It’s clear that Kansas City Chiefs fans are confident going into Sunday’s wild-card round game against visiting Baltimore.
Our sound-off question this week asked Kansas City supporters if they thought their team had a chance to win. The AFC West champion Chiefs are 10-6 and the 12-4 Ravens made the playoffs as a wild-card team. The Chiefs will be limping into the match after a 31-10 home loss to Oakland on Sunday.
Many Kansas City fans hope, and think, the Chiefs can turn it around quickly and beat the Ravens. Below are some of your responses. Thanks to everyone who participated:
Damon from Colorado Springs: Bill - The Chiefs can absolutely win this game. The Ravens have a stout run D so it will be strength against strength but as long as Cassel plays well the Chiefs should have some success on offense. On D the key is for the Chiefs to stop the run and make Flacco make some plays...
Steve from Los Angeles: I think the Chiefs can definitely beat the Baltimore Ravens. Back in week 1 of the 2009 season, first year head coach Todd Haley had the Chiefs tied up with the Ravens, 24-24 in the fourth quarter. Matt Cassell did not start and Brodie Croyle had a solid game in relief. With Cassel now at QB, the 2010 draft class playing very well, the emergence of Tamba Hali as a legitimate pass rusher and the free agent acquisitions of Thomas Jones, Ryan Lilja and Casey Wiegmann, this is a markedly better Chiefs team than faced the Ravens at that time. KC won't need big plays like Jon McGraw's blocked punt or Derrick Johnson's 70 yard INT return to win. They just need to stick to their winning formula: run the ball, don't turn it over, limit negative plays, and stop the run. Playing in front of a raucous Arrowhead faithful hungry for a playoff win won't hurt either.
Nick V. Meriden, Conn.: As Todd Haley pointed out in one of his recent press conferences; he sees similarities between this Chiefs squad and the Arizona Cardinals team he took to the Super Bowl a couple years back.Am I saying that the Chiefs are going to make a surprising run to the big dance on that notion alone? As a die hard Chiefs fan...I wish.I don't think it will happen however. I have curbed my expectations all season, and this team continues to exceed them. Aside from the drubbings at the hands of the Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers, the Chiefs have played well in almost all of their games this season.Baltimore is a beast of a team. I think the Chiefs will fight hard for their coaches and their fans. They are a very young squad, and have nothing to lose. No one expected them to get this far.Will they beat the Ravens? I think so. Will they beat the Patriots or the Steelers in the second round? Let's put those two teams on hold for next year's regular season when the team has one more year of maturity under it's belt.Thanks for letting me voice my opinion Bill.
Jose from Kansas City: Yes!!! We are going to beat the ravens at home. Yes we lost to the raiders which didn't really both us except for the seeding. I actually think we lost on purpose. All the times the chiefs were undeafeated at home we lost the first playoff game. Remember todd haley Is superstitious. The crowd is going to eat Joe Flacco alive. We have the best cordinators in the league!!! 'Chiefs will' prove people wrong!!!!
Nathan Wrenn from Monterey, Calif.: Any given sunday Bill! The chiefs have looked pretty herendous at times this year, but one thing you gotta keep in mind is the explosiveness of Jamaal Charles and Dwayne Bowe. With a blitz happy defense like Baltimore, there should be ample oppurtunities to find single coverage on Bowe or at least be able to dump the ball off to Charles/Jones and let them take these old linebackers one-on-one. A lot of KC's talent is young, so the question we gotta ask is, "How much can KC's offense tire out Baltimore's Defense".
Sean Kelly from Santa Cruz, Calif.: It's all about the offensive line. They did NOT show last week. Brandon Albert looked like a rookie. If they don't play with some energy, it will be another blow out.
Greg from Reston, Va.: Ravens are more talented, more experienced and at the end of the day tougher than KC. They've played a more difficult schedule and survived many (too many) close games - winning 12 of them that easily could have been 14 or 15. All four of their losses were late game collapses.
Matthew from Kansas City: Bill, we lost a lot of big games this year. When we lost by big points, we bounced back with a vengeance. Maybe not against some big name teams, but we showed that we can shrug a bad loss off and come out the next week and play like a football team trying to make some noise. I think the Chiefs will bounce back and play a good game. They may not beat the Ravens, but they will give them a run for their money. Besides, I don't think anybody thought the Chiefs would even make it this far, so I am happy to be a Chiefs fan and it doesn't matter how far they go, I will be there watching every game next year. GO CHIEFS AFC WESTERN DIV CHAMPS.
Trent from Clarksville, Tenn.: As a Chiefs fan, it is certainly discouraging to see the team end the season with a home loss. However, this young team seems very resilient. They've bounced back quickly from consecutive losses twice this season. As well as a 31-0 shutout in San Diego. Regardless of whether or not the Chiefs pull out the victory, I'm certain that they'll fight until the finish. Haley's done a great job reminding this young team that every game is a new opportunity to make something big happen, so don't forget that momentum going into the playoffs isn't a necessity. The last three NFC champions headed into the playoffs with little momentum (one of those being the '08 Cardinals, whom Haley was the OC). The Ravens present a tough home matchup, but I think the Chiefs will be up for the challenge.
Doug from Kansas City: I just don't see my beloved Chiefs beating the Ravens. And it kills me to say that. They still have work to do if they are getting knocked out of their socks by the Raiders at home. How embarrassing is that?We saw some positive growth this year though. And it's been fun. But I don't see a deep playoff run till next year, after Pioli has had a chance to pull some more draft magic and our O & D continue to imprive. Of course I hope I am wrong and they beat Baltimore! Go Chiefs!