It would take a Nobel Prize-winning mathematician

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Womens Junior Seau Jersey , or perhaps psychologist, to reconcile one of the biggest statistical oddities involving the Kansas City Chiefs this season.They have the NFL's worst defense by a longshot, allowing more than 450 yards per game, and they appear to be equally inept at stopping the run and the pass. Yet when they do manage to stop a team on first and second down, they suddenly become the league's best defense on third downs.Yes, that same sieve-like defense allows a conversion rate of a measly 23.8 percent.When asked to explain the disparity, Chiefs coach Andy Reid pointed to a sense of pride within his defense, a certain back-against-the-wall mentality that brings out their best. Players pointed to the same thing, though several of them acknowledged Wednesday the dichotomy makes little sense."I mean, you've just got to make stops when you need to," cornerback Kendall Fuller said. "When you're going up against the best of the best Doug Flutie Jersey , they're going to make plays. You've just got to keep on, come back with the same confidence knowing you can make the next play."So far, the Chiefs have indeed made the stops when they needed. They kept Philip Rivers and Co. in check in a season-opening win over the Chargers, then made enough stops against Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers, before using their bend-but-don't-break style to beat the 49ers at home.It was on display again Monday night against Denver.The Chiefs allowed 385 yards, which is downright stingy by their standards, but were especially good on those third downs. They allowed the Broncos to convert just two of their 11 tries, and none of their four in the second half, when Kansas City mounted its comeback in a 27-23 victory.Once again they bowed up when it mattered most.The Chiefs had just scored to get within 23-20 midway through the fourth quarter when they forced a three-and-out, stuffing Phillip Lindsay on first down and forcing a pair of incompletions. That stop gave them the ball back with plenty of time to go downfield for the go-ahead score.Then, when the Broncos raced back the other direction to get in position for a winning touchdown http://www.thechargerslockerroom.com/authentic-trevor-williams-jersey , the Chiefs held on third-and-10 and again on fourth down to seal the victory."When our defense needed to tighten up, they tightened up. Whether it was before the half or at the end of the game," Reid said. "Guys are making a good effort. Guys are stepping up at the right time and I'm glad they're doing that."To put into perspective just how good the Chiefs have been on third down, consider the fact that only two other teams 鈥?Baltimore and Philadelphia 鈥?are holding opponents below 30 percent conversion rates, and that Cincinnati, which ranks last in that category, allows more than double Kansas City at 57 percent.The Chiefs' rate of 23.8 percent is also a marked improvement over last season, when they were seventh-worst in the NFL at 41.4 percent, and has helped mask many of their deficiencies.Sure, they give up yards by the dozen. But they're also near the bottom of the league with just three takeaways, and the defense is part of the reason they're one of the NFL's most-penalized teams."We made the stops when we needed to (in Denver) and that should give the defense as a whole confidence Womens Desmond King Jersey ," linebacker Justin Houston said. "I think we just need to put a complete game together. We still have yet to put a complete game together. That's our goal is to play the first quarter through the fourth quarter, a complete game of pure dominance. That's what we want."Maybe they should start with dominating on first and second downs.Notes: WR Sammy Watkins (hamstring) and outside linebacker Dee Ford (groin) practiced Wednesday. Both left last week's game against Denver and did not return. ... Safety Eric Berry (heel) remained out of practice. He has not been on the practice field since early in training camp. "We have great communication with him. We know his desire to be there," Reid said. "We're being smart with it. It's a long season." The effort to preserve the drama of the first night of the draft continues.Adam Schefter of ESPN, one of the two Disney-owned networks that will be televising the draft, reports that Cardinals quarterback Josh Rosen will be present for the start of the team’s offseason program on Monday. The report comes with the kind of nothing-to-see-here flair regarding a possible Rosen trade, which tends to keep the Cardinals’ plans unknown, and which in turn tends to maximize the interest in the first night of the draft.Schefter also reports that the Cardinals “still have not engaged in active trade discussions to date on Josh Rosen. Other teams have asked about him, but to date, the Cardinals have not shown a willingness to trade him. To date….”This contradicts a recent (and in our view highly credible) report from Joel Klatt of FOX, who claimed that the Chargers, Giants Brandon Mebane Jersey , and Patriots have shown interest in Rosen, that one of those teams has offered the Cardinals a second-round pick for Rosen, and that the Cardinals want a first-round pick.The timing of a potential Josh Rosen trade becomes critical to preserving the inherent intrigue of the first night of the draft. If the Cardinals trade Rosen before the draft begins, the message becomes obvious: They’re taking Kyler Murray. So there’s an incentive for the league to encourage the Cardinals not only to keep things quiet, but also to throw water on the idea that a Rosen trade may happen.That incentive extends to the networks televising the draft. ESPN and ABC understandably want to blow out the ratings, and that doesn’t happen if Arizona’s plans for the first overall pick become known. If Rosen is either traded or it appears that he will be, Arizona’s plans for the first overall pick necessarily become known.This leads to an interesting question that was posed while discussing those dynamics on Friday’s : Will ESPN take the no-tipping-picks rule to the next level and instruct its army of reporters to refrain from reporting anything that would reveal Arizona’s plans? Will ESPN likewise encourage them to trumpet reports that would keep those plans in the dark for as long as possible?It’s an interesting twist that’s worth monitoring over the next 20 days, as more and more reports emerge regarding the things that may or may not happen during the first round of the draft.