin can be the best version of myself out there.”

Under Jim Harbaugh, the Chargers certainly seem like a club that wants a power element to the run game, hence the Edwards addition. However, we’ll likely see a committee approach — especially if Dobbins proves healthy — and not a 300-carry season from anyone in the Chargers’ backfield.

Calais Campbell sees ‘really good opportunity’ to win Super Bowl with Dolphins | NFL.com

Calais Campbell said he had two good reasons to run it back for a 17th NFL season.

First, Campbell thinks his new team can win a Super Bowl. Second, Campbell still believes he can play at a high level.

Campbell signed with the Miami Dolphins last week, putting off the idea of retirement another year. He told local media on Tuesday that he believes that joining the Dolphins offered him a terrific chance to win his first Super Bowl title.

“I mean, that’s a big reason why I signed here because I feel like there’s a really good opportunity here,” Campbell said. “Very talented team all over the field, both offense and defense. When you go through the roster, you see so many people that I feel like if we can play together and really build that team chemistry you need, we’ll be a force to be reckoned with.

In case you missed it on Arrowhead Pride

Patrick Mahomes ‘excited’ to build chemistry with new wideout Hollywood Brown

On paper, the pairing makes plenty of sense. Mahomes’ well-known penchant for deep throws aligns well with Brown’s downfield speed and playmaking ability. All that remains is for them to build chemistry together.

“As a coach, you look for the communication part,” head coach Andy Reid said of the bond Mahomes is building with his new target. “Are they willing to share what they’re thinking with one another? [Mahomes and Brown] have a good connection with that part of it; they’re talking. Once Patrick knows what Hollywood’s thinking — and Hollywood kind of knows where Patrick physically can get the ball to — then that’s a good thing.”

Mahomes believes Brown is quickly picking up the offense — and that when he’s in the mix, Kelce and second-year wideout Rashee Rice will benefit.

“Obviously you see the ability,” noted the quarterback. “Honestly, I don’t know how he’s in our place because of how talented he is. I can just see it’s going to be a great season for him.

“It [will take] pressure off other guys; I think he’ll help get Trav open and help get Rashee open. It’s going to help all these guys because he’s a speed threat that can run routes and do all those different things. I’m very excited to get him out there in the regular season.”

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