Chiefs at Bengals - Week 16 - Record: 3-12

We have dropped so many passes this year that I think Tim Castille had to make up for all of them by making an amazing catch in the end zone while being brutally sandwiched between three Bengal defenders. I don't think Castille's had any other passes thrown his way all year. If we've needed anyone to catch any balls, why don't we just throw to Castille every play?

Anyway, our defense stepped it up big-time today after their stunningly putrid performance last week, actually containing a good Bengals team and holding the game close until the last quarter when punter Colquitt and downer Quinten Lawrence pinned them at their own 2. The Bengals even ran a play in which they lost a yard, so with 2nd and 11 from their own half-yard line, you know what happened? Of course you do...

The Chiefs couldn't finish.

Yet again.

The Bengals drove the length of the field to score the game-winning TD, burning up most of the rest of the clock.

Matt Cassel still had a full two minutes to show he's a big-time clutch performer, but after a couple of decent gains, he threw an interception to end it. Well, live and learn. Good thing he's doing that now and not when we're actual contenders and we'd really need it.

He also threw another interception that technically was an overthrow to Dwayne Bowe, but it really gnaws on me to watch a great talent like Bowe just not get up to get that one. He really could have. This is precisely one of the things that gets me about this team. It just doesn't have that whole feel of being a solid "get the job done" team. Do you feel that way?

Just make the tackle. Just catch the damn pass. No matter what. Get the job done.

The contending teams do this. They look like they'll make the play they need to make no matter what. Far too often the Chiefs look like they're just trying. That's dandy. Trying. Cool.

But how about we get the job done.

Oh, and Larry Johnson didn't hurt us, mostly because the go-to back they've had all year was doing just fine. Again, we did much better stopping their guy, and our now-solid go-to guy got another 100+ rushing.

With that in mind, I thought now is as good a time as any to share my ratings for our key players. With only one more game after this, might as well get right to it. They are classified as follows.

1. Untouchable. These guys we keep no matter what.

2. Touchable but with the right price. Should keep but if an offer comes up... Placement in this category does not mean I do not like these guys. It's just, hey, it's all about the Chiefs. If an offer comes up...

3. Okay, but if we can fill their spot, then...

4. Moderately serviceable, keep if we absolutely can't fill their spot.

5. Will not miss them.

So here goes:

Untouchables: Brandon Flowers. Yep, that's it. One guy. Pathetic, I know. But at least Flowers is here. What a phenomenal talent this guy is, and he's only just learning. Today he wrecked his shoulder big-time and was back out on the field in the next defensive series. Every Chiefs fan should love this guy.

Touchable but with the right price: Matt Cassel, Dwayne Bowe, Ryan Succop, Dustin Colquitt. Yeah, pathetic that only two regularly playing guys show up here. And even so, you'd think Cassel and Bowe would be untouchable, but damn it, Bowe just too often doesn't make the play he can make when he must, and damn it I'm just not yet convinced Cassel is going to be Super Bowl calibur. Any team that wants to actually win the Super Bowl some day must have a QB who is nothing other than a future Hall-of-Famer, or very close to it. (See this post for more.) On the other hand it is great we have both our kicking specialists very solid for a long time to come.

Okay, but if we can fill their spot, then... Chris Chambers, Brian Waters, Jamaal Charles, Mike Vrabel, Brandon Carr. Waters is a perenniel All-Pro stuck on a very weak O-line, but he's complained too much about the Chiefs. Must of it is wholly justified, but still. Chambers and Vrabel have been terrific pick-ups, and I like them both a lot, but if they're not going to be super vets in the next few years their spots will simply have to be filled. Charles needs to give me a full season before I consider him more highly.

Moderately serviceable, keep if we absolutely cannot fill that spot: Glenn Dorsey, Tyson Jackson, Branden Albert, Tamba Hali. Look at this list. All guys on the line, the most important part of the game. Don't win the line, don't win the game. And Dorsey and Jackson are only this high because they were our really really high picks the last two years and they damn well better be a billion times better than they've been.

Will not miss them: Everyone else, which sadly is way too many of our players. Exceptions to this may certainly include people like Wallace Gilberry who has actually made a few sacks this year (you mean we've actually sacked guys this year???), and Quinten Lawrence who's still young and may have decent service in him we haven't seen yet. I don't know the potential of these guys or any of the guys the Chiefs themselves are high on that I can't see from the behind the sidelines. Other exceptions include injured guys like Jarrad Page who may certainly come back and prove they should be in one of the higher categories.

Again, the key, the key of all the keys, is whether Scott and Todd can really look at those guys and see if they will be rock-star players or just guys to replace because they won't ultimately be all about, yes, here it is again...

Wait for it--

Get the job done.
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