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20.11.2019 12:33
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Andy Reid has been around long enough to know that focusing on the playoffs with three games left in the regular season is foolish, a trap that can derail a team capable of much bigger things.He also knows something about human nature.So, try as he might to stop his Chiefs from pondering what the future could hold on Sunday, the old coach reluctantly acknowledged that everybody on his sideline will be well aware of the stakes.Probably everyone on the Tennessee sideline, too.I know its an important time of the year. I know that. And if youre in the hunt, every game becomes an important game, right? Reid asked. If you can just keep it that simple from a coach and player standpoint, youre doing OK. Its going to get blown up around you, but we dont talk about it.The Chiefs (10-3), tied atop the AFC West after last weeks win over Oakland, are among three teams that can clinch a playoff spot this week. Beating the Titans is the easiest way, but they could back into a playoff spot if things break their way in games involving Denver, Pittsburgh and Miami.But there is more at stake than just the playoffs, which is why Reid and Co. are focused solely on beating the red-hot Titans. They still believe they can earn a first-round bye and the AFCs No. 2 seed.Theres a lot of incentives to put on this game, Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith said. You want a ticket to the dance. You cant win it unless you get in, so you want to clinch it, for sure.There are nearly as many incentives for the Titans (7-6), who are tied with Houston atop the AFC South. But while the Chiefs are almost certain to make the playoffs as a wild-card if they cant hold off Oakland in the division, the Titans only hope for the postseason may be as a division champ.I know they know the big picture, Titans coach Mike Mularkey said, echoing his counterpart, but Im going to keep them on the same picture weve been on that weve got to win this game. We have to win. We have to go to a tough environment in Kansas City, a team thats playing extremely well, and weve got to win this game or everything else is irrelevant.As two playoff contenders prepare to tangle at Arrowhead Stadium, here are some key story lines:BUNDLE UP: The Chiefs-Raiders game Thursday night ended with temperatures in the low-20s, and thats going to feel balmy. Snow is in the forecast on Saturday with temps at kickoff Sunday in the low-teens.Probably one of my last college games at Oregon, Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota said, it got down into the high-20s. So this will be the coldest game Ive played, for sure.RUN, RUN, RUN: The Titans roll into the game with the leagues third-best rushing offense, buoyed by DeMarco Murrays resurgent season and Derrick Henrys increased role in the offense. And theyll be facing a Chiefs defense missing linebacker Derrick Johnson, who ruptured his Achilles tendon last week.Next man up. Thats what happened with me, Chiefs linebacker Justin Houston said. They played the first eight games this season without me and they did a great job. So its next man up. Im going to pray for him and hope he stays strong. I know hell stay strong. But the next man needs to be prepared.SPEAKING OF RUNNING: The Chiefs have struggled to run the ball for weeks, and much of the shine has worn off Spencer Ware, who was a fantasy football darling through the first six weeks.Its not one person, one scheme. Its been hit or miss on all the different schemes, Reid said. We can tighten it up, and we can give the players some things that might be a little better for what they do.TYREEK THE FREAK: Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill was the AFC special teams player of the week after his punt return touchdown against Oakland. He also caught a TD pass in the game. And with a kick return TD and a TD run, hes the first rookie since Gale Sayers to score each of those ways.I have to give a shoutout to my brothers out there on the field fighting for me, doing everything that theyre supposed to do, Hill said. Without those guys, I wouldnt be standing here in front of you.RED ZONE EFFICIENCY: The Titans are among the best in the NFL at scoring touchdowns in the red zone, while the Chiefs are among the worst. Mariota has thrown 32 TD passes without a pick in those spots.He has a very quick release and theres not a lot of room for error down there, a lot of tight windows, Mularkey said, and I think hes been very good with that.---For more NFL coverage: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFLFake Balenciaga . -- The Magic have their first victory of the new year. Balenciaga Shoes Sale . To the surprise of many, it isnt the Wolverines but their in-state rivals the Michigan State Spartans. https://www.fakebalenciaga.com/ . -- Jakob Silfverberg is making himself right at home with the Anaheim Ducks, scoring four goals in his first four games. Fake Balenciaga 2020 . Clarke was injured while practicing on the Doha Golf Club range after the pro-am on Tuesday. The Northern Irishman arrived at the course on Wednesday hoping to start, but after hitting a few balls on the practice putting green Clarke advised officials he was not fit to play. Fake Balenciaga For Sale . Now, with Game 6 set for Fenway Park and an 8:07 p.m. ET first pitch, the Detroit Tigers face the unenviable task of having to beat the Boston Red Sox twice, on the road, to advance to the World Series.Normally the Playoff Hockey Challenge is but a small percentage of the great marathon that is the NHL season. Not so in this lockout-shortened campaign. This season, the Playoff Hockey Challenge will come with almost equal bragging rights to your regular fantasy hockey pool. In fact, if a team captures the cup while playing in four seven-game series, those games would represent more than half of what the NHL regular season was. If you havent participated in the Playoff Hockey Challenge before, this is your season to get into it. We had almost four months of hockey taken away from us earlier this season, and this game is a chance for the fantasy sports fans to reclaim part of that lost time. Dont settle for your fantasy hockey season ending later this month. Extend it through the postseason with the Playoff Hockey Challenge. The Basics This should be easy for those who enjoy playing the Hockey Challenge during the regular season. The rules are very similar to the Hockey Challenge and are consistent with most of your basic salary-cap games. You pick a team of six forwards, four defensemen and two goaltenders under a fantasy budget of $100 million. That team scores you goals, assists, wins and shutout bonuses to carry you to glory. Goals are worth a point, assists are worth a point, wins are worth two points, and goaltenders and defensemen get a bonus point for a shutout. Selecting a team of stars should be relatively easy as the game begins with most forwards drawing a salary just under $9 million, the top defensemen just under $8 million and the goaltenders peaking at $11 million. Do the math and you will notice you are just shy of being able to ice a roster of all the top players in the league. While that may be true, its not always the top players in the league who excel in the playoffs. You get to swap out your team after the first round of the playoffs and again after the conference semifinals, but you dont get to trade out the team after the conference finals. In other words, there is no harm in selecting players from teams that get eliminated in the first or second rounds. But when the playoffs are pared down to the four teams vying for a trip to the Stanley Cup finals, that is your final roster lock. There are no limits to the swapping as long as you stay under $100 million. In theory, you could have 36 different players on your roster during the entirety of the Playoff Hockey Challenge. Remember that all NHL players will be available to all other owners you are competing against, whether in a public, private or fan-based group. Your picks need to be shrewd, calculated and, most of all, pretty lucky. The Details Go for the goaltenders first in this game. Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown led the NHL in playoff scoring last season with 20 points. That means they led all skaters with 20 points in the Playoff Hockey Challenge. Henrik Lundqvist, whose team was eliminated in the conference finals, compiled 23 points in the Playoff Hockey Challenge.Jonathan Quick? He had 35 points in the Playoff Hockey Challenge. Evgeni Malkin had to be the seventh-highest scoring forward in NHL playoff history in 2009 to just get 36 points. Goaltenders are where the money is in this game. Pick two good ones and you have a guaranteed 48 points through the first three rounds. Pick two goaltenders who both make the Stanley Cup finals and battle in a seven-game series there? Thats 62 points, not counting shutouts. Brown, Kopitar and Ilya Kovalchuk, who was third in playoff scoring last season, didnt equal that number combined.dddddddddddd Longer playoff series provide and advantage, but not for goaltenders. Goaltenders cannot win more than four games in a series and get zero points if their team loses. Goalies are somewhat capped for points during this game, but there is no limit on what a skater can do for point production. A skater can score in a loss as much as he pleases. Seven-game series are where the real money is at in this fantasy game. A lot of star players not only score points when their team wins games but also when their team loses. A player competing in seven games, even if three of them are losses, has a much better chance of getting more points than a player in four games that are all wins. Defensemen are still important in this game and there will usually be one or two who stand out during the postseason, but the majority of defensemen will all be bunched between six and 10 points. That isnt enough of a difference to break your bank and not be able to afford a key forward who can get into the mid-20s for points. Besides, would you have predicted Drew Doughty and Bryce Salvador would lead the pack last season? Pick the good defensemen at the start of the game and switch out for the hot ones when you get to repick your team. The ones you picked at the start of the game probably wont be the ones leading the way. Picking the seven-game series ahead of time can be a fools errand, but there are slightly smarter places to place your bets. Of the 25 seven-game series in the first round during the past 12 postseasons, only five were between the No. 1 and No. 8 seeds. The most series that went the distance -- eight of them -- involved the No. 3 seed versus the No. 6 seed. No. 4 versus No. 5 accounted for six Game 7s, and No. 2 against No. 7 made up the other six. Thats a fairly even split, but if you are picking between two players where everything else is even in your mind, lean toward the tighter seeding between the teams. One final point: Treat the bonuses as a bonus. Last season was the first time in several years that shutouts in the regular season were an indicator of shutouts to come in the postseason, with Quick, Lundqvist and Mike Smith all notching three playoff shutouts for bonus points. Only three goaltenders during the 2007 through 2011 NHL playoffs posted more than one playoff shutout after finishing top three in shutouts during the regular season: Tim Thomas in 2011, Antti Niemi in 2010 and Dominik Hasek in 2007. Does that mean Pekka Rinne, Cory Schneiderand Smith are bound for great postseasons? Based on last year, yes. Based on the previous five years, no. That leans toward the conclusion that the bonus points are somewhat unpredictable. That said, Lundqvist and Smith sure do seem to pick up a lot of shutouts. If you like the New York Rangers orPhoenix Coyotes chances (if they make the playoffs), those two particular goaltenders do show personal trends for shutouts. But remember some of these facts: In the 2010 playoffs, Michael Leighton led the way with three shutouts after posting one during the regular season. In the 2009 playoffs, Chris Osgood, Cam Ward, Jonas Hiller and Semyon Varlamov led all goaltenders with two shutouts each. During the preceding regular season, they recorded a combined 12 shutouts. TSN Playoff Hockey Challenge is brought to you by Kia. ' ' ' |
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