Eric Berry has been lost for the season due to injury, and he leaves the Kansas City Chiefs with a gaping hole on defense. They simply cannot perform as well as they should when Berry is not on the field, and they will miss his emotional leadership. Emotional leaders make teams better because they can pull through adversity, and the Chiefs may face quite a lot of adversity now that everyone is targeting them. What does the loss of Eric Berry do the Chiefs emotionally?
The Patriots win is a letdown
Beating the New England Patriots does not feel as good to the Chiefs because they lost their best player in the process.
It is hard to celebrate Kareem Hunt when you know that your best player, the Heart And Soul of your team, is going to miss the season. The Chiefs had the wind taken out of their sails, and they must recover quickly on the back of someone like Kareem Hunt. They are not forgetting about Berry, but they are participating in the NFL system that calls for the next man up.
Their offense takes the stage
Kareem Hunt may be the new emotional leader of this team, and he may represent the new superstar that they need. The Chiefs could turn to Hunt to save their season, and he could have one of the great seasons in franchise history. Hunt is so good that he can make us forget names such as Jamaal Charles and Priest Holmes.
He may take the pressure off Alex Smith, and he might give more room to Travis Kelce to catch important passes.
Andy Reid can adjust
Andy Reid once had to use multiple backup quarterbacks in the same season, and he helped lead the Eagles to a good season even though he was constantly changing quarterback due to injury. Andy Reid is the solid sort of coach that the Chiefs need, and they will have more success with his moderated approach to coaching.
There is no reason to get too high or too low in Kansas City because Andy Reid is like a jolly old Santa Claus who looks after his guys.
Berry will come back
We often forget that this man came back from cancer to be the comeback player of the year, and Berry will likely come back once again. He is one of those unique talents that is also mentally tough.
He will recover quickly because he has the focus needed to do so, and he will return next season ready to play at a high level. The Kansas City defense must carry on without Berry, and they must ensure that they are prepared to hit just as hard so that they can gain the respect of offenses around the league who may think they are wounded.
