Raiders at Chiefs - Week 12 - Record: 4-7

At the bye we were 4-3 with four of five home games coming up. Since then we've lost all four we've played, three of them at home. Next week I'm sure the Chargers are thinking about what we did at their place earlier this season. I just don't think they'll have much trouble making it five straight.

Today we let a very bad team run all over us. That supposedly fine defense all Chiefs fans would like to think is our bread and butter? They ran over it like a Peterbilt on buttered bread. As Raider back Lamont Jordan, in what I think was his only run of the game, slogged past Chief after Chief defender on his way to a TD, I had plenty of time to think, "Um, hmm, excuse me, I wonder, is any Chief going to actually, perhaps tackle this particular Raider player here?..."

Newbie back Kolby Smith himself ran a lot over a tremendously weak Raider offense, but QB Brodie Croyle still needs tons of experience despite some signs of quality play. Again, as I said last week, maybe this very stupid loss will keep these young guys hating it with such a passion that when they're actually surrounded by a good team they'll make sure it doesn't happen again.

What is quite frustrating is this placekicker situation. Really, ever since Jan Stenarud (the curse of Odin still haunts us), really, we have just never had a placekicker who'll be there right there and get the job done. All praises to Nick Lowery, I don't for a second disparage him, but the team never got him to the promised land to do anything of substance. I could name other kickers who've been decent, like Pete Stoyanovich.

But this whole kicker thing is just wretched. We think we've got it solved with Justin Medlock, drafting him high to fix it straight away. Then we discover that he really really sucks-- oh that's nice. Then we pick up Dave Rayner who looks like he might be okay, but today he misses another FG he simply has to make-- then worse, the coach has no confidence in him to make a FG late that would've tied it.

We lose the game 20-17. What're we going to do now, ask Santa for a placekicker?

The learning-how-to-lose experience gets more painful.

That'd better be a good thing for later.

Chiefs at Colts - Week 11 - Record: 4-6

I hate moral victories with every fiber of my being. I hate them, I really do. Really really a lot. I hate them for one simple reason: They're always a loss. But ya know, I'm actually a bit fond of this one, and that's only because at this point, it's all I've got.

I'm actually good with Herm Edwards believing we're still in this thing, and by the standings, we really still are! Who cares if we win the AFC West with a 6-10 record, as long as we make the playoffs-- I'm okay with Herm being okay with that.

I'm actually good with Brodie Croyle getting clobbered and coughing up the ball. Might as well get him to know what it's like- QB's fumble a lot by definition. Maybe he'll know how horrible it is, and maybe that will get him to do it a bit fewer in the future. I'm good with that.

I'm actually good with Priest Holmes barely able to get anything going with this offensive line in front of him, because at least he's out there with the other studly vets like Donnie Edwards and Ty Law to inspire these young players for future studliness. That's good.

I'm actually good with those young players suffering a crushing, close loss, so they'll so hate it so much that next time and it won't happen. We've got so many good young players that it's good to get them a healthy hatred for losing, and that can only happen with stupid losses like this one. I'm very good with that.

We had a very real shot at winning this one, with the Colts injuries and all, with their stellar kicker missing two gimme FG's early, with Croyle and Dwayne Bowe hooking up for an amazing TD play-- I thought all along, we're in this baby!

Then, splut. Another stupid loss in the closing minute. (Hey, at least it was different from last week when we lost in the opening minute of the second half...) But this's good for a team that could benefit from learning how to hate it.

I'm good with that.

Broncos at Chiefs - Week 10 - Record: 4-5

At the half I was actually thinking, awright, here we are in this typical (at least of late) defensive struggle with Denver, ahead 8-6 (the safety the result of another phenomenal blocked punt by Bernie Pollard) and we get the ball to start things off here. Awright.

Sigh.

It wasn't so much that we fell apart. The worst of it was seeing that our offense is just as sucky as it has always been, and that our defense is worse than we all thought it was.

Don't give me all that "We still hung in there and moved the ball at the end." Sorry, doesn't count--the team couldn't even score then, either. The simple fact is that this team just isn't as good as the other team out there. Their guy could kick a 50-yard FG, our guy couldn't. Their back got nice holes to run through, our guy didn't. Their QB got the ball to the guy when they needed it, our guy couldn't.

And I swear Denver was penalized 57 times on the day. It was as if they taunted us, giving us all these head starts and we just stumbled. And I think I'd heard something about Denver being plagued by injuries. More handouts just dropped in the gutter.

Sorry. This Chiefs team is just not a very good team. And this is just not news. To the credit of those young genuine quality skill players out there, it really starts with that offensive line. It all starts right there. How much longer can we sing that tired refrain.

And then there's the fact that this is our third home loss of the year. The Chiefs just don't lose at home, they just don't.

But then, this is this Chiefs team.

I just wonder what kind of carnage we'll witness next week in Indianapolis...

Packers at Chiefs - Week 9 - Record: 4-4

What is it with this AFC West? We lose and we're still in first place. Over in Minnesota Adrian Peterson runs all over San Diego-- despite (and I just have to mention it here, if you didn't see it--I just happen to catch it for the moment I had the TV on the other channel) the Chargers kick-return guy snatching a missed long FG from just under the cross bar and running it back all the way for a touchdown. And over in Detroit the Broncos were getting thoroughly pasted a week after Brett Favre did them in-- at least we're not the only ones.

With this game, we just got beat by one of the best QB's in NFL history. Late in the game the guy throws the ball deep off his back foot and he still gets it to his guy. I just don't think our D-backfield really knew what they were up against-- their receivers looked like antelope just roaming the wide open range out there.

Don't know what the status is on Larry Johnson, but (a) let's hope the ankle sprain is not so bad that it'll keep him out long, and (b) it just seems encouraging to have Priest Holmes there to spell him if he does miss some. We just have to see how much the early-2000's Holmes is in the 2007 version.

There is just another consideration too that may sound fatalistic, but I'm just thinking realistically. If Johnson is out for any extended period of time, no big, because that'll buy him some time, save him some wear and tear for a couple years or so down the road when we'll have a chance to be very good.

Come on, how many Chiefs fans right now are really going, "Woo-hoo! Four-and-four! Four-and-four! First place babeee!" I, for one, am so looking forward to the next draft when there will be a truckload of good O-linemen and QB's coming out. This team does have the foundation with Herm Edwards and a young enthusiastic defense, but we gotta have a top-class QB and some offensive linemen who fire off the line.

One other note that I just have to make. Did you catch this? Early on, our guy rushes the QB and barely slaps him on the head and gets a personal foul penalty keeping a drive alive after they had 3rd and long. They go on to get a FG, which, in this one, could have been the difference. A bit later their D-guy comes up the gut and pummels Damon Huard, full helmet to the head. No call. Of course, Huard doesn't complete the pass on a drive where we get squat. I rarely ever mention ref calls because they even out and yah gotta win yourself and all the rest of it. But this discrepancy was just too blatant.

So the great thing about this game was the play of Tony Gonzalez and the knowledge that we have a grip of draft picks coming up for the off-season!