Chiefs Preseason Reaction: Who's Rising & Who Should Be Worried? | Chiefs Group Chat
The Chiefs' first preseason game gave Sterling Holmes and Matt Conner plenty to talk about. Is the Cyrus Allen hype officially real? Plus, could Garrett Nussmeier actually challenge Justin Fields for QB2? How concerned should Chiefs fans be about Trey Smith? And what did we learn about Emmett Johnson, Kahlil Benson, R Mason Thomas and Jaden Hicks?
Video Transcript
Hey, my favorite teams out there at Arrowhead playing some football.
Chris Jones got one snap just to prove a point because of him saying he didn't want to play in the preseason.
So it's like, all right, you're playing for a snap now .
Can we just add random letters to our name?
I love it.
I didn't know that this was possible.
Didn't know this was possible.
Dude.
That, that, that might be in jail.
Like the statute of limitations has run out, I'm sure.
If not, I'm just making all this up for fun, but I think they found a legitimate NFL wide receiver in the 5th round.
Silly or not silly.
Nussmeyer in contention for QB2.
Do you want to enter this, John?
John, yeah, JW and baby.
JW wait, what?
Do you want an intro this thing ?
Yes, sorry.
Maybe it's too early for me in the morning and I'm an hour ahead of you.
Here we go.
Hello and welcome to Chiefs group chat.
Today, the group is 2, maybe the best 2, I don't know.
If you're the ones here, you're allowed to say it.
My name is Matt Connor, editor of Arrowhead Addict.
Better yet, I'm here with the Lovely Sterling Holmes.
You're just a good dude.
People need to know that.
You're just a good dude.
You may see him out and about, he's usually loud and proud, and you may think, ah, that maybe, maybe that's an act.
Maybe the good old boy shtick is just a shtick.
It's not.
He's grand.
Sterling, how are you this morning?
Oh my gosh, you're so kind.
I feel honored.
I feel loved, I feel cared for by a man with great hair and a great goatee.
Thank you, Matt.
There's no goatee, dude.
Well, it, it is a, it's a beard, but the goatee is the thicker part of the beard.
It is.
I can't really grow it here.
I've tried chia Chin, I've tried Miracle-Gro.
I've tried a number of, of, of, uh, you know, my own homemade concoctions.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I've even tried like eye of Newt, Wart of toad.
Uh just nothing works there.
But when you say goatee, I just think of the youth pastor I had growing up and that's a whole different look and vibe than I want to go for.
Anyway, welcome to Chiefs group chat.
We got facial hair of all kinds here, representing as best we can.
By the way, your hat, GGC 25, what is that?
Guthrie Golf Classic 25.
Um, is that custom?
Yeah, my, my, uh, uncle, cousin.
I don't know how, you know, when you have a big family, my mom's side's huge, you don't know how you're related, but you're like, yeah, I know we're related somehow.
Jay made this hat for us.
Uh, we won two years ago in 25, and the champions got the Getther Golf Classic 25 hat.
And so I'm like, yeah, I'll throw that bad boy on.
Nice, dude.
Nice.
By the way, how's your golf game this summer?
Uh, up and down.
Uh, it's been real good or real bad.
There's not a lot of in between.
Past weekend was real bad, but you know what?
That's golf baby.
The drinks were, were flowing.
The, the music was smooth.
The swing was not smooth, but the, the company was fun.
So it was a great time.
Bro, I haven't been golfing in years.
I still have the same golf clubs I had in high school.
In my golf bag, there are 4 clubs.
Two of which I found that someone else tossed, one of which was bent over someone's knee, and I still use it because you can still putt with it.
And then there's a one wood in it, and it has a tiger's face on it.
So I call it my tiger wood, and then I have a bent putter, and I've been using that stuff for like 30 years.
So, you know, hey, maybe I should, I could go with you sometime.
We'd have, Yeah, we would have fun.
We would have a lot of people but.
A blast.
Here's, here's the problem.
Here's why I can never go golfing, because I take so long that there usually ends up like 50 people waiting behind us who are all cussing at me to like hurry the beep.
And then I either like want to get in a fistfight or I wait for forever because I'm too polite and I'm like waving everybody through and I end up waiting anyway.
Yeah, my golf game is not good.
My handicap is handicapped, if you know what I'm saying.
Anyway, it sounds, sounds rough.
So it sounds like if you're gonna take that long, we might not be playing.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Hey, uh, uh, lots to talk about, my friend.
We're coming off the first preseason game.
Let me, let me just ask you this.
I mean , we didn't have any postseason football last year.
So, like, what was like the vibe or emotion for you just like, hey, my favorite teams out there at Arrowhead playing some football.
Like, did that, Like I was that something for you?
Yeah, a little bit.
I was excited and then I'm like, oh yeah, it's preseason.
Like they're, like Patrick's not out there.
Kenneth Walker got, what was it, one snap.
Chris Jones got one snap just to prove a point because of him saying he didn't want to play in the preseason.
So it's bad.
He's like, all right, you're playing for a snap now.
Uh, which I thought was funny.
A lot of fun takeaways, but I do find myself that, that hard conundrum of I don't even care who wins this game.
Yeah.
Like I, I care about specific things like does Khalil Benson look good at right guard?
Can Cyrus Allen or Emmett Johnson or R. Mason Thomas or Peter Woods, or can the youth movement look solid?
And I think a lot of those things came to fruition, but when it comes to the game, I feel very like European of like, I don't care who wins.
Like, I don't like that.
I don't like feeling very French of we, we, I don't care if it's a tie.
Like I.
You know, you're allowed to do that if you have wine and cheese, it's much easier to be sort of laissez-faire about how things are gonna turn out.
I mean, if you're already half drunk and just.
Taking it in.
I don't know.
Maybe you were.
I, I, I was.
I was at Maloney's.
I was watching this at a bar.
So correct, I was, it was phenomenal.
Nice.
Well, hey, um, by the way, if you're listening to Chief Group chat, wanna, um, give us a like , give us a subscribe, all the things.
Patrick's really good at this.
He's like, leave me 5 star.
By the way, that would be, I, I, I can't do that.
I like that'd be like if you're a waiter and you're like, leave me a giant tip if you would please.
Like I just can't, you know, like, hey, if you, if you, I don't know.
If you think I'm, maybe if you think I'm one star, leave that comment on an article I wrote.
I don't know, unfollow me on Twitter.
I just want to give people the range that they could have.
I'd give you 5 stars, Matt.
I'd give you 5 stars and the tip.
I appreciate that.
Yeah.
Hey, let's, uh, let's talk to you, Sterling.
I wanna come out of, uh, look, everyone talks about the same thing, the same few players who are like.
Uh, you know, we're all looking at some of the rookies, we're all looking at some of the, you know, we're talking about Emmett Johnson.
That's all been covered within 24 hours of the game.
What I'd love to hit you with, I, I'd love to get some thoughts on some concerns that maybe I have following the game, wondering how concerned you are.
And I'd love to start with this because you brought up Khalil Benson, dude playing right guard, that points me to Trey Smith not being there.
Originally hip injury, Andy Reid was like, yeah, it's not a big deal, but he is gonna see a specialist.
He's now missed more than just a practice or two.
He's missed several practices.
Benson is not getting the reps he could be at right tackle to prep for maybe a longer term role.
Instead he's like sliding inside and hopefully learning something he can apply back outside.
Just kind of curious, like, are you worried about Trey?
What's going on there?
Your thoughts on that as a concern right now?
It's getting closer and not, I, I don't know how concerned I am yet.
There's still time before we started the regular season, but there's a little bit of, uh, all right.
Not his fault.
But you sign the contract, you've always been healthy.
You signed the contract, and last year you missed a game for injury for the first time, for the first time.
And now you're in a training camp.
You miss a preseason game.
Again, it's a preseason game.
It's not a regular season game.
I get all that.
But at some point, it's like, oh, is the body breaking down?
Is there some underlying situation we should be worried about?
I mean, Because you're no longer the sixth-round rookie right guard.
And whatever you get is great.
You're now one of the highest paid guards in football.
And when he was playing, he was playing like a top 10 guard, maybe top 7 guard in football, which is probably OK.
But then you add in the injuries and missing time and it's just, you can't have that much money going to a right guard who's not playing.
It's just unsustainable.
It's not , it's not good roster construction.
Um, I wouldn't say I'm, I'm petrified yet, but it's definitely something to keep an eye on.
Yeah.
Yeah, I, I think I'm, I'm even a little bit more concerned than you because, you know, at 27, some of these like hip injury.
Sounds to me like back injury, which is, this isn't something that I think is just going away.
Um, you know, if, if, I mean, I hope so.
I hope for his sake, I hope for the team's sake.
I hope, uh, you know, for everybody involved that, that Trey's able to move on from it in the regular season is no problem and manage it and whatever.
But you're right, 20 million a year, uh, to me equals, you need to be in the Pro Bowl conversation or making a Pro Bowl.
And like, you know, there's not a lot of room there for like.
Uh, heart struggle to get on the field or limited play, um.
Yeah, I'm, I'm, I think I'm a little bit more concerned than you are.
Yeah, yeah, and that's fair.
I mean, again, it's just.
I it's not always the fairest thing to judge.
But even like Like Legerius Snead when he signed the contract and then got injured.
Well, you're no longer judged of what you've done.
It's what you're doing now with the contract being involved.
Same thing with Trey Smith.
That's why Creed Humphrey's contract looks so good still.
Because even though he's getting paid, was the highest-paid center.
He performed as the best sinner.
And so you go back and you go, OK, well, the money's fine.
It's football.
Injuries happen.
Injuries always happen in football.
It's why you have to almost make an educated bet on.
On that.
Yeah, yeah.
Uh, let me take you to another position that has me a little bit concerned because in the offseason, uh, let me set it up this way.
I don't know that anyone would have ever described Chiefs linebacking cops as a strength of the team.
That maybe there are some linebackers that are good, better than others, are plus assets, but I don't know that anyone would have looked at the second level and said, that's one of the NFL's best or even better linebacking units overall.
So, You know, illusional to the Redskins, obvious Redskins.
When have they been around?
I, I'm old apparently.
The Washington Commanders, um, I'm, I'm a big Saint Louis Rams fan and I love, I love the San Diego Chargers.
Seriously, what's happening to me?
I'm like relocatingmore Colts to me.
I love the Baltimore, Baltimore Colts.
They're great, great organization.
Oh my gosh.
By the way, I set up, I set up this weekend, this is a total aside.
I spent my weekend.
I was.
Uh, it was the first time, uh, since I was in 8th grade that I set up, I have like a vintage sports card collection.
A buddy of mine asked me, he's like, hey, come up, help me out.
There's this massive show in Northern Indiana, and like 10,000 people come to the middle of nowhere, um, in like Amish farm country.
And, uh, I was like, sure.
He, so he like gives me half a table to like set up.
Uh, It's like not my audience.
It's like not a place I want to hang out.
Uh, like I found out, this is not the way I want to like invest my time.
It's fine.
Uh, I made a little bit of money selling some old cars.
That's why my headspace is probably in like Baltimore Colts, you know, uh , San Diego Charger land, like you said, LA Raiders, maybe, I don't know.
Um.
Yeah, anyway , so did that this weekend.
And then, um, what am I saying?
Oh, yeah, we're talking about linebackers.
Yeah, I got lost in like NFL history.
By the way, other aside, first time I ever, I, uh, I was a vendor as an 8th grader at the Ramada Inn.
I took my sports cards back then.
I set up, I'm the only kid in a room full of mustachioed dads, right?
Just this tiny little Ramada Inn.
And I'm selling these cards, and I thought I would make more money if these cards were signed.
So out there somewhere is, uh, probably a dozen 1990 upper deck Mike Mussina cards that me as an eighth grader, I was forging Mike Mussina's name on like rookie card after rookie card and selling these things.
I also signed an $84 Steve Sachs card.
Whatever that means to you, old LA Dodgers.
Anyway, I'm just confessing in jail.
The statute of limitations has run out, I'm sure.
If not, I'm just making all this up for fun.
But I just want to let some people know, if you have Mike Mussina rookie cards that look a little shady on the autograph, it's probably from a middle schooler in Southern Indiana.
That's how that rolls.
Speaking of concerns, real quick, did you look up his signature or are you just like actually just signing it however you wanted to sign?
I honestly don't remember.
I'm sure it looked really shitty either way.
I don't know.
I, maybe I've been living with the guilt for so long, I just need to tell somebody, and I'm telling you and the general public.
Anyway, speaking of concerns, no one would have described the Chiefs linebacking corps as a Strengthen that way, illusional, Drew Tranquil dealing with back spasms, 2nd consecutive preseason.
Um, the Chiefs managed it last year , but he's a year older.
In a, in a unit that needs more.
I'm just kind of curious what you're thinking about the linebacking cops at this point, kind of knowing tranquil, knowing we lost Chanel, what you think of the younger guys.
Are you concerned about that second level of the defense?
Yeah, um.
Yeah, because if either one of Nick Bolton or Tranquil misses time, like games, it looks a little rough.
Like Cooper McDonald, OK, Jeffrey Bossa, OK, but I don't think we've seen enough from either of those guys to be like, oh yeah, they can, they can fill in and they'll step right in there.
No, no, we've seen Cochran, we've seen Christensen, uh, they're the same player and one of them's injured, right?
I, I, I forget which one's which, um.
Is one injured?
That's, I thought one was injured.
I could be wrong.
I thought he missed time, um, a little bit ago, but it doesn't matter.
They're the same player, uh, special teamers, which is fine.
Like that, that is totally fine to have on your roster.
That's not a knock.
It's just they're special teamers.
But Spags loves Cochran, and he loves Cochran.
He loves Cochran, and he's like, and he even said earlier this summer, he's like, uh, uh, we got Jack who can go in there and play all three positions.
And I'm like, I need Jack play none of those positions, um.
Yeah, but I feel concerned, man.
I feel concerned.
I, I, I think there, and there wasn't enough that I saw from really anyone.
I'm like, oh, yeah, that, that, that's not my concerns as that number 33 creative player running back for the Rams is dicing him up out of the backfield on, on receptions, not even wearing gloves.
Like he didn't even have enough like Madden points to like give this guy gloves or at least give him something.
He's like, no, I'm going out.
Nothing on me, just.
Going out there and catching the football.
Good for him.
Two touchdowns.
Oh, man.
Yeah, I, I, it wouldn't surprise me if there was an addition there in some way in the preseason.
Um, Veach has a way of working last-second trades after the, like, right at roster cuts.
He does it every year.
There, there seems to be like a completely unknown, like, oh, I guess he's gonna like just import someone completely new onto the 53.
That's a spot I could see someone landing there.
Um, let me ask you about the backfield.
Um, I think we all liked what we saw from Emmett Johnson.
But the first back out there was Breshard Smith, and then we didn't even see Imari until the last quarter.
Were you surprised by that development and order of play?
Yeah, I It's weird because you don't think about Amari .
I, I wouldn't have thought anything about Dimarcono not playing.
But coming at the end.
It's weird It's weird.
Yeah, yeah.
Like if he didn't play , I'd say, OK, yeah, yeah, it makes sense.
You, you wanna see Smith and Johnson.
Those are the two guys you want to see.
If you want to see Jaynott or those guys too, fine.
The end is weird.
Rashard Smith, we've been.
You know, told everyone who's been at training camp, all the guys I have there, have, have, have talked along the lines of, yeah, Bouchard's been running with the, with the twos a lot.
He's been getting that, that work.
Could be multiple factors.
Could be they just want to see what he has.
What does he have with twos versus the threes and fours?
Is he on the roster bubble?
You know, how, how, I don't think so, but what, what can he do to, to try and prove his, his role in this team?
I think he provides some juice.
I do.
Um, Emmett Johnson, I thought looked great.
I'm, I'm surprised because he's not looked great at training camp.
It's not like been the, the talking point.
It's been like, oh, man.
It's not looked good.
Like I remember when it was the NFL Network came in the first play to him, he, he fumbled.
And you're like, oh, great.
Love that.
Love that.
That's gonna be a good confidence builder for Emmett.
I know he's wearing number 10, so everyone says like, oh, Pacheco.
I, I also saw Priest Holmes.
I'm like , let's put the brakes a little bit here.
It's preseason game one, guys.
Come on now.
But he did look good.
The vision looked good.
The physicality did look good.
If you wanted to say because he's wearing number 10 and the physicality reminded you a little bit of Pacheco, OK.
But the vision looks much, much better.
The quickness looks better as far as going side to side.
I, I thought Emmett showed a lot.
I was really impressed with him.
I don't know what to make of DeMarcado.
I, I don't know what to make of it because I, I just assumed he was RB too.
Yeah.
In the sense of if Kenneth Walker went down, he's RB2.
He's the 3rd down back.
Well, now I don't know that, that, that threw a wrench into my thought process.
What, what did you see with the running back?
Yeah, yeah, I, I, I, I either thought that the Chiefs wanted, because to me it comes down, if there is a roster battle, if they're not rostering 4 running backs, then it's down to Dean Mercado versus Smith for that role.
Although I personally think they'll keep all 4 because of Smith's return ability there too, and Like, like, to me, it's safe, but if it's not safe, then I could see the argument of, let's give Smith the, the run of things early on in this game.
We'll use preseason game two to see DeMercado get the early run, and we'll make our evaluations accordingly, like from there.
That's kind of what I thought.
But then when DeMercado came in in the 4th quarter, I thought, well, what's happening here?
Now remember this, you know, every spring, And maybe you could tell me if I'm wrong here.
Every spring, Brett Veitch signs a number of veterans, especially coming off of injury or limited situations or whatever, to one-year deals, to shore up positions before the draft, so he doesn't have to reach.
And some of those guys never see the light of day.
So last, you know, last year, Elijah Mitchell was kind of that guy, Gennarius Robinson at defensive end was that guy last year.
Like, some of these signings are, We make a lot of them in the spring.
But really, if it comes down to it, if they're just single season cheap deals.
For some of these guys, like, maybe we've made a mountain out of a molehill there.
So I'm wondering, maybe we just overinflated De Mercado the whole time.
Um, because he was the running back signing, you know, next to Walker, and we were like, oh, they got the new, like, here's 1 and 2 right here.
And maybe that just was never the case.
So, yeah, I, I, I, I don't, I don't know what to think of it.
It will be telling to me if he's not the first back out there against the Buccaneers this Saturday.
Yeah, no, I'd, I would agree.
I'd agree.
And especially if Emmett Johnson keeps looking good, then you feel, oh, maybe we don't need that guy.
The difference is you really trust, I, you, I think you trust who's your third-down back.
Kenneth Walker can do it, right?
Let's not, Kenneth Walker can do, he's a bell cow if you want him to be.
But I think you want to keep him fresh for the playoffs.
So, 3rd down, good way to get, get a guy off the field.
We also assumed DeMar Carter could do it, but if Breshard Smith could do it or Emmett Johnson could do it, well, then that saves you a roster spot.
Yeah.
Uh, let me ask you another question.
Silly or not silly?
Nussmeyer in contention for QB2.
Is that a silly notion?
It's a really good question.
Thank you.
I don't think it's a silly notion, but I don't think it's a reality, if that makes sense.
Like, I don't think it's silly.
I thought he looked pretty good.
I love that one wasn't rolling to the left, thrown across his body.
I'm like, he's been watching so much Patrick.
He's just been, you can tell he's in there.
I, I, because Andy Reid likes the veterans.
We know this about him.
He loves veteran backup quarterbacks.
I don't think it's, I don't think it's silly personally because I think, hey, yeah, keep giving us the Ns bust the chance.
Let him drive the bus, but I, I would be shocked just because of what Andy has traditionally done if it wasn't Fields as QB2.
I'd be shocked.
I don't think it's still like, not, not, not what I would do, but what I think Andy will do.
Would you do it?
Would you go?
Because on paper, on paper.
The scenario would be this, like, on paper, Mahomes is still officially coming back from and hasn't played from a, from torn knee knee ligaments, knee ligaments, right?
Mahomes is still like, that's still the scenario.
And would you really roll with a 7th-round rookie as QB2 behind Mahomes in that way?
That's why I say it almost sounds silly when you lay it out that way.
It, it, it does almost sound silly, but I, I, I think the upside for Nutsmeyer is, is vast.
I mean, we saw it, what, yeah, big boards don't mean bleep.
We've seen this time and time again because he was gonna be a first-rounder if he went out last year.
Bad year last year, injuries, a lot , a lot of situations.
Fell to the 7th, um.
He's talented.
We know that.
And Andy Reid , QB whisper, all that stuff.
So you think he can get the best out of him.
Justin Fields, I think you know what you have.
Guy with not a great arm.
If he is going to throw, he will be conservative, which is not a bad thing.
And Andy likes that.
And he likes quarterbacks.
If you're a backup, to just not make mistakes.
Get, get a four-yard pass and just keep running the offense.
Um.
I've now seen enough from both those guys that to say I don't need to see Olodokin.
Oh gosh, there was such a difference .
Like there was such a clear.
I mean, even from, I mean no knock on that guy , you know, say what, even from Nussmeyer to him in his first preseason game, it was just, it was, yeah, yeah, uh, something about Nuss that I just like.
You know, you don't, you don't love overconfidence and making stupid mistakes, but Nussmeyer seems to have the sort of grit, or pluck or moxie.
That you're just like, I have a confidence in him, in his confidence.
In that way.
They're like, even if he makes a stupid mistake, I feel like, yeah, there's, I don't know, there was something about watching him, there's a charisma at the spot that, that came out for me that I was like, man, is, is the QB2 in vision?
I don't know.
Anyway, um.
Yeah, one more for you here.
Cyrus Allen, are you buying this hype?
Yeah, dude, I'm like, are you all in on the hype?
It depends how you say all in.
Like, do I think he's going to be taking snaps away from like Rice or Worthy or maybe even Tyquan?
I don't think so.
I mean, maybe Tyquan a little bit, even though they're very different roles, um.
I'm, I'm buying in a lot, man, and I, I, I don't normally do this with wide receivers.
Like I remember, I remember getting yelled at when I was pushing back so hard against Justin Ross.
Like I pushed back for like 2.5 years.
And I remember just members being mad at me like, you gotta buy in.
What are you?
I'm like, Fine, fine, I'll buy some stock so I don't get yelled at anymore.
Over like 2.5 years.
I'm like, guys, what are we doing?
What are we doing, Justin Ross?
What are we doing?
Um I pushed back against Josh Gordon forever when he, like, I hated that.
Like Josh, and then when he scored that touchdown, like, look what he can do.
I'm like, no, they just forced him.
Anyone could have scored that.
They, they, they literally could have had anyone score that touchdown.
They could have had Nick Alegretti catch that ball and he would have been in for a touchdown.
What are we doing?
I pushed back in Josh Gordon.
I was all in on Josh Gordon.
I pushed back so hard against a lot of these.
I'm not pushing back against this.
I pushed back against Xavier Worthy when he was drafted, right?
I'm not pushing back on Cyrus Allen.
His contested catch was beautiful.
I think he's a really good route runner so far, but I think he's really smart.
And I think that's what really works in Andy Reid offenses.
You have to be a really smart wide receiver, um.
I'm all in on Allen.
They need a wide receiver 4.
Bad I think he's already that.
I'm not saying this is one of those where it's like, oh yeah, it's Aman Ras Saint Brown or Pukunakua, those late-round fines that turn into absolute superstars.
I'm not saying that.
But I think they found a legitimate NFL wide receiver in the 5th round.
Like, I think they found a guy who can contribute as a rookie.
Clearly from what we've seen in practice, Patrick trusts him.
Clearly what we've seen in practice, it seems like Andy trusts him.
And that's crazy for a rookie wide receiver.
It's like they keep putting more and more on his plate, and he keeps answering the bell.
It's like him and Khalil Benson to an extent of they just keep giving him more and more, and they keep answering.
Even like, well, I guess we can play these guys now because they don't love playing rookies, especially on offense.
We know Spaggs doesn't always enjoy that on defense either, but on offense, we know, Andy's like, nah, nah, na, na, nah.
Yeah, especially wide receiver and I'm in, man I'm, I'm bleeping in.
Yeah.
I, I, I, I'm in as well.
I'm in as well.
And I think this could be the most important offseason development for the Chiefs, like, like overall, because the lack of reliability in Worthy, Rasheed Rice is so mercurial, who knows what you're going to get there or what's ever gonna happen.
Tyquan wants a greater load and, and who knows if he's going to get it, live up to that , I mean, Like that, there are just so many question marks, tied in, we're running it back with the same group as last year, and, and, you know, Kelsey, you know, love him, but you're also a year older.
You just, you never know how that's gonna play out as much as you want to believe in those things.
And so, the fact that the Chiefs did so little at the position, if Cyrus Allen becomes a thing, a legitimate thing early, that is vital.
To a team that just places again and again so much on Mahomes' shoulders in the passing game like that.
I just think that's huge.
Um, so yeah, Benson, by the way, though, I know you say, hey, they keep giving him more and more, apparently they trust him.
Kingsley Suamataa trotted out there on week one at left tackle.
By game 2, it was like the cane came out on stage with the hook to get him off the stage, and then they benched him for a full season.
I, I'm just not a believer there until I see like regular season success.
I mean, I love the story, love the development, but they have trotted people out there before who were not ready and giving him stuff.
So there was all the preseason hype that led to.
A pretty quick out.
Well, there's two ways of looking at it though.
One, I don't argue that, but Kingsley was a 2nd-rounder.
So with that draft capital, you were going to be the starter.
And He didn't have a lot of competition.
I was a Juanie Morris guy to an extent.
I thought, I thought Juane had the floor.
I, I thought Jue could, could do it, uh, wrong.
I like, I liked June the person, I think.
And so I was like, you know what, I'm gonna root for this guy.
I'm gonna try and talk myself into why he could be a viable, not, not like, um, A Pro Bowler, but like a viable backend starter at left tackle.
Like you have a floor here.
I, we saw it for a game or two, and then once he got extended looks, it felt like that was when he got worn down.
Like you'd, I, I thought we'd see Junie every once in a while step in and be like, oh yeah, he looks like he could do it.
And then game 4 of it, you're like, oh, no, he cannot, he cannot do that.
Uh, there wasn't a good option.
So, he was gonna be the guy, right?
That was kind of the situation.
Well, right now, you have options, not just at right tackle with Jalen Moore, but even at right guard.
You brought back Caliendo.
Nor is that backup center and guard.
And yet it's Khalil Benson.
I think there's something.
Uh, and then at right tackle, there's two ways of looking at it.
One, Khalil Benson won the job and he's the starting right tackle.
The other option is, they know what they have in Jalen Moore.
And so, since you know what you have in him.
They're gonna give Cale Benson every opportunity to show what he can do.
And I, I, I think I'm in camp.
I, I, I'm a believer in Cole Benson so far.
Like there's gonna be growing pains whenever, anytime somebody shows a clip of him like getting beat and they're like, see Sterling, he's not the starter.
I'm like, guys get beat all the time.
Jalen Moore's had a good training camp too, but like they know what they have in him.
They, they, they know that they have a solid.
Serviceable right tackle.
Right?
Probably getting paid too much.
For like the production, but still, he's a serviceable right tackle.
What can you get with Khalil Benson, Hopefully the upside, and again, the fact of that's a rookie, better contract.
If he wins, that's great.
You want him to win.
It's a sunk, it's a sunk cost no matter who's the starter.
You're already paying Jalen Moore.
It doesn't, that does not matter.
That money is there.
So who is the better player?
So we'll find out, but again, that's another guy I've, I've, I've somewhat bought into is Khalil Benson.
Yeah.
Well, I'm, I mean, I want to see it.
I'm, I, I'm, I'm a little bit more need to see it to believe it, but I do like the fact that the Chiefs are giving him all the reps.
If you know what you have in Jalen Moore, you might as well see, can this guy give us more than that?
If not, we'll go with more.
Either way, you have more.
But I'm ching.
All right, let me ask you this, uh, damn it, I like that.
Yeah, our Mason Thomas, my friend.
Can we just add random letters to our name?
I love it.
I didn't know that this was possible.
Didn't know this was possible.
If for sure, I would have chosen a letter to be like, K, Matt Connor.
Z, Matt Connor.
If you had to choose a letter before Sterling Holmes.
One, would you take one and what would it be?
Maybe Sterling Holmes.
I don't know.
That's good, yeah.
I don't know.
Because then I'm SS Holmes if you go by initials, right, like I'm a fancy ship, yeah, yeah, that's good.
I. I think what you need is D Mason Thomas on the other side.
So then you have Republican Mason Thomas and Democrat Mason Thomas, and whoever gets the most sacks, that's, that's the new president.
Like that's what in 2028, like that's how you go and do the, the president in 2032 and in 2036, like you, you just keep going, whichever one has the most sacks that, sorry, Supreme Court justice need a new one.
All right, which side are we going here, guys?
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You know, I'll be sharing a lot of the lines that I am looking at.
Preseason is tough.
Uh, let's be real, OK?
I shouldn't be betting on preseason because I get it wrong, but I still had fun.
I thought Harbaugh was gonna actually do good in his debut with the Giants because what did he do with the Ravens?
He always won preseason games.
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Bet on anything, anytime, anywhere.
I liked our Mason Thomas.
I liked what he showed in that game overall.
Yeah, I think, I think the hard part is still, I know it doesn't matter.
It's pressures, all this stuff.
Chris Jones played a snap.
Peter Woods was getting double-teamed because Chris Jones wasn't out there.
It's, it's hardest what you had in Peter Woods.
Uh, you know, everyone's like, great training camp, but then he didn't do much in the preseason game one.
I was like, well, You need Chris Jones out there because if you're getting doubled, you're a rookie.
Good luck.
You're not just gonna all of a sudden dominate.
I, I don't know.
I, I, That was tough to judge.
Our Mason Thomas, I, I thought looked good.
Still 0 sacks for the, the Chiefs, which is.
Yeah.
I, I know it's silly.
I get it's a preseason game, but I would have liked to see a little more.
Overall, um, a lot of bootleg, a lot of, yeah, it was play action.
I mean, yeah, it's always gonna be, it's the Rams.
They do a really good job of their backups, but still they do a really good job of Keeping them off the quarterback.
Well, they have to because Matt Stafford at age 57, you know, has.
Gotta help him out a little bit back there.
Uh, by the way, I think the most overlooked point on the Chiefs' defense is George Karl Loftus.
I think, let's not forget George was so young when he signed.
Um, it is not, uh, I was gonna say it's not inconceivable to me, but to me, it's actually probable.
I still think that George is very, very capable of taking considerable leaps in his game, year by year.
Um, I just think there's a very good chance that Georgia is going to be.
Quite a bit better than he was even last year as he's continuing to get better.
And uh, like, no one's really taking that into account, that, that the Chiefs' pass rush could be better just because George may continue to get considerably better than he is.
I think that's a big anchor up front, a big talking point that's, that's being overlooked.
And I, I just, I have really high expectations and hopes for, for George this year.
Everyone's talking about the new additions and, and Chris Jones, maybe, you know, can he continue or decline.
But, uh, yeah, I think that's gonna be a big X factor upfront.
Yeah, I like George a lot.
I, I don't see him reaching another level personally.
Like I think his max probably in a season be like 12, 12.5 sacks.
Not, this is not a bad thing.
This is not a knock.
This is, I mean, that's a, it's a big season.
That's a very healthy dose of sacks, yeah, correct.
I, I, I, I don't ever see him becoming like a 15 plus sack guy.
Sure, I'm not saying he's gonna be, you know, no, no, no, I know, but, but.
He, he's never gonna be the bendiest guy, right?
He's never gonna be the, the speediest dude off of the edge.
So that will always, Knock the ceiling just a little bit.
But I always think he has a really high floor.
I love the draft pick when it happened.
I wanted him before the Chiefs took him.
I said, this is the guy that, when people said Boe Mafe, I was like, no, no, no, no.
Look at Carl Loftus.
Look, look, you need a guy who can go and play 80% of snaps.
You need that right now.
He can do it, plug and play.
He's good against the run.
On the other side, yeah, get in our Mason.
Thomas, get a bendy guy, get a speed guy.
I think they could have.
The thought process of Car Loftus and FAU actually made sense.
It did.
Just FAU didn't hit and the injuries could be a multitude of factors.
So I, I like them taking more of the safe side with Car Loftus with a very high floor on one side and then trying for an upside uniqueness in our Mason Thomas.
I, I, I like the thought process here.
Yeah, uh, we just got a couple of minutes left here.
Let me give you this.
Give me the one player.
Who can help himself the most against the Bucks.
Oh man, good call.
Um, one player.
Is it crazy to keep saying Jaden Hicks ?
Like I thought Jaden Hicks helped himself the most this past week.
I, I don't get it.
He, he's an enigma to me because you'll see him have like elite games or at least elite plays and you go, OK, I see it.
Why isn't he playing more?
But then you've seen him in actual NFL games look completely lost, befuddled, confused, and you go, OK, I see it.
How does he ever see the field?
And, and so when you see a game like yesterday or Saturday, you're sitting back going, OK.
He should play more.
They're OK to walk on from, from Brian Cook because Jayden Hicks can do a lot of those things.
Uh, now you have 3 safeties you trust with him, Gilman, and, and, um.
Um, Connor.
I don't know.
I, he, he needs to keep building though because we've seen games.
I, I, it comes down to consistency.
So if he can do all three preseason games looking like that, I'll feel a lot more comfortable.
Uh, and maybe Andrew Armstrong, if he can continue to, to prove that he brings a unique flavor to this wide receiver room.
It's bad for Nico.
It would be bad for Nico.
But if he can continue to prove it, that'd be, that'd be big.
Yeah, yeah, I'm with you.
I'm gonna go back to someone we already said, uh, De Mercado just makes a lot of sense to me.
Um, you know, depending on how he looks, what we, what we see when we see him.
Uh, to me, that's one of the bigger storylines of, of game two here that I'm looking forward to on Saturday.
Sterling, what's the next concert you're going to, my friend?
00, good call.
Let me check the old calendar.
I know I have tickets to Jet.
With the being jet, yep, yeah.
That one, right?
Yeah, I said, are you gonna be my, that's it.
Are you, yeah, are you gonna, yeah.
And then Cold Hardt remember the words.
Cold hard bitch.
It just, I don't know that on the lips.
Yeah, it's a good one.
Or rollover DJ or Last Chance.
They have some bangers, dude.
I love Jet.
They're Australian song.
They're Australian, by the way.
Uh, let's hear your accent.
Are you good at it?
Uh, put another shrimp on the bob, eh?
No, I don't know, beer cabin.
It's like Jamaican slash Australian at the same time.
Be a cat.
Hey, I'm not sure what my next concert is, but I'm gonna let you decide for me.
I, I will legitimately stick to what you say.
I had thoughts of going to, don't laugh.
I had thoughts of going to Bonnie Raitt on Thursday.
Yes, I love She's a legend.
She's a legend.
I saw her open for James Taylor.
I, I don't even like James.
Sorry, James.
Now I knock on James Taylor.
Just not my style.
I get a little, little, little sleepy during it sometimes.
Uh, I love like, why are you gonna go see this old lady?
I mean, you know, she's 76.
I, I'm just thinking I wanna see her before, while I can.
And uh yeah I I thought I'd give you something to talk about if you're uh like should I go on Thursday yes or no yes all right, I'm in.
I'm in.
Bonnie Raitt is my next concert, Bonnie Ray.
I saw her probably what am I it was probably 7 years ago now, maybe 78 years ago.
How was she?
She killed it.
Yeah, I love it.
I love Bonnie Raitt, dude.
Um, she says I can't make her.
I can't make her love you.
Yeah, I got my pronouns all turned around.
They're trying to change perspective, but Anyway, yeah.
Bonnie Raitt is highly rated, if you know what I'm saying.
That's what Sterling is saying.
Uh, yeah, hopefully, we've given you all something to talk about.
Chiefs gave us something to talk about on this show where we covered Bonnie Raitt, Jet, and all things Chiefs.
Uh, let us know in the comments if you're interested in, uh, what letter you would choose.
Before your, yeah, before Sterling's name.
We're not interested in your name.
What letter should Sterling choose before his name?
Anyway, uh, Patrick Allen's out, but he'll be back next week.
Sterling Holmes is here.
You can basically, if you walk out your front door in Kansas City, you're going to see him or hear him.
He is ubiquitous, omnipresent, whatever the right word there is.
My name is Matt Connor.
I hide behind my words at arrowheadaddict.com.
Check it out if you want.
Uh, as always, thanks to our producer Joanne, and, uh, for all of you in Chiefs Kingdom.
Looking forward to Bucks versus Chiefs on Saturday.
We'll see you next time.
I'm just picturing your love life.
If you chose S, you'd be like, all aboard the SS Holmes.
Anybody, ladies, ladies, damn yacht, huh?
Yeah, right.
I, I think you could use this to your advantage, uh, my friend.
