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Chiefs Insider Joshua Brisco checks in
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00:00Sports Daily on KFH.
00:04And now, digging deeper with the teams you follow,
00:07it's another Sports Daily Insider interview on KFH.
00:13And that insider, our Chiefs insider, Joshua Briscoe.
00:17You hear him each and every week.
00:19We're on the Chiefs Radio Network, on our Odyssey family of networks.
00:24You can find him at JB Briscoe on X.
00:28You know, we talked last week, and, you know,
00:30it was kind of we start with that panic meter,
00:32and I think Josh just said not now, but maybe if they lose to Denver.
00:38They had no business losing that game.
00:41None whatsoever.
00:43That's an all-timer, I think, for poor decision-making leading to a loss.
00:51I think most of it's on Andy Reid's shoulders, I'll be honest.
00:54Like, there are a lot of things they could have done different to not blow that.
00:57But here we are.
00:59They blow it.
01:00Is it a panic moment, or is it just a moment of frustration, I think, at this point?
01:04I, on one of my podcasts, Everything Else with Joshua Briscoe,
01:09why not give you a plug right at the top?
01:11I had a commenter afterwards say that he was listening to another podcast
01:14that was just going through absolute rage, like absolute disgust and fury.
01:19And I went ahead, I usually record that show on Monday morning,
01:21and I went ahead and just did it when I got home on Sunday night.
01:24I'm still in radio mode.
01:25I got some feelings to get him out of here.
01:27And one of the commenters said that they went from listening to this other podcast
01:30going through rage to me sounding like a disappointed parent.
01:33And I think that that's still where I am here on a Tuesday.
01:37I am, I can't say I'm not mad.
01:39I'm just disappointed.
01:40I'm a little mad that you lost to Bo Nix when you had an 11-point lead over him
01:44in the fourth quarter.
01:45I wasn't mad about the Seahawks' loss to what you were just sort of inferring.
01:49We understood what happened there.
01:51Injuries at both tackle positions, you're without your top two receivers.
01:54It's just against a great defense, a bad matchup in Seattle.
01:58That'll happen.
01:59Not to the Bears, but it'll happen, you know.
02:01So that one I could move on from.
02:03You had the AFC West in your hands, not clinching it,
02:07but the reins of the division were yours for the rest of the season until you let go.
02:13And they let go in the fourth quarter of that game.
02:16We can go through however many of the specifics you want,
02:18but I can't disagree and tell you that Andy Reid managed that fourth quarter well.
02:22I don't think he's arguing that he managed that fourth quarter well.
02:25And I tell you, offense, defense, and special teams,
02:28every part of the team had a chance to step up and stop the bleeding,
02:31and nobody did.
02:34Yeah, Josh, there's a lot of head scratchers there.
02:38I mean, the biggest one that we've been talking about
02:40is obviously the decision to kick that field goal
02:42and put Harrison Bucker in that spot.
02:46What did you think about that,
02:47and what did you think about the explanation for go-treat after?
02:50I loved it.
02:52No, it was awful.
02:54It stunk.
02:55Here's the part of it that's frustrating.
02:58I got to keep you guys on your toes.
02:59I'm sorry.
02:59It's been a long week, and it is 9.20 a.m. on Tuesday,
03:03so I don't know what week I'm talking about.
03:05It's just been a long couple days.
03:07No, here's where I am, like, really left scratching my head at that.
03:13I do like the analytics, generally speaking.
03:16I want to know the information.
03:17I want to know the numbers,
03:18but I also think it's fair and important to note
03:21that football and baseball are very different things.
03:24Baseball, you do get 162 games.
03:27Everybody gets four at-bats a game, more or less.
03:29You have these one-on-one matchups.
03:31You have so many chances to build up all the data
03:34and that you can then really game that out
03:37in a way that benefits your team in big moments.
03:39However, football is a much smaller sample-sized sport,
03:43so whenever Andy Reid in years past
03:45has made a fourth-down decision
03:46that I've personally disagreed with,
03:48and he said, well, I go with my gut in that moment.
03:51We've got stats guys upstairs.
03:52I know the numbers, but I go with my gut
03:54in terms of these players, the opponent,
03:57the weather conditions, all of these other factors
04:00that I'm trying to add to the calculation in the moment.
04:03I understand that.
04:04I think there's also total value to being able to do that.
04:08Here's where I'm lost on this kick in particular.
04:11From NFL Next Gen Stats, their win percentage rankings
04:14of the decisions you could make in that moment
04:16to punt, to go for, or to kick the field goal
04:18were ranked in that order.
04:20The highest win percent chance was to punt it.
04:22The second highest win percent chance was to go for it.
04:24And the worst win percent chance was to trot your kicker out there
04:27for a 54-yard field goal that could give the Broncos
04:29great field position, and it is not an automatic
04:32that Harrison Butker's making these kicks.
04:34The gut decision, I think we could all agree,
04:37also had the field goal third out of those three options
04:39because why would, who truly believed
04:42when Harrison Butker went out there for a 54-yard field goal
04:45in the rain when they got to have it in Denver,
04:48who really thought that kick was going in?
04:50And yesterday, Andy talks about the kick was going to be blocked
04:54if it was going to be kicked up the middle anyway.
04:56And I would say if that is the case,
04:58then first of all, you don't need Justin Tucker.
05:00It wasn't Harrison, but Chris Valt.
05:01And then secondly, can you block a field goal?
05:04Like, can you, you've had so many issues on special teams
05:07and Dave Tobe says last week, he's not a kicking guy.
05:10What is your special teams unit good at right now
05:13other than having Emmitt Johnson once in a blue moon?
05:16So that to me is why that decision is so flabbergasting.
05:21The numbers say, do not kick this football.
05:23The gut decision says, do not kick this football.
05:26And then Harrison Butker misses
05:27and none of us are surprised at all.
05:28Again, it wasn't literally the end of the game.
05:30The defense and the offense both had chances
05:33to win it after that moment,
05:34but that felt like an outrageous vibe shift
05:37for something that we all knew was coming.
05:39I think to Joshua Briscoe joining us, our Chiefs insider,
05:43it's also like, what's the best thing that could happen?
05:46You go up six?
05:48You go up six points.
05:49They have to use all four downs to go get a touchdown
05:51to take the lead.
05:52They can't even play for the tie anymore.
05:54Yeah, I mean, it's like, but that's to me,
05:57that's still not a good enough alternative.
06:00No.
06:00Like, if you're, you know, if you're in a tie game
06:03and it's a 45-yard field goal.
06:06Sure.
06:07Okay, fine.
06:07If you're down two, but to go up six
06:10with that much time left,
06:11and here's the elephant in the room right now.
06:15To me, for the Chiefs, the biggest long-term concern
06:18by far, because I thought the offense was fine.
06:21The passing game was fine.
06:22I thought the run game was fine.
06:25Denver did a nice job,
06:26but it wasn't like they couldn't run the ball.
06:28It's the defense.
06:30And the problem with Butker missing that field goal
06:33is you're putting an already vulnerable defense.
06:35Look at what Seattle did against Chicago.
06:39Look at what Seattle did against the Chiefs.
06:41Look at what Denver's done against everybody
06:44in some of the most awful quarterback play we've ever seen,
06:47and look at what they did to the Chiefs.
06:49The Chiefs have no pass rush.
06:51It feels like they don't have much of a chance.
06:54Right now, anyway, you're putting them in a bad position.
06:58I don't know if Andy Reid will switch to the point
07:01where he says, it's late in a game.
07:04It's third and five or less.
07:06We are going to run the ball two times.
07:09Make them stop it twice.
07:11You don't think you can pick up five yards and two rushes
07:13with Ken Walker and that offensive line,
07:15assuming Kingsley plays.
07:17But that's, to me, everything is in your favor
07:22when you do that.
07:23If you don't pick it up, guess what?
07:25It's the same thing as missing a field goal,
07:28and what are your chances?
07:30Like, analytics to hell, what are the chances
07:33you pick up five yards running the ball two times
07:35with this line and that running back
07:36versus making a 54-yard kick in perfect conditions,
07:40let alone the elements?
07:41Like, it's not even close.
07:43And your defense potentially doesn't have to get back
07:45on the field.
07:46Even stepping away from that, we should talk about the defense
07:49because I think that is still very important
07:51to all of this.
07:51But, yeah, I so rarely point the finger at Patrick Mahomes
07:56because he very rarely deserves it in the grand scheme
07:58of who's costing you moments in this game.
08:00But I'm taking the sack there.
08:01I'm assuming he wanted to keep the clock running.
08:03The Broncos had all their timeouts in the two-minute warning.
08:05I don't think he saw him.
08:07And that's possible, too.
08:09I think he got blindsided on that.
08:11It's a terrible sack to take,
08:12and that happens to Mahomes so, so rarely.
08:15That's been one of his best traits,
08:17is we got to talk about how good Khalil Benson was for a while
08:19because Patrick Mahomes is really good at making his linemen right
08:23when he has the opportunity.
08:24That sack is awful.
08:26And if you run the ball twice in that scenario,
08:28you have two opportunities for Kenneth Walker to pick up two yards.
08:33That's, again, the numbers would say go that way.
08:37Your gut would say go that way.
08:39You end up having a similar issue at the goal line
08:42as time ticks away.
08:44I mean, there are lots of good reasons that, as you said,
08:47this is kind of one of one of, like, one of the most frustrating losses
08:51that I can remember in this Chiefs era.
08:53You know, Josh, going back to we mentioned Emmitt Johnson,
08:57and it turns out maybe the Chiefs don't need a wide receiver
09:00in the free agency.
09:01Just throw it to Emmitt Johnson a little bit more in the backfield.
09:05To me, I think they need to get him a little bit more involved.
09:08He's been pretty explosive,
09:09and I think an opportunity to provide a little bit of relief
09:13and just kind of a change-up for Kenneth Walker,
09:15kind of like in Seattle with Charbonnet
09:17and the way they were able to do that.
09:19How do you see that in the future?
09:22Do you see more Emmitt Johnson
09:24and maybe utilizing him just a little bit more,
09:26if anything, just kind of mix it up a little bit
09:28and keep defense guessing just a little,
09:30or the opposing defense guessing a little bit more?
09:32I spent about three weeks talking and writing
09:35about how the Emmitt Johnson breakout game was coming,
09:37and then I stopped for Seattle,
09:39and I didn't bring it up again for Denver,
09:40and then it happens, and it's like, okay,
09:42so we've seen him be explosive.
09:44We've seen him be that guy.
09:45I do also still think that it was, you know,
09:48he led the team in receiving
09:49and had one carry for 15 yards.
09:52It's a borderline McCole-Hardman stat line,
09:55like not that they're similar as players
09:56or how they got used,
09:57but if you didn't know the name on the stat line,
10:00you would not assume that was a running back.
10:01You would assume that was a designed run
10:02for a receiver to pick up 15 yards
10:04and then a bunch of incredible plays through the air.
10:07I think you will continue to see Emmitt Johnson
10:10in the role that he was in in Denver.
10:13I think he's proven so far,
10:15and I don't think he's had any real suffering
10:17in pass protecting on third down,
10:19so I think that we've seen enough
10:20that he's your third down back
10:21and a guy that can spell Kenneth Walker
10:23in those situations.
10:25I also still think that when the Chiefs turn around
10:27and hand the ball off,
10:28I think it's going to be Kenneth Walker
10:29the vast, vast, vast majority of the time,
10:31and fair enough.
10:32Like, I want him to have a measured workload
10:35so you're still getting the best out of him in January,
10:37but I thought there were a couple of games
10:39before this one that that could have been a time
10:41to let Emmitt Johnson get a little more work
10:43on the ground.
10:43They haven't really given that to him,
10:45so right now, if he's a guy that can make you pay
10:47through the air in third down scenarios,
10:50that's more than I think you could have even asked
10:53from him as a rookie,
10:54as a day three draft pick at the time,
10:57so I'm super encouraged by that performance from him.
11:01I think the juice, the playmaking ability
11:03that he has is very, very real.
11:05I also would bet that Kenneth Walker
11:07is going to have something like 21 of every 22 carries,
11:11if not quite that level,
11:13two or three a game for Emmitt Johnson's problem.
11:15I wouldn't be starting him in fantasy,
11:16but I am very glad that he's a part
11:18of the Chiefs group of offensive weaponry
11:20because they need more offensive weapons.
11:22That much is clear.
11:23Yeah, well, and that brings us to
11:25next week's trade deadline,
11:26one week from today, I believe.
11:29We talked a lot last week about wide receiver.
11:32I kind of subscribe, though, to when Rice is there
11:35and it's Rice, Kelsey, and these two running backs
11:40and Worthy as a, you know, further down the totem pole.
11:43I actually kind of think it's fine.
11:44I think the pass game looked good
11:45against a good pass defense.
11:47I have now shifted and am far more concerned with,
11:50especially after we watched
11:51Jeffrey Simmons impact last night.
11:53Yeah, God.
11:53Chris Jones is older, period.
11:59If this, you know, I think we're seeing
12:01more than ever before what that,
12:04what his impact has been for them forever
12:06because as he's kind of struggled,
12:08it's like they have nothing.
12:10It was one of the worst pressure games
12:13we've ever seen.
12:15They, they, they pressured,
12:17what is it, 6% of the snaps?
12:18They put pressure on Bo Nix.
12:19I think Bo Nix was pressured on two dropbacks
12:21is what I saw.
12:22Where it was 50% in the first game.
12:24So, okay.
12:26That to me is, they'll be fine at wide receiver.
12:29If you're going to go make a splash,
12:31I mean, I don't know how many more resources
12:33they can put into that position.
12:35They've drafted a billion guys.
12:37They signed Frank Clark to way too big a deal
12:40back in the day.
12:41Like, what do they do?
12:43But if I'm making a trade,
12:44if I'm making a splash trade,
12:45I think I have to refocus there.
12:47I just don't know if they'll be able to do it.
12:48Right.
12:49That's the thing is,
12:50is who is out there that could be on the move
12:52that you can reasonably make that sort of acquisition for
12:56that will lift things enough.
12:58I will say,
12:58I really like your angle there on the Chris Jones
13:01part of all of this,
13:02because I,
13:03I still really roll my eyes as people take this opportunity
13:07to go, see,
13:08I told you Chris Jones was never that good.
13:09It's like, well,
13:10no, that's not what we're seeing here.
13:11He's one of the three most important players
13:14of this dynasty.
13:16But as he has taken a step into the guy
13:20that gets double teamed and doesn't beat double teams
13:22and the guy who is in an automatic
13:24in one-on-one situations,
13:25as he used to be,
13:26you do see what an unbelievable load bearing pillar
13:29he was for that defense.
13:32And without that,
13:32that level of performance from him,
13:34it just kind of falls apart.
13:35George Karloff,
13:36this is a okay.
13:37Number two,
13:38he's a great number three on your defensive line.
13:40If he's your third best pass rusher,
13:41you're in an awesome place.
13:43If he's your second best pass rusher
13:44and Chris Jones at his peak
13:46is your best pass rusher,
13:47that's perfectly fine.
13:49Our Mason Thomas,
13:50I still will buy long-term here,
13:53but it hasn't been,
13:54he hasn't,
13:54he hasn't quite been Tom Bahali off the edge.
13:57You know,
13:57I think D Ford's an interesting comp for him
13:59that I know it ended poorly
14:00for D Ford in Kansas city,
14:02but you'd take a D Ford career
14:03out of our Mason Thomas
14:04and Peter Woods against Denver
14:06was out basically the whole game
14:07with the neck and the sting or whatever.
14:09But it is troubling to be at a point now
14:12where you go,
14:12Oh no,
14:12this feels way too familiar.
14:14And frankly,
14:15this is also true at receiver.
14:16Although I largely agree
14:17with what you're saying
14:18about how important it is
14:19to have Rasheed Rice back.
14:20It feels too similar to last year
14:22where you go,
14:23Oh,
14:23well,
14:23the only time we can get pressure
14:24is if Chris Jones throws a grenade
14:27or if we blitz like crazy
14:29and Chris Jones does not,
14:30it's not thrown very many grenades
14:32from the interior this year.
14:35Again,
14:35I think,
14:36I think the pass rush could be,
14:38there could be a,
14:38just a guy out there
14:40who is somebody else's third
14:42or even fourth best player
14:44on their defensive line,
14:45who you could add
14:46to the chiefs defensive line
14:47and would immediately give you
14:48more quality as a rotational piece.
14:51But like FAU has had
14:52a pretty nice season.
14:53You got to be better than FAU.
14:55You got to be better right now,
14:57probably than our Mason Thomas.
14:58Are you,
14:59are you going to be a player
15:00that's good enough
15:01to take Kyrus Tonga
15:02off the field on first
15:03or second down?
15:04No,
15:04probably not.
15:05So I,
15:05I really think that their options
15:07at pass rusher
15:09are,
15:09are relatively thin
15:10in part because
15:12anything that you do there
15:13is going to demote
15:13a young player
15:14and that's a tough place
15:15to be mid-season.
15:17I would still be very interested
15:19in wide receiver,
15:19but I've also been kind of
15:20beaten down to say that
15:21like if they do trade
15:22for Josh Downs,
15:23it might be week 14
15:25before he catches
15:26more than three passes
15:27in a game,
15:27you know,
15:28as he works his way
15:29into the offense
15:30or whatever.
15:30So,
15:31I don't know.
15:32Obviously,
15:33we won't have
15:34all the answers
15:34this time next Tuesday,
15:35but I'm very curious
15:37to see how this week
15:37pans out
15:38because I really,
15:39I could see it going
15:39defensive line.
15:40I could see it going
15:41wide receiver.
15:42I could see it going.
15:43We called around.
15:44The prices were too high.
15:45We like our in-house options.
15:47So the rest of this season
15:48falls to Xavier Worthy
15:50and Cyrus Allen
15:50and R. Mason Thomas
15:51and Peter Woods.
15:53Josh,
15:54speaking of trades,
15:55you know,
15:55I'm thinking about a trade
15:56that I think we're
15:57kind of excited about
15:59on the potentials
15:59in the offseason
16:01that now it's like
16:02it didn't even happen,
16:03especially when the Chiefs
16:04are third and one,
16:05fourth and one,
16:06and we know that
16:07Patrick Mahomes
16:08is banned from ever
16:09doing a QB sneak.
16:11Why did the Chiefs
16:12get Justin Fields?
16:13I think that the trade
16:14happened at a time
16:15in the offseason
16:16when they really
16:16weren't 100% sure
16:18when Mahomes would be
16:18good to go from the ACL.
16:20I think they were optimistic
16:21the entire time,
16:22but that for me
16:22was enough of the logic
16:23of like,
16:24listen,
16:24if you're going to give up
16:25a pick and also
16:26you didn't have
16:26Garrett Nussmeyer
16:27at that point,
16:27you've got to make sure
16:30no offense to a player
16:31who was,
16:31you know,
16:32a nice scout team quarterback
16:33and seemed like a good
16:34locker room guy
16:34and everything.
16:35You got to make sure
16:36Chris Oladokun
16:37is not starting
16:37Monday Night Football
16:38week one,
16:38right?
16:39If it's Justin Fields,
16:40you got a shot.
16:41You draft Garrett Nussmeyer
16:42and you wonder
16:43which of those two guys
16:44is even better right now.
16:45Obviously Fields
16:45is the number two
16:46every week
16:47and Nussmeyer
16:48is the emergency third.
16:49So I understood
16:50the logic of them
16:51going to get Justin Fields,
16:52but then that logic
16:52wasn't necessary.
16:54Ultimately,
16:54they would have been
16:54just fine with just
16:55Mahomes and Nussmeyer
16:56as Mahomes was back
16:58and ready to go
16:58for week one.
17:00It does beg the question
17:01that you are hinting
17:02at here, Brady.
17:03Justin Fields is good
17:05with the sneaks.
17:05You could sneak the ball
17:07with Noah Gray.
17:09I assume that Kenneth Walker
17:10could learn to take a snap
17:11at some point
17:11if you want to just
17:12keep the ball in his hands.
17:13There are other ways
17:14to solve that problem
17:15that don't involve
17:16Patrick Mahomes,
17:17but also avoiding
17:18Patrick Mahomes
17:19on a quarterback sneak.
17:21It feels like
17:22almost superstitious
17:22at this point.
17:23Like, I don't know
17:24if it's just
17:24if it happens again,
17:25I'll never forgive myself
17:26some kind of thing,
17:27but I'd be more
17:29than happy
17:29to see Justin Fields
17:30tried out there
17:30on third and one.
17:31Let Mahomes stand
17:32in shotgun.
17:33Let Mahomes stand
17:34out wide.
17:35And if they don't
17:36send a defensive back
17:37out to cover Mahomes
17:38standing with his toe
17:39an inch from the sideline,
17:41then Justin Fields
17:41can throw the ball
17:42and Patrick Mahomes
17:43will catch a touchdown.
17:44There are so many ways
17:46that they could
17:47just even bring
17:49the threat
17:50of a quarterback sneak
17:51without putting
17:52Patrick Mahomes' knee
17:53on the ground.
17:55I never would have
17:56believed you
17:57if you would have said
17:58five or six years ago,
17:59hey, they're never
18:00going to do this again,
18:00by the way.
18:01It's that or,
18:02you know,
18:03you've got about
18:04$100 million tied up
18:06in Trey Smith
18:06and Creed Humphrey
18:07and Ken Walker.
18:08Just maybe do that
18:09a couple of times.
18:10Under center,
18:11hand the ball off.
18:11I'll look into that,
18:12Jacob, I'll get back
18:13to you next week.
18:14Stay under center.
18:14We didn't even get
18:15into that.
18:15Stay under center.
18:17All right, Josh,
18:18I like the disappointed,
18:20not mad parent analogy
18:22is perfect.
18:23On point.
18:24Look, they've given me
18:24a lot these last
18:25several years,
18:26but I want better
18:27for you, son.
18:28All right, here we go.
18:30Hear Josh this weekend
18:31on the call of
18:32halftime, pregame,
18:33postgame, follow all.