Kansas City Chiefs predicted to have worst year under Reid
By Ben Almquist
Andy Reid has made the Kansas City Chiefs into perennial contenders. However, Mike Clay of ESPN predicts the Chiefs to have their worst season yet under him.
In 2016, the Kansas City Chiefs went 12-4 and won the AFC West. Since Andy Reid came to town, the team’s worst record under him is 9-7 during an injury-plagued 2015. However, Mike Clay of NFL.com is predicting the Chiefs will have their worst season yet, going 8-7-1.
Now, predictions that come out this time of year are generally worthless. Nobody has any idea what is going to happen during the season. Players get better or worse, injuries happen, and analytics are proven to have no real bearing on the gridiron.
However, when an NFL analyst comes out with a prediction like this, it’s hard to just sit there and take it. The Chiefs have absolutely earned the respect of the NFL world. They’ve proven their ability to beat the top teams in the league. They have become a perennial playoff team. However, you still get plenty of folks that get hung up on stats.
2017 Kansas City Chiefs game-by-game predictions, player projections and unit grades: pic.twitter.com/5YsxmvnVPd
— Mike Clay (@MikeClayNFL) May 31, 2017
Fantasy Football Is An Inaccurate Measure
My original version of this article was unfair to Mike Clay. It was not my intent to make it seem as though he isn’t good at what he does. As a fantasy football analyst, he does an excellent job at ESPN. I play fantasy football myself, and enjoy it as a game.
What I take issue with is the projection of the Chiefs being a lesser team in 2017 despite the fact they have been one of the best in the NFL in recent years. That is a more than fair criticism of his projections. An attempt at statistical analysis in June is hardly sound evidence for an NFL prediction in my opinion.
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That is what is reflected in Mike Clay’s analysis of the Chiefs. Clay looks at the stat projections, and makes his determinations of success from there. In my opinion, that is an entirely wrong way of looking at the NFL. Superior stats don’t always win the game. Kansas City has been proving that for the past four years.
Expect The Chiefs To Contend
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The Kansas City Chiefs have no reason to not be competitive in 2017. This is a roster that is returning nearly every player from a 12-4 season last year. Not to mention they are getting some guys back, including superstar pass rusher Justin Houston.
The only loss of this offseason that should register an impact is that of Dontari Poe. However, the Chiefs went out and got a player in Bennie Logan who should serve better as a run stopper. That alone will go a long way towards fixing one of their biggest weaknesses.
Andy Reid has built a very strong team in Kansas City. He has assembled a talented roster that features a number of players who are legit superstars in the NFL. Even in areas the team is considered “weak”, they have talent to be competitive. They just aren’t the kind of team that will blow up the stat sheets week in and week out.
Predictions in June are usually a waste of time. That’s probably the case here, but it’s still going to get me going to see the Kansas City Chiefs treated with disrespect. This team has done too much to earn respect for them to get brushed aside by some Fantasy Football guy.