Titans at Chiefs - Week 16 - Record: 10-5

Wow, are we really AFC West Champions? I am stoked that we are -- for indeed we are -- but I only ask because I look at that record there, you see it, 10-5, and am stunned. After each game of the past three years I had been pasting something like 3-9 up there at the top of each blog post.

Ahh, that I get to put the numbers 10-5 there is pure joy.

And of course to proudly proclaim that the Kansas City Chiefs are once again AFC West Champions!

I must also add that I'm sure San Diego fans are not at all pleased with my teams. This past fall my favorite major league baseball team the San Francisco Giants caught the San Diego Padres at the very end of the season, and went on to win the entire shabang. As the Chargers were nipping at our rear ends there for a while I was thinking about those roles being reversed, but a San Diego turnabout was not to be. Today the Chargers were walloped by the Bengals and yes...

The Chiefs routed the Titans.

A couple of posts ago I expressed concern that an opposing team could simply employ the "lightening strike" offense right outta the gate, as a ploy to take down one of the Chiefs best weapons, their running game. But today's game proved that if another team can do that, so can the Chiefs.

Before the Titans could sneeze it was 24-0. They managed a nice long pass play for a touchdown, but by the end of the first half we'd padded the lead to 31-7.

We got that fourth TD of the first half on a nifty pick and run by Eric Berry, who showed precisely why he was the -- what, fourth, fifth? -- pick of entire draft last year. He made a great play on a poor pass, then sped up the far sideline, made a great cut against the pursuit, and shot into the endzone. He even launched himself like a rocket as he crossed the plain -- tremendous fun!

I'm not sure because I didn't catch it, but I don't think we have a shot at a first round bye. We do get the home game no matter what as division champs, and I'm pretty sure we'll be playing either Pittsburgh, Baltimore, or the New York Jets in a wild-card game in two weeks. We'll look more at all of that when the time comes.

As it is we get the Raiders next week in a game that will be anticlimatic (kind of a bummer because I always like beating the Raiders in any game that is really meaningful for both teams) but a nice tune-up for the playoffs.

And for right now, no matter what happens, I have to say how amazing it has been to have a team that has been built and developed and managed and coached and led by the Chiefs ownership and front office personnel. From Clark Hunt all the way through everyone to Todd Haley, they have really done a phenomenal job to get our Chiefs from bottom feeders to title contenders. Kudos to all of them, what a job!

For now, it is all good. It is the best.

Kansas City Chiefs - AFC Western Division Champions!
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Chiefs at Rams - Week 15 - Record: 9-5

What a contrast. What a contrast. Our quarterback situation with Matt Cassel in there is like the brightest daylight compared to last week. I must say it was wonderful wonderful wonderful to see him back in there leading the charge.

I know I've spoken of Cassel as schizophrenic, but that's only because the quarterback position is so critically important. Whatever my ambivalence, there is no question that Cassel is indeed one of the best signal callers in the game. This isn't just because he isn't Brodie Croyle, but he has indeed played extraordinarily well for most of the season. A TD-to-INT ratio of 2-to-1 is pretty good. Cassel's ratio is something around 5-to-1.

And you can't deny the guy is a proven leader. He's coming off an emergency appendectomy that happened just eleven days ago. That's just amazing.

Above all the guy has guts and wants glory, and those are critically vital ingredients a QB needs if any team wants to by taken seriously in the playoffs. After a miserable first quarter (making it seven straight scoreless quarters) Cassel led a couple of great drives that led to touchdowns, putting us up 14-6 at the half. Just watching him do that nifty spin move out of a collapsing pocket then running for a first down during that second drive was just beautiful.

And then there is the defense. Last week they were simply abyssmal. This week they had someone tell them to tackle.

And they did.

They shut down their fine back, Stephen Jackson. They also held the Rams to a couple of field goals early when they ran all over us. As the game progressed they put more and more clamps on the Rams great rookie QB Sam Bradford, completely shutting him down after that depressing first quarter. Wallace Gilberry will be the guy with his name in the headlines, getting three sacks, each one critical to our victory. Early in the second quarter he put the Rams out of field goal range, and in the fourth he kept the Rams from sneaking back into the game late.

I didn't catch how Jamaal Charles is, because he was injured after a boffotacular 80-yard run to put the game away late. Even though he and Jones were stuffed for most of the game, he is showing that he definitely should be an All-Pro this year. He did walk off the field under his own power and he was sitting there on the bench with ice. I heard nothing about him after that, so we'll see where he is for next week.

Speaking of next week, we've got our last two games at home sweet home! We are so not-there yet. San Diego is still breathing heavily on our backs. But this was a crucially important win, getting it on the road and closing the road season with a 3-5 record -- that doesn't seem impressive, but it could've been a lot worse.

The team hasn't lost yet at the New Arrowhead and they plainly play better with the hometown fans right there with them. Their next two are against middling teams, Tennessee and Oakland, though both can be explosively surprising.

For now, a tough road win is sweet, and nice for a good boost of confidence.
_

Chiefs at Chargers - Week 14 - Record: 8-5

Yes the Chargers were playing like focused maniacs after looking uncharacteristically stupid against Oakland last week. Yes the Chargers were fighting for their playoff lives at home. And yes the Chargers are still a very good team, having stormed back into the division race with four straight wins before the Raiders debacle.

But I am not one to say this was coming or even that on any given Sunday your team can just not have it together. The real fact is

This Chiefs team does not look like a division leading team.

It is that simple.

It wasn't just that we didn't play well. It was mostly a complete and utterly horrific exposure of our quite extraordinary weaknesses. Let's go over them a bit, shall we? (Oh, don't worry, this game was already painful to watch. How much worse can it be?)

First, there is our backup quarterback situation. I was actually looking forward to seeing Brodie Croyle start, thinking that over the past couple of years under Todd Haley and now Charlie Weis -- and watching Matt Cassel make great strides in his development -- he'd mature and be confident and all the rest of it.

Not even close.

The guy is still awful. He has a great arm, great mobility, all that -- yadda yadda, heard it all four years ago. The guy still hasn't a clue as to what he's doing out there. He's now 0-10 as a starter, his last win was with Alabama in the Cotton Bowl.

We'd better hope nothing else happens to Matt Cassel.

As it was Croyle's complete ineptitude was the major factor in us coming that close to having our worst offensive performance ever -- it was a 60-something total yards game back in 1963 or something like that. Today we got something like 70. As far as I could tell we didn't have a single third down conversion, we may have when Chambers made that catch with a minute left, but whatever. We got into San Diego territory twice. Utterly pathetic.

Thing is, was it Haley or was it Croyle? Why wasn't Croyle just throwing the ball down the field early? Was Haley telling Croyle to hold back or was that just Croyle being very bad? Either way, it was all pukifying, abjectly pukifying.

Second, our tiring offensive line. The Charger defense just ran us over, that's all. As bad as Croyle was, our offensive line didn't help him. Yes our QB needed to just plain get rid of the ball. But if you're as nervous as Croyle was, you weren't going to get help from these guys. The run blocking was just as poor.

By the way, a little thing to add. Just a little thing, really, nothing at all.  Besides getting thoroughly and contemptuously shut out today, did anyone forget that we didn't score a single point in the second half of the Denver game last week? So, um, yeah, that's six quarters and counting of haplessly scoreless Chiefs football.

Third, our run defense. The D-line and our linebackers were just plain putrid. (Once again the call goes out: Scott Pioli! Scott Pioli! We need a Ray Lewis-type guy in the middle really really badly...) We faced another team that just knows how to stand us up. Not only that but I'm just flat ashamed at our unwillingness to fully pursue and truly finish. That last touchdown by their back-who-wouldn't-go-down was an embarrassment of epic proportions.

For those who didn't happen to behold it. San Diego had the ball deep in Chiefs territory for the 78th time or so in the game. Mike Vrabel had this guy, Ryan Mathews, dead in his tracks until he simply stayed on his feet while all the other Chiefs guys just watched. I guess they paid good money to come to the game to see this guy dance around and they just wanted to kick back in their lounge chairs and enjoy it.

On a more serious note, didn't these guys watch that same guy take the ball in the very first quarter and get hammered in the backfield, yet still stay on his feet for a few more yards? Didn't someone on the defense say the simple words, "Hey, no one stops until that guy's face is planted deep in the turf. Make sure you finish." Was there simply no Chiefs individual within a hundred miles of that sideline to tell all the other Chiefs quasi-defenders that? I mean, I was about 120 miles from there and I was screaming it into the television set, but, well...

Absolutely embarrassing.

Third, our receiving core. Now I can't lay it all on them because of Brodie Croyle, but still, where are these guys? Dwayne Bowe simply can't carry the load. Where is Chris Chambers? Do we have to rely on pick-up throw-in Verran Tucker? Why wasn't Dexter McCluster in the mix more?

Yes yes yes, Croyle just didn't know what to do with the ball, and that's not the receivers' fault.

But if our Matt Cassel-led team can't get the passing game to gel beyond Dwayne Bowe, we're in trouble.

Fourth, our precarious situation if the other team scores early. This relates to the passing game woes. In games when the opposing team scores first, or gets up by two scores, it is very scary because we've relied so much on the run. Regrettably, really good running teams like the Chiefs simply do not make good Super Bowl teams unless their passing game is stratospherically spectacular. It's like a rule.

I know, I know for sure that every team we play from here out -- and they are all still playoff contenders, not to mention those playoff teams if we ever make it there -- they are all going to employ the lighting-strike offense on their first possession to score quickly and take out our running game. Is our defense up to that challenge?

They weren't today, big-time.

No, it wasn't just a case of having a tough time of it today. No, this was not just a bad-day game. It was way way worse than that.

This was a bad-team game.

Sure we're still 8-5 and in control of our destiny. I know all that. But I will say it again in closing.

I only care about the Chiefs being a Super Bowl winning team.

And I really don't think this Chiefs team is even a division winning team, much much less a playoff game winning team.
_

Broncos at Chiefs - Week 13 - Record: 8-4

This was definitely one of those games in which an exactly equal amount of good things and bad things happened. A lot of very good things, and the same number of very bad things. The good things shout, "We're a true playoff contender with an actual chance to go far!" The bad shout, "We haven't a chance in the playoffs if we even get there!"

The best good thing is that we got a key, clutch, close win in December during a legitimate playoff push! ...BUTTT

We almost fell apart in the second half. We didn't even score a single point.

This means a very good thing was that our defense did the job! The D-line sacked Kyle Orton four or five times, forcing a key 4th quarter fumble after one of them. Branden Carr was spectacular out there, slapping away everything Orton did get off, resulting in a splendidly putrid 9 of 28 passing for the Broncos QB. What a difference from that last game in Denver when Orton torched us for 700 yards passing and 11 touchdowns (okay, it wasn't exactly that, but it was really bad)... BUTTT

Their running back, a not-even-close-to-Hall-of-Fame calibur Knowshon Moreno, went off on us for 175 total yards. So one week our pass defense is atrocious, another week it is our run defense. Sure our pass defense held this team to a very gratifying six points, the same team that put up 49 on us a few weeks ago. Think of what we could do if we put it all together.

A good thing was our continued expedient playcalling on offense. We had great success with those short West Coast offense dump-offs to our backs and tight ends, and the Charles-Jones machine was humming nicely yet again. (And I really should be saying the Charles-Jones-Cox machine because fullback Mike Cox is blocking like a maniac out there -- it is him springing them as much as it is the springees)  ...BUTTT

We didn't seem to do anything else with anyone not our backs. Fantasy league guys with Dwayne Bowe are as furious with him today as they have been ecstatic with him over the past several games. Today Bowe didn't just have an uncharacteristic zero touchdown catches, he had zero catches. Champ Bailey had him covered like a blanket on a sleeping baby, and the only pass Bowe caught was waved off because he was flagged for pass interference.

The most troubling bad thing about today's game was the penalties, and they were very costly and very much on the coaching staff. If it is a hold or clip it's on the player. We had our share of those today, don't get me wrong. A spiffy super-long run by McCluster was nullified by one.

BUTTT today we had a touchdown also nullified because of illegal motion or shift or something that happened more than once. The most blatantly telling aspect of this problem was the Barry Richardson meltdown on the sidelines, after he was called for a false start. This was unquestionably a product of his own immaturity and something which all Chiefs fans hope will be dealt with summarily by the coaches. Thing is a lot of that has to be the coaches looking at their own formations and other offense technicalities that have to be worked out or we'll be hammered by them in a crucial late season or playoff game. They happened far too frequently in today's game, helping make this one a nailbiter when it really shouldn't've been.

A good thing is that we're getting some of our key guys healthy again, and sometimes when you're playing well without them and they still get that undesired rest, they may actually play more rigorously in the late season because of that refreshment time. BUTTT

McCluster almost cost us the game when we gave him the ball and sent him through the line late, and he fumbled. We've turned the ball over only nine times this season, which is wonderfully wonderful. In fact we made up for it by getting a key fumble from them a bit later. So it is good we've got Dexter back with all his restored vigor, but it can also mean he and the rest of our returnees are rusty. Our banged up offensive line is also cause for concern because it seemed Cassel had to run around a lot more back there than usual.

The last good thing is that we still have a perfect record at the New Arrowhead, so that's very nice. Even nicer is that we have a two-game lead on the second place Chargers and Raiders with four left. BUTTT...

Errgh, the reality. We go on the road again for the next two. And next week we're in San Diego -- still solid and most likely really smarting from looking so bad against the Raiders today. I know I shouldn't be bringing this up, but remember the last time we were 8-4? It was 2005, right there poised to snatch a nice easy playoff spot, and then we refused to close in Dallas and refused to tackle in New York. Pittsburgh was 7-5 at the time and remember at the time thinking they were no threat. Well, they ran the table and won the Super Bowl, and we finished at a very respectable 10-6 although that playoff spot slipped from our grasp.

We've got to have a lot more good than bad in the last quarter of the season to keep that from happening again.
_

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

When seeing that half our defensive backfield was sitting on the sidelines nursing serious injuries, I really wondered today if we could do that one thing we needed to do to show that we truly deserve to be leading the AFC West... Win a November game on the road. The Chiefs were 0-3 in games when our All-Pro D-back Brandon Flowers has not played.

It was kind of dicey midway through this one. Even though Javier Arenas and Kendrick Lewis were also out there limping around, glory be: Our defensive backfield held their own. They did have a quite embarrassing blown coverage that allowed Seattle to get a make-it-mildly-interesting early 4th quarter 87-yard touchdown pass play, but they did a fine job of keeping Seattle's QB Hasselback from hurting us. They got some help from the Chiefs D-line who sacked him a few times, once causing a fumble that was sandwiched between two TD plays that put this one away late.

They had said this Seattle team was a big-play team, and sure enough they got us early by blocking a field goal attempt, then blocking a punt and returning it for a touchdown.

But then there is this Kansas City offense.

Every time Seattle did something to make it close, our offense did the job. What can be said about the key performers.

Matt Cassel and Dwayne Bowe. These guys played like Hall-of-Famers today. They really did. This was an exceptionally standout performance by both of them. Twelve connections, three touchdowns, and the even better completions were those short slants to get those clutch first downs. 3rd down after 3rd down they converted and keep drives going. The troubling thing is that these guys are so in-sync that no one else in the passing game is getting in the mix. Moeaki is coming off an injury but he had only one catch, the final TD of the game. The other receivers -- Terrence Copper, Verran Tucker, and Chris Chambers -- didn't even have to be on the field. What's going to happen when we need them to produce?

Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones (and DE Shaun Smith with "The Refrigerator" blast into the endzone!) What else can you say that hasn't been said. These guys are still running over everyone. Jamaal Charles alone ran for nearly 200.

Three, the offensive line. Hey, all of this could not happen without an O-line playing their souls out, and playing well. Branden Albert was out, and there were some early critical penalties that could have really cost us. But they picked it up, dealt splendidly with the loud Seattle crowd noise throughout, and made it so the highly efficient Cassel-Bowe-Charles-Jones machine could keep humming.

We're at home next week against Denver where we should be focusing on exacting a bit of revenge for the debacle in Denver a couple weeks ago. But then it is on to San Diego, the road game that will not only show even more whether or not we're a contender, but whether or not we'd be a genuine player in the post-season.
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Cardinals at Chiefs - Week 11 - Record: 6-4

Is this a schizophrenic team or what? We blow out teams at home, but struggle on the road. We are now 5-0 at home, 1-4 on the road. At home the team stats are eye-popping, on the road they are barely average. Who are we, really?

Today we pasted a very average Cardinals team whose quarterback seemed to be wearing glasses that made everyone appear two feet taller than they really were, so I can't crow too effusively about our team's performance today. But what I can say is honestly very encouraging.

Matt Cassel and Dwayne Bowe are showing that when they are on, they are one of the best passing tandems in the NFL. Last week they had fun out there in Denver, torching the Broncos with 400+ passing yardage after the game itself was decided. If you counted only the last half or so, the Chiefs actually won last week  29-14. But that was last week.

This week the Chiefs defense didn't allow the Cardinals to do much after they started the game again roaring down the field. Only yielding a field goal then allowed us to make great use of our running game. The dynamic duo Jones and Charles put up 159 on the ground, a grip of good yardage that is kind of the standard now for the Chiefs running game.

But then there is Matt Cassel and Dwayne Bowe. Cassel has 18 touchdowns on the season and only 4 interceptions. That is pretty danged great. I really like seeing our receivers get some real separation out there today making it easier for Cassel. Bowe for his part set a Chiefs record with his sixth straight game with a TD catch, and Bowe's  fantasy league owners have been in a state of nirvana thus far. Critical in this game was the Chiefs 80-yard drive to start the second half, and very nice mix of runs and passes that showed what we can do.

The bazillion dollar question at this point: Can we do this kind of thing on the road?

Next week we go to Seattle. The Seahawks are pretty good but can be beaten. I truly think this will be the test. Again, will we show we are true contenders or not?

Can our offense hum like it did today in someone else's yard?

Furthermore, can our defense play with steady, sustained effectiveness -- especially in someone else's yard?

I was beginning to wonder if Dexter McCluster was that much of a factor, since he'd been out for several weeks. We also didn't have Tony Moeaki or John McGraw for today's game, and we had a banged up offensive line. Branden Albert went out with some injury today, and that concerns me. So another very crucial question is, how will our injury situation affect this team?

Next week, on the road. In Seattle is where the real question will be answered.

Are we actually truly really actually contenders?

We'll find out.
_

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

I'm just going to write this and get it over with. The fourth quarter of this game hasn't even started and it's over. In fact this was over after the first touchdown the Broncos scored in the first minute of the game.

They'd said as the game began that the Broncos hadn't scored a point on their first possession in any game all season. Today they had four touchdowns in their first four possessions. They'd said that the Broncos running game was crap. Today they ran all over us. They also said their run defense was also crap. Of course, what do you think happened? We couldn't get anything on the ground. I'm pretty sure we got our first seven-yard run, our bread-and-butter all year, after we were down 21-0.

I'd seen that the Raiders beat the Broncos in Denver a few games ago, something like 59-14. How in the world did that same Broncos team get the same kind of score against us today? Sure it's the NFL. Those guys aren't Pop Warner out there. "Any given Sunday" is always applicable. Sometimes everything just goes against you and everything goes for the other guys such as it was in this game today. Yeah yeah, I know all that.

But it is official:

This Chiefs team just hasn't proven it is a true contending team. We should have known it all along. Sure the very very very nice 3-0 start was very nice. Very exhilarating -- thank you Chiefs for that. It was very fun, I do mean that. But since then, let's face it.

Our defense couldn't seal the deal against a very mediocre Houston team. We lost a game we had in the bag.

We had to go five quarters before barely beating a very beatable Buffalo team, at home.

Last week the Raiders were falling all over themselves handing us on a silver-and-black platter yet another Chiefs victory in Oakland -- a splendid gift we simply spilled all over the place.

We simply cannot win a road game -- or even avoid getting get massacred in one such as today. Since our squeaker on the road against Cleveland in the second week of the season an eternity ago, we're 0-4 on the road. Can't win on the road? -- It's a rule: You're not a contender.

What is it that really gets me about this team?

One, Matt Cassel. He drives me crazier and crazier. Some plays he's great, other plays he's plain awful. He was sacked, how many times today? Four or five? To give him credit, our banged up offensive line was banged up even more. Still, when the opponent takes out your running game by taking a massive lead early, you gotta have a passing game. Has anyone been really really really confident in our passing game at any point in the year? (Oh, and please, do you really think 400+ yards of mostly garbage-time passing yardage counts?... Really.)

Two, our defensive line. What kind of imposters were those guys out there today? Or were those guys who played so well earlier in the season the real imposters? Dorsey, Edwards, Jackson, Hali were thoroughly stood up today. Correction, if they were stood up that'd be a compliment. Really, they were pushed, shoved, kicked, mauled, completely mowed over by the Denver offensive line. It was utterly embarrassing. If those top-draft-pick guys -- you know them, Dorsey & Jackson -- if they don't come out of drifting back to being frighteningly average, we're not even remotely close to being contenders.

Three, the coaching. Were Todd Haley and his staff really prepared for this game? What do you really think? Maybe they did their best, fine. But it didn't mean a whole lot -- Denver's coaching staff was way more prepared. This was just one coaching staff kicking the pants off another. For one thing Denver's coaches were getting the very best from their fine QB Kyle Orton. He started the game regularly doing play action with a supposedly awful running game and getting away with it. Yes, our defensive backfield is also banged up, yes, I know. But where was the rest of our defense? Oh yeah... They were replaced by imposters, fergot.

What a wonderful word.

Forgot.

Definitely something to do with this piece-a- ----.
_

Chiefs at Raiders - Week 9 - Record: 5-3

I could say all kinds of things about the awful officiating crew covering today's game. We had some rotten calls against us, such as the completely meaningless holding call against Andy Studebaker that cost us three points. But the fact is we got some of those rotten calls to help us out. (We weren't even hurt by their total brainlock about what Chiefs down it was before our first touchdown.) This is what is really saddest: that the only reason we were actually in this game is that we benefitted from them.

Add to that this Raiders team was hopelessly abysmal in the first half, and still there is truly no reason we deserve to win this game. Both sides of their line were better than ours, and that alone made up for the fact that most of their play was completely inept. But they were a spirited team that got the job done when they had to. All I can think about is that third and long play from midfield just before the end of regulation with us up 20-17. We had a sure sack that we overran, then Brandon Flowers set up for an easy pick but he got bumped out of the way (very legally) by a more acquisitive receiver who snatched it from him. Next play, game-tying FG.

We'd beaten the Raiders seven straight in Oakland, and I just knew we couldn't keep that streak alive. This was as much the sports gods just making everything work for the Raiders when it had to as it was the Chiefs just not finishing -- yet again.

Yes, the Chiefs did finish last week against Buffalo, but we shouldn't have had either of these games be as close as they were.

Today Dwayne Bowe dropped another pass. Even Tony Moeaki dropped a pass. We had two or three dropped interceptions. Two long Javier Arenas runbacks -- one of them a touchdown -- were brought back by penalties. Our running game only got untracked in the second half. We still had far too many 3rd-and-1's that we just couldn't convert. We didn't have a single good, solid, significant drive that we could proudly say the mix of our playcalling and execution got the job done. Not a one.

And probably the most important factor in this mix is Matt Cassel. Is there a single Chiefs fan who isn't driven absolutely crazy by this guy? I'm in a complete schizophrenic state in trying to figure him out. He is a true gamer, a vicious competitor who you want leading the charge. But then he does things like float an idiotic duck into the end zone that gets easily picked off at the most inopportune time, with less than a minute left in the first half and a chance to get at least a field goal and go up 13-0.

Yes, there were a lot of stupid things that happened in the Raiders favor today, but you know? There were just as many for the Chiefs that kept us in the game.

We have a talented team. If we want a contending team our in-game minds had better be much more focused.
_

Bills at Chiefs - Week 8 - Record: 5-2

Throughout the entire game I was sure this was going to be another one of those typically stupid losses we'd have to suffer at the hands of the Bills. Remember the latest ones? Last year when we couldn't get just one more touchdown and lost 16-10? The year before when the Bills put up a 50+ spot on us? A few years before that, in 2005, when we were true contenders and had one of the most wretched games we could ever play, flopping 14-3?

This was shaping into yet another one. Late in the 4th quarter Mike Vrabel misses getting a clutch fumble by the partially removed mole on his elbow. Then the Bills receiver gets a slant pass and he does get into endzone by what was left of his mostly removed mole on the elbow. Aaaaaagh!

And how many times did we come up a yard short to get a first down. I have truly lost the remaining hair I had in my head.

Amazingly the Bills-game stupidness that has so ravenously infected us went in our favor when the Bills kicker lined a long game-winning field goal through in overtime, but he did it just after the Chiefs called a timeout. He missed his next try.

Now, let me ask you. Is Todd Haley driving you as crazy as he is me? I think I am now officially sick of his vaunted four-down play calling strategy. He really really really really should have been kicking a field goal waaaaaaaaay earlier in the game when it would've been a chip-shot for Succop but instead, well, he didn't go for the FG. You know what happened. He went for it. We failed. We had to sweat out a full overtime before we could win it.

I'm also wondering where the heck our passing game was today. Yes, I know Charles and Jones continue to run over everyone. Our offensive line with a young Jon Asamoah replacing the injured Ryan Lilja was terrific today. But if we are that good with our running game which should open things up big-time for the passing game, then, ahem...

Where is the passing game?

Tony Moeaki caught three big passes, two of them to set up the game-winning FG, but he had only three. Bowe caught three for a grand total of 16 yards. Our leading receiver was Jamaal Charles yet even then Cassel woefully missed him on a long pass when he had his guy beat. Come on, guys, where are all our receivers? You know, the guys who spread out at the far ends of the line and jet out on the snap and run crisp routes and get open kind of down the field a bit? Oh, and yes, for the Chiefs especially: and they securely draw the passed ball gently into their sure hands?

And so yes, I'm back to being really concerned about Matt Cassel. In overtime we were at midfield on third down and Cassel had decent pass protection when he just didn't throw the ball. He then slipped out of the pocket with plenty of time to throw it again--and still didn't throw it. He tucked it in and ran in an obviously futile attempt to get to the first down hash.

So yeah, both Haley and Cassel have already made me lose all my hair. That we did end up winning with some very-late-in-overtime clutch play may enable me to grow some of it back before the next game, but what'll happen next week when we play in Oakland. The Raiders are a much improved team and we've won seven straight there.

If we don't find our passing game, do you really think we're going to keep that up?
_

Jaguars at Chiefs - Week 7 - Record: 4-2

I have to open this post straight away with something that I want to say loud and clear is one of the main reasons we are playing so well. For the past four or five years I've been pulling my hair out about this facet of our game, and this year I am so pleased that I get to sing its praises. What a joy it is to say without equivocation that

It is back.

You know what I'm talking about.

The Kansas City Chiefs --

Offensive Line Is Back.

All you had to do was watch that early run by Thomas Jones that set up our first TD. A 70-yard romp that was split open by confident linemen moving people out with steady profeciency. Our running game ground out 236 yards today, again Jones and Charles popping for six and seven yards each carry. So right outta the gate a very high five to (from left to right)...

Branden Albert
Brian Waters
Casey Wiegmann
Ryan Lilja
Barry Richardson

Not only are these guys opening up those nifty holes for our backs, but they are doing a spot-on job of protecting our quarterback. Cassel was 13 for 18 today, which doesn't seem like much but most of those completions were critical in keeping drives alive or even going for touchdowns, and our running game is doing so well that he didn't have to throw a lot.

And how about getting some of those ball control drives. The Chiefs are now hitting on all the cylindars needed to have wholesomely sustained drives -- yes, wholesomely, not a word used too often in this instance but wholesome because those drives allow our defense to rest and keep a rhythm out on the field.

In the first half it looked like the awful second half in the Texans game was just continuing. The Jaguars would get the ball and just ram it down the field on us. But in the second half the offense got good at burning up clock and getting good yardage, allowing the defense to rejuvenate itself. After the Jags made it close in the third, 21-20, we didn't allow them to get another point. We shut down their go-to back, the very talented Maurice Jones-Drew, even before our extended lead took him completely out of the game.

We also didn't allow a couple of questionable pass interference calls from an overofficiating crew rattle us. And hey! Even though it was a gift, Eric Berry got his first NFL pick and put on a show running it back some 30 yards to put the nail in the coffin.

And we can't not say something about another phenomenal game from Dwayne Bowe. His fantasy league owners have got to be loving this guy a lot, especially after he dropped one of their touchdown passes in the Colts game. His first touchdown today was a terrific comeback to an underthrown ball from Cassel, followed by a number of splendid juke moves to get around Jag backs to scamper into the end zone. His second was vintage Bowe, a fantastic leaping grab and toe-touch to stay in-bounds for the score.

A couple of times I wondered what was going on down there with Todd Haley. One time he eschewed the field goal that at the time would've put us up by 11 but instead did his going-for-it-on-4th-down thing again, and this time it failed. He also called a couple of weird timeouts in early in the second half -- if this had been close at the end we'd've had only one.

But to give Haley credit, there are a number of stats that just show we are building into a really solid team, and much of that is because of his deft architecture.

The Chiefs are capitalizing on their turnovers, scoring on just about every one, while keeping the other team from scoring when they get the ball from us. We are also doing great at minimizing the loss plays -- I think I'd heard the Chiefs are one of the top teams in fewest loss yardage plays. Cassel's only been sacked a few times this year, which is again a testament to the awesome job -- oh what a joy it is to say that -- the awesome job our offensive line has been doing.

Every once in a while I'll see or hear some stat that is just so fun to hear, you know, the kind of stat that is indicative of a team playing really well. I can't remember them all, but it is really fun to hear them.

This is a very fun team to be rooting for right now
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Chiefs at Texans - Week 6 - Record: 3-2

Hello, Chiefs' young hearty defense.

Welcome to the NFL.

For four-and-a-half games this year, we had all reveled in our stalwart Chiefs defensive exploits. Both Brandons covering receivers like shrink wrap. Our swift linebackers eagerly devouring runners. Our resolute D-line standing people up. The whole bunch never allowing more than two touchdowns in any game.

But then they face a never-say-die excellent offensive machine.

Houston torched these guys for four touchdowns in four final possessions, making our D-guys look like a Pop Warner B-team. This was an awful loss, a win that the Chiefs had in the bag until Matt Schaub, Andre Johnson, Owen Daniels and their valiantly persevering offense made them look silly.

And here's the thing. We all like that Todd Haley is ambitious with his play calling. He has made this team a fun team to watch.

But he really needs to know how to finish by just flat-out getting the job done.

There was simply no excuse, no excuse in the universe for him to pass on 3rd and 2 with two minutes left, needed just one first down to really put the Texans on their heels. We'd been running all over these guys, gaining 6 or 7 yards a pop, and we throw a pitifully incomplete pass to bring up a 4th down and running no time off the clock. This gave their stellar offense tons of time to continue to roll over us.

There was simply no way we could have let them back in it.

Yes, there are all kinds of great things to say about our Chiefs performance today. Our 3rd down conversion rate was a wonderful surprise. I mean, really, we've been justifiably ripping the passing game, but today it was great. When we get our passing game and our pass defense together we'll be a genuinely contending team.

Yes, I do question if we are true contenders. We have so much promise -- hey, for the first time in years our offensive line is something that we can be extraordinarily proud of -- Charles and Jones each got nearly 100 yards again. And Dwayne Bowe had another of his games when he shows us how great he can be.

But the most positive thing about this game may just be that we lost so horribly. Maybe this is the wake-up these young kids need to have to know that in the NFL you can't just waltz right over people.
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Chiefs at Colts - Week 5 - Record: 3-1

Ya know? Really. We do have a pretty darn good team. Before the game I was really thinking, as I'm sure many were, that we'd get our comeuppance in Indy. Here is this young team facing the great Peyton Manning and the vaunted Indianapolis offensive machine, and they'll really know what the NFL is like.

We didn't win, but we held our own. Our defense really clamped down on that Colt offense, and only bent a bit too much when allowing a touchdown with a scant minute left. Our running game still churned out good yardage keeping solid drives going.

But then...

There is that passing game.

And the one pile of refuse that I was really hoping was finally taken to the dump and left there once and for all: dropped passes.

It is also still obvious we are not getting our routes run out crisply, Matt Cassel is just not getting the ball where he needs to as often as he must, and come on -- those dropped passes. What is this? You just can't have guys dropping passes in the NFL. You just can't. I'd like to think we are contenders, I really would, and looking at a lot of the positives today I think it's very reasonable to think so.

But this passing game does indeed cause me great concern.

I mean, on the one hand you do have those instances when a Chris Chambers runs a nice route underneath and follows it with a nice run to get a clutch first down at the end of the half. But on the other hand you get Dwayne Bowe getting just open enough at the side of the end zone to haul in what was nicely becoming his patented TD grab, but he drops it. Come on. We've got Chris Chambers and Dwayne Bowe as our top receivers. These guys should be studs. But then...

On one hand you've got Tony Moeaki making nice grabs for good yardage. But on that other hand you've got too many blown opportunities where our passing deficiencies really kill us, like the time we had a fourth down and Cassel just threw the ball into a crowd at the goal line.

Next week it is Houston who looks very good this year, from the little that I've picked up.

Back to the drawing board for Charlie and the passing game guys.
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49ers at Chiefs - Week 3 - Record: 3-0

Is this team fun or what?

For all the crazy Chiefs gymnastics out there that made Arrowhead -- err, 'scuze me, the NEW Arrowhead -- the place to be Sunday, I will tell you that the most satisfying thing was simply that

We got our first long sustained drive to result in a touchdown.

This offense is showing promise. Now yes, everything fell into place in this game. That just won't happen every game. We also benefitted from some spectacular big plays, so let's just get right into them.

- A phenomenal interception by Brandon Flowers -- the tip, the bounce off the foot, then into his hands while lying flat on his back.

- The screen pass to Dexter McCluster -- this guy in the open field is unbelievable. And the flyyy-ing into the end zone. How great is this! This is not even to mention his scintillating punt returns to set up great field position.

- The flea flicker out of that wildcat formation. Thomas Jones to Dexter McCluster to Matt Cassel coming from the wide receiver position. And Bowe with the nifty catch in the end zone -- too much!

- The one handed grab in the back of the end zone by Tony Moeaki. Please know that no Chiefs fan will every say "Tony who?" when it comes to Tony Gonzalez -- in fact he had a nice TD of his own for Atlanta today I found myself cheering for -- but is our new Tony great or what?!

I always glow about good Chiefs things in my classroom, and last week one of my students mentioned that we are getting great work from our rookies. No kidding. And we haven't even heard much from Eric Berry yet. Thing is, he is still part of a defense that thoroughly shut down San Francisco. Frank Gore, nothing until the second the last play of the game when it was meaningless. Victor Davis, one catch on the day. Alex Smith, every other pass an incompletion and he was constantly pressured. In fact I'm pretty sure we are already getting close to the number of sacks we had all of the season two years ago.

And our offense really shined today. Yes, again, those big plays were a part of it, but Haley is coaching this team to have a tremendous amount of confidence in their athletic abilities. He's really taking advantage of it. The key is our running game. Jones and Charles each had over 90 yards, and that tandem is gelling wonderfully. The Chiefs offense had 16 -- count 'em -- 16 plays of ten yards or more. What a splendid change from all those three-and-outs we've suffered through for years.

That means, yes, finally, we can give a rousing cheer for the offensive line! Hurray! Ahhhh... Not since the Willie Roaf Will Shields days can we do that. This new guy Ryan Lilja, what an addition. Brian Waters is still a stud. Branden Albert coming into his own. And how sweet is it to have Casey Weigmann back anchoring the line and standing people up.

All around, just a wonderful day for the Chiefs.

3-0 baby!

Bye week next week, so we can relish this for an extra week! We got Indy the week after, at Indy, so we'll see then if we're really for real. For now...

This was just pure fun.
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Chiefs at Browns - Week 2 - Record: 2-0

How sweet that is, to write "2-0" there at the beginning of a "Chiefs Game Today" blog post.

I will tell you that I'm still out here visiting my mother who has been in the hospital, that is why my post of last week was so abbreviated. I will say she is doing much better, and I have a minute to share some Chiefs oriented thoughts for this week.

I will say, however, that when I wanted to get over an watch this one at the local sports bar, I was completely occupied in being with my mom at one of the more significant junctions in her recovery, so I only caught snippets here and there. I did catch the highlight reel, as I must sometimes do, and caught some of the vital statistics, so I can offer a bit of a take.

I am extraordinarily impressed with our defense, which is the one thing that I didn't see much of at all. What I did see was Eric Berry chomping majorly on a play-fake allowing the Browns to go up top and get a long TD pass. At that moment I thought, "Wow does this rookie have a lot to learn." Apparently he learned quick because the Browns did not score a point for the rest of the game. Oh how I wanted to see that!

The offense did much better as well. Not only did Cassel engineer drives to get us field goals a number of times, but he made those clutch third down completions to keep the defense off the field enough to be rested to shut down the Browns offense. Oh oh oh how I wanted to see that!

Thing is, we did not score an offensive touchdown today. Yes, I did see Brandon Flowers' beautiful come-back-on-the-ball interception and TD return, but that's just another big play that helped get us a win. We absolutely must have sustained touchdown drives on a regular basis if we hope to be contenders. Two games so far -- zero sustained offensive drives resulting in touchdowns.

The fact that they mixed Jones and Charles up is a great thing, but that passing game has to click even better for us to get those drives. It was good to see the improvement after that wretched passing day against San Diego, but we still have a long way to go.
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Chargers at Chiefs - Week 1 - Record: 1-0

The Chiefs are vibrantly important, certainly, but there are other things that rival and indeed surpass the Chiefs. Major stuff happening now precludes me from putting down the typically vast amount of Dave take on the Chiefs even with our inspired New-Arrowhead play Monday night.

With that in mind, here are the bullet takes of my myriad thoughts:

- Exhileration. A big-play Chiefs win on national television was definitely fun.

- D.J. That's two games in a row now that Derrick Johnson has been a beast on defense. (Remember last year's final game in Denver?) How great would it be for him to be coming into his own.

- The Dee. The whole defense was stellar. They all were beasts out there, really clamping down on a strong San Diego offense. That last minute stop was simply splendid.

- The passing game. Yeah, what passing game. It was shameful to say the least. Matt Cassel and his receivers should be apologizing profusely to the defense for never getting a first down to give them a rest in the second half. (I mean, really, did they even get a first down in the second half?)

- Dexter. Let's hope Haley can finally figure out how to use this guy.

- Injuries. Good to hear Tyson Jackson will be okay. I know Brandon Flowers was down but back up again, I just don't know what his situation is though.

There are a few other scintillating things I could punch in here as well, but I've got to move out. Next week should be better. Look to see you then.
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Chiefs 2010 Preview - The New Arrowhead Era Begins!

Since I've been doing this blog for a few years, and each year I've assembled at least a handful of thoughts about our beloved team before the season starts, I thought this year shouldn't be any different. I do forewarn you, I've paid the teensiest attention to any Chiefs off-season activity. The only nibbles are those that my Chiefs radar just can't help but pick up wherever however.

Why then should you read any further? Because I believe I have the most unadulterated persepective about what I think about this team. My thoughts are not unduly colored by the highs and lows of things Chiefs personnel have done in the off-season, things that would make a rich and full projection of Chiefs future success haplessly distorted.

Oh, I will include some of those things I've discovered here and there, I can't help but. I will emphasize, however, that this is all about game day analysis. I just want to see, hear, and know of what goes on out there on the field.

For instance I did see very short parts of the Green Bay exhibition game. I never pay any attention to pre-season because that always presents the most warped picture of how a team will do in the regular season. I saw that we got two quick scores (yay!) but then did diddly the rest of the way (boo!) I noted that we beat a Green Bay team that I'd learned had clocked Indianapolis (yay!) but I also saw we did it to a Packers team that didn't even play their starting QB (boo!) Really, what can you tell from that?

So here is the reality of our prospects this season, as I see it.

We do have very strong people at key positions. My son told me he'd completed his fantasy draft and picked up Jamaal Charles, who'd been widely ranked in the 15th to 20th spot of all fantasy players. That's great. I was also initially disappointed that we'd gotten a DB, Eric Berry, with our very first very high draft pick this year. I thought our D-backfield was one of our strengths, but I'm getting word that this guy is a true game changer and simply could not be passed up.

I also know that everyone is excited that we've got all the parts in place front office and coaching-wise. Scott Pioli is taking no prisoners in building a fine team. Todd Haley is fully utilizing the very high learning curve and was able to bring on board top former Patriots coaches to make that horsepower in the Chiefs engine really go.

What really has to happen in real life real regular-season real play starting right at the gun on Sept 13th are two key things. To me these are the real keys of real everything. They are simply

1. Our very very very highly drafted defensive linemen simply have to dominate the line of scrimmage. You know who I'm talking about. This is the year Glenn Dorsey must finally shake off any remnant of knee trouble and anchors the defense right at the snap of every play. Tyson Jackson looks like a monster on that line but he's really got to have much much more than a gentle shove against the opponent's lineman.

2. Matt Cassel has to show that he's the real deal. As last year wound down (I think I wrote about this in a blog post), my uncle sent me a very troubling report from an observer noting that the offensive line problems may simply not be with the line but with the quarterback. I'd mentioned that I was concerned that Cassel was throwing a heavy ball, but the further concern was that he just wasn't getting rid of the ball in time. When you and your receivers aren't in sync, that makes the whole offense lethally sluggish. Charlie Weis has really got to have the Bill Walsh touch with this guy for us to have a shot.

Those are my main concerns, and they are not insignificant. For the first time in a long time I'm really not so worried about the offensive line, because I know it was one of Pioli's off-season priorities, and it did pick it up a bit at the end of last season.

The other major item to address is the biggest Chiefs deal of the off season, really. That would be the major renovation of Arrowhead stadium. I hear it's spectacular, but the most important thing is that maybe this "New Arrowhead" will bring a completely new wave of luck for our Chiefs.

As if we need reminding, since Arrowhead opened in 1972, the Chiefs have played a grand total of five post-season games there.

Five.

38 years of Chiefs professional football games, and Chiefs players have been blessed to step on the Arrowhead turf to do playoff battle a teensy-weensy five times.

Oh, and they've won two of them.

In 1991 defeating the Raiders 10-6, and in 1993 defeating the Steelers 27-24.

Thuh end. That's it.

So yeah, a brand spankin' new NEW NEW Arrowhead can't come any sooner.

This brings up the most important factor in the entire mix, really. That would be the owner, Clark Hunt. One thing I happened to see was a link on Yahoo for a page ranking NFL team owners. It was Friday, but I didn't look at it, though I was really tempted.

To be honest I can't see how Clark can't rank highly. He has given so much to make sure Arrowhead remains one of the premier sites to see NFL football. In what I've seen he's gone above and beyond to proudly carry on his dad's legacy. And that's one of the reasons I didn't look at what Yahoo pundits thought about NFL owners.

I think he should rank reasonably well, but I'd just be ticked off if he didn't. I'd be even more ticked off if he had a poor ranking for good reasons which I just don't know about. This kind of scenario is precisely why for these kinds of things, ignorance is the sweetest bliss. It is why you'll only hear from me again after September 13.

It simply does my heart no good to presume things. I only need to know what's happening on the field.

And this year that means our boys take the field in a new Arrowhead with a few years under our belts of what I see is a new, committed, experienced, group of managers, coaches, and players.

See you next week!
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Chiefs Highlights Extravaganza!

I would never write a Chiefs entry this early in the season, and while I'm sure the Chiefs are right in the middle of a certainly quite intense training camp this entry has nothing to do with that. All I care about is the Chiefs actually winning actual football games on the way to an actual championship.

But I still love the Chiefs and seeing them out there on the football field working for that win, even if those exploits are on video tape. Of course this includes a deep abiding enjoyment of great Chiefs history (however much that may be, and while it isn't vast it isn't insigificant either). Because I love all that NFL Films stuff, I had to put up a blog post to announce my discovery of a phenomenal new resource for Chiefs wonderfulness.

The website hulu.com has a link to videos provided by the NFL Network, who has quite deftly made a page for each NFL team. That means, yes, glory of all glories, there is a Chiefs page! You can go right to it, right now even! Look over to the right on this page, and the link is right there among the other links, titled "Chiefs Glory on Hulu." If that is too laborious, here it is right here in these very words, click them, go ahead! And get right to the menu of Chiefs shows the NFL has made available for you to enjoy.

Among the highlights there include the special feature about the Chiefs training camp of '07, Hard Knocks, an acclaimed documentary series about how tough it is to make an NFL team. What a deal that our team was featured as prominently as it was (even though we did kind of suck that year, if you remember losing our last nine straight games).

The very best, however, are all the items from the bountifully formidable early Chiefs years -- the Super Bowl win, the Hank Stram feature -- ahh, it can't get any better than that.

So consider this a free public service of your dutiful Chiefs game day blogger! Check it out and enjoy!
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The AFL Teams Doing Nothing in the Super Bowl Yet Again

Two notable things have happened this year in the world of NFL football. One is something that has been going on all year long--the 50-year commemoration since the AFL began. All right, way to go, yeah-heh, love the old AFL and all that cool high-octane offense stuff, yay AFL! This is not to mention that Chiefs main guy Lamar Hunt started the whole thing. Awright!

The second thing happened yesterday.

When the New York Jets lost to the Indianapolis Colts, my main thought was, "Hmm, that's the NFL's revenge right there." What I was referring to was the exact same match-up in Super Bowl III, the one in which the upstart Jets and their Joe Namath swagger defeated the powerful Baltimore Colts, a game widely considered the seminal game in NFL history. The idea: The AFL showed it could play with the big boys.

Then I thought about it. Have you thought about it? Has anyone thought about it?

That second thing: Yet again an AFL team has failed to get into the Super Bowl.

Yes, I used the words "yet again." This year's match-up will feature the very-much-not-old-AFL Colts versus the always NFL-NFC Saints.

I thought about it for a while, and I did the mental gymnastics to go back and look at all those good ol' AFL teams and their success in Super Bowls past. I discovered something pretty amazing. In Super Bowls, AFL teams have actually, really, truly, splendiferously

Sucked.

So I took the time to really do the math. And here it is, with each AFL team featured in an order with some semblence of meaning. You'll see it as we go. (Simple point of fact: by AFL, I mean the American Football League teams, most of them starting out in 1960 with two more added later in the decade. The league was absorbed into the NFL in 1970 with all of them becoming the AFC with the addition of three old-NFL teams. The NFC consisted of all the other teams and both conferences together became the NFL.)

10. Chargers. Super Bowl record: 0-1. In the one Super Bowl they got into they got crushed by the 49ers. Countless times they've had fine teams, but each and every time stumbled in the playoffs.

9. Titans/Oilers. 0-1. The Oilers had the first two AFL titles but, alas, the Super Bowl was not played back then. Since then the team, like the Chargers, had fine teams but just couldn't get into the big game at all. (Do you think of that complete collapse against the eventual Super Bowl participants, the Bills, in like, 92 or 93? I always do.) The Titans made it in 2000 only to have Kevin Dyson come up an inch short of the goal line giving the Rams the win.

8. Bengals. 0-2. The only post-season success the Bengals have ever really had was in three of their many AFL/AFC years. One of them was a one-win-but-then-out, the other two they went the distance, right into the big game, only to face the 49ers each time. Each game was relatively close, but the Niners prevailed both times.

7. Bills. 0-4. Four straight trips to the Super Bowl, four straight defeats. The first was that narrow loss to the Giants on the Scott Norwood last-second FG miss, but the next three were utter debacles at the hands of the Redskins and Cowboys.

6. Jets. 1-0. Oooo! Wow! Jets legitimize the AFL! Wowwie wow-wow! But, that was way way way back in 1969, it was their only appearance ever. That's, oh, lessee, 40 years ago.

5. Chiefs. 1-1. The Chiefs win over the heavily favored Vikings the very next year was just as important as the Jets win because it proved it was not a fluke. In fact to the not-surprise of those who knew, the Chiefs were an exceptionally good team, and coach Hank Stram's game plan in the big game was one of the most ingenious ever. But as has been attested to in this blog, the Chiefs have pretty much shlurped ever since, at least as far as doing anything Super Bowl-wise.

4. Dolphins. 2-3. Yes, that's right, a 2-3 record. You'da thought that with the Dolphins so dominant in the early 70's they'da had 57 straight Super Bowl victories. But the year right after their undefeated season they beat the Vikings for a two-fer, and then after that, nada. Even Dan Marino's team got into only one, and in that one they got clobbered by those 49ers.

3. Raiders. 3-2. This team could easily be considered the best among the AFL teams in Super Bowl play. Their three wins were all convincing efforts, but the last of those was 26 years ago. (And, it really should be noted that the two Raiders losses were themselves convincing. This team has never been in a close Super Bowl contest.)

2. Broncos. 2-4. Put here at number two because their Super Bowl wins were some of the more recent among the AFLers. We still can't forget that the four losses that occurred before them were all some of the most embarrassing shellackings in Super Bowl history. Indeed the last of those four was a 55-10 slaughterhouse special at the hands of those, yet again, 49ers--the most lopsided loss ever in the history of the event.

1. Patriots. 3-3. Listed here as first because they've had the most recent wins among AFLers, three of four from 2002 to 2005. But before that, they too were generally pathetic up until they got there for the first time in 1986 whereupon, yes, they got mauled by the Bears in the second most lopsided score ever in a Super Bowl. While taking nothing away from the fine play of this team during their Super Bowl run, they did win each of those early 00's games, each one of them, by only a field goal. And need we say anything about the one game just a couple of years ago which they were supposed to win more than any other in Super Bowl history, the one in which they went in undefeated and then let the Giants squeak away with the win?

Now, is this pathetic or what? Really, look upon the horror, if you dare...

An overall 12-21 record in Super Bowls for this bunch encompassing the entirety of all of the 43 Super Bowls played so far (with no chance this year to improve on even that putridity). Only two of the ten have a winning record (the Jets and Raiders), six have a losing record. (Hey, at least the Chiefs are even. Whee.)

AFLers have a miserable five wins since the Raiders won in 1984. Just so you know, that's 26 years in all-- only five wins. And those by only two of the ten. Right after that 1984 win, by the way, AFL teams went on an eleven-game losing streak. Eleven straight, all lost by not just AFC teams but Ay-eff-ehl teams, every one of the them, six different teams in all.

And how about this one: If we say, for these purposes, a blowout is any victory of 13 or more points. Sure there could be argument about what really makes a blowout, but 13 would qualify as a good whupping. There have been 15 such losses by AFL teams, to only six of AFL teams over NFL/NFC teams. That means for every one time an AFL team really put it to their Super Bowl opponent, there have been three times that an AFL team has been blasted.

Wow. This is just amazing, the irony of all the celebrating about the AFL's beginning and all, and we're in the Super Bowl week with not an AFL team to be found. How about this thing called "The Super Bowl," the very term itself coined by none other than AFL founder Lamar Hunt.

All this tells me is that an AFL team is really really due to kick some Super Bowl butt, like, oh...

Hey! The Kansas City Chiefs! They're one of those teams! It's gotta be them!

Next year, it's the Revenge of the AFL! It can only be the Chiefs! The spirit of Lamar Hunt lives on!

Awright!
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Chiefs Doing Nothing in the Post-Season Yet Again

This blog is wholly about addressing games the Kansas City Chiefs play and only those games. I do nothing but look at the games. With some few exceptions (like this one) I make only one post a week--the one regarding what happened in the game of the day.

But since this is playoff time and I should be writing about our Chiefs playoff games (but am not, thank you Carl Peterson) I wanted to blog a bit about the very sad history of Chiefs playoff activity. I have no delusions that this may be considered one great big whining session, but oh well. For one, it's my blog, and for two, I know the Chiefs must win games with wise front office decisions, deft tactical leadership, and plain flat-out on-the-field excellence.

But if luck is a component in the mix, then over the many years the Chiefs have had very little of it.

So you may call it what you want, but henceforth this shall officially be my year-end bitch session, and I've got the statistical goods to back it up.

For one thing, I updated the latest Kansas City playoff drought numbers, a statistical nightmare I put together and posted on my blog at the end of last year. This year it was no better. There it is, KC's football and baseball teams still sucking and reaching a 40-year combined team playoff drought. It is updated right up to the present moment with today's NFL playoff action included. Annnnd, there we are there at the top, us Kansas Citians. Next up is Cincy at 33. Then Houston at 22. Then Detroit at 21.

Everyone else, every single stinkin' other city--20 of the 24 in all-- with a playoff drought fully half of Kansas City's, or less.

See, I happen to be kind of a Royals fan, too, and it was as if the sports gods watched Bret Saberhagen leap for joy putting away the last Cardinals batter in Game 7 of the 1985 World Series and said, "This just cannot be. The Royals winning the championship? Especially after a gift call from an umpire the day before and all the things we did to hose them through the 70's no matter how good they were? We'll never let that happen again."

Now I don't attribute the Royals suckitude since then solely to supernatural forces. It has a ton to do with the fact that major league baseball itself knows it would die should anything like the sustained success that the teeny tiny market Royals had through the 70's happen again. I made some notes in a post from last year about how exactly it is that the Royals cannot win, and it is here (right after last year's playoff drought list).

But let's talk Chiefs futility.

One thing I did was get a feel of how the team did versus the key teams they must do well against, namely those teams in the rest of the AFC West, the Broncos, the Chargers, and the Raiders. Indeed since this is the 50th anniversary of the AFL, it is worth a look at this classic divisional set-up and how things have gone through the five decades.

First, let's look at division titles. The Raiders have 16, the Chargers 15, the Broncos 10, and the Chiefs 6. (The Dallas Texans don't count because that's not Kansas City, and the Seattle Seahawks had a few in there when they were in the AFC West.) Then I looked at how many playoff games were won after winning a division title. Here's that list: the Raiders 18, the Broncos 13, the Chargers 9, and the Chiefs 3.

Now, just look at that. Fifty years, and a puny 6 division titles for the Chiefs. FIFTY YEARS OF AFL/AFC EXISTITUDE, and a pitifully putrid 3 playoff victories coming off a division title.

Now yes, the Chiefs did win a few playoff games as a wild-card, and yes they did win the Super Bowl coming out of being a wild-card in 1969. For that I am bountifully grateful that we had such a phenomenally great team like Hank Stram's Chiefs and we could blow away teams as a great team like that should. At least for that one beautiful, glorious, splendidly marvelous year.

But again, the sports gods...

"What? The Chiefs? They can't win anymore, they're in such a teeny tiny market, and they didn't really deserve it because they didn't even win their division, so we'll just have to hose them for the rest of eternity..."

So then, what about the whole divisional title thing? Just FYI, here are those titles, and here are those playoff wins. Don't worry, it won't take up much blog space--whew, good thing... The titles: 66, 71, 93, 95, 97, and 03. The wins: against Buffalo in 66, against Pittsburgh and then right after that against Houston in 93.

Thaht's it. Thah end.

In only two years of the entirety of this 50-year thing we're all celebrating right now, two of fifty, a whopping four percent of the time did we have a year in which we won our division then went on to win at least one playoff game. There it is, those years again: 1966 and 1993.

You'da thought we'da had more in that 90's decade, but lest you forget that once we breathed playoff air we choked nearly every time. We now have the current on-going record for consecutive playoff losses. Yes, uh-huh. We do. When I saw that stat just after the Colts loss after the 06 season I was stunned. Thinking back to that glorious win over the Oilers in January of 94 I just never woulda thought. But yep, right there, the Chiefs have a record six-game playoff losing streak and counting, meaning if they get in again and lose, then they'll be the sole holders of that distinction. (Seattle had six in a row a while back until they won, and Dallas also shared the record but their six game streak ended last week when they beat Philly. For the record, those six in the Chiefs ledger: Buf 93 season, Mia 94, Ind 95, Den 97, Ind 03, Ind 06.)

I still shake my head.

But wait. There's more.

Just this week I thought, hmm, on this year of the 50th anniversary of AFL/AFC wonderfulness--the whole of which commenced, I might add, by the intrepid catalysm of Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt--I would  look at total playoff victories through the fifty by all the original AFL teams. Total, meaning all of them, all wild-card, divisional, conference, Super Bowl, all of it. Well, let's look at that shall we, and for our weaker Chiefs fan brethren, you may want to look away.

Here's the list.

1. Oakland/Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders (25)
2. Boston/New England Patriots (21)
3. Denver Broncos (17)
4. Buffalo Bills (14)
4. Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans (14)
6. Los Angeles/San Diego Chargers (10)
7. New York Titans/Jets (10)
8. Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs (8)

You must note that the Chiefs-not-Texans have only had seven playoff wins in the fifty years. And to think that there have been times when I've actually been kind of sad the Raiders have themselves sucked so thoroughly these past several years (BTW, this year they set an NFL record for seven straight seasons with at least 11 losses--are you sad?), or even thought those who thought the Chiefs should not have beaten the Raiders in the 1969 conference championship game might have a point. Or that since we've pretty much had our way with them for some time (for practically all of the 90's and most of the 00's) that somehow it is their turn...

Somebody, please whack me in the head with a two-by-four, I give you permission.

What really makes me crazy is that I look at all of this just knowing in the very depths of my soul that we are so, so due for at least a teeny tiny bit of success, yet I also know that the sports gods will just do something to hose us and of course, yes, this is precisely why I spend zero time looking at any Chiefs item outside of actual gametime. I only end up going and getting my hopes up and then another Christmas Day 1971 happens. Or a Lin Elliot bricking three FG attempts happens. Or an Elvis Grbac thoroughly ignoring his outlet back for an easy game-winning TD happens. Or a young Peyton Manning converting on 57 third-downs happens.

I dunno. Sure this blog post is just one massive vent. At this point it's really all I have. Until next September when I can see if Scott Pioli has put together a team that can actually do great things for a long, long period of time. See if Todd Haley has taken those parts and assembled them deftly. For everything I have in me as a Chiefs fan I wholly expect them to, I really do.

So until September when maybe, just maybe the Kansas City Chiefs can begin to be the dominant team of the second half of the AFL/AFC Century.
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Chiefs at Broncos - Week 17 - Record: 4-12

Can you believe it? In Denver, meaningless game for us, do-or-die-and-need-help meaningful for them, and we come in there

And pummel them.

Jamaal Charles has officially made us completely forget Larry Johnson. He zoomed off for 259, not only the highest rushing total in Chiefs history but one of the top performances by anyone in NFL history. Derrick Johnson, our stunningly athletic one-time star defender-- this year just floating around here and there-- goes to the bank twice with interception returns.

This game was sweet from the beginning because for once, for once it looked like we were all about getting the job done from play one. When I watched the very first play from scrimmage I could swear I was looking at that beautiful Steve DeBerg play-action --remember that?-- sure enough it was Matt Cassel using Charles to draw up the defense then firing a perfect strike to Terrance Copper for 50. Bam. Then another BAM. Bam, bam and in four plays we got a touchdown, amazingly, the first one all season from the first offensive drive of a game.

We got the job done.

We cannot lose sight of the fact that a single game does not a team make. Okay, sober time now, we're now officially in the off-season so let's be candid. This has been the worst period of play the Kansas City Chiefs have ever endured. Worse than those miserable mid-70's years, worse than the lean John Mackovic years (he never had a team with fewer than six wins), even worse than the ridiculously awful Frank Gansz years (even he managed to get four wins in each of his years). Since that glorious last day of 2006 when we miraculously shot into the playoffs, we've played a total of 48 regular season games and have won ten of them. Do the math. That's 38 big huge smackin' losses.

You'd think that with all of this we'd have a losing franchise record, but we actually have a winning record overall (385-358-12). There are a couple of reasons for this. One, the Chiefs were bad-ass good in the 60's and 90's. Yes, all around the mediocrity in our history, we had those two wonderful decades. And two, the Chiefs were never really very bad in any year. I know that's hard to believe even with our beloved Frank Gansz in the mix there, but it is interesting that in our worst years we've only been very average, never a 1-15 record or even anything close to it outside of 2008. That's nothing to cheer about, yes, but still...

This is why I bring up this last spate of Chiefs play--these past three years of horror. Taken together they indeed represent the worst times the Chiefs have ever experienced. Last year we set a record for least number of sacks. This year (for all intents and purposes because it isn't an official record, but close enough) we settled in with the teams who had record dropped passes, around 50 on the season. Our defense was ranked dead last in the NFL. And what cannot be quantified is our abject failure to get any meaningful push on either side of the ball-- arguably the most important part of the game.

But, ain't no way I'm ending the last blog entry of the season that way. I only do so to amplify the stakes here. The fact is, there is that hope.

And it is very real.

I'm not just whistling in the dark. There are some very positive things going on. Two plays in particular that just made me proud to be a Chiefs fan, because they just did so well blocking. Jamaal Charles' first touchdown was just a five-yard scamper, but the blocking made me think about what we had in 2003 when Priest Holmes so splendidly danced through the line. And the first of Derrick Johnson's interceptions was taken back with the help of phenomenal blocking by his defensive cohorts.

With all the accolades I have to mention our kickers, yes our kickers. Ryan Succop tied a record for FG percentage by a rookie--how awesome it was to see him bang through just about every shot he had. And Dustin Colquitt nearly got to a record for most punts inside the 20 in a season. That is great.

Today the Chiefs were gelling and making things happen as a team--oh how sweet...getting the job done. That this happened there in Denver, our first win there since 2000, extraordinarily sweet. We put up a whoppin' 44 there today, the most in their yard since 1966. Sweet sweet sweet. This game was a complete and utter joy to behold.

Now it's on to April and the beacoup load of draft picks to keep building on this. What a fantastic way to go into the offseason. Oh please know this is by no means the best it can be...

I eagerly await the the last game of the regular season when it is way way better than this, when we actually move on to the playoffs.

If we can build on this, and there is every reason to believe we can, it'll happen.

I confess, I confess with an overflow of the most heartbreaking memories that there have been many times when things looked bright for us, and later things went very, very badly. I so very well know this may be one of those times. Many of the pieces are indeed in place, particularly in the front office, that make the hope real, and while sometime later it could all end very badly yet again, I can only close this season with the thought--especially after this final game of '09--

That at least there is that very bright hope for now.

It is very good indeed.
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