Archive for the ‘KC Chiefs’ Category
Chiefs Youth Movement… (Episode 2)
September 14th, 2008 | 2 Comments | Posted in » KC Chiefs, My Life / Family, Pictures
Today, my beloved Kansas City Chiefs played the Raiders. Well, I say they played them, but I’m not entirely sure that it was the Kansas City Chiefs (or any other NFL team, for that matter) that actually showed up to play.
Bottom line… it was ugly. VERY ugly.
Since I was at the game today (BIG TIME props to my sister and brother-in-law… 6th row seats, baby!), I’ll summarize it with a few captioned photos.
Yes… Herm knows what I think. My friend Tom knows what I think (thanks for coming man, it was a blast even though the game stunk!). And a bunch of other Chiefs fans in section 116 know what I think.
We took a BIG step backwards today. If we play like this every week, we’ll be the first 0-16 team in NFL history.
Yes, it was THAT bad. Here’s hoping the Chiefs team that played in Foxboro last week shows up in Atlanta next Sunday.
Chiefs Youth Movement… (Episode 1)
September 7th, 2008 | 7 Comments | Posted in » KC Chiefs
So… Chiefs vs. Patriots today, a mismatch on paper if ever there were one. With that Patriots riding an eighteen game regular season win streak, and the Chiefs coming in on a nine game regular season losing streak, this didn’t figure to be pretty.
But Herm Edward’s team is almost entirely new. With 30+ players under age 25, the Chiefs are as young as they come. So who knew how they’d respond?
Turns out… pretty well. They hung in there with the Patriots today, and actually had a chance to tie it up with less than a minute left in the fourth quarter. Four chances from five yards out… and couldn’t seal the deal with a TD. So close… yet still so far away. Only one of four plays had a realistic chance of success, and that one would have paid off had Dwayne Bowe held onto the ball.
So, what do we know?
Not much. Brodie Croyle went out in the third quarter, so the words “injury-prone†will ring even louder this week. Huard performed quite well in relief, although his interception thrown into double-coverage was a VERY poor decision. I still wonder, if this season is all about finding out what we’ve got in our young players, why not go with Tyler Thigpen as the backup so he would have been available for relief? Hope someone asks Herm that question this week.
As for the other young players? It’s hard to tell. Bowe, our second year phenom receiver, had several dropped passes. And the other young players? To be honest, I didn’t even really notice they were out there. I suppose that’s good on one hand, but on the other… shouldn’t they have stood out a bit if they performed well?
In other words, we’ll just have to wait and see as this season unfolds how the Chiefs’ youth movement works out. Here’s hoping our home opener versus the Raiders results in a ‘W’.
It Could be a Long Season… Finale.
December 30th, 2007 | Comments Off | Posted in » KC Chiefs
For the entirety of the Chiefs season, I’ve blogged after every game with the title, “It Could be a Long Season”.
I should have scratched that title around week 12. It HAS been a long season!
Mercifully, it’s over now. We lost in overtime today, 13-10 to the equally bad New York Jets… ironically… Herm’s last team, which also finished at 4-12. It was one of the ugliest games I’ve seen.
I really don’t need to say much about today’s game, though… as with the last couple weeks, we haven’t learned anything new about this team’s faults or needs. We lost due to the same problems we’ve been fighting all year… lack of a decent running game… horrific offensive line play… critical defensive breakdowns… poor special teams… coaching and play-calling which both leave a lot to be desired.
So we go into the off-season full of questions:
- Will Brodie Croyle develop into a decent NFL quarterback?
- Will we be able to rebuild our offensive line?
- Can we find some decent YOUNG cornerbacks to replace overpaid dinosaurs Surtain and Law?
- Will our defense develop enough consistency to stop opponents in the clutch when we really need them to most?
- Who will replace Eddie Drummond as return man? (Granted, just about anyone would be a step up!)
- Can Larry Johnson bounce back from injury and return to pro-bowl form of 2005 and 2006?
- Will we find some decent receivers to complement Tony Gonzalez and Dwayne Bowe?
- Will we replace Mike Solari as offensive coordinator?
- Is Herm really the guy to rebuild the Chiefs, given the major steps backwards we took this year?
- What is Carl Peterson’s future? Will Clark Hunt maintain course, hoping Carl can right the ship, or will he shake things up to keep fan interest high in anticipation of stadium renovations?
- Are we headed back to the misery of the late 70′s and 80′s, or was this down year simply a result of a rebuilding process that will lead to the heights of the early 90′s?
I’m sure there are more.
The bottom line is that this will be a very interesting off-season. Faces will change dramatically, and the free-agency period and draft should be an exciting time.
No one knows what we will look like next year.
Here’s hoping next season is long for an entirely different reason than this one.
It Could be a Long Season… Episode 15.
December 23rd, 2007 | 2 Comments | Posted in » KC Chiefs
What’s to say about my Chiefs? We lost to Detroit. Yes, Detroit.
4-11. Completely ridiculous.
Worst of all about today’s game? It was a total waste, as we learned nothing about whether Brodie is really our QB for the future. After receiving some sort of injury to the right hand trying to make a tackle after a horrible throw led to a pick-six interception, Brodie spent the majority of the game on the bench, leaving us with the pure joy of watching journeyman Damon Huard to do his best statue impersonation in the pocket.
So what else isn’t new?
Eddie Drummond stinking it up on special teams. Chiefs offensive linemen getting burnt for sacks. Critical defensive breakdowns. Dwayne Bowe making the spectacular catch, but dropping the routine ones. And of course, the one thing I really appreciate seeing consistently… future Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez playing his heart out.
The bottom line, pretty much for the entire season? We need a LOT of help, starting with an offensive line. We could use a couple good wide receivers (Kennison, as much as I like him, is washed up… Parker is horribly inconsistent… and Webb is still a big question mark), not to mention a couple young cornerbacks (Law and Surtain are simply old and slow), a return man, and a kicker. And of course there’s quarterback, which remains a big question mark simply because we can’t keep Brodie in the game long enough to find out anything about him.
We may end this season on a 9-game losing streak. The Jets (coming up next week) really have stunk it up this season, but we’re playing about as poorly as anyone right now.
It Could be a Long Season… Episode 14.
December 16th, 2007 | Comments Off | Posted in » KC Chiefs
I could say a lot of things about today’s game. Honestly, though? There’s not a lot to get too worked up about.
You see, the Chiefs dropped another one (nothing new, unfortunately), attributable to their usual culprits… critical defensive breakdowns and poor special teams. About the only thing I can’t point to as a major factor in the loss was the offensive line. They actually opened a few holes for the running game, and did a decent job protecting Brodie. How’s that for a change?
I’m baffled by only one thing today… Eddie Drummond. Certainly not his play (it’s been awful all season)… I just can’t figure out why in the world he was back returning punts and kicks again today. He’s absolutely horrible… the fumbled punt (my wife said she could have caught it) was simply pitiful, and the 0 yard return to the three was simply sad.
Defense? Well… same story different day. At times, spectacular… at others, atrocious. It’s maddening, especially given that this is supposed to be our strength.
Brodie Croyle? He looked decent for most of his fourth start. Most throws he made today were on the money, with just a few he’d want back (the interceptions being the biggest). It’s just a shame he didn’t get a little more help from the rest of his team today… D-Bowe dropped the first pass of the game, an absolutely beautiful deep strike that hit him in the hands that might have gone for six. Holding penalties nullified several other big gains. He continues to make strides forward (you’ve gotta accept that he’s gonna make a few bad throws and decisions). I still think he’s got a chance to be something special for the Chiefs.
Anyway, yeah… 4-10… seven straight losses (5 at home!)… in line for a high draft pick. Who’d have thought we’d be THAT bad?
It Could be a Long Season… Episode 13.
December 9th, 2007 | Comments Off | Posted in » KC Chiefs
In thinking back over today’s Chiefs game, it’s hard to find much to be upbeat about. They fell to 4-9 on the season, and unless something changes soon, they’re going to end up with their worst record since 1988. A ten loss result is almost assured; twelve doesn’t look out of the realm of possibility.
It’s a real shame for Tony Gonzalez. He continues to play better than any tight end in the game… on a team going nowhere. It’s a real testament to his professionalism and pride. Many guys wouldn’t give 100% as he does in this situation. Many guys evidently AREN’T.
Anyway, the ugliness continues. We’re playing solely to evaluate talent at this point… and for draft position.
Here’s hoping the rebuilding process only takes a year or so. None of us want to have to endure this for long.
It Could be a Long Season… Episode 12.
December 2nd, 2007 | Comments Off | Posted in » KC Chiefs
Well, in a lot of respects, today’s Chiefs game was pretty worthless… not because of the outcome, but because of who wasn’t in the lineup today. With the Chiefs coming into this one at 4-7, for all intents and purposes out of the playoff picture (maybe not mathematically, but let’s get real), the last few games of this season need to be used to evaluate players. Having Brodie Croyle on the bench with an injured back is simply counter-productive to that goal.
That being said, I can’t say the game wasn’t entertaining. It’s always great to see future hall of famer Tony Gonzalez have a great game… with 10 catches for 140 yards, he easily outdueled Antonio Gates today for tight end supremacy. It really hurts to see him produce such great numbers year after year on teams that just can’t ever seem to put things together. This guy deserves a Super Bowl as much as anyone in the league.
And what can you say about Kolby Smith? He continues to show promise at running back, rushing for a decent 81 yard total. Again, if we knew we had some decent talent on the bench behind LJ, why in the world did we shell out all the bucks to keep him? Of course, we DIDN’T know, but don’t you wish we could have?
How about Jared Allen? There’s a reason this guy is one of the fan favorites on the Chiefs… maybe the favorite (it’s gotta be a toss-up between him and Tony). Today’s performance showed us why… relentless on defense with two sacks and all-around solid defensive play. But the gem of the day? Jared Allen on offense, scoring a touchdown on an incredible diving catch in the corner of the end zone on 3rd and goal from the 2 inn the second quarter. It looked like Huard (we’ll get to him in a second) was throwing the ball away, yet Jared comes down with it for his first offensive TD. Unbelievable.
Sadly, there were some glaring problems. The defense couldn’t stop Tomlinson, and they gave up too many big plays in the passing game. These were UGLY breakdowns, bottom line.
Damon Huard’s performance today proved yet again why he’s a backup. Two ugly interceptions and a fumble, barely a 50% completion rate. He seemed to only look at one guy all day… Tony. I’m glad he had a big day, but a QB has got to distribute the ball better.
Of course, Huard didn’t have any help from his offensive line. Eight sacks? You’ve gotta be kidding me. Utterly ridiculous.
I do have one big question about today, though. If we’re trying to evaluate our young guys, why in the world didn’t we didn’t start Tyler Thigpen, our third stringer? He’s young, and we need to know what we have in him, just as we need to know what we have in Huard. He got in late in the fourth quarter, so I’m happy for him… it’s just a shame he didn’t get the day to try to prove himself. His short stint probably didn’t turn out as he would have hoped, but he did complete his first career attempt to Dwayne Bowe. Its too bad that toss to Tony in the end zone didn’t pan out, or that Bowe couldn’t hold on to the bomb down the sideline. Could have been some great memories for him, especially if his NFL career doesn’t grow from here. He looked decent, though, so I’m thinking he may hang around with the Chiefs for a while. Maybe HE’s our QB of the future.
Anyway, we’re now 4-8. Here’s hoping that Brodie is healthy next week, and that we can find out if he’s worth keeping. I certainly hope so. Maybe we can get some offensive line help, develop another receiver or two, and get our offense back where it needs to be. Given a couple years of rebuilding, maybe we’ll be ready for a playoff run when Arrowhead’s new look is complete.