Chiefs Washed Away 16-10 Vs. Texans in Pre-Season Opener

Game one of the Pioli-Haley era is in the books, with numerous positives and negatives sure to surface after reviewing game tape.

I’m sure there will be missed assignments, missed blocks, and obvious exhibits of a lack of concentration.  Certainly, perfectionist Todd Haley will be trigger happy with the laser pointer and quick with the tongue lashing.

I think the staff will also be encouraged by the overall team speed and tackling on defense, as well as the execution of the…uuuhhumm…second team offense.

Too many penalties at inopportune times, too much pressure on our quarterback and not enough on theirs—these are all facts the Chiefs will not escape upon further review.

However, as a fan, I found the game to be encouraging.  Defensively, I thought our defenders were flying around the field, and were sure with tackles.  Yes, the reaction time was a bit slow, and at times we seemed unsure of our position.  However, there is a clear difference in game speed of this defense vs. one year ago.

Faced with little support from the offense much of the first half, I think the boys held up well.  Let’s not forget that Houston was the third ranked offense in the NFL last year.

Tamba and DJ seemed to meet at the ball nearly every play.  Corey Mays was quite impressive filling in for Zach Thomas at inside linebacker.  The defensive line did a fair job of keeping linemen off of our linebackers, and the defensive backs tackled well and had a few nice plays defending passes.

I’m certain the Chiefs were running a scaled down version of Clancy’s package, as there were few exotic blitz plays on the night.  Still, there seemed to be a sense of confusion the Chiefs were able to cause at times.

Offensively, I’m less encouraged.  I thought our offensive line was porous and soft, allowing too much penetration in to the backfield on both running and passing plays.  Reviewing several plays on the DVR, we were clearly beaten at the point of attack, and that must change quickly.  Our two guards and center were caved in most of the night, with outside pressure handled fairly well I thought.

Matt Cassel appeared to look like he had third string receivers out there. Oh, wait a minute, he did.  The combination of Copper and Darling looked as unimpressive as I thought they would.  Hey, I appreciate great work ethic in camp, but seriously guys, I think you’ve proved your point.  Could we please move on now? 

It was obvious once Dwayne Bowe and Mark Bradley entered the game, the Chiefs actually had a pulse offensively.  Brodie Croyle looked quite comfortable with Bowe and Bradley, obviously having more polished and accomplished receivers on the field with him. 

It would have been very intriguing to see how Cassel looked with Bowe and Bradley.  Hopefully, the boys can pull their heads out and make that happen this week.

There’s a lot to work on, but as Chiefs’ fans, I think there’s also a lot to be excited about.

 

Dwayne, Say It Isn’t So Bowe!

On paper, the stars appear to have aligned for Kansas City Chiefs wide out Dwayne Bowe to break out of the mold of a quality receiver, to an elite one.

Out with conserva-Herm, in with Air Haley. Exit ball hawking Tony Gonzalez. Enter emerging signal caller Matt Cassel. 

Bowe is also entering the pivotal third year which history as shown as a make or break period for the development of wide receiver talent.

Life is good for D. Bowe, right?

Screeeechhh!

Early depth charts out of River Falls, Wisconsin have Bowe pegged with the third string after apparent lapses in concentration, continued dropping of passes, and the wide receiver struggling with his weight earlier in the offseason.

Devard Darling and Terrance Copper are listed as the starting wide receivers. Not Bowe, Mark Bradley, Bobby Engram, or Amani Toomer.

It’s early, but Todd Haley’s abrasive and confrontational nature is already making it’s mark for Kansas City.

Chiefs’ fans have their finger triggering the panic button. 

Dwayne Bowe just went down five spots on fantasy football mock draft boards. The Chiefs season ticket telephone lines just quit ringing. Win projections just went from six or seven to four or five.

Stop the madness!

The Chiefs offense has one true play-maker, and it’s Dwayne Bowe. Hopefully the ball coach will administer some humility, and more importantly, Bowe will find a way to pull his head out.

I commented on a great article written by featured columnist, TJ Gerrity, about this very subject. This team needs play-makers on offense to succeed. As I was quoted in my comment to TJ, “You can’t win the Kentucky Derby riding a jackass.”  We need some horses to emerge, and we better not be counting on Darling and Copper. 

Haley’s head may roll faster than I thought. Pride can be ignorance, especially without a track record to prop you up, such as Bill Parcells or Bill Belichick. I understand Haley’s job is to win games, not make friends. Apparently, he may not be interested in either.

My hope is this apparent strategic ploy to motivate Bowe works. If not, this thing could blow up and get ugly in a hurry.

NFL Teams Primed To Disappoint in 2009

The NFL season is about to embark upon the start of the 2009 season, with training camps starting this week. The NFL draft, mini-camps, and OTA’s are behind us and teams are ready for the seven month journey in to February, at least for the Superbowl contenders.

This time is filled with anticipation and excitement, with nearly every team at least on paper, hoping they have improved themselves from last season. Afterall, if a team is entering the season expecting to fare worse, someone’s head is sure to roll in a hurry.

The premise of this article is to identify teams, who for whatever reason, have managed to rank highly among writers, analysts, and fans, but in my opinion, may be poised to disappoint in 2009.

I hope you enjoy the list and the challenges each team will face heading in to the season, and more importantly, I hope you find your team is not on the list.

Enjoy!

Formula 309: Remembering Stephone Paige

Willie “Flipper” Anderson owns a rather obscure NFL record—most receiving yards gained in a single game with 336. In 1989, Anderson set the mark on 15 receptions for the Los Angeles Rams.

But Flipper also has an asterisk by his name, as the mark was broken in the overtime period of the game against the New Orleans Saints.

The NFL record for most receiving yards in a regulation game was set and still stands by Stephone Paige of the Kansas City Chiefs.

Paige’s mark of 309 yards was set in 1985 vs. the San Diego Chargers. What may be most remarkable about this statistic is that Paige set the record on only eight receptions, averaging an incredible 38 yards per catch. He also scored two touchdowns on the day.

Digging even deeper, Paige caught his mix of passes from two different quarterbacks on the day, Todd Blackledge and Bill Kenney.

The quarterbacks combined to complete only 13 of 23 passes, yet Paige managed to cement himself in the NFL record books with his efforts until eclipsed by Flipper’s overtime effort just four years later.

Though Stephone Paige’s career statistics will never drop a jaw, he was a solid performer for the Chiefs during his career from 1983-1991.

For the six-year period from 1985-1990, Paige averaged 51 catches and 860 yards per season and is currently ranked fifth on the Chiefs all-time receiving list for both catches (377) and yards (6341), while placing fourth in career touchdowns (49).

 

They Weren’t Smoking: Matt Cassel’s Chiefs Extension Makes Perfect Sense

What are they thinking? 

How tired are Chiefs fans of hearing that comment already?

Matt Cassel’s recent signing of a contract extension with the Kansas City Chiefs has stirred up a buzz, and not just with the Chiefs.

The numbers of the deal are staggering for some to believe for a 15-game starter, otherwise a career clipboard carrier.

The terms of the deal are as follows: six years, $63 million, with $28 million guaranteed for the first two years and more than $40 million through the third year.

For a point of reference, I want to outline the deal that JaMarcus Russell signed with the Raiders in 2007: six years, $68 million, with over $31 million guaranteed and more than $44 million over the first four years of the contract.

I don’t know about you, but signing an unproven commodity out of college for the same ballpark contract that Cassel was given is simply ludicrous!

One could argue until he or she is blue in the face about Cassel’s potential to boom or bust, but frankly that’s been hashed and re-hashed to the point of Brett Favre’s impending comeback—nauseating. 

I’ll leave my opinion at this: Cassel has the desire and skills to become an elite NFL quarterback. Whether that happens, especially this year, is certainly open for disagreement. It’s no secret the Chiefs have a challenging year ahead with a brutal schedule and the task of blending together new coaches and players.

Instead, I’d like to provide reasons on why this deal makes sense for the Chiefs.

First, Cassel’s deal is heavily front-loaded. Through the first three years, Cassel will have already cleared $40 million, leaving only $23 million over the final three years of the contract. The Chiefs found themselves in the precarious position of being approximately $30 million under the cap for the start of the 2009 season. This deal helps to close the gap while still giving Cassel the bottom line he was seeking.

Second, the NFL is looking at a potentially un-capped 2010 season, opting out of the collective bargaining agreement this spring.

While I’m hoping logic prevails to restore a cap, maintaining Cassel as a franchise player is a dangerous proposition, especially if Scott Pioli, Todd Haley, and the Chiefs believe this is their guy. They would risk losing him after the 2010 season to the highest bidder by playing the “wait and see” card that so many pundits are suggesting.

The Chiefs played the franchise tag game with Jared Allen and lost. In my opinion, the only way you franchise a guy in this day and age is if you absolutely know an extension will get done, but you just didn’t have the time to get it done YET.

Third, and most importantly, the extension of Cassel gives the Chiefs a clear direction for their future. By not extending him as quickly as expected, numerous fans and writers, including myself, wondered about the intentions of the franchise.

It appeared that the door was left open, leaving some wiggle room in case they were second-guessing their commitment to Cassel. How do you get a team to buy into your rebuilding of a franchise when the team itself has not bought in?

This contract extension allows the Chiefs to build around Cassel, with a clear vision of what it needs to succeed in the future.

Pioli knows what he’s doing. There’s no way he commits this kind of money and won’t see that success follows. 

As I have mentioned above, the creative structuring of the deal also ensures that Cassel will not handcuff the team near the end of the contract. Finally, someone’s thinking ahead!

It’s smart money. The chips are all in, and I’m on board. 

Professional Sports: The Original Reality TV

If I want my children to know one thing about my love for sports, I want them to understand that spectator sports, first and foremost, are a form of entertainment.

I would like to think of them as the original “reality television” shows. 

There are pre-and post-game interviews and analysis, daily newspaper articles, 24-hour a day sports channels, and instantly updated coverage via the internet. 

Game coverage is filled with interesting facts, such as hobbies, statistics, and history.

It reminds me of watching an episode of Survivor; there are re-caps, previews, and behind-the-scenes interviews to gather all of the gossip.

The sports world is also filled with commercials, endorsements, and numerous outlets to feed the tremendous interest in today’s athletic environment.

This attachment to sports provides a bridge to the average fan, allowing one to maintain at finger’s length, a pulse on the players and teams of interest.

To take several steps back from my emotional attachment to the Kansas City Chiefs, St. Louis Cardinals, and the University of Missouri, what really have I gained from this one-sided relationship? 

On one hand, there is a lifetime of memories, photographs, and stories that I can pass down, or write numerous articles on my opinions and experiences as I have with this forum.

I also feel competitive athletics, both individual and team sports, provides youth with unparalleled lessons in life, from conflict management to working together as a unit to achieve a single goal.

On the other hand, what is truly real and definable about sports in the scope of our lifetime? What comprehensive value does being a sports fan have in the totality of our existence? 

Oh sure, the bad mood I am in following a Chiefs loss is most definitely real. So is the jubilation and excitement I felt after the 2006 Cardinals World Series victory.

Those feelings and experiences will not, however, have any bearing on the success or failure of my life.

The recent passing of Steve McNair was a very highly publicized event, as well it should have been. There are many reasons, and some from opposite ends of the spectrum, on why this tragedy struck such a chord in our society.

For me personally, the story reinforced to me that I have an enormous responsibility and a valuable opportunity in my life. My greatest contribution when I am gone will not be what I have accomplished, what I have witnessed, or even the good works I may have performed for someone else’s benefit.

And it most certainly not be that I was a fan of the Chiefs, Cardinals, or Tigers.

Instead, I will rest easy when my time is done, knowing I have done everything in my power to provide my family with a supportive and loving environment and to appreciate what truly is important in life.

The McNair tragedy is an example of why I want my children to understand that sports is best appreciated as entertainment, a reality show if you will. 

The fact that Steve was an incredible football player does not remove the fact that he was a human, a human that lost his life.

Stories and situations such as McNair’s happen all too often, but with the absence of a professional athlete’s name attached, they do not garnish the public’s attention.

That in and of itself, is troubling to me and speaks volumes about our society.

Without playing the holier than thou card, it is my belief that no person is without sin. We are born with original sin and cannot escape the clutches but through the grace and forgiveness of Our Lord and Savior. I want my children to know that athletes, while perpetuated as mythical and fictitious at times, are human beings, born of sin and not free from tragic endings.

Unfortunately, the nature of professional athletics is one of being above the rules of society, and free from tragedy until the terrible day that tragedy is realized. 

I for one, can appreciate the limitations of sports on my life and the lives of my children. I can also appreciate that tragedies to athletes are real, unlike the unrealistic lifestyle they have acquired and sometimes live by. Unfortunately, as a society, it is difficult to recognize that. I feel it is imperative to reinforce that notion to our children.

While I am of the opinion that sports are best appreciated as an entertainment outlet, that does not stop me from experiencing the entertainment to it’s fullest potential.

The key is to understand what is real, and what is “reality TV.” I have chosen to invest in the real, and to enjoy the reality. In the end, it boils down to life and death, no matter if you are playing on the field, or watching the game on television.

The most hated players from the AFC West

OK B/R fans, time to pipe up on your greatest nemesis from opposing AFC West teams.

For simplicity, let’s talk the present. There’s simply too much history of bad blood to cover in one article.

I don’t want to hear Lester Hayes, Rodney Harrison, or John Elway. Keep Lyle Alzado, Neil Smith, and Brian Bosworth out of the conversation.

We’re talking here and now – 2009 players from the Broncos, Chargers, Chiefs, and Raiders.

I’m sure the perspective changes based on your favorite team, but I will try my best to be as objective as possible.

Hope you enjoy!

K.C. Chiefs: Offensive Free Agents That Make Sense

The end of the signing period for unrestricted free agents is quickly approaching, approximately three weeks away.

Teams have had the opportunity through OTA’s to comb their roster, examine their current rosters’ strengths and deficiencies, and now are ready to blast full steam ahead in to the 2009 season.

Teams across the league are also filing through the same list I’ve been researching, attempting to potentially fill roster spots through the signing of free agents.

The Kansas City Chiefs have been one of the most active teams in the NFL this off season.

Their overhaul has included executives, coaches, schemes, players, and scouting staff.

Their work has continued in to the last couple of weeks, most recently signing Mike Brown, former safety of the Chicago Bears.

There’s a tremendous amount of anticipation for the 2009 Chiefs. Rabid fans like myself are ready to cheer on a competitive team again amid the disastrous 2008 season that was frankly, tough to witness. Those outside Chiefs nation are eager to see if the changes will flourish or falter.

I have compiled a list of potential players I think could benefit our Chiefs heading in to training camp at the end of the month. I’m not expecting a tremendous amount of movement from the Chiefs, but who knows, I think if there is a guy who can make us better, go after him.

Throwing the First Punch: Chiefs-Raiders 2009

“You say it best when you say nothing at all.”  These are words of a classic country song originally recorded by Keith Whitley, and later by Alison Krauss. 

What these words truly represent is the manuscript by which the NFL organizations live by, day in and day out.

Let’s face it—What you see and hear on your television or read in your newspaper of choice is exactly what media and organizations want you to hear.

“We’re all out here working to get better” or “there’s a lot of competition out here, and that’s a good thing.”  B-O-R-I-N-G!

Fresh, newly minted coaches and general managers follow the script as if they were prepared by a criminal defense attorney—mindless and pointless to fault.

The new regime in Kansas City is no different; in fact, this group appears to be more tight-lipped than their new GM’s old squad in New England.  I wonder if Haley will provide those bogus injury reports made famous by Bill Belichick?

Players tend to follow the same lead, “I’m just here to try and help the team win wherever I can.”  Come on guys, give me something to chew on!  Tell me how you really feel.

I want some news.  I want to hear how deep your hatred runs for the Raiders.  I want to know that you would steal from your mother for a Super Bowl ring.  

Coaches, I want you to let me know you will not let Phillip Rivers run his mouth and parade around our home turf with his right arm held high on a last-second drive again.

I don’t like the New York Jets.  It’s probably a good thing they are not members of the AFC West, or they might rank right up there with the Raiders on my most hated list. 

However, am I the only guy in America digging Rex Ryan?  A first-year head coach engages in a verbal sparring match with Channing Crowder—Are you kidding me?  I love this guy!

Now that’s the way to re-kindle a rivalry.

I think in the not too distant future, our Kansas City Chiefs will be contending for not only the AFC West division crown, but for a Super Bowl berth.  

I also think our prime contender for division supremacy in the next few years will be from the hated Oakland Raiders. 

This rivalry has been too quiet lately.  Maybe it’s because our teams have been inferior for the past several years.

I think it’s high time these long-time division foes pick this rivalry back up a notch.  Some verbal sparring could go a long way to heat things up.

Any takers?  My guess is, not under this regime.  But in Week Two, early season bragging rights are on the line.  With the game at Arrowhead, I’m liking our chances. 

Go Chiefs!  And unlike the friendly, politically correct nature of the league, I’m saying it now—Raiders, you suck!

 

 

 

From Pampered Prima Donna To Grizzled Veteran: Larry Johnson

Larry Johnson should not be lacking motivation this year.  The Chiefs running back appears to have, at least for the moment, avoided the chopping block that is now under the hands of Scott Pioli.

For weeks, it was speculated that Johnson would be either traded or released following a grievance filed by the Chiefs over Johnson’s contract secondary to a suspension last season.

This saga followed an offseason verbal request from Johnson requesting a trade or release from the Chiefs.

It seemed as if a divorce was inevitable.  Still, Johnson remains and has been surprisingly cooperative heading in to this season.

Johnson’s six-year tenure in Kansas City has been tumultuous to say the least. 

From taking off the diapers to play for Head Coach Dick Vermeil, to being green with envy over Priest Holmes, Johnson has done little to endear himself to the Chiefs faithful. 

The past two seasons for Johnson have been frustrating for him I’m sure, and disappointing for the Chiefs and their fans.

Johnson played in only eight contests in 2007, finishing the year on injured reserve because of a right foot injury.  He finished the season with only 559 yards, three touchdowns, and a 3.5 ypc average.

In 2008, LJ played in 12 games, being inactive for three games and suspended another.  He rushed for 874 yards, five touchdowns and a 4.5 ypc average.  At times, Johnson appeared to be back, at times he was pouting on the sidelines.

To make matters worse, Johnson has repeatedly found trouble off the field, spending too much time in night clubs, and alienating teammates and fans.

The Chiefs are hoping Larry and his immaturity’s are a thing of the past.   Johnson has been present at offseason workouts and camps and appears to have his heart, and hopefully his head, in the right place heading in to 2009.  That could mean a return to elite status for the former pro-bowler.

The Chiefs need LJ to contribute on the field and produce wins instead of providing more headaches for the front office.

In the consecutive seasons of 2005-2006, Johnson rushed for more than 1700 yards, had 17 and 20 rushing touchdowns respectively, and averaged nearly five yards a carry.

While 30 years old, and plenty of NFL carries to boot, I for one think LJ still has some gas in the tank.  I don’t particularly care for the person, but I’m hoping I like the football player wearing No. 27 this season. 

It’s time for Larry Johnson to grow up and learns what it truly means to be a man.  I’ve admired his knowledge and respect for the history of the NFL.  Now, it’s time he participates in the great history of the Chiefs, and forgets about his own personal agenda.

The Chiefs have an improved offensive line, a new coaching staff, a new quarterback and an improved, though still unimpressive receiving unit.  Now the Chiefs need a productive running game through Larry Johnson, Jamaal Charles, and Kolby Smith.

While being far from a fan favorite, one thing is sure, the Chiefs desperately need Johnson to be successful.  If Johnson comes close to 250 carries, 1200 yards, and 10 touchdowns, the Chiefs will stay in contention in the AFC West.

If Johnson decides to put the pampers back on, the Chiefs will not only have a disgruntled running back, they’ll have the dubious distinction of back to back seasons with fewer than six wins.

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