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Five Kansas City Chiefs Questions with Arrowhead Pride

Joel Thorman from Arrowhead Pride stops by to answer our questions about the Kansas City Chiefs, wizards, and his favorite color. This is to help us preview Sunday's game between the Chiefs and the San Diego Chargers, of course.

Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
What happened to the Chiefs? Chargers fans left them for dead week's ago, around the time of Jamaal Charles' season-ending injury, and now they are in the playoff race! Is Andy Reid a wizard?

In order....

  1. The defense is playing much, much better. They haven't given up more than 18 points in a game since Week 4. They're really hitting their stride, and it's no coincidence that aligns with the return of Sean Smith. His absence was a problem in the first three weeks but they look like they're back.
  2. Charcandrick West wasn't as much of a drop-off from Jamaal Charles as we thought. He's had 20-plus carries in three straight games and comes off an 80-yard touchdown catch in last week's win in Denver.
  3. Turnovers. They're dominating the turnover battle lately. They've had four straight games with at least two picks and Alex Smith hasn't thrown a pick since Week 3. With an offense that doesn't turn it over (but kicks too many field goals), they're tough to beat with that defense.

(Editor's Note: Joel didn't answer my question about Andy Reid being a wizard, which means that Reid is definitely a wizard and Joel doesn't want us to know because it might be viewed as cheating by the NFL.)

Where are the weaknesses on Kansas City's defense?

Not much lately, although they haven't played necessarily played top notch competition at quarterback. They were toasted by Aaron Rodgers and Andy Dalton early in the season when Sean Smith was out but now he's back. The Chiefs really like Smith and Marcus Peters on the outside but they have been vulnerable with their third cornerback since the loss of Phillip Gaines in Week 3. Philip Rivers will get his in the passing game.

Name one player that Chargers fans don't know before this game but will have a big impact on this game.

You probably know him from your fantasy league but Charcandrick West is a name to watch. He's become the Chiefs feature back to the point where Knile Davis was inactive last week. He is like Jamaal Charles in that he can run the ball inside and out, catch it out of the backfield and pass block. He just doesn't do them all quite as well as Jamaal did, although he certainly has his moments. It's a fair prediction that you'll see a lot of Charcandrick West on Sunday.

Your prediction for the game?

I'm picking the Chiefs to win, 27-24. These games are always close. Three points either way sounds about right. The Chargers have kind of a 2012 Chiefs feel where it seems like on paper they have more talent than their record indicates. The Chiefs went 2-14 that year. The Chargers probably aren't doing that but it's just odd to see such a good quarterback without the good record.

What's your favorite color? Also, is it okay for an adult to have a favorite color or is a bit silly? RELATED: What do you do to kill the boredom in the middle of a wasted season? We haven't had one of these in 12 years so we're out of ideas.

I guess I gotta say red here. As for how to kill time, we have some experience with that. Arrowhead Pride went live in 2006 and the Chiefs have had more four-win-or-less seasons (four) than playoff appearances (three). Talk about how the Raiders are going to blow this promising season. I'm thinking it would be best to see them on the cusp of the playoffs, and then lose to the Chiefs in Week 17. Or just see them lose seven straight to end the season.