Chiefs inexperienced O-Line will face Cleveland Browns Garrett, Clowney

Chiefs are untroubled that three offensive linemen with zero starts will face Clowney and Garrett.

The Kansas City Chiefs are a juggernaut that does not need an experienced offensive line to easily handle the Cleveland Browns, judging by the six-point spread.

To put this into perspective, the largest betting line in the NFL is 7.5 points, according to the latest from Betsided.com (lines posted on page 3 of this article). These underdogs are the Cowboys at Tampa Bay,

the hapless Detroit Lions hosting San Francisco, the Chicago Bears at the Los Angeles Rams. Then the Steelers are 6.5 point dogs versus the Buffalo Bills and Josh Allen. Then the Chiefs are expected to whale on the Browns.

Didn’t we go through this a while back in the Super Bowl?

Most people were sure that the Chiefs with their brilliant quarterback Patrick (Clark Kent) Mahomes would pass the Chiefs to victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, led by the respected but aging matinee idol Tom Brady.

Never mind that the Chiefs were going to play without two-time Pro Bowl left tackle Eric Fisher and 2018 All-Pro (and former Cleveland Brown) right tackle Mitchell Schwartz. The Chiefs were so good that offensive linemen would not be necessary to beat Tampa Bay. Nope! Next man up! Patrick Mahomes would simply use his scrambling ability and strong arm to make difficult passes in order to compensate.

A minority of commentators, including this one, suggested that fat kids do matter, and the Chiefs were not going to win with a patchwork offensive line. And, as Casey Stengel used to say, you can look it up.

How did it work out?

Well, the Chiefs scored nine points.

Tampa Bay hit Mahomes nine times and sacked him three times and he was running for his life all evening.

Perhaps, offensive linemen do serve a purpose, after all?

Never mind. After an offseason of watching Mahomes in insurance company commercials, we have been lulled asleep and have forgotten that nasty lesson again. This offseason, the buzz is that Kansas City has totally rebuilt its offensive line, so that cannot happen. So how did they do it?

First, they traded for Orlando Brown, Jr., the Son of Zeus, the former Baltimore Raven, at left tackle. The other OBJ is a very good left tackle who should be playing right tackle. At 6-foot-8, 345 pounds, the Pro Bowler can clear out a running lane on the right side of the lane as well as anyone in the league.

However, he has his heart set on playing left tackle, like his father Orlando “Zeus” Brown, who played for both the Browns as well as the Baltimore Ravens.

Zeus, Jr. wound up being traded to the Chiefs because the Ravens wanted to play Ronnie Stanley, who is also a star left tackle. Part of it is probably the financial aspect, part of it is just football karma.

There’s little doubt in this fan’s mind that the Ravens managed to weaken themselves, while the rest of the teams in the AFC North are better off not seeing this guy twice a year. No matter left tackle is anchored completely for the Chiefs in 2021.

Second, the left guard spot now belongs to Joe Thuney, the former Patriot. Thuney was born in Centerville, Ohio, and attended Alter High School in Kettering, Ohio and would look great in brown and orange, but somehow he messed up and went to Kansas City. Thuney was well compensated, pulling down a five-year deal, worth $80 million, including a $17 million signing bonus and $46.9 million guaranteed.

However, at center, right guard, and right tackle, the Browns will face three players making their first NFL start on the side of the line that has to deal with Myles Garrett. That may not be as trivial as most people believe.

Let’s talk about that some more.