Ap Chiefs Mailbag: What To Think Of The Kingsley Suamataia Mess?

Welcome back to the Arrowhead Pride Mailbag!Throughout the season, keep watching The Feed for an opportunity to submit your questions about the Kansas City Chiefs!

A frustrating loss to the Denver Broncos dropped the Chiefs to 5-2 and left fans wondering how seriously to panic. Let’s see what’s on our readers’ minds ahead of hopefully a get-right opportunity against the New York Jets.

Tomahawk0611 asks:

Why didn’t left guard Kingsley Suamataia play yesterday? Has he been permanently benched?

We saw Suamataia benched in Week 4 only to return to the starting lineup after the bye. I suspect that we will see him again in Week 9 against the Jets, but this has been a weird situation.

I think it is fair to be frustrated with Reid’s cryptic responses, but what should be obvious is that the staff has made it clear to the player they are not happy about something. It is unclear whether that is tied to performance or practice habits.

Whatever the problem, however, I don’t think fans are putting enough blame on Suamataia for how he is falling short of expectations. This is especially true considering one of the biggest fan criticisms from the past few seasons has been a perceived lack of accountability.

The frustration with the staff and front office should be that they did not have a better backup plan than Mike Caliendo before deciding to hold the line on Suamataia.

GoldenDomer asks:

Is the QB sneak refusal an Andy Reid thing or Patrick Mahomes thing? It’s equally disappointing that Mahomes hasn’t just done it on his own at this point.

Since the night in Denver that the world saw Mahomes’ kneecap put back into place on the field, the quarterback sneak has clearly not been an option for the Chiefs. We saw the team briefly use tight end Noah Gray — and Blake Bell before him — on the play. Unfortunately, teams quickly caught on.

For fans, the obvious answer to short-yardage woes has been to re-sign running back Kareem Hunt. My solution would be to put backup quarterback Justin Fields into some third-and-1 and fourth-and-1 plays. Perhaps that means taking Mahomes off the field for a snap. Perhaps that has both quarterbacks on the field at the same time. Defenses accounting for Fields would likely pay bigger dividends for running backs Kenneth Walker and Emmett Johnson in the crucial situations.

Glorified KC asks:

Why did the defense struggle so much in the fourth quarter? Did Sean Payton figure out a weakness to exploit? They went from allowing 0 first downs in the third quarter to allowing 15 points in the fourth.

To be fair, the Chiefs are not the only team to have trouble putting the Broncos away late. Of Denver’s now six wins, they were trailing or tied entering the fourth quarter four times (with one of their other wins coming in overtime). I assumed that the Jacksonville Jaguars and Los Angeles Rams would put the Broncos away, only to see a similar story unfold that we saw Sunday.

Reid put the defense in bad positions twice by punting on fourth-and-1, leading to a touchback, before having Harrison Butker miss a 54-yard field goal to start Denver’s final position at their own 44-yard line. I actually think Reid chose the wrong time to punt in either situation.

On both of Denver’s touchdown drives, the Chiefs’ defense surrendered a massive play. One saw a 15-yard penalty added on, and the final drive saw a 50-yard play go to the five-yard line.

The defense let Kansas City down. However, I would also put heavy blame on conservative offensive playcalling that yielded zero points in the final frame.

Atypical Vagabond asks:

Can the Chiefs stop beating themselves? There is no reason not to win with a 15 point lead… yet we certainly found a way to lose.

There are two seasons that are coming to mind when I see how the last two weeks have gone.

The first season I covered the Chiefs for Arrowhead Pride was 2021. That year, the Chiefs appeared to play undisciplined much of the season and had a predictable offense where almost anyone could tell what play was about to be called based on the formation. That season ended with an inexcusable loss in the AFC Championship game.

The other season I am thinking of came in 2023, when Kansas City took an extended offensive slump almost to the playoffs, including an inept Christmas Day performance against the Raiders. We will remember that year ended with Kansas City’s third Super Bowl title in a five-season span.

The past two games have been frustrating. However, I think we need to wait out the rest of the slate and judge the Chiefs on the whole of the season. That said, we need to see the team really focus on getting right over the next three weeks against a trio of seemingly lesser opponents.

RunningFree asks:

At what point will (local) media turn on Andy’s way of not providing meaningful answers no matter the question?

If someone asked him if it rained during the game at Denver he might say something along the lines of:

“We’ll go back, look at the tape, and see where we’re at. I’m not gonna get into all the details on that. You guys saw what happened out there. So, uh, we’ll just go from there.”

Truthfully, I included this question because it really made me laugh.

I do not know how much longer the 68-year-old Reid plans to continue coaching. But I don’t see him changing his tone with the media.

Fans frequently vent frustration that beat writers are not asking tough enough questions when Reid is available, typically on Wednesdays, Fridays, and after games. I would counter that most of those writers know what topics Reid is likely to be more upfront about. It is hard to create content off of the coach’s nonanswers.

Local media will continue to ask similar questions in press conferences. When we do get unflattering details around the team — such as what we have seen recently with tackle Josh Simmons — expect national media to continue breaking the news.

Thank you for reading this week’s Arrowhead Pride Mailbag! We will be back after the Chiefs try to get back on track against the Jets. Keep watchingThe Feed for an opportunity to ask your questions.