Chiefs at Titans - Week 15 - Record: 6-9

Amazing that we are dispatched so early in the season. It is so unusual! The time of this playoff contention elimination is so pronounced -- in the fourth-to-last-game. That is really early for this team. You do recognize that the earliest the Chiefs have had their season end every single season over the past seven years is in overtime in the AFC Championship Game.

The earliest.

Every year for the last seven.

Some teams regularly have their seasons end by Week 10.

So yeah, for all those who are moaning the Chiefs dynasty is over, ::pshaw:: Patrick will be back for more when he returns, and if we never win another playoff game the Chiefs have already had a major dynasty. Savor it for now, for sure. Always.

Thing is when Patrick returns... will the NFLers and its pounded-into-the-pro-football-psyche Narrative let him go off. Let him go off and do what he does best, play unprecedented-quality football and win Super Bowls.

I just don't know, really.

Really...

It is very much about the integrity of the game. I've written here over and over and over again, I like my Chiefs and will always cheer them on. It is fun to watch them play hard, and most times win. I am amazed what they've done in light of what they are up against. 

I say this because this year has clearly done more to get me to dial back my consideration of this thing American Professional Football. 

I happened to see this piece in the news, the government issuing a new warning against the now rampant gambling craze marauding through everything. Yeah, sorry, but these gambling entities' liability goes far beyond the silly little warning notice they put at the bottom of every print or broadcast advertisement they bilge.

We don't really need a government warning to tell us how evil this whole gambling thing is. That hundreds of BILLIONS of dollars are spent on these gambling things is abominable. So very sadly this says much more about the people engaged in this stuff than the ugly NFLer wager-embracing seduction of those people.

And I'm no less guilty.

I watch it. I listen to it. I pay rapt attention to my team even enduring all the wretched alcohol & insurance commercials and racialist sloganeering and official gambling site promotions and whatever other shameful thing they promote -- much of it directed at young people who are lost and lonely and despairing because they are not finding meaning in life beyond the compelling but ultimately benighted stories the now-AI-smothered Hollywood (of which the NFL is a vibrant part) splashes in front of their faces.

Really...

As for this week's game, crazy: it has been eleven years since I've blogged about a meaningless regular season game that doesn't involve anticipation of postseason action. It was way back in 2014. And that year we missed the playoffs on the second-to-last game of the season. That year we started 7-3, then the wheels fell off. Funny we would have still made the playoffs had the officials not made a terrifically boneheaded call favoring the Cardinals costing us that game late in the season. That year also featured that wonderful Monday night game early in the season when we pasted the Tom Brady-led Patriots.

And that year we still had a winning season, finishing 9-7. So yeah, in the Andy Reid era we had a winning season every single year, that has indeed been a splendid part of the Dynasty.

Thing is, speaking of the Titans, the team we played today, that 2014 season also featured an opening day trouncing at the hands of the Titans. I mean we got beat, bad, 26-10. You could even say we lost our shot at the playoffs that year because of that loss, because one more win for a 10-6 record would have qualified us. But it didn't seem to be an issue then because it was the very first game of the season. We didn't think anything of it, it was just one loss.

The reason I mention how brutal this loss was and reasonably the one loss that cost us was the Titans that year won only one more game, and that game they barely won by two points. Meaning they beat us in that opener by 16 points, and lost to everyone else except one other team they squeaked past to win.

It is just right now a really really really good feeling that for so long, all these years of "The Mahomes Era," we have never really had to agonize over those typically stultifyingly stupid things that had always afflicted the Chiefs. 

So very sweet it has been. Ahhh...

Oh, yeah, this game. Um, yeah. Why I shared that part about the Titans game from 2014? Well, this Titans team came into this Chiefs game with a 2-13 record.

And, well...

Our second-string QB went down with a knee injury early, so we had to go with our third string guy, who himself had to work behind a patchwork offensive line. Our defense started the game playing well, but the demoralization just had to have set in. We were also without key defensive guys like Leo Chenel and Trent McDuffie.

With nothing to play for it was just a practice game, really -- see what the guys we put out there can do.

The bad? Our streak of winning seasons under Andy Reid is over.

The good? We angle for a higher draft pick next April.

Hey -- dynasty establishment, Patrick coming back stronger than ever next year, high draft pick...

Some nice hopeful things.

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Chargers at Chiefs - Week 15 - Record: 6-8

Yet another horrific experience of exasperation, the - whole - stinking - game. Why endure it? Again, sorry to all those who think I'm being obtuse, forgive me. If you are something of a reader of my blog, I humbly appreciate your consideration of my thoughts.

Again, yet - another - massive - exasperation.

But I know why.

So I don't watch it. It isn't necessarily because I don't want to. This morning was church time and family time spent largely with a family member celebrating a major event. So, yeah.

I did peek in at a gamecast and actually listened to Mitch when I could. Here is what I saw or heard.

"And that Chiefs incompletion should have been a pass interference, but oh well, just another missed call." This by the way was from the radio color man, Danan Hughes, who, like 97% of everyone, including too many of our beloved fellow Chiefs fans, just shrug. 

I believe this one was just before the half and a chance for us to get points: Yet another announcement that Xavior Worthy was clearly PI'ed, yet we got no call.

Just before the end of the first half, with us ahead 13-3, the Chargers completed a deep pass to put them in prime scoring position, one that replays showed the receiver didn't fully hold on to the ball as he hit the ground. Danan expressly said so. Replay review ruling? Completed pass. The Chargers scored a touchdown with seconds left before halftime. Yet one more of the few critical calls unjustly going against us that are enough to cost us. All - season - long.

Down by three early in the 4th quarter, Patrick threw a pick. In the red zone. Great.

Late in the game when we could have gotten the ball back to kick a game-tying field goal, at least, we just didn't get a turnover we should have gotten. How many times have we failed to get an easy interception or fumble recovery this season? I believe Danan said, "The turnover ball is just not going our way."

When we stopped the Chargers at midfield and they punted, we had another holding call against our coverage team. I'm sorry, but this traditionally fine special teams unit cannot have that many of these penalties as they've had this year. Now, if we kept having guys running back kicks for touchdowns or something really beneficial because of the penalties, that is different. But we keep going nowhere on our returns and we get penalized. There is something very wrong here. And yes, fine, let's compare. Let's look at other teams coverage and our coverage and see. If we're really committing real penalties then we need to work on that. But I don't think that is it.

And finally, the worst of all. 

Couple minutes left. We get the ball at midfield, a good shot at getting that game-tying field goal, at least, and our third-string tackle gets a holding penalty against us and Patrick gets injured. At the time of this writing I have no idea how bad it is.

Our backup QB Gardner Minshew comes in and actually does great to start, completing a few clutch passes to get us into good Butker field goal range, annnnnnd... interception.

I didn't even see this game. I watched none of it. Again I know what is going on here and it is just too hard. I peeked in a few times on the radio and gamecast and this is pretty much all I caught. How much more exasperation did I miss? Really?

You do know the Chargers on the season on the whole have scored fewer points than the Chiefs. And they have given up more points than the Chiefs. And they are five games ahead of the Chiefs in the standings (one of those counted as winning the head-to-head this year).

The Chiefs have pretty much clobbered all the teams they've beaten (the one exception the close Colts game), and been defeated by a miniscule number of points in the games they've lost. Last week's loss to the Texans was their only loss by more than one score, and it was by only 10 points in a game our defense really played pretty well anyway.

If the Chiefs do not win their next three games, they will have their first losing season under Andy Reid in his entire tenure as Chiefs coach.

I did peek at the Arrowhead Pride site and the first thing I saw was this. There posted on the right, for your benefit. Note it is a page where the fans can put in their ideas. I know that what I'm going to see in 97% of the posts will just add to the aggravation:

The Chiefs need to do this or The Chiefs need to do that. 

Not.

There are things for sure they could do to improve. The offense coaching has been inadequate, for sure. We need a running back and pass rusher. That's fine, I get it. Thing is, every team does this. The Chiefs can always improve, and there are legitimate things they could do. I can think of a few more. We all do that every year.

But this is different, by light years. The reality again, for the 78th time --

The NFLers have created a narrative that dominates what kind of calls happen on the field, and they are totally debilitating to this otherwise excellent pro football team the Kansas City Chiefs.

I guess I just can't see how this truth is not obvious. 

Again, for the 5,294th time, I will always root for my team believing they could overcome these things. Maybe this is a fool's errand, just keeping on believing in the modicum of integrity that gives our team a chance. I feel very much for the legion of true red and gold fans who are devoted to the Chiefs Kingdom. I really do. And I do feel for the players and coaches who know they must work their butts off, risking injury out there on every play, yet resigned to biting their tongues because this is their living and they want to maintain a reasonable impression as respectable and honorable athletes when the Narrative is so painfully oppressive.

The last thing of course is that injury to Patrick. Prayers go up. Prayers go up to all the players who are injured, truly. The Chargers came in banged up and had some injury issues today themselves. 

But we all wonder about Patrick the most because of who he is, we all know that. Again, we just wait and see. 

Prayers.

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Here you go. Just one thing from a fan's FB site. I've seen no videos, highlights, or replays from the game. Don't want to. Of course. But I came across this, and the heartening thing is there were dozens of comments to this post that did very much concur with the truth about what is happening with the Chiefs. 

At least there is that.

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Texans at Chiefs - Week 14 - Record: 6-7, The Brief Take

Not going to add much in this take on last night's game. Again, I need to get going. I have so much work to do. Forgive me.

So much more may be rambled on about this Chiefs thing or that Chiefs thing, much of it already the most obsessive navel-gazing regarding our team this year.

I will just say one thing for now. I can't imagine I know of any other time in our Chiefs history when such a good team has been hammered so much by the Four Horsemen of the Football Apocalypse. Remember what they are? Penalties, Turnovers, Injuries, and Poor Calls. There is so much to say about each one of those, and yes, my brain is filled with instances this year of all those things that would fill a very sad blog post right now.

That injury thing, for one, we were on our way to the show and my cousin texted me right out of the gate about Wanya Morris' injury. Was told it was awful. The main thing with that is prayers are said for him. But yeah. Those Four Horsemen, gruesome for us this year, and if you're a Chiefs fan you know what they have done to us.

Meanwhile, again, last night we got to behold some-600 collegiate followers of Christ put on the most amazing performance -- singers and dancers and instrument players and tech people providing costumes and sets and audio-video augmentation just joyfully giving glory to God in rich, bright, beautiful worship.

Not to share that to let on that I don't very much appreciate my football team's always dedicated play on the football field, not at all. But it was a wonderful evening of just knowing what's right and true and joyous in light of all the deceit and dissipation that goes far beyond anything related to the Chiefs.

There is a very real and vibrant hope.

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Texans at Chiefs - Week 14 - Record: 6-7

While the Chiefs tonight were suffering yet another nightmare loss in this lost season, we were enjoying the most spectacular Christ-centered Gospel-focused Christmas showcase at our daughter's college. It was amazing, a fully transcendent experience. 

So while I know some things that happened in this ugliness, it is late, I have a mind-bendingly busy week ahead of me, and I can't blog now about this one. I do have some things bopping around in my noggin about the current Chiefs state of affairs, and yeah, maybe I'll get to it soon. I will sometime, I will, but yeah, don't really feel too wholeheartedly into it right now.

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Interlude - How Bad the Wicked NFLer Dominion Has Become Especially for a Team Like the Chiefs

Watch the Lions-Cowboys game last night? Because I try to avoid it all because it is all so rotten, the NFLer influence and all, I only tuned in to the last minute or so just so to see how it turned out and, I confess, enjoy something of a wild finish if it is close. There is no question NFL football is compelling viewing, it is, all other improprieties aside.

Turns out the Lions clobbered the Cowboys, 44-30. Huh. Interesting that this really should have been the score of the Chiefs win over the Cowboys game last Thursday, and considering the Chiefs blasted the Lions earlier in the season, well, you can draw your own conclusion knowing what truly happened in that Thanksgiving ugliness. Note, what truly happened, not what people bleat who are hypnotized by the NFLer Narrative about how things go out there.

I noticed a tease in my social media that said the game was controversial. Okay, let's look.

First, the news item said Lions got an obvious safety that was called not-a-safety, even though replays confirmed it was and the television referee even said it was a safety. Not. After all this is the Cowboys we are talking about.

Second, later in the game, an offensive pass interference penalty was called against the Cowboys keeping them from moving on to try to get a touchdown -- and I agree, it was questionable. Fine. My question is, why wasn't the world screeching about this kind of injustice in the Chiefs game on Thanksgiving like it was for this call in this game last night, when in the Chiefs game it was obviously much more egregious? When in the Chiefs game not only were the Cowboy receiver OPI'ing the Chiefs D-backs like crazy, but the Chiefs were being called for DPIs?

You know why. It is because, again, this is the Cowboys. The Chiefs don't matter. Why was that such a big deal when no one said squat about them actually happening to the Chiefs?

Real quick, once again, for the 57th time, here's the solution: No touching of any kind, by either receiver or defender, in the process of route-running. Thuh end. Arms extended toward an opposing player? A flag. That'll end it quickly. Yes, there'll be lots of flags to start, to start getting these guys used to it -- and yes, game scores will be 78-74. But... so?

Out on my walk in the small downtown near where I live last night I was thinking of how glad I was November was over. It was pretty close to the worst sports result month for my teams ever. November ugliness: the Dodgers enjoying their ill-afforded advantages to win the World Series to start the month, then the NFLer-driven disadvantages afflicting the Chiefs so horrifically in the Buffalo, Denver, and Dallas games. ::Whew:: glad that's over. 

Shortly after that nice thought I walked past a restaurant window and inside their television was tuned to the opening coverage of that Thursday night game, and I saw commentary guys sitting with a chyron covering most of the screen that said something like "Three-Way Bet," something like that. It was a Draft Kings thing, or Fan Duels thing, or whatever... 

I don't even know what they were showing, it looked like some betting thing related to a player. I did note Cowboys WR George Pickens' name up there next to some gambling-oriented number. Still blows my mind that they are doing this shit, and it isn't hard to see how much this is seeping into every NFL game broadcast. You'll note the announcers say nothing about this stuff during a game, but they could.

I mean, why couldn't they talk about how much some player did this or that related to some betting prediction from earlier? Why don't they? They could, but they don't. Why? Simple...

It is because the NFL still does know it is all evil. 

It still does objectively compromise the integrity of the game. And yet, they are perfectly fine with allowing these gambling pukes to put up their ads and their takes and their numbers and I wonder when their ugly smelly feet will get so far into the doorway that all that filth will completely burst in and you'll start seeing much more of the gambling crap during game broadcasts. This is not to mention what it does to player, coach, and officials' behavior, game outcomes, and especially the whole fan environment out there related to how it affects the lives and livelihoods of people out there clobbered by those addicted to this stuff.

This is one of the reasons I've settled back and just accept and let it go. I pay no attention to any of it except the games and whatever news my mental radar picks up. I can still pray against the evil, and always hope sanity returns to these things that are in and of themselves kind of fun to enjoy. Maybe writing about it here will help -- it may be totally ridiculous for me to think it will, but I still try.

As for the game this week I've heard we have a weakened O-line facing a blistering pass rush. Great. We could overcome it, I know, but I don't care anymore. I love that we always have Patrick Mahomes and a group of other really talented players that will play their tails off no matter what. 

But I just accept our fate because I know, unless more people start calling out that NFLer Narrative, we will struggle.

Again, that NFLer Narrative, as it relates to the Chiefs: "The Chiefs are just doing stupid things and shooting themselves in the foot, losing these close games as they have. There is no officiating slant that destroys their chances, if anything the officiating favors the Chiefs!"  The underlying purpose is to make sure the Chiefs stop being so successful.

Many will claim that looking at the penalty numbers will indicate that the Chiefs get no more or fewer calls than the opponent. Sorry, but just comparing numbers does no good to identify how the Chiefs are being hosed -- you must look at each penalty call or non-call individually and then examine the impact any given call has on the outcome of the game. I'm happy to match up every single penalty call or should-be-penalty call in any game any time to compare. Let's get to the truth about this thing.

A terrific example is that ticky-tack lining-up on the line of scrimmage call against Jawaan Taylor in the Denver game that wiped a major gain on a Kareem Hunt catch and run. The Chiefs not getting a chance at a very likely touchdown did indeed cost us the game. Please, again, do not blame Jawaan Taylor for that. It is just foolish to do so.

One may say that by the strict interpretation of the rule it should be called a penalty. That's fine, as long as it is consistently called. The Chiefs are getting unduly scrutinized for those things that are simply not called as often for other teams. That lining-up thing? Do you know how many times I see receivers illegally covered or not covered or offensive linemen who are not exactly where they should be and it simply is not called? All the time. Yet the Chiefs are the ones who get hammered the most by officials costing us games, or as was the case last year, making games so much closer when they should be Chiefs blowouts.

I've even heard some people saying the Chiefs are getting calls against them so much this year because the officials must make up for all the calls they got before. Oh my. Not only is this also phenomenally unjust, but it only shows how powerful the Narrative is in people's minds, that again the Chiefs have always gotten away with so many favorable calls. Igghck.

About the gross inconsistency, I saw on my social media some guy referring to the infamous Kadarius Toney offsides call in that Buffalo game a couple years ago, remember that? Few Chiefs fans can forget it. This dude then brought up Miami's Jalen Waddles being offsides in exactly the same way in a subsequent game sometime, and it was exactly the same thing not-called. Really, it was the same thing with doubly infamous Dee Ford offsides in that AFC Championship game loss! Another of the many ticky-tack calls that are so inconsistently called against us, that, and here's the key, have a much greater impact on our success than it does on other teams.

We are simply too good for our own good, really. 

Sorry but the Chiefs should be 10-2 this year. The Buffalo, Denver, Jacksonville, and Dallas games were officiating jokes, especially the latter two.

Yes, I do let it get to me, yeah, here I am venting for the therapy. But then I also don't let it get to me. I avoid paying attention to it. I'll watch the games, that's mostly it. I'll get some news I can't help but pick up, like us being down two tackles for the Texans game up next. There is probably a lot more going on with my team and its preparation, but I just don't know about it. 

The fact is we are 6-6, and we can absorb a loss this week at 8-4, but not 6-6, unless of course some miracles happen to get us in the playoffs at something like 9-8. The Chiefs have also won out late in the season, so we can do it again. 

Yeah, here I am writing as if I still think this is all on the up-and-up and all that. The crazy thing is I still think our team is good enough to overcome the NFLers' debilitation, so I do stay attentive to the extent that I do. Is it foolish to do so? Maybe, but, yeah, I still like to cheer on my team -- maybe a good part of that is just to see them win and as such stick it to the Narrative. If they lose, I know why.

I do also know we do have issues on both the O-line with its injuries and D-line with its weak pass rush. But sorry, this team is so good we should be overcoming them. This is a reasonable 12-5 team, 11-6 at least, if it weren't for the Narrative.

Good thing our team will play lights out no matter what. There is that, and that is the one thing I can appreciate about these guys.

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