NFL 2016/2017

[fletcher21]

That punt returner is FAST.

Kelce better watch himself after mocking king after that td dance. I could see Oakland cheap shotting him.

[XXXIV]

That punt returner is FAST.

Kelce better watch himself after mocking king after that td dance. I could see Oakland cheap shotting him.

Sounds like you want to.

[fletcher21]

That punt returner is FAST.

Kelce better watch himself after mocking king after that td dance. I could see Oakland cheap shotting him.

Sounds like you want to.

Huh? I just noticed king didn't seem too happy to see kelce showing him up like that. This is a man's game.

[XXXIV]

That punt returner is FAST.

Kelce better watch himself after mocking king after that td dance. I could see Oakland cheap shotting him.

Sounds like you want to.

Huh? I just noticed king didn't seem too happy to see kelce showing him up like that. This is a man's game.

I meant that it sounds like you want to be the one to cheap shot him.

Im cool with that big guy.

[fletcher21]

Naw. Only nfl player I don't like is Richard Sherman. Kelce is solid. Now Oakland is making a game of it. It looked like a blowout which would have been the perfect place for someone to cheap shot him if the game was over.

Go raaaaiiiidddaaasss!!

[TCrouch]

Man the offense was really bad all night. Chiefs had their way with them. When the Raiders got 3 points from 2 turnovers, that's a bad omen. Carr had a bad day for sure and there goes his MVP campaign.

[dbdynsty25]

And just like that an MVP season goes up in smoke. I hope he really is injured cuz that was sad.

[XXXIV]

Some credit to Alex smith and the Chiefs?

Nah that would be real.

[pk500]

I'm more assured than ever after tonight that Derek Carr won't win an outdoor road playoff game this season in cold weather. He was terrible tonight and looked out of sorts due to the chill. I know he had a damaged pinky and his receivers dropped a lot of balls (because of the cold), but he threw the ball fine last week against Buffalo after the pinky injury -- in temps probably 40 degrees warmer.

Let's add a 49.1 rating from tonight to Carr's previous QB ratings in cold-weather games during December in his career:

2015: QB rating of 77 and 79
2014: QB rating of 64 and 59

Carr's average QB rating is 65.6 in five cold-weather road games in December during his NFL career. This isn't an anomaly; it's a trend. Carr -- who I really like as a player and seems like a fine guy -- is lousy in the cold. He's a California kid who played in high school, college and in the pros in California, and it shows.

[dbdynsty25]

Brady, Rogers and Rothlisberger are about it when it comes to good cold weather qbs. Not exactly a revelation to find a young qb who struggles. Just so happens those previously mentioned three are hall of famers.

[TCrouch]

Some credit to Alex smith and the Chiefs?

Nah that would be real.

Alex Smith gets credit in the first half, for sure.

But with receivers dropping balls left and right (absolutely because of the cold), it was mostly on the Raiders offense just being completely frozen and flat. The defense unusually gifted them turnovers to get them into the game, and the offense could do nothing right. Even the deep ball to Amari is normally an easy completion, but Carr was missing high, low, wide, short, long, you name it. He was just in the midst of the worst game of his career.

The thing that troubled me was him seemingly feeling pressure that wasn't there, which he hasn't done this year at all...except against KC. For all the stuff he says that the team isn't in his head, it sure looks like it.

All of the great feelings of this season are gone in the span of 3 hours. Now, they're back where I THOUGHT they'd be to start the year....possibly get into the playoffs, maybe win a game, but mostly a "growth" year. I still think they're a couple of pieces away from being a really scary team, but for about a month there I was beginning to wonder "why not them this year?".

That was why.

[fletcher21]

Terry, does Oakland win that game if their star offensive tackle was playing? Collinsworth kept saying how if he was in the game Oakland would be running it down kc throat. Was that the big difference to you?

[TCrouch]

It was a massive blow, but both teams are beat up. I'm not sure they do, but maybe Carr wouldn't have been so skittish back there. When you have a 7th-round rookie playing in place of an almost-certain-All-Pro in 2016, it's a confidence hit.

When you get pressure straight up the gut when a rookie DT shoves that rookie tackle (not even a guard normally) aside and hits you on your first throw, it probably throws a hitch in your giddyup.

But bottom line--Kansas City is a better team. They're better equipped for the conditions, and they let their hate of the Raiders fuel them on game day. Oakland had some pretty crappy things to say about the Chiefs after they beat them in Oakland, and they very clearly took it to heart and absolutely dominated them in the first half, doing exactly what the Raiders and coaches said they were incapable of doing.

It just sucks that both KC games had outside things affect the game, but that is the NFL. Sh*t happens, and you sack up and push through it. The Raiders have been great at it all year, but if you win the turnover battle 3 to 0 and run for 130 yards, you shouldn't be in danger of losing. They lost that game because of Carr, which is OK because they won far more this season because of him.

Osemele was a big hit, but not having half of your offense (not being able to run short yardage from a traditional formation) is rough, and the shotgun takes away any good play action, so even if they're running on the ground, KC didn't care. They could stay back, wait to see a back come through, and then tackle. The Raider receivers had trouble separating, Carr had trouble with accuracy, and the Chiefs pass rush was making Carr see ghosts.

In Oakland, in fair weather, I don't think KC's defense could keep them contained like that. But it wasn't in Oakland (and when it was, it was a monsoon), and it is one of those "they're a finesse team, we're a smashmouth team" comparisons. They didn't say it, of course, but you could tell it. KC is built for the conditions better, and something about Carr was not right in that game. The only thing that makes sense is PK's explanation of the cold. Because his finger was hurt for 2 games and he was fine. I've NEVER seen inaccuracy like I saw last night out of Carr. It was Jamarcus Russell-era bad.

They'll rebound and play well down the stretch, because they're in San Diego and then in Oakland before heading to frigid Denver. But they'll struggle in the playoffs (just like Paul said). I didn't want to believe it, but I can't ignore the eyeball test.

[Aristo]

Had an absolute blast last night. The second half was rough, watching Andy Reid turtle with an eight point lead. But those two Alex Smith turnovers to start the second half forced the chiefs to play field position and trust their defense. With Derrick Johnson going out, they struggled to stop the run, but knew that the Raiders were never going to pass on them consistently. The Chiefs were darn close on a few turnovers.

The Raiders scored on time in the entire game on an actual drive, and that was when DJ went out and his replacement didn't measure up. But they had a half to adjust.

I think in better weather the Chiefs still win, because they don't turn the ball over three times, and their offense, with Maclin back, is damn good right now. But the cold made both teams one dimensional.

And really, the Raiders and Chiefs are just tied with three games to go. The Raider aren't done, by any means. And while the Chiefs are in the drivers seat of the AFC West, they are fully capable of crashing this bus. The Titans and Broncos at arrowhead are still going to be tough games. And San Diego on the road isn't a gimme, either.

But it was football. I loved it! We had Raider fans in front and back of us. It was good natured ribbing all night. It was fun as hell.

[Danimal]

We had Raider fans in front and back of us. It was good natured robbing all night. It was fun as hell.

Sounds like Raider fans.

[Aristo]

We had Raider fans in front and back of us. It was good natured robbing all night. It was fun as hell.

Sounds like Raider fans.

My friend asked the guy in front of us if he was a criminal, since he heard all Raider fans are criminals.

The guy behind me was in all white. I told him he looked like creepy Al Davis, and goes, "That's what I was going for! Just win, baby!"

[vader29]

So which one was you Aristo?

[dbdynsty25]

My bet is either the chick that got tossed in the beginning or the old dude in the leather jacket who got in a few punches from higher ground...but then got his ass tossed down a few rows. LOL.

NEVER give up the higher ground in a stadium fight. People just don't learn.

[pk500]

My bet is either the chick that got tossed in the beginning or the old dude in the leather jacket who got in a few punches from higher ground...but then got his ass tossed down a few rows. LOL.

NEVER give up the higher ground in a stadium fight. People just don't learn.

Nothing but wide, looping roundhouse rights. Pretty easy to avoid with a smidge of technique, although footwork is tough in a grandstand.

Here's how it's done properly:



One step back and arch back to slip idiot's looping right, counter immediately with compact uppercut. Lights out.

A fella named Tyson threw a pretty destructive counter after a slip in his day, too:

[Aristo]

Man, we sat in the warm car in the parking lot looking up tickets on SeatGeek and Stubhub waiting for Lower Level tickets to drop in price. There was no way I was doing the Upper Level. And yeah, with the cold and people wimping out, there was too much room up there. Made it way too easy to fight.

I'm on the left. This was my First Down Sealed The Win Selfie.

[Aristo]

[TCrouch]

lol gloating after a win is so fun!

I will say this: just about everything that COULD go wrong for the Raiders offense DID go wrong in that game, and it still came down to the wire. So I don't know about the whole "owned" concept, but Chiefs fans are definitely deserving of their gloating this morning. The Chiefs handled them, enough to win. It would have been a little more impressive if the Raiders receivers didn't drop ten passes or act like they'd never seen a cold day before. There was a lot more of that and Carr spraying inaccurate balls than the Chiefs just dominating the Raiders.

They concocted a perfect gameplan, though, and in the first half Alex Smith was lights-out. After he threw his pick and got strip-sacked by Mack, though, he was a shell the rest of the way. I'd have been upset as a Chiefs fan watching that offense just sleepwalk through the second half and play it safe constantly. They got big plays any time they wanted them...why go so conservative and let up? Any other day of the year (any higher temperature, really), a good team would make them pay. But Oakland couldn't, so keep the gloating coming! It's earned.

[pk500]

The Chiefs are the Team De Jour in the AFC. But something tells me Hoodie and Brady will have the last laugh during conference championship weekend.

That said, I would love to see either Oakland or KC in the Super Bowl against Dallas. Old school! Where are Daryle Lamonica, Len Dawson and Roger Staubach when we need them?

[Aristo]

They concocted a perfect gameplan, though, and in the first half Alex Smith was lights-out. After he threw his pick and got strip-sacked by Mack, though, he was a shell the rest of the way. I'd have been upset as a Chiefs fan watching that offense just sleepwalk through the second half and play it safe constantly. They got big plays any time they wanted them...why go so conservative and let up? Any other day of the year (any higher temperature, really), a good team would make them pay. But Oakland couldn't, so keep the gloating coming! It's earned.

The shell was because 6 of Oakland's 13 points came via turnovers in which the Chiefs gave possession in FG range. The lone drive came when Derrick Johnson went out and the team was unprepared to account for his back-up. we were all groaning about wanting the chiefs to just get one more FG, but it was pretty clear that as long as the chiefs didn't gift Oakland field position, they were going to win.

So frustrated? Sure. Upset? Hell no. It was a reasonable strategy. This is the NFL. Style points earn you nothing.

And that had more to do with the last eight games than just this last one. Andy Reid is 7-1 against the Raiders since he came to KC. The Chiefs have outscore the Raiders 235-135 over those eight games. So an average score of 29-17 over 4 seasons.

But yeah, it was probably just the weather.

And seriously, I really like the Raiders team this season.

[TCrouch]

Probably had to do with the Raiders being the worst team in the league over the past decade, too. Jeff Fisher beat them 51-0 or something. It's not that great an accomplishment in past years. The sweep this year is, though.