It is the J.R. Sport Brief Show here with you coast to coast on the Infinity Sports Network. Every day is something new with the Chiefs, right? A guy gets married, a guy gets suspended, a guy comes back. Got to figure out the line.
It's just something new every day. We're getting closer and closer to the start of the season. The Chiefs get started next week, next Friday, down in Brazil. Against the chargers.
Well, now it's time to talk about all these stories going on with the Kansas City Chiefs. Joining us someone joining us right now is someone who Covers all things chiefs, all things Kansas City Sports. You can catch them in Kansas City. A weekdays All the time on The Fan. It's the drive.
It's my main man. He's back. Harrington Harrison. Carrington. How are you?
JR, how are you doing, man? I can't let you say that it's always something going on with Kansas City. They've actually been relatively quiet this offseason. They definitely have had.
Some offseasons that were storyline-filled. You know, their wide receiver was playing Speed Racer on a Dallas Highway, their kicker was going viral. They definitely have had loud offseason. This was actually a quiet, normal offseason for the Chiefs.
Well, how can I forget the offseason started losing in the Super Bowl?
So it's been pretty busy. Yeah, I don't know why you gotta bring that up. You know what? I have never ever seen the only time actually I won't say that. The only other time I've seen a turn of emotion like that was this year for the Mike Tyson fight.
So my mom, you know, she's around Mike Tyson's age. She had a Mike Tyson t-shirt. She was so excited to watch Mike beat up Jake Paul. And to see her excitement go from the first round to the end of it, like it finally hit her. Like, man, Mike Tyson, I'm not gonna see the Mike Tyson of old.
I'm just watching old Mike Tyson. You know, I'm in Kansas City. Like, we know, we all are planning for the three P, we're all getting ready to see people's excitement. For the national anthem, and then to see people leave mid-third quarter and just give up on it, I have never seen a turn of energy like that.
Well, let me let me ask you this, Carrington. Knowing that they've attempted to fix the offensive line. Are you comfortable with what they have so far? I just honestly, it's really difficult to answer that question because of the uncertainty on the left side. The Chiefs are going to be starting a rookie left tackle and Josh Simmons.
You know, whenever they drafted him, I was talking about him potentially being a redshirt option because he didn't finish out the college football season because he broke his patella.
So I was thinking that Jay Lamoore, who was the backup last year for San Francisco, I was thinking he was going to be the left tackle and they were going to redshirt him. That ended up not being the case. Once they went to training camp, he was the starter. They're now going to start Kingsley Suamatea. He's their left guard.
He was their starting left tackle last year. He got sat down in game two and he was a backup the rest of the year.
So I would love to be able to answer your question, but For a team that doesn't have a lot of question marks, like this is a team that's going to be very familiar. If you've watched the Chiefs the last couple of years, you know the names. They have not had a lot of turnover. They just have such a huge question mark and Era of uncertainty over on that left side. We're going to have to see.
I think the beautiful thing about it is, you know, they play the Chargers in week one. They play Philadelphia in week two. They play a Giants team that maybe isn't going to be the best, but certainly has great pass rushers and a great defensive line. They play Baltimore early in the season. They go up against the Lions with Aiden Hutchinson.
So, like, you're going to see this offensive line get tested very early on in the season. Carrington Harrison is joining us, host the drive in Kansas City in the You say uncertainty. We've heard all these stories outside of the guy now being engaged about how. Travis Kelsey has spent more time thinking about football, modelizing what happens with his celebrity life, with his football career. He slimmed down.
Based on everything that's gone on, can we expect a better season than we got last year? We know he's older. We also know he's in the final year of his contract. What are you expecting from Kelsey? Yeah, I think that athletes just really struggle to say that I'm aging and slowing down.
Like, I refuse to think that going to the Eras tour had an effect on Travis Kelsey in week nine or recording Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? I just don't think that matters. We're talking about a 35-year-old skill position player in a young man's game. Think about all the great skill position players in the league, whoever you think they are: Brock Bowers, Jamar Chase. Justin Jefferson, all of those guys.
We're talking about guys that are between 25 and 27. Travis Kelsey is 35. He'll be 36 during the NFL season. I think the issue with Travis Kelsey is he can't create separation the way that he used to. He's not more athletic than everybody else the way that he was, you know, four or five years ago.
So I don't really put a lot of stock into the offseason stuff for him. I just think more than anything, just Father Time catches everybody and he's no different. And he got a little he had a little bit of a tire there last year. It's gone a little bit. Yeah, I mean, he had a little bit.
I mean, you know, in the playoffs, you know, he played really well in the game against Houston. He had 100 yards, and then against Buffalo, a team that we thought could win the Super Bowl, and a team in Philadelphia. Like, he just didn't really do. A whole lot. Like, I think sort of the there's a blueprint now to slow down Travis Kelsey.
You got to get physical with them at the line of scrimmage. You can't let them just operate in space in resonance. But I think the hope, at least for Kansas City, is, you know, their offense was really banged up last year. They basically didn't have Isaiah Pacheco for. The last three months of the season.
He broke his leg and was never the same player. They really didn't have Hollywood Brown for most of the season last year. Rashi Rice missed 13 games last year with the knee injury.
So I think the hope is: well, if you can get those other pieces back and you're asking. Kelsey to be more of a complimentary player, more of a role player, kind of what Gronk was that final year in Tampa Bay. That's a role that I think he can flourish in. Carrington Harrison is here with us, host the drive in Kansas City. One guy, I'm very eager to see what he can do.
We heard that story earlier in training camp about how he hit his head, and then they said he was fine. Xavier Worthy. Is he going to take another step up? That's a great question. I think a lot of it just kind of depends on where Hollywood Brown is and what it was.
I think a big thing for Xavier Worthy last year is, you know, he almost got 100 targets. He had 98 targets last year.
Well, you didn't really have to share targets with Rashi Rice. You didn't really have to share targets with Hollywood Brown. I think we know Kelsey, or excuse me, Mahomes, he's gonna kind of disperse the ball a little bit. Everybody's gonna get a chance to eat.
So I think more than anything, what you could see with Worthy is. I think you can see his targets dip a little bit, but they really missed on big plays last year. Like, if you really look at some of the advanced numbers, Patrick Mahomes was not great down the field last year. I thought he missed a couple of throws where they had a chance for some of those big-time kind of haymaker plays that the Chiefs' offense was kind of known for in 18 and 19, and they missed on those last year. That's been a big point of emphasis this year with Kansas City: just having more punch, having more explosiveness.
This is an offense that most people think have the best offensive-minded head coach and have the best quarterback. And last year, they were 15th in points scored. You got too much talent to be middle of the road when it comes to offense.
So, a lot of the conversation has been about: hey, how do we get that top 10? Offense back in Kansas City.
Well, Carrington switching over to the defensive side of the ball, that's where they seem to be a little bit more stable. Last year. What should be some of the expectations this season? I know they've made some changes at the cornerback position. What do you expect from this defense?
I mean, I expect more of the same. You know, it was a lot of continuity. I mean, basically, other than Justin Reed, they kind of returned just about everybody. I looked this up.
So the Chiefs had 16 players that got a sack last year. 14 of those players are back on the team this year. They had 19 players get a tackle in the AFC Championship game against Buffalo. 16 of those players are back on this year's team.
So just. They're so familiar. You know, when you watch the Chiefs next Friday, like, you're not going to be, who's that? Who's that? Like, no, you've seen all these guys play.
You know, they played in Super Bowls, they've played in big time games. The Chiefs just didn't really have a lot of turnover this offseason. Having said that, everything that we discussed, knowing that Rice is gonna be out for the f First six games. What does Kelsey look like as he ages? The defense should still be at a baseline.
The 15 games is a lot. They went all the way to the Super Bowl with a faulty offensive line. Where's the floor and where's the ceiling for these Chiefs this upcoming season? Not again in another Super Bowl, right? I mean, I think it's certainly possible.
I mean, I think you look at the AFC. I mean, right now, can you make an argument for any team that's not Kansas City, Baltimore, or Buffalo? It feels like, once again, that those three teams have separated themselves.
So, you know, it comes down to a coin flip. Last year, Mark Andrews drops a pass. There's a controversial call on fourth down with Josh Allen. Josh Allen had the ball with three minutes to go at the 30-yard line. The Bills only get 15 yards and then turn over on down.
So, like, these games between those three teams are so close.
So, it really comes down to kind of who executes. I mean, the floor is the same, I think, with Kansas City. Their floor is 11 games. Their ceiling is 15 games. We're talking about a team that.
I haven't got so caught up in that last year, how great they are in one-score games, just because I think that's the DNA of the Chiefs. Sure, last year it was wild, whether it was the Baltimore game and in by a toe or blocking an extra point or doing these things. Yes. The Chiefs just kind of had some improbable wins, but knowing how to win, expecting to win. One of my favorite stories from last season was, I think it was the Broncos game where DeAndre Hopkins just joins the team.
It looks like the Chiefs are about to lose. He goes over to McCole Harvey and he says, man, they got us this week. And McColl says, I know we're going to win. We've won way crazier games than this. The Chiefs block the kick.
And then McColl tells D-Hop, I told you, I told you. Like we always win these kind of games. There is just an expectation in Kansas City where if this is a one-possession game with five minutes to go, the Chiefs will just figure out a way to win. I think a lot of teams hope they can win. I think the Chiefs expect to win in that scenario.
And that is a significant advantage. For Carrington, I'm not shocked or surprised, uh but uh maybe a little bit. Everybody who, all of a sudden, I think last year started to feel, and maybe this is some of that nonsense about the referees and whatnot. It just felt that a lot of people in the country got sick and tired of watching. The Kansas City Chiefs win.
And I used to say to myself, This is not the Patriots. Like, Tom Brady doesn't come across as likable. Bill Belichick certainly doesn't come across as likable. Like, the Chiefs actually seem pretty cool. They're like the Warriors and Steph Curry with no Draymond.
Are the fans in Kansas City spoiled with what they've achieved yet? Is this just kind of like, eh, it's our birthright? No, I don't think that anybody is spoiled. I just would like to point out that this is just, this is what happens in sports when you win. Like, we got tired of seeing Alabama and Clemson.
What was that? Eight years ago. Then we got tired of seeing Georgia win every year. And then we get, like, we do this every time. Like, it is very predictable.
We want a new team to win. Then that team wins too much. And now we're ready for a new team to win. The only reason we feel this way is because the Chiefs are good. No one thinks that games are rigged for the Saints because the Saints are terrible.
No one hates watching Tennessee because Tennessee isn't on television because they're not good enough. The Chiefs have now reached this point with Duke basketball, Alabama football. Like whenever you reach that point where you annoy everybody, that's good. That means you win a lot of important games. Yeah, does.
Yeah, I just don't find anybody to be. There's no jerks on the Chiefs. That's something like, why do you hate these people? Ain't no jerks. JR, I don't really get it either.
You know when I realized that it was out of hand? Whenever the Knicks, last year, when the Knicks were in the postseason, they showed Timothy Chalamé after every single made basket. I didn't hear anybody complain. We see Spike all the time.
Now, they show Taylor Swift up in the box. Oh, my God, turn the channel. Wait, she was on TV for 32 seconds the whole playoffs. Why are we worried about this? That's when I realized that there was a conspiracy against Kansas City.
And it ain't right, Jerry. Let me tell you, it ain't right. Maybe, maybe, maybe she is what put people. Over the edge. Having said that, last question for you, Carrington.
Is this going to be Kelsey's last year? What do you think? Not what you know or what you don't know. What do you think? I think that yesterday's engagement post was a we're about to retire post.
This is how I see things hurting. I see her coming to every Chiefs game this year. I'm going to fully support you. I'm going to drop this album. I'm going to wait to do the tour until the spring.
You're going to play football. You're going to retire. We're going to go on tour together. I'm going to fully support you. You're going to fully support me.
Like, you want me to think that Travis Kelsey this offseason is going to be planning the biggest wedding since when? Like, tell me the last time that we have had a celebrity wedding that is, we're talking like Jay-Z and Beyonce.
So we're talking about Princess Diana and Charles, man. That's a long time. It's like.
So, like, you're telling me we're planning that big of a wedding, and then we think that after they come back from a honeymoon, he's going to St. Joseph's, Missouri for training camp? Come on now. I can't believe that he is doing that. You know what I think?
I think that Travis Kelsey is going to do basically what Jason did. You remember, Jason never announced that he was going to retire, but it was kind of clear that it was his last year. And then when Jason is walking off the field against Tampa Bay, it was obvious that he is going to retire in the next couple of days. I think we'll see something very similar from Kelsey, where sometime in January or February, Travis Kelsey will announce that that was his final season in the league. All right, well we're we're gonna see.
We're going to see. I'm with you. I mean, I think you can't say you're going to marry this woman and then. He's going to end up like Tom Brady. His wife left him.
Okay, he doesn't want that. Don't want that. Hey, Carrington, thank you for the time. Always a pleasure. Tell everybody where they can listen to you, whether they're in Kansas City or anywhere else.
Well, JR, you can catch me every early Saturday morning right there on the Infinity Sports Network, the Harrison Experience from 6 to 10 Eastern.
So check me out. I'm excited for this weekend. We got a lot of great college football to talk to.
So really excited to get ready for week one of the end of the college football season. Yeah, I'm ready for all of the football. Carrington, I appreciate the time. We'll catch you soon, okay? Absolutely, man.
Take care, man. Appreciate you having me.
