Dear Herm Edwards and Carl Peterson,
I apologize for the fact I was so down on your 2007 version of the Kansas City Chiefs. I mean, beating the Vikings this week, honestly, felt good.
Never mind that Dustin Colquitt is still on the field so much, that I'm tempted to drop a struggling LaDanian Tomlinson on my fantasy team and pick up the Chiefs punter (he could rack up tackles you know).
Never mind that KC Wolf tackling a drunken fan that ran on the field was apparently what sparked the offense in the second half. I mean, it's awesome that a seven foot muppet with Zubaz pants can tackle better than either of your corners.
Forget that Larry Johnson STILL hasn't topped 100 yards in a game or scored a touchdown. No need to worry about the fact that your offensive coordinator doesn't pass when there are eight men in the box and doesn't run to the weak side when the other side is over-loaded. I'm sure LJ doesn't mind being highest paid tackling dummy in the league.
You have to love that the team was unravelling to the point that Damon Huard and Larry Johnson were yelling at the coaches on national television. I mean, that's how you motivate a player right? Frustration?
Yes, this all added up to an extremely bizzare 13-10 win. But it was a win none-the-less. I'm sure the defense is grateful that the offense exploded for that 3 extra points this week.
San Diego is next. Maybe you can scratch out a 6-3 win. That would be awesome!
P.S. - I know you're thinking about breaking out the all-white uniforms, Herm. Please don't.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
And the Starter Versus Minnesota is ...
Damon Huard.
Not surprised. I figured Herm would go with Huard despite a little media and fan pressure to pull the trigger on Croyle this week. Just like with the Colts game last year where nearly everyone thought he should play Huard instead of Trent Green, Herm has decided to change nothing.
This is great news for all of you out there who own Damon Huard in your fantasy leagues. :)
-Ben G
Not surprised. I figured Herm would go with Huard despite a little media and fan pressure to pull the trigger on Croyle this week. Just like with the Colts game last year where nearly everyone thought he should play Huard instead of Trent Green, Herm has decided to change nothing.
This is great news for all of you out there who own Damon Huard in your fantasy leagues. :)
-Ben G
Monday, September 17, 2007
A Grizzly Defeat
Of the many things in life a person should avoid doing, one is looking up images of a bear attack online. Talk about gut wrenching. The Chiefs performance on Sunday was almost at that level. The Bears came out and absolutely beat the Chiefs in every facet of the game.
It's not shameful to lose to the defending NFC champions, in their house. It was expected. The thing that made this performance unacceptable is the way the Chiefs lost the game. Herman Edwards and offensive coordinator Mike Solari claim to want to run a ball-control offense. Yet, I counted at least three times that they had the ball on third down with one or two yards to go and they passed the ball. The result? One interception and two incomplete passes.
They can't even be conservative when the situation warrants it! Aren't they paying Larry Johnson $45 million to gain a yard in these situations? Do you know how hard it is to stop a 230 pound, Pro Bowl running back from gaining one yard? Apparently, Edwards and Solari don't. No, they would much rather run a fade route to Samie Parker who was dwarfed by the Bears corners. Mike Solari's play calling reminds me of when you go to Target or Wal Mart and see a five-year-old kid playing the free "Madden NFL 2007" demo. To say it's horrible would be an insult to Jimmie Ray and Paul Hackett. The thing that really sums up how crappy this offense is, is that the only touchdown came off consecutive broken plays. The first was a pass to Tony Gonzalez that went directly between the hands of Hunter Hillenmeyer. The second was when Dwayne Bowe poached a pass meant for Gonzalez for the touchdown. Though, I will say Bowe's catch was one of two exciting parts of the day for the offense. The other was Bowe's would-be second touchdown that was called back because of an illegal shift.
Special teams was just as atrocious. Devin Hester showed up and predictibly made the Chiefs look stupid. If it weren't for an unecessary hold by one of his teammates, he would have returned TWO kicks for touchdowns. So, what about the Chiefs "stud" returner Eddie Drummond? Well at least he didn't fumble this week. Someone get Justin Phinnesee on the phone now.
Dave Rayner was an improvement over Justin Medlock despite kicking a field goal so low it was blocked and kicking a kickoff out of bounds after their only touchdown drive. I'm not kidding, this was actually better than the previous five weeks.
The defense was once again ... ok. Let me start by saying that I hate the Cover-2. The Chiefs corners aren't fast/young enough to run it anymore. There's just something wrong with a defense that encourages an opposing team to take five yards on first down, consistently. If Peyton Manning isn't your quarterback or your defense doesn't have cornerbacks as good as Nathan Vasher and Charles Tillman, you will be ordinary at best. That is the 2007 Chiefs ladies and gentleman. Rex Grossman tried to give that game away yesterday and the defense couldn't hit that next gear to bury the Bears offense. The defensive backs are just too inconsistent to play this zone defense. I guess that is what you get when you sign two great man-to-man corners and ask them to play zone defense.
All of this brings me to my last point. Why are they continuing to start Huard? While I think that Huard has done an admirable job with very little, he isn't the future. For better or worse, Brodie Croyle needs to be evaluated. This team isn't going anywhere. Put Croyle in and see what you have. That way when the draft rolls around and you have a rare high pick, you know whether to go quarterback or not. The Chiefs HAVE to make this move. This year is lost and it's time to go with the full-blown youth movement. If they start Damon Huard for the rest of the year and go 2-14, and then they pass on Brian Brohm, Colt Brennan or "unknown out of nowhere quarterback 2008" by saying that Croyle is the future, I'll probably go crazy. Full blown, Margo Kidder/Britney Spears insane.
Next week the Chiefs play Minnesota at home. I really think this is their best chance at a win all year. They normally play well at home even in down years and Tarvaris Jackson is he quarterback of the Minnesota Vikings (expect him to run the bootleg and futher perplex the Chiefs defense ala Jake Plummer). On second thought, this team is coached by Herman Edwards. My guess: Chiefs 10 - Vikings 28. The Chiefs will give up another turnover for a touchdown and Adrian Peterson will go nuts.
It's not shameful to lose to the defending NFC champions, in their house. It was expected. The thing that made this performance unacceptable is the way the Chiefs lost the game. Herman Edwards and offensive coordinator Mike Solari claim to want to run a ball-control offense. Yet, I counted at least three times that they had the ball on third down with one or two yards to go and they passed the ball. The result? One interception and two incomplete passes.
They can't even be conservative when the situation warrants it! Aren't they paying Larry Johnson $45 million to gain a yard in these situations? Do you know how hard it is to stop a 230 pound, Pro Bowl running back from gaining one yard? Apparently, Edwards and Solari don't. No, they would much rather run a fade route to Samie Parker who was dwarfed by the Bears corners. Mike Solari's play calling reminds me of when you go to Target or Wal Mart and see a five-year-old kid playing the free "Madden NFL 2007" demo. To say it's horrible would be an insult to Jimmie Ray and Paul Hackett. The thing that really sums up how crappy this offense is, is that the only touchdown came off consecutive broken plays. The first was a pass to Tony Gonzalez that went directly between the hands of Hunter Hillenmeyer. The second was when Dwayne Bowe poached a pass meant for Gonzalez for the touchdown. Though, I will say Bowe's catch was one of two exciting parts of the day for the offense. The other was Bowe's would-be second touchdown that was called back because of an illegal shift.
Special teams was just as atrocious. Devin Hester showed up and predictibly made the Chiefs look stupid. If it weren't for an unecessary hold by one of his teammates, he would have returned TWO kicks for touchdowns. So, what about the Chiefs "stud" returner Eddie Drummond? Well at least he didn't fumble this week. Someone get Justin Phinnesee on the phone now.
Dave Rayner was an improvement over Justin Medlock despite kicking a field goal so low it was blocked and kicking a kickoff out of bounds after their only touchdown drive. I'm not kidding, this was actually better than the previous five weeks.
The defense was once again ... ok. Let me start by saying that I hate the Cover-2. The Chiefs corners aren't fast/young enough to run it anymore. There's just something wrong with a defense that encourages an opposing team to take five yards on first down, consistently. If Peyton Manning isn't your quarterback or your defense doesn't have cornerbacks as good as Nathan Vasher and Charles Tillman, you will be ordinary at best. That is the 2007 Chiefs ladies and gentleman. Rex Grossman tried to give that game away yesterday and the defense couldn't hit that next gear to bury the Bears offense. The defensive backs are just too inconsistent to play this zone defense. I guess that is what you get when you sign two great man-to-man corners and ask them to play zone defense.
All of this brings me to my last point. Why are they continuing to start Huard? While I think that Huard has done an admirable job with very little, he isn't the future. For better or worse, Brodie Croyle needs to be evaluated. This team isn't going anywhere. Put Croyle in and see what you have. That way when the draft rolls around and you have a rare high pick, you know whether to go quarterback or not. The Chiefs HAVE to make this move. This year is lost and it's time to go with the full-blown youth movement. If they start Damon Huard for the rest of the year and go 2-14, and then they pass on Brian Brohm, Colt Brennan or "unknown out of nowhere quarterback 2008" by saying that Croyle is the future, I'll probably go crazy. Full blown, Margo Kidder/Britney Spears insane.
Next week the Chiefs play Minnesota at home. I really think this is their best chance at a win all year. They normally play well at home even in down years and Tarvaris Jackson is he quarterback of the Minnesota Vikings (expect him to run the bootleg and futher perplex the Chiefs defense ala Jake Plummer). On second thought, this team is coached by Herman Edwards. My guess: Chiefs 10 - Vikings 28. The Chiefs will give up another turnover for a touchdown and Adrian Peterson will go nuts.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
R.I.P. 2007 Kansas City Chiefs Season (Link Edition)
I have officially decided that the 2007 Chiefs are going to be more synonymous with the term "loser" than Wile E. Coyote, Tom from famed cartoon comedic duo "Tom & Jerry" and Lauren from "The Hills".
To let you in on how amazing this statement is coming from me, I need to give you a brief course over my dedication level to this team over the years. I'll break it down by era.
A New Hope: A Nigerian Nightmare with Carl and Marty
These were the years that Carl Peterson and Marty Schottenheimer built a great defense with guys like Deron Cherry, Dino Hackett and Bill Maas. I was about eight years old. Up until then I liked the Bengals the best because I liked tigers and I thought that "Boomer" was a cool name for a QB. But let's be honest, Christian Okoye started it all. Okoye owned Tecmo Bowl, had his own poster and he led the league in rushing in 1989. The Okoye era was much like Joey Lawrence's musical career. When he came out he was huge, but people soon learned to hit him low and he was useless. He probably still has "Nigerian" nightmares about Steve Atwater. Overall, this era was hampered by Bill Kenney and Steve DeBerg. I still loved it though.
DT and Neil's bat swing
The early 90's became the Neil Smith and Derrick Thomas sack fest. Neil Smith was merciless against John Elway and Derrick Thomas was giving LT a run for his money as the league's best pass-rusher. Of course this team was hampered by having a QB duo in Steve Deberg and Dave Craig (the guy DT still holds the single-game sack record against) that never experienced a pass rush they couldn't scream and fall to the ground under. Brutal wild card losses made this era somewhat forgetable.
Are you going to use that QB or RB? No? Sweet, we'll take them!
The utterly dismal offense of the late 80's and early 90's transitioned into the Joe Montana /Marcus Allen team that almost got to the Superbowl. In 1993 and 1994, it seemed like Joe and Marcus were on a senior citizen quest for vengence not equalled since "Death Wish 4". Montana beat Steve Young head-to-head in 1994, and Marcus showed the Raiders that he was still better than any running back on their roster (I personally believe Marcus could be linked to Napoleon McCallum's grisly injury in 1994). The 1993 team in particular was only to be derailed by Montana's bum elbow and Derrick Thomas getting abused by Thurman Thomas. This was the last year they won a playoff game. It was against the Houston Oilers!!! A team that doesn't even exist anymore!
Hey, San Francisco. Do you have any quarterbacks you're not using?
Later, there was the retrospectively hilarious Steve Bono years followed by the agonizing Elvis Grbac years which should have been the Rich Gannon years (which I'm sure my uncle is very happy about me admitting now). Tragically Derrick Thomas died during this era and Neil Smith went to Denver to win two Superbowls. Gannon later went on to quarterback the Oakland Raiders to a Super Bowl while winning the MVP. The only thing that would have hurt more than the events of this era would have been if the lowly San Diego Chargers and Seattle Seahawks (formerly of the AFC west) would go on to be better than Kansas City at the same time ...
Just cry, baby!
Then we had the aerial show with Dick Vermeil which yielded tons of offensive records and one playoff appearance in which the Colts never punted. This team refused to field a legitimate defense, thus wasting the waning years of Willie Roaf and Will Shield's careers. Heartwarming.
In the year 2007 ...
The point of the Chiefs history lesson was that there was always next year. The team was going to be in the hunt. A wildcard could happen. Hell, at least the offense was fun to watch over the last few years. Our running backs were considered fantasy football studs and we were on national televison. Sure, we'd be disappointed in the end but at least there was something to cheer for.
Now we have reverted back to the early days of Marty Schottenheimer (funny enough, Herm was a coach on that staff). This team is slowly building a defense and chooses to run a ball-control offense. Judging by the pre-season and the first game against Houston (the Texans, not the Oilers by the way), KC is doomed this year. The receivers are no better then the moving bullseyes used during the best quarterback competition, Larry Johnson is getting stuffed and the kicking game is abysmal.
I'm really trying to wrap my mind around some of the personel decisions from this year. Let's go with a list here:
1) You release Lawrence Tynes. Good move. You draft Justin Medlock, a guy who kicked in sunny California his whole college career, in front of the Packers who drafted Mason Crosby, the consensous best kicker in the draft, who kicked in the Chief's back yard (the Big XII) and kicked in muliple weather situations. Bad move. Unless Carl's master plan was to draft Medlock so that the Packers would cut Dave Rayner when Crosby beat him out in camp, then cut Medlock and pick up Dave Rayner, this has been a disaster. I miss Lin Elliott, almost.
2) You watch Shields leave a year after Roaf retires only to ignore the offensive line in the draft until the sixth round where you take Herb Taylor. Really? I don't know what's worse, waiting to draft a lineman until the sixth round or drafting one named "Herb". At least we have Damion McIntosh and Kyle Turley, right? What's that you say? It's not 2004?
3) You basically burn the season before it starts by annointing Brodie Croyle, trading Trent Green and making Damon Huard the backup. You then stink it up in the preseason, bench Croyle and cut the third-string quarterback Casey Printers (a "Hard Knocks" legend now). Byron Leftwich becomes available and you don't sign him even though he would be the best quarterback on the roster, easily. I don't care what Jacksonville fans say, the guy never got a chance. Even without Leftwich, I'm disappointed that Brodie Croyle isn't the guy right now. It means less Kelli Croyle, and that is not good.
4) The defense may be better, but it's never a good thing when your corners are so old that one of them had a high top fade at some point in his life. They might have looked toward cornerback since there were 5,000 in this past year's draft. Look, I like Tamba Hali, Tank Tyler, Derrick Johnson, Bernard Pollard and Jarrad Page. I feel bad that they are going to have to protect a three-point lead all year. If they keep Jared Allen out of jail for the rest of the year, they might win a couple of games. Maybe.
After watching the debacle in Houston, I decided the year was over. That was painful. I've never felt so bored watching my favorite team play. Matt Shaub looked like John Elway. The Texan defense looked like the '85 Bears. To deal with this pain and to find a way to stay interested, I have decided to write about this entire year up to and including the NFL draft next year.
This could be a historic season. Possibly 0-16. Optimistically 4-12. Anyway you look at it, this team could be the team picking first in the draft next year. Unreal. I just hope they make the right choice if they do get the first pick. But they'll probably make a bad decision.
See you next week to discuss the pasting in Chicago!
*On an unrelated and slightly disturbing note, I found this picture of Tiki Barber while I was looking for other links. Feel validated Eli! feel validated.
To let you in on how amazing this statement is coming from me, I need to give you a brief course over my dedication level to this team over the years. I'll break it down by era.
A New Hope: A Nigerian Nightmare with Carl and Marty
These were the years that Carl Peterson and Marty Schottenheimer built a great defense with guys like Deron Cherry, Dino Hackett and Bill Maas. I was about eight years old. Up until then I liked the Bengals the best because I liked tigers and I thought that "Boomer" was a cool name for a QB. But let's be honest, Christian Okoye started it all. Okoye owned Tecmo Bowl, had his own poster and he led the league in rushing in 1989. The Okoye era was much like Joey Lawrence's musical career. When he came out he was huge, but people soon learned to hit him low and he was useless. He probably still has "Nigerian" nightmares about Steve Atwater. Overall, this era was hampered by Bill Kenney and Steve DeBerg. I still loved it though.
DT and Neil's bat swing
The early 90's became the Neil Smith and Derrick Thomas sack fest. Neil Smith was merciless against John Elway and Derrick Thomas was giving LT a run for his money as the league's best pass-rusher. Of course this team was hampered by having a QB duo in Steve Deberg and Dave Craig (the guy DT still holds the single-game sack record against) that never experienced a pass rush they couldn't scream and fall to the ground under. Brutal wild card losses made this era somewhat forgetable.
Are you going to use that QB or RB? No? Sweet, we'll take them!
The utterly dismal offense of the late 80's and early 90's transitioned into the Joe Montana /Marcus Allen team that almost got to the Superbowl. In 1993 and 1994, it seemed like Joe and Marcus were on a senior citizen quest for vengence not equalled since "Death Wish 4". Montana beat Steve Young head-to-head in 1994, and Marcus showed the Raiders that he was still better than any running back on their roster (I personally believe Marcus could be linked to Napoleon McCallum's grisly injury in 1994). The 1993 team in particular was only to be derailed by Montana's bum elbow and Derrick Thomas getting abused by Thurman Thomas. This was the last year they won a playoff game. It was against the Houston Oilers!!! A team that doesn't even exist anymore!
Hey, San Francisco. Do you have any quarterbacks you're not using?
Later, there was the retrospectively hilarious Steve Bono years followed by the agonizing Elvis Grbac years which should have been the Rich Gannon years (which I'm sure my uncle is very happy about me admitting now). Tragically Derrick Thomas died during this era and Neil Smith went to Denver to win two Superbowls. Gannon later went on to quarterback the Oakland Raiders to a Super Bowl while winning the MVP. The only thing that would have hurt more than the events of this era would have been if the lowly San Diego Chargers and Seattle Seahawks (formerly of the AFC west) would go on to be better than Kansas City at the same time ...
Just cry, baby!
Then we had the aerial show with Dick Vermeil which yielded tons of offensive records and one playoff appearance in which the Colts never punted. This team refused to field a legitimate defense, thus wasting the waning years of Willie Roaf and Will Shield's careers. Heartwarming.
In the year 2007 ...
The point of the Chiefs history lesson was that there was always next year. The team was going to be in the hunt. A wildcard could happen. Hell, at least the offense was fun to watch over the last few years. Our running backs were considered fantasy football studs and we were on national televison. Sure, we'd be disappointed in the end but at least there was something to cheer for.
Now we have reverted back to the early days of Marty Schottenheimer (funny enough, Herm was a coach on that staff). This team is slowly building a defense and chooses to run a ball-control offense. Judging by the pre-season and the first game against Houston (the Texans, not the Oilers by the way), KC is doomed this year. The receivers are no better then the moving bullseyes used during the best quarterback competition, Larry Johnson is getting stuffed and the kicking game is abysmal.
I'm really trying to wrap my mind around some of the personel decisions from this year. Let's go with a list here:
1) You release Lawrence Tynes. Good move. You draft Justin Medlock, a guy who kicked in sunny California his whole college career, in front of the Packers who drafted Mason Crosby, the consensous best kicker in the draft, who kicked in the Chief's back yard (the Big XII) and kicked in muliple weather situations. Bad move. Unless Carl's master plan was to draft Medlock so that the Packers would cut Dave Rayner when Crosby beat him out in camp, then cut Medlock and pick up Dave Rayner, this has been a disaster. I miss Lin Elliott, almost.
2) You watch Shields leave a year after Roaf retires only to ignore the offensive line in the draft until the sixth round where you take Herb Taylor. Really? I don't know what's worse, waiting to draft a lineman until the sixth round or drafting one named "Herb". At least we have Damion McIntosh and Kyle Turley, right? What's that you say? It's not 2004?
3) You basically burn the season before it starts by annointing Brodie Croyle, trading Trent Green and making Damon Huard the backup. You then stink it up in the preseason, bench Croyle and cut the third-string quarterback Casey Printers (a "Hard Knocks" legend now). Byron Leftwich becomes available and you don't sign him even though he would be the best quarterback on the roster, easily. I don't care what Jacksonville fans say, the guy never got a chance. Even without Leftwich, I'm disappointed that Brodie Croyle isn't the guy right now. It means less Kelli Croyle, and that is not good.
4) The defense may be better, but it's never a good thing when your corners are so old that one of them had a high top fade at some point in his life. They might have looked toward cornerback since there were 5,000 in this past year's draft. Look, I like Tamba Hali, Tank Tyler, Derrick Johnson, Bernard Pollard and Jarrad Page. I feel bad that they are going to have to protect a three-point lead all year. If they keep Jared Allen out of jail for the rest of the year, they might win a couple of games. Maybe.
After watching the debacle in Houston, I decided the year was over. That was painful. I've never felt so bored watching my favorite team play. Matt Shaub looked like John Elway. The Texan defense looked like the '85 Bears. To deal with this pain and to find a way to stay interested, I have decided to write about this entire year up to and including the NFL draft next year.
This could be a historic season. Possibly 0-16. Optimistically 4-12. Anyway you look at it, this team could be the team picking first in the draft next year. Unreal. I just hope they make the right choice if they do get the first pick. But they'll probably make a bad decision.
See you next week to discuss the pasting in Chicago!
*On an unrelated and slightly disturbing note, I found this picture of Tiki Barber while I was looking for other links. Feel validated Eli! feel validated.
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