This was a game that meant absolutely nothing standings-wise or playoffs-wise one way or the other for the Chiefs -- they're already locked into a No. 5 seed for the playoffs. It meant everything for the Chargers -- win or go home for the postseason.
And yet our inspired backups almost won the game for us.
Really, they should have won it, but alas, we were again blistered by The Curse of Sid Gillman (or whatever version of The Curse has been so ruthlessly hammering us against the Chargers). I mean, all we needed was a gimme Ryan Succop field goal to win it, but, alas, The Curse. He totally bricked it, while former Chiefs kicker Nick Novak nailed his two to tie it and then win it. Now we've got beat by these guys 10 of the last 12. How sucked-up is that (couldn't resist, sorry).
But really if The Curse is going to bite us in the ass again, today is a perfect day for that to happen. This one didn't mean a damn thing. Sure The Curse can spank us by way of the effects of having all our top guys resting today leading to their lethargic uneven play next week. Now, yes, on the other hand they could be well rested enough and protected from injury enough to be righteously beast next week. But well... I won't bring up that thing again. But it's still there.
As far as this game goes, there was indeed another Chargers really stupid punt thing that went against the Chiefs, and sure enough I thought about the Chargers really stupid punt thing that was the crushing factor in that late 2006 game. This one was completely unjust if what I saw on the replays was actually what happened, and it did really cost us the game. Just have to share it here because it was just too stupid.
We stop them on their first series in overtime in their territory, it's something like 4th and 2. They try a fake punt with Eric Weddle, I think it was him, taking the snap and running up the middle. He gets the first down. Problem is, we stop him behind the line of scrimmage. No whistle blows. The pile moves forward a bit just past the 1st down marker, wherein he fumbles the ball before he goes down, at least that's what the one single replay that they showed indicated. Cyrus Gray ends up with the football and runs for a touchdown.
But, ahh, once the pile moves forward and no one knows what actually happened there, the officials blow the whistle. First down Chargers. I see. I see how it is. Everyone's tired, we all want to go home. I see how it is. The television people didn't even pursue the matter further. This is the Chiefs, and, well, they're supposed to lose to the Chargers. I see how it is.
Sorry, but if this happened to a Cowboys or a Giants or a Patriots they'd be all over this. They'd be reviewing the video on every highlights show and every pundit on the set would be carefully dissecting it and ranting and raving incessantly. There is no question this contemptible neglect of anything Chiefs is at least some vital part of The Curse, it really is.
I'm planning to put together a Playoff Preview Post here sometime this week, when I'll spit and spew and hock and holler about what I think about Chiefs at Colts. Yeah, nothing is new. Still feel that harrowing dread, sorry. Just being honest. But more about all that later.
As for now, the Chiefs record this year against backup, second-string, third-string, just-signed, and whatever fill-in quarterbacks there are: 9-0. Their record against top-flight Pro-Bowl caliber quarterbacks (namely Manning Rivers and Luck): 0-5. Just as I feared weeks and weeks ago. Oh, and next week that could be 0-6 on the year. Yhee. (The other two were Tony Romo and Eli Manning, two pretty decent quarterbacks we beat this year, but both had very subpar years.)
As for next week, The Curse affects the whole scheduling situation, too. My brother-in-law's already scheduled a huge paintball day for his son's birthday, on Saturday. I'm thinking, ya know? They're going to do it, I just know they will. They're going to schedule the Chiefs game for the first game of the weekend, on Saturday afternoon. ::Please-oh-please-oh-please-oh-please-don't-have-our-game-be-that-game...:: I thought all week long.
Not.
Guess which game is first, 1:25 PST next Saturday?
Errrghkkkkk.
Well, I don't know how this'll play out. Will our paintball be done so I can see the game? Maybe the second half of the game? Or hey, maybe I should just not watch, just enjoy the paintball experience and avoid the televised pro football agony. Maybe, I dunno. You'll see how that all plays out in next week's standard postgame post -- what I watch, how much, whatever. At this point I still just feel so resigned no matter how much our team has going for us. Again, next post, preview, sometime this week, I'll get into it.
Thought I'd add this, after being generally disturbed over these awful recent records we have against these teams. You'd think we'd have a poor overall record, but remember, through the 53 years of the Chiefs existence, we do have a winning record overall -- 415-392-12. How can that be? Who then do we have winning records against? Well, first, our worst records are against Pittburgh (9-19) and the New York Giants (3-10).
Speaking of Pittsburgh, kinda glad the Steelers didn't get in the playoffs through a Chiefs win today. There was a bit of talk about the Steelers' displeasure with Andy Reid for resting his starters and playing all the reserve guys. Well, Steelers whoevers, for one, those guys almost won the game, and for two, shut your trap because you had eight games this season you could have won yourselves but didn't. You've played the most charmed football for decades, people, 'bout time you got a taste of our curse.
Anyway, most teams we're pretty even with through the years, but the teams against whom we have winning records of some sizable margin? Five teams are worthy of note. We're seven games up on Tennessee, interesting because the Oilers are the team we're best known for beating in the playoffs -- in that AFL championship game in '62 and then in '93. We've also been really dominant over Seattle, and not just when they started out back in the late seventies. Since that awful game in 1990 when Derrick Thomas set the sacks record but we lost on the very last play, we've played the Seahawks 25 times and beaten them 19.
Our best records by winning percentage are against Arizona and Washington. We've only been beaten by the Redskins once in the entire history of Chiefs-Redskins games, comprising nine total meetings. But how about this team we have a pretty dominant history against:
The Packers. How about that. We're 7-3-1 against them, and one of those losses was Super Bowl I. Crazy, huh.
Oh, and something else kinda funny?
We have overall winning records against the Broncos and the Patriots, the two top seeds in the playoffs this year. Yeah, a lot of that success was in the AFL days, especially against the Broncos who we beat 25 of 27 times (yowza!) from the very get-go into the early seventies.
But hey, hey...
Maybe we can get some of that charm back for this run...
_
Sunday, December 29, 2013
Sunday, December 22, 2013
Colts at Chiefs - Week 16 - Record: 11-4
The game started with the Chiefs D stopping the Colts O cold. Yay! Then we got a great punt return from Dexter. Yay! Then our O-line split the Colts defense to get Jamaal a fine touchdown run. Yay!
Yepp, it sure looked like it'd be a long day for...
The Chiefs.
Why? It's simple.
The Curse.
Right after Jamaal's touchdown, it was clear that Odin was so angry at himself for forgetting to activate the standard Colts curse against the Chiefs before the game that he put an extra ruthless spin on it. I mean, really -- that first few minutes of the game, that silly hope we'd have that we'd actually beat the Colts. Ha!
Or was it the ghost of Johnny Unitas? Or the spirits of the American Indian dead buried underneath... Okay okay, I'll spare you. But there is a curse. You can't convince me there isn't. Today's loss makes it 12 in the last 14 games against these guys. Until the Chiefs henceforth beat the Colts five or six straight times -- with a good team and a bad team, in the playoffs and not -- you cannot tell me this blight is just the product of anything far more benign. You can't.
Do you want me to regale you with the gory Colts-vs-Chiefs details from the past several years? Why. For one you probably already know about it. For two I'll be getting to a bit of it when, yes, very possibly we play our first playoff game in two weeks at the Colts yard.
I mean, how about just this, from our second-to-last game from last year? Yepp, it was against the Colts, at Arrowhead, and we actually played so well that we ran the ball on them for a blistering 352 yards rushing -- and still lost. Remember that? Probably not because it was lost in the sputtering out of an abysmal season, but the thing is, if you do remember, that mark is an NFL record -- most rushing yards by any NFL team ever in a losing effort. Neat.
Today featured some of the worst from The Curse. The Chiefs looking like shit and the Colts looking like champions. What's new when these guys meet. Remember the last time the Chiefs beat the Colts? In '11 they had Curtis Painter at quarterback and we still had to come from way behind and squeak out a 4th quarter win. Never mind that whole Painter-filling-in-for-an-injured-Peyton-Manning-helping-the-Colts-stink-so-much-that-they-get-top-quarterback-stud-Andrew-Luck-with-the-first-overall-pick-in-the-draft-the-year-before-the-Chiefs-stink-so-much-they-get-the-first-overall-pick-but-discover-no-such-quarterback-there-for-them-when-they-were-the-one-single-NFL-team-ever-that-needed-one thing. Never mind that. Oh, no, there is no curse, of course not.
So putting the brutal reality of The Curse aside, let's pretend that this is indeed all about who plays better and who is the better team and all that. Today it was proven the Colts are a better team, I admit. No shame in that. The crazy thing is that they really weren't by much. This whole thing just makes it that much more crazy.
The Chiefs curse: Alex Smith had an atrocious game, but so did the whole pass protection team. He got sacked and roughed up and threw picks and coughed up the ball. When he did get the ball off our receivers were still not getting separation. Our vertical passing game, let me just say it with one simple noise: ::Whimper::. Today Dwayne Bowe was back to his pathetic Dr. Jekyll self -- simply not running good, clearing routes. The Colts charm: Andrew Luck managed to get his receivers untracked and wide open at just right times. He really wasn't any major world beater, it's just, his team managed to make the plays. In fact the score should've been 30-7 because on one play Luck threw a perfect strike on a deep pass strike to a receiver who'd beaten our defender and he just dropped it.
The Chiefs curse: The Chiefs stuffed their run game today probably about 99.992815% of the time, but the one time they just didn't their guy got a spectacular run for a critical touchdown. And this was one of the several plays in which we just forgot how to tackle out there. The Colts charm: The Chiefs running game was actually pretty good, but their defense got the key stops just when they needed them. What did I see, the Colts something like 27th in the NFL in run defense? You have got to be kidding me -- them 27th in stopping the run, us with Jamaal Charles, and we score only seven points on the day? Come on. The Curse was turned waaay up today...
The Chiefs curse: Maybe the vibes of Lin Elliot are in the mix somewhere here. Youthfully robust Ryan Succop came in to attempt one field goal, a piddle 40-something yarder, and he utterly, thoroughly, embarrassingly bricked it. The Colts charm: Even though he did miss one, dodderingly aging Adam Vinatieri still easily made three, from all over the place with all kinds of swirls.
The Chiefs curse: Our pass rush is nothing without Justin Houston. That's extraordinarily scary come playoff time, mainly because even if he's in there I'm not sure we're nearly as good as we were the first half of the season, and when he's not in there our pass rush is completely vanilla. The Colts charm: So many little things that went their way it wasn't even funny, much of that was just the feel that they knew everything we were going to do. Give them credit for being exceptionally prepared for us, give them that. But we helped them a lot with not only the uninspired play and the turnovers, the blown coverages and missed marks, but the stultifying penalties. Oh my, it was grotesque. One of them was a taunting call on 3rd-and-long by a usually very composed Dontari Poe. I shake my head even more as I write this.
Damn, that's what makes all of this so scary.
We have a playoff game coming up in two weeks dammit.
We still haven't made a statement win, still. (Oh, and BTW, just FYI, the Colts have already registered three pretty major statement games, beating the Niners, Seahawks, and Broncos -- yeah, all of them this year.)
We've been beast against the least in the NFL, but we look like we're carrying a load of Kryptonite on our backs when we play the Denvers and Indys and San Diegos.
Speaking of which, we have the Chargers next week in San Diego. There's a phenomenally powerful Curse of Sid Gillman against us there, having lost 9 of the last 11 against them. The last time we won there was in 2007.
We have nothing to play for, either, having already clinched the 5th seed. We'll be having to travel to somewhere, some other team's stadium to enjoy playoff hell -- New England, Cincinnati, Baltimore, or Indianapolis. Whatever. Yes, I am very discouraged. I'm just resigned to the inevitable, I just steel myself for it, and if by some miracle The Curse won't crush us again and we actually win then I'll be that much more ecstatic. But as it is...
I know, I know, why should I feel that way. We were 2-14 last year, and we're going to the playoffs this year. What a turnaround. We should be happy. We've been the talk of pro football. We should be proud. We've got a fine team no matter how many think we're overachieving. We should still be exuberant, joyful, contented...
Why can't I be happy about that.
Sorry but... Okay, to maintain some decorum here, I'll just stop talking about it. There'll be plenty of time for that when appropriate. Whatever anything is about anything, for the next two weeks we can revel in being a playoff team -- for now, that's actually a terrific thing, and after today wears off a bit it'll be nice to feel the hopefulness however much there is.
There's that.
_
Yepp, it sure looked like it'd be a long day for...
The Chiefs.
Why? It's simple.
The Curse.
Right after Jamaal's touchdown, it was clear that Odin was so angry at himself for forgetting to activate the standard Colts curse against the Chiefs before the game that he put an extra ruthless spin on it. I mean, really -- that first few minutes of the game, that silly hope we'd have that we'd actually beat the Colts. Ha!
Or was it the ghost of Johnny Unitas? Or the spirits of the American Indian dead buried underneath... Okay okay, I'll spare you. But there is a curse. You can't convince me there isn't. Today's loss makes it 12 in the last 14 games against these guys. Until the Chiefs henceforth beat the Colts five or six straight times -- with a good team and a bad team, in the playoffs and not -- you cannot tell me this blight is just the product of anything far more benign. You can't.
Do you want me to regale you with the gory Colts-vs-Chiefs details from the past several years? Why. For one you probably already know about it. For two I'll be getting to a bit of it when, yes, very possibly we play our first playoff game in two weeks at the Colts yard.
I mean, how about just this, from our second-to-last game from last year? Yepp, it was against the Colts, at Arrowhead, and we actually played so well that we ran the ball on them for a blistering 352 yards rushing -- and still lost. Remember that? Probably not because it was lost in the sputtering out of an abysmal season, but the thing is, if you do remember, that mark is an NFL record -- most rushing yards by any NFL team ever in a losing effort. Neat.
Today featured some of the worst from The Curse. The Chiefs looking like shit and the Colts looking like champions. What's new when these guys meet. Remember the last time the Chiefs beat the Colts? In '11 they had Curtis Painter at quarterback and we still had to come from way behind and squeak out a 4th quarter win. Never mind that whole Painter-filling-in-for-an-injured-Peyton-Manning-helping-the-Colts-stink-so-much-that-they-get-top-quarterback-stud-Andrew-Luck-with-the-first-overall-pick-in-the-draft-the-year-before-the-Chiefs-stink-so-much-they-get-the-first-overall-pick-but-discover-no-such-quarterback-there-for-them-when-they-were-the-one-single-NFL-team-ever-that-needed-one thing. Never mind that. Oh, no, there is no curse, of course not.
So putting the brutal reality of The Curse aside, let's pretend that this is indeed all about who plays better and who is the better team and all that. Today it was proven the Colts are a better team, I admit. No shame in that. The crazy thing is that they really weren't by much. This whole thing just makes it that much more crazy.
The Chiefs curse: Alex Smith had an atrocious game, but so did the whole pass protection team. He got sacked and roughed up and threw picks and coughed up the ball. When he did get the ball off our receivers were still not getting separation. Our vertical passing game, let me just say it with one simple noise: ::Whimper::. Today Dwayne Bowe was back to his pathetic Dr. Jekyll self -- simply not running good, clearing routes. The Colts charm: Andrew Luck managed to get his receivers untracked and wide open at just right times. He really wasn't any major world beater, it's just, his team managed to make the plays. In fact the score should've been 30-7 because on one play Luck threw a perfect strike on a deep pass strike to a receiver who'd beaten our defender and he just dropped it.
The Chiefs curse: The Chiefs stuffed their run game today probably about 99.992815% of the time, but the one time they just didn't their guy got a spectacular run for a critical touchdown. And this was one of the several plays in which we just forgot how to tackle out there. The Colts charm: The Chiefs running game was actually pretty good, but their defense got the key stops just when they needed them. What did I see, the Colts something like 27th in the NFL in run defense? You have got to be kidding me -- them 27th in stopping the run, us with Jamaal Charles, and we score only seven points on the day? Come on. The Curse was turned waaay up today...
The Chiefs curse: Maybe the vibes of Lin Elliot are in the mix somewhere here. Youthfully robust Ryan Succop came in to attempt one field goal, a piddle 40-something yarder, and he utterly, thoroughly, embarrassingly bricked it. The Colts charm: Even though he did miss one, dodderingly aging Adam Vinatieri still easily made three, from all over the place with all kinds of swirls.
The Chiefs curse: Our pass rush is nothing without Justin Houston. That's extraordinarily scary come playoff time, mainly because even if he's in there I'm not sure we're nearly as good as we were the first half of the season, and when he's not in there our pass rush is completely vanilla. The Colts charm: So many little things that went their way it wasn't even funny, much of that was just the feel that they knew everything we were going to do. Give them credit for being exceptionally prepared for us, give them that. But we helped them a lot with not only the uninspired play and the turnovers, the blown coverages and missed marks, but the stultifying penalties. Oh my, it was grotesque. One of them was a taunting call on 3rd-and-long by a usually very composed Dontari Poe. I shake my head even more as I write this.
Damn, that's what makes all of this so scary.
We have a playoff game coming up in two weeks dammit.
We still haven't made a statement win, still. (Oh, and BTW, just FYI, the Colts have already registered three pretty major statement games, beating the Niners, Seahawks, and Broncos -- yeah, all of them this year.)
We've been beast against the least in the NFL, but we look like we're carrying a load of Kryptonite on our backs when we play the Denvers and Indys and San Diegos.
Speaking of which, we have the Chargers next week in San Diego. There's a phenomenally powerful Curse of Sid Gillman against us there, having lost 9 of the last 11 against them. The last time we won there was in 2007.
We have nothing to play for, either, having already clinched the 5th seed. We'll be having to travel to somewhere, some other team's stadium to enjoy playoff hell -- New England, Cincinnati, Baltimore, or Indianapolis. Whatever. Yes, I am very discouraged. I'm just resigned to the inevitable, I just steel myself for it, and if by some miracle The Curse won't crush us again and we actually win then I'll be that much more ecstatic. But as it is...
I know, I know, why should I feel that way. We were 2-14 last year, and we're going to the playoffs this year. What a turnaround. We should be happy. We've been the talk of pro football. We should be proud. We've got a fine team no matter how many think we're overachieving. We should still be exuberant, joyful, contented...
Why can't I be happy about that.
Sorry but... Okay, to maintain some decorum here, I'll just stop talking about it. There'll be plenty of time for that when appropriate. Whatever anything is about anything, for the next two weeks we can revel in being a playoff team -- for now, that's actually a terrific thing, and after today wears off a bit it'll be nice to feel the hopefulness however much there is.
There's that.
_
Sunday, December 15, 2013
Chiefs at Raiders - Week 15 - Record: 11-3
One of the things I learned during the course of this game was that Jamaal Charles has the Jerry
Rice-like dedication to his physical constitution. A disciplined regiment of healthy eating, focused exercising, and overall body management helps make him one of the best players in the NFL.
And if you watched him play today, you'd see the product of such commitment.
First play from scrimmage, screen pass to Jamaal, down the sideline, touchdown Kansas City.
He'd have two more long screen pass touchdowns on the day, as well as one splendid play we ran on third and short. Alex Smith executed play action brilliantly allowing Jamaal to break open against the linebacker and grab a perfect strike for the long touchdown pass play.
Bam. NFL record. No other running back in NFL history has ever had four touchdown pass receptions in a single game.
We could beam about our NFL season-high 56 points -- not even Denver (boo-yahhh) has put up as many as 56 this year. We could cheer about this playoff clinching game -- we're in for sure somehow somewhere. That's always cause for celebration no matter what, especially this year, a year right after the rank unpleasantries of last year.
But I am still concerned about our consistency. Very concerned. We blasted out to a 35-10 lead before Oakland put up a quick 21. 35-31 just like that. Yes, I was nervous. Sure we got some more clutch turnovers (seven total on the day) to really help us out, but please. Their QB was no world-beater in a system that is presently experimenting with two quarterbacks. How many games will a team win trying to find the right mix of quarterback platooning? Anyone for Marques Hagans to come back and run some wildcat for the Chiefs?
Both our pass defense and run defense was very soft today, and, again, both got rescued by some fortuitous picks. Yes, it can be said the defense works hard to make those happen, and I don't disagree. Damn, if we could just get our first-half-of-the-season defense to match the offense we've had the last few games -- damn.
What we need is Justin Houston back in the worst way. But that's the thing.
When playoff time comes around we'll need to have everything blending just right to have success there, something that has never really happened since, well, since you-know-when. It's been a damn long time, that's for sure. I promise I won't get into that for now.
For now we actually still have a shot at the No. 1 seed in the whole thing. Denver got shocked at home by San Diego Thursday night. If Denver can lose one more time and we can beat Indy and San Diego we've got it. If not and things twist and turn in a very possible way we may actually get New England at their place to open things up. Ow-wow-owch.
Denver closes their season at Oakland. Sing with me now, come on, get in the Christmas spirit, ::It's-beginning-to-look-a-lot, like becoming-a-Raiders-fan, everywhere-you-want-Chiefs-good-things-to-happen::
_
Rice-like dedication to his physical constitution. A disciplined regiment of healthy eating, focused exercising, and overall body management helps make him one of the best players in the NFL.
 |
Courtesy ESPN
|
First play from scrimmage, screen pass to Jamaal, down the sideline, touchdown Kansas City.
He'd have two more long screen pass touchdowns on the day, as well as one splendid play we ran on third and short. Alex Smith executed play action brilliantly allowing Jamaal to break open against the linebacker and grab a perfect strike for the long touchdown pass play.
Bam. NFL record. No other running back in NFL history has ever had four touchdown pass receptions in a single game.
We could beam about our NFL season-high 56 points -- not even Denver (boo-yahhh) has put up as many as 56 this year. We could cheer about this playoff clinching game -- we're in for sure somehow somewhere. That's always cause for celebration no matter what, especially this year, a year right after the rank unpleasantries of last year.
But I am still concerned about our consistency. Very concerned. We blasted out to a 35-10 lead before Oakland put up a quick 21. 35-31 just like that. Yes, I was nervous. Sure we got some more clutch turnovers (seven total on the day) to really help us out, but please. Their QB was no world-beater in a system that is presently experimenting with two quarterbacks. How many games will a team win trying to find the right mix of quarterback platooning? Anyone for Marques Hagans to come back and run some wildcat for the Chiefs?
Both our pass defense and run defense was very soft today, and, again, both got rescued by some fortuitous picks. Yes, it can be said the defense works hard to make those happen, and I don't disagree. Damn, if we could just get our first-half-of-the-season defense to match the offense we've had the last few games -- damn.
What we need is Justin Houston back in the worst way. But that's the thing.
When playoff time comes around we'll need to have everything blending just right to have success there, something that has never really happened since, well, since you-know-when. It's been a damn long time, that's for sure. I promise I won't get into that for now.
For now we actually still have a shot at the No. 1 seed in the whole thing. Denver got shocked at home by San Diego Thursday night. If Denver can lose one more time and we can beat Indy and San Diego we've got it. If not and things twist and turn in a very possible way we may actually get New England at their place to open things up. Ow-wow-owch.
Denver closes their season at Oakland. Sing with me now, come on, get in the Christmas spirit, ::It's-beginning-to-look-a-lot, like becoming-a-Raiders-fan, everywhere-you-want-Chiefs-good-things-to-happen::
_
Sunday, December 08, 2013
Chiefs at Redskins - Week 14 - Record: 10-3
What a splendidly extraordinary weekend for Kansas City footballers.
First, I just have to start with this, yesterday Sporting KC won the Major League Soccer title in a thrilling sudden death shootout. From what I'd heard they'd been a pretty good pro soccer team in recent years, but just had that unlucky run in playoff action (oh does that sound familiar). But yesterday they shot down all those demons and played hard and clutch in winning the championship. I don't watch or care much at all for soccer, but hey. Kansas City. Football. For the title. Had to tune in, and how fun it was.
Now it's time for the Chiefs to match it.
As it was today, they annihilated the Redskins in their snowy stadium, 45-10. It was 31-0 before anyone breathed enough to even see that breath in front of them.
See, after my abject disappointment from last week's loss again to the Broncos, I'd taken a couple of days to think about it, and just thought, you know? We do have a pretty good team. I'd made special mention of Alex Smith and Marcus Cooper, and for good reason. Smith was everything we expect of him today, and Cooper -- while still working hard at get grounded with some good pro fundamentals -- helped a stalwart defense get it done.
The real kudos today must go to the special teams, especially the return teams.
Whuh---uh---owwwwww.
Dexter just went off on these guys. Sure you could say Washington's coverage team was very weak, and I got you, I saw that. But still, McCluster's first two returns gave us very short fields and his third went the distance.
Then there was Quintin Demps, who took a kickoff 95 yards to the house. Whatever you say, we have got a very well-coached, fundamentally sound return squad.
I realize right now that I can't not make a long overdue extra extra mention of Jamaal Charles. Over the year in this blog I've really just mentioned him a few times, almost in passing. But much of that is merely because he's already established himself as the key cog in the Chiefs machine. All season long he's gotten it done for us in every which way. Today? Just as spectacular.
For a few times at the beginning of the game we'd tried stretching him to the outside with some weak vanilla handoffs, until the coaches got the clue that on an icy field like this one was you've just got to run straight ahead. And we did. The result? A 151 yard rushing day for Jamaal, and off 19 carries that's a 7.9 average. Did you get that? Seven---point---nine, per-carry average. That's phenomenal even for Jamaal.
Along with that, mention must be made of our O-line. We've lost Branden Albert and Jon Asamoah to injuries for some indefinite period of time, but bless John Dorsey, he got some depth in that area by picking up Geoff Schwartz. Eric Fisher is coming along, and Donald Stephenson has done well over there at left tackle. The key is that we're making things happen for our backs -- hey, Knile Davis even got his first rushing TD today -- and we're giving Alex plenty of time to get off some good passes.
Was this a statement game? I don't know. It was with respect to the fact that we'd blown three close games in a row to division rivals. But it wasn't because it was against a very weak NFC East team -- oh that we were in the NFC East, we'd be world beaters.
Now we've got to prove we can win in our own division. We've got a very pesky Oakland team next week at their place. (Ever get the feeling we're in the wrong conference? You do know that after today's final game against an NFC opponent, for the four-year run of playing all NFC teams, we've got a 13-3 record against them. We've only lost to Detroit, Atlanta, and Tampa Bay. Yeah. We've beaten, ::deep breath:: San Francisco Arizona Seattle St. Louis Minnesota Chicago Green Bay New Orleans Carolina Dallas Philadelphia New York and ::pant pant pant:: Washington.)
Today we could've clinched at playoff spot if Baltimore or Miami lost, but they both won very late. In fact, we almost enjoyed the most brutal irony of Matt Cassel leading the Vikings to victory over the Ravens late to get us in, but Joe Flacco did his great comeback thing, and, well, we'll have to wait until next week.
Thing is, as of this writing, Tennessee is surprising Denver in Denver, I think it was 21-10, but we all know how Denver can easily turn that around. But hey, if that score stands up, we are back to having a pretty decent shot at the division title. We'll see.
For now, a somewhat meaningfully statement game that we needed badly.
_
First, I just have to start with this, yesterday Sporting KC won the Major League Soccer title in a thrilling sudden death shootout. From what I'd heard they'd been a pretty good pro soccer team in recent years, but just had that unlucky run in playoff action (oh does that sound familiar). But yesterday they shot down all those demons and played hard and clutch in winning the championship. I don't watch or care much at all for soccer, but hey. Kansas City. Football. For the title. Had to tune in, and how fun it was.Now it's time for the Chiefs to match it.
As it was today, they annihilated the Redskins in their snowy stadium, 45-10. It was 31-0 before anyone breathed enough to even see that breath in front of them.
See, after my abject disappointment from last week's loss again to the Broncos, I'd taken a couple of days to think about it, and just thought, you know? We do have a pretty good team. I'd made special mention of Alex Smith and Marcus Cooper, and for good reason. Smith was everything we expect of him today, and Cooper -- while still working hard at get grounded with some good pro fundamentals -- helped a stalwart defense get it done.
The real kudos today must go to the special teams, especially the return teams.
Whuh---uh---owwwwww.
Then there was Quintin Demps, who took a kickoff 95 yards to the house. Whatever you say, we have got a very well-coached, fundamentally sound return squad.
I realize right now that I can't not make a long overdue extra extra mention of Jamaal Charles. Over the year in this blog I've really just mentioned him a few times, almost in passing. But much of that is merely because he's already established himself as the key cog in the Chiefs machine. All season long he's gotten it done for us in every which way. Today? Just as spectacular.
For a few times at the beginning of the game we'd tried stretching him to the outside with some weak vanilla handoffs, until the coaches got the clue that on an icy field like this one was you've just got to run straight ahead. And we did. The result? A 151 yard rushing day for Jamaal, and off 19 carries that's a 7.9 average. Did you get that? Seven---point---nine, per-carry average. That's phenomenal even for Jamaal.Along with that, mention must be made of our O-line. We've lost Branden Albert and Jon Asamoah to injuries for some indefinite period of time, but bless John Dorsey, he got some depth in that area by picking up Geoff Schwartz. Eric Fisher is coming along, and Donald Stephenson has done well over there at left tackle. The key is that we're making things happen for our backs -- hey, Knile Davis even got his first rushing TD today -- and we're giving Alex plenty of time to get off some good passes.
Was this a statement game? I don't know. It was with respect to the fact that we'd blown three close games in a row to division rivals. But it wasn't because it was against a very weak NFC East team -- oh that we were in the NFC East, we'd be world beaters.
Now we've got to prove we can win in our own division. We've got a very pesky Oakland team next week at their place. (Ever get the feeling we're in the wrong conference? You do know that after today's final game against an NFC opponent, for the four-year run of playing all NFC teams, we've got a 13-3 record against them. We've only lost to Detroit, Atlanta, and Tampa Bay. Yeah. We've beaten, ::deep breath:: San Francisco Arizona Seattle St. Louis Minnesota Chicago Green Bay New Orleans Carolina Dallas Philadelphia New York and ::pant pant pant:: Washington.)
Today we could've clinched at playoff spot if Baltimore or Miami lost, but they both won very late. In fact, we almost enjoyed the most brutal irony of Matt Cassel leading the Vikings to victory over the Ravens late to get us in, but Joe Flacco did his great comeback thing, and, well, we'll have to wait until next week.
Thing is, as of this writing, Tennessee is surprising Denver in Denver, I think it was 21-10, but we all know how Denver can easily turn that around. But hey, if that score stands up, we are back to having a pretty decent shot at the division title. We'll see.
For now, a somewhat meaningfully statement game that we needed badly.
_
Tuesday, December 03, 2013
Broncos at Chiefs - Week 13 - Record: 9-3 (Part II)
Yes, I've already posted on Sunday's game. Yes, I generally only do one post per game, and will most likely not violate that rule too often. But I can't help but think about two key things -- indeed names of Chiefs players -- who've just come up in my mind a lot since Sunday. I just feel like writing a bit about them, and come back with a bit more than my very discouraged post from Sunday.
Please, I'm not apologizing for the post on Sunday. It didn't have much substance, I know, and it was written with a great deal of frustration, I know. But hey, you know. It was quite justified.
In that vein I would like to add that the frustration is not so much about our team per se, because Sunday we did show that we have the talent. We did show that we can play well. We did show that we can mix it up on offense and make things happen. There were just so many things we did well, but what killed us was the incredibly stupid things that happen that keep us from winning these kinds of games.
And the reason I'm so convinced somewhere somehow we've been hexed is it just seems to happen to us so often. Yes yes yes I know stupid things happen to every team, I know.
But sorry, it just seems to afflict the Chiefs more. Wait until playoff time, wait until we get into the grand history of utterly contemptible Chiefs playoff stupidness that has always occured at that time. Just wait, you'll see, I'll be posting about some of it. You remember it.
Some will also say that as much as it was stupid things, it was Peyton Manning. I agree, which leads to that first Chiefs name I want to mention.
Marcus Cooper.
There is no question Manning was playing with him like he was a toddler toy. But ya know? I'm writing to give Cooper credit. The guy is a physically gifted corner, anyone can see that. I believe much of what afflicted us in the Manning-Cooper mismatch was just that Manning had such a sensational game. No, he doesn't always have sensational games. He does lose sometimes. It's just, against us, like Philip Rivers, he's Superman.
I agree he's Superman against most teams, but I think with some hard work, some textbook learning, and some defensive adjustments to help him out, Cooper can help in stunting the effectiveness of a quarterback like Manning. Yes, our entire defensive backfield has certain liabilities that are troubling, but we're not terrible and it isn't all Cooper's fault. Remember, considered by number of scores, in the first Broncos game we only lost 5-3. In this one we lost 5-4.
The other guy who keeps popping up in my brain is a guy I mentioned at the very end of my first post on this game, and I brought up his name in conjunction with the frustration I had about our abject failure to ever draft and develop our own Peyton Manning. I've realized I need to forthwith stop bringing that up for the entirety of the time we have this guy.
Alex Smith.
I said almost in passing that I do like him, but I simply must add that his contribution cannot be a mere mention. It must be proclaimed a bit more boldly.
Sure I can use all the splendid adjectives to describe him, and we already have. The point I want to make here is that I'd rather have him than Peyton Manning. I really would.
Yes, you heard me right. I'm not kidding there. I'd rather have Smith than Manning.
I could mention Manning is way older and won't last much longer, while the Chiefs are going to get at least four or five really good years from Smith. But that's obvious. There are a number of other much more significant, much more practical on-the-field reasons I really like Smith.
One, he is very athletic. He uses his mobility in the pocket brilliantly, and he can use his speed to jet up the field for terrific gains out of broken plays. He did that a number of times on Sunday. I'd actually like to see him run a few more times -- not a lot -- but a few more times on designed plays to take advantage of that.
Two, he is very versatile. It isn't just that he can make something from nothing and run every once in a while, but there is so much you can do with him. In the game on Sunday when we were trying to get back into the game he started shooting misdirection pitches out to his backs and they went for big gains. When play action is called for or we need a rolling pocket, Smith does it wonderfully.
Three, Smith really helps out this receiving corps. One of the things giving a Peyton Manning such a huge advantage is his receivers are tremendous. I've even said on occasion that I think it's more the receivers than Manning. The Chiefs receivers? I've been quite critical of them, but let's look at them to be perfectly honest.
Dwayne Bowe. Again, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. When he's Dr. Jekyll he's a sluggish route-runner and a droopy ball-grabber-atter. When he's Mr. Hyde he's a beast of a receiver, blocker, game-breaker. Watching Bowe your arms are up in the air no matter what -- with your hands either high-fiving others like crazy or pulling out large chunks of your hair.
Dexter McCluster. He can really be a fantastic receiver and runner, but then his size often keeps him from getting untracked at critical times. Smith has said he really likes the way he runs routes, and if we can keep getting the ball to him we'll be good.
Donnie Avery. Two awful drops right in a row on Sunday at the most critical moments could not have endeared him to many Chiefs fans. In the Eagles game he was the key offensive component. But he's just not been much since. He has such potential, but compared to what someone like Peyton Manning has, ouch.
A.J. Jenkins and Junior Hemingway. How about we give these guys a chance? They've both shown so much eagerness to be out there and show that they can play, and each have indeed shown some flashes of effectiveness. But they're both very young and inexperienced.
Point to all this is that the Broncos may have Super-Peyton and Super-Receivers, but we've got an extraordinarily resourceful Alex Smith who is so instrumental at making these Chiefs receivers -- in my mind -- better than they really are.
This is not even mentioning the passing to our tight ends, which is Smith's bread and butter, as well as our screen pass package with people like Jamaal Charles which is actually going very well.
My point to all of this? My reasoning behind all this additional stuff I should have included on Sunday?
It is that I do truly see the potential of this team. It is very encouraging. When I watch these guys I am blown away at how well we can, and yes, do play. There is a reason we're 9-3.
Yes yes yes, I still can't deny my aggravation at the stupid things, so many times those ridiculously stupid things that never seem to stop happening. I get nervous about those things, and around playoff time -- you know it, for good reason -- I'll get more nervous.
But hey, at least we have guys on a team who are talented and playing their hearts out every down.
Hey, maybe, just maybe, it'll make any stupid stuff less likely to hurt us.
For once.
_
Please, I'm not apologizing for the post on Sunday. It didn't have much substance, I know, and it was written with a great deal of frustration, I know. But hey, you know. It was quite justified.
In that vein I would like to add that the frustration is not so much about our team per se, because Sunday we did show that we have the talent. We did show that we can play well. We did show that we can mix it up on offense and make things happen. There were just so many things we did well, but what killed us was the incredibly stupid things that happen that keep us from winning these kinds of games.
And the reason I'm so convinced somewhere somehow we've been hexed is it just seems to happen to us so often. Yes yes yes I know stupid things happen to every team, I know.
But sorry, it just seems to afflict the Chiefs more. Wait until playoff time, wait until we get into the grand history of utterly contemptible Chiefs playoff stupidness that has always occured at that time. Just wait, you'll see, I'll be posting about some of it. You remember it.
Some will also say that as much as it was stupid things, it was Peyton Manning. I agree, which leads to that first Chiefs name I want to mention.
Marcus Cooper.
There is no question Manning was playing with him like he was a toddler toy. But ya know? I'm writing to give Cooper credit. The guy is a physically gifted corner, anyone can see that. I believe much of what afflicted us in the Manning-Cooper mismatch was just that Manning had such a sensational game. No, he doesn't always have sensational games. He does lose sometimes. It's just, against us, like Philip Rivers, he's Superman.
I agree he's Superman against most teams, but I think with some hard work, some textbook learning, and some defensive adjustments to help him out, Cooper can help in stunting the effectiveness of a quarterback like Manning. Yes, our entire defensive backfield has certain liabilities that are troubling, but we're not terrible and it isn't all Cooper's fault. Remember, considered by number of scores, in the first Broncos game we only lost 5-3. In this one we lost 5-4.
The other guy who keeps popping up in my brain is a guy I mentioned at the very end of my first post on this game, and I brought up his name in conjunction with the frustration I had about our abject failure to ever draft and develop our own Peyton Manning. I've realized I need to forthwith stop bringing that up for the entirety of the time we have this guy.
Alex Smith.
I said almost in passing that I do like him, but I simply must add that his contribution cannot be a mere mention. It must be proclaimed a bit more boldly.
Sure I can use all the splendid adjectives to describe him, and we already have. The point I want to make here is that I'd rather have him than Peyton Manning. I really would.
Yes, you heard me right. I'm not kidding there. I'd rather have Smith than Manning.
I could mention Manning is way older and won't last much longer, while the Chiefs are going to get at least four or five really good years from Smith. But that's obvious. There are a number of other much more significant, much more practical on-the-field reasons I really like Smith.
One, he is very athletic. He uses his mobility in the pocket brilliantly, and he can use his speed to jet up the field for terrific gains out of broken plays. He did that a number of times on Sunday. I'd actually like to see him run a few more times -- not a lot -- but a few more times on designed plays to take advantage of that.
Two, he is very versatile. It isn't just that he can make something from nothing and run every once in a while, but there is so much you can do with him. In the game on Sunday when we were trying to get back into the game he started shooting misdirection pitches out to his backs and they went for big gains. When play action is called for or we need a rolling pocket, Smith does it wonderfully.
Three, Smith really helps out this receiving corps. One of the things giving a Peyton Manning such a huge advantage is his receivers are tremendous. I've even said on occasion that I think it's more the receivers than Manning. The Chiefs receivers? I've been quite critical of them, but let's look at them to be perfectly honest.
Dwayne Bowe. Again, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. When he's Dr. Jekyll he's a sluggish route-runner and a droopy ball-grabber-atter. When he's Mr. Hyde he's a beast of a receiver, blocker, game-breaker. Watching Bowe your arms are up in the air no matter what -- with your hands either high-fiving others like crazy or pulling out large chunks of your hair.
Dexter McCluster. He can really be a fantastic receiver and runner, but then his size often keeps him from getting untracked at critical times. Smith has said he really likes the way he runs routes, and if we can keep getting the ball to him we'll be good.
Donnie Avery. Two awful drops right in a row on Sunday at the most critical moments could not have endeared him to many Chiefs fans. In the Eagles game he was the key offensive component. But he's just not been much since. He has such potential, but compared to what someone like Peyton Manning has, ouch.
A.J. Jenkins and Junior Hemingway. How about we give these guys a chance? They've both shown so much eagerness to be out there and show that they can play, and each have indeed shown some flashes of effectiveness. But they're both very young and inexperienced.
Point to all this is that the Broncos may have Super-Peyton and Super-Receivers, but we've got an extraordinarily resourceful Alex Smith who is so instrumental at making these Chiefs receivers -- in my mind -- better than they really are.
This is not even mentioning the passing to our tight ends, which is Smith's bread and butter, as well as our screen pass package with people like Jamaal Charles which is actually going very well.
My point to all of this? My reasoning behind all this additional stuff I should have included on Sunday?
It is that I do truly see the potential of this team. It is very encouraging. When I watch these guys I am blown away at how well we can, and yes, do play. There is a reason we're 9-3.
Yes yes yes, I still can't deny my aggravation at the stupid things, so many times those ridiculously stupid things that never seem to stop happening. I get nervous about those things, and around playoff time -- you know it, for good reason -- I'll get more nervous.
But hey, at least we have guys on a team who are talented and playing their hearts out every down.
Hey, maybe, just maybe, it'll make any stupid stuff less likely to hurt us.
For once.
_
Sunday, December 01, 2013
Broncos at Chiefs - Week 13 - Record: 9-3
Ehh. What's new.
Not really much to say in this post. Really not. Sorry. It is just all the same.
No vertical passing game. No commanding presence very late in a game when we need a clutch score. No pass defense against a very good quarterback. No resistance against the spirits of the American Indian dead buried underneath Arrowhead Stadium haunting us every damn season the Chiefs play football.
That last thing, I'm serious. It's still there. There's still a curse, dammit.
Okay, okay, call the curse "Peyton Manning" of you will, a guy who just never loses to us. Funny, at one point they said the only other time he threw for five touchdowns in a game against us was in a game that was the only one I know we've beaten him in, that one in 2004. Yeah, even when we beat him he torches us for 5 TD's. But, honestly, I can't think of another game he's lost to us. Not one.
Thing is, I don't want to hear "Well it's Peyton Manning, so cut us a break." We should be beating Peyton Manning. It'd just be nice that with a fine quarterback like Manning, that our defense would just be better. That's all. That'd be nice.
As it is, I expect us to finish the season 10-6, maybe 11-5. We'll then go into a place like Indianapolis or Cincinnati, face a really good quarterback, get beaten yet again in the first playoff game we play, and then...
And then...
I dunno. I honestly don't.
All I know is there has to be a curse. There has to be.
No team can go this-frinkin'-long without that drafted and developed quarterback like we have, and really make waves in any playoff action. Teams with great quarterbacks can, and always will.
Thing is, I still like Alex Smith. I do. He shows he does have first-overall-pick-in-the-draft quality. I will also never give up on this team. I won't. Watching him connect with A.J. Jenkins on 3rd-and-long from the end zone against an all-out Broncos blitz was thrilling.
I love my team.
But damn.
_
Not really much to say in this post. Really not. Sorry. It is just all the same.
No vertical passing game. No commanding presence very late in a game when we need a clutch score. No pass defense against a very good quarterback. No resistance against the spirits of the American Indian dead buried underneath Arrowhead Stadium haunting us every damn season the Chiefs play football.
That last thing, I'm serious. It's still there. There's still a curse, dammit.
Okay, okay, call the curse "Peyton Manning" of you will, a guy who just never loses to us. Funny, at one point they said the only other time he threw for five touchdowns in a game against us was in a game that was the only one I know we've beaten him in, that one in 2004. Yeah, even when we beat him he torches us for 5 TD's. But, honestly, I can't think of another game he's lost to us. Not one.
Thing is, I don't want to hear "Well it's Peyton Manning, so cut us a break." We should be beating Peyton Manning. It'd just be nice that with a fine quarterback like Manning, that our defense would just be better. That's all. That'd be nice.
As it is, I expect us to finish the season 10-6, maybe 11-5. We'll then go into a place like Indianapolis or Cincinnati, face a really good quarterback, get beaten yet again in the first playoff game we play, and then...
And then...
I dunno. I honestly don't.
All I know is there has to be a curse. There has to be.
No team can go this-frinkin'-long without that drafted and developed quarterback like we have, and really make waves in any playoff action. Teams with great quarterbacks can, and always will.
Thing is, I still like Alex Smith. I do. He shows he does have first-overall-pick-in-the-draft quality. I will also never give up on this team. I won't. Watching him connect with A.J. Jenkins on 3rd-and-long from the end zone against an all-out Broncos blitz was thrilling.
I love my team.
But damn.
_
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Preview of Week 13 - Broncos at Chiefs - 9-2 vs 9-2 - (Close enough to) Prime-Time Game of the Year II
Yeah, it's not prime-time this time, but they "flexed" the game from its original 12 pm start CST to 3:25, good enough to be prime-time on the east coast and the featured game of the week. It is Thanksgiving, which means wall-to-wall football from Thursday to Sunday, and it'll all be capped by this one. Oh sure there is some pointless Sunday night game, but who cares.
This one's for supremacy in the AFC.
I just had to write here about this week's game, going beyond my one-post-a-week commitment, because it is of equal magnitude to the game two week's ago. Hey, I wrote like a madman last year when we were 2-14. We're 9-2 this year, why can't I post a bit more when we're polar opposites of last year?
Yeah, um, we're that much better than we were last year -- I hope.
You see, I still don't believe we've done what we need to do to get past the first round of whatever playoffs we see this year. Hate to say it, but I'm all about winning lots and lots of playoff games en route to lots and lots of Super Bowl wins. Pleeease, I know realities. But if we're not winning playoff games, what's the point. Hey, even though I want a Super Bowl title every year, I'd be pretty good with just one playoff game win this year. I really would.
Sadly, I'm just not sure we'll get it.
The thing that would give me a pretty good confidence boost is if we beat Denver this week. If we don't, I really think we'll be in for even more head shaking.
What'd we do in the San Diego game that concerns me for this one?
We had crappy pass defense. Sure we lost two of the key cogs to our previously pretty decent pass defense, Justin Houston and Tamba Hali. But once again we allowed Philip Rivers to go off on us when we should be better than that -- a playoff game winning team must be better than that. We also had missed opportunities for picks that could've swung the game in our favor big-time.
We got injured. Sure our reserve guys have to step up and play, but when you lose a Houston and a Hali -- and have your other starting defensive end already out -- that really hurts. Will it hurt this week? Thing is, every team has injuries. Do we have to hope that the only way we can win ball games is to be the team less injured than the other team? Denver has its injury issues too, so how about we beat Denver just because we're the better team. How about that?
We did poorly with the two-minute offense, scoring too soon allowing them plenty of time to win the game. Will Andy Reid's Achilles heel keep us from getting close clutch wins when we really need that two-minute drill to be sensational? Yeah, I know, how about one that just works. Unless Reid's vaunted game-planning keeps us way ahead in playoff games, we'll definitely need it then.
We failed to beat a good quarterback. Here're all the quarterbacks we've had wins against this year, in order: Blaine Gabbert, Tony Romo, Michael Vick, Eli Manning, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Terrelle Pryor, Casey Keenum, Jason Campbell, Jeff Tuel. Only Romo and Manning are anything there. Here're the quarterbacks we're going to face: Peyton Manning, Robert Griffin III, Matt McGloin, Andrew Luck, Philip Rivers. Um, excuse me, but there're four terrific quarterbacks there, and I know nothing about this guy on the Raiders who's replaced Terrelle Pryor.
Here's the upshot of this, really. Let's get to it.
We should get past Washington and Oakland, even on the road. If we do we've got a worst case 11-5 record no matter what else happens. But that means we're surely a No. 5 seed and open the postseason on the road with a wild-card game against some team with a pretty damn good quarterback (Joe Flacco? Ben Roethlisberger? Even a ::shudder:: Tom Brady?) The point? It is simple.
If we don't beat Denver with a statement win this Sunday we are very truly hurtin'.
Even if we beat Denver but continue to slog against any remaining team on the schedule, we're still very truly exceptionally hurtin'.
Yeah, I know this is more nattering nabob of negativity stuff, but I'm telling you. There is no reason it shouldn't be time for the Kansas City Chiefs to shine. It's time.
And please, I'm not just saying that. We're a good team. To be plippitting popper of positivity -- if you'll allow me...
We have a great coach the whole two-minute thing notwithstanding. Andy Reid has done and still does an extraordinary job of coaching, teaching, motivating, and any number of things that has us playing well.
We have a talented, skilled, resourceful, inspiring, proven quarterback who could get better and better. It is so sweet to see him work the offense as proficiently as he does. I've railed on our receiving core all year long, and I'm still not sold on them, but if they can get going and Smith finds them as we know he can -- it'll be really fun to watch that light show.
We have a special teams unit that has played crazy-ass good. Last week's guy to shine was Quintin Demps, getting huge yardage on return after return. (Now we just need to see he doesn't have that many kick returns!)
Our running game is terrific, and last week our offensive line did wonderfully getting it untracked. Jamaal Charles is always the man of the hour in that area, but how about using Knile Davis a bit more? If our O-line is that good, let's get him untracked too.
Our defense has been stellar, except for the San Diego debacle. I'd like to think the ten games before that were more of a demonstration of our ability than just the one game last week.
We'll just have to see if our preparations for Denver this week will pay off in all these areas.
And of course, they'll have to deal with Arrowhead's fans.
So don't forget this Sunday --
Get loud!
_
By the way, all the things I mentioned about that first Chiefs-Broncos game that need to happen favorably for the Chiefs still apply for this one. This post right after that game were some of the things that didn't happen favorably for the Chiefs then. Just BTW, FYI, all that...
_
This one's for supremacy in the AFC.
I just had to write here about this week's game, going beyond my one-post-a-week commitment, because it is of equal magnitude to the game two week's ago. Hey, I wrote like a madman last year when we were 2-14. We're 9-2 this year, why can't I post a bit more when we're polar opposites of last year?
Yeah, um, we're that much better than we were last year -- I hope.
You see, I still don't believe we've done what we need to do to get past the first round of whatever playoffs we see this year. Hate to say it, but I'm all about winning lots and lots of playoff games en route to lots and lots of Super Bowl wins. Pleeease, I know realities. But if we're not winning playoff games, what's the point. Hey, even though I want a Super Bowl title every year, I'd be pretty good with just one playoff game win this year. I really would.
Sadly, I'm just not sure we'll get it.
The thing that would give me a pretty good confidence boost is if we beat Denver this week. If we don't, I really think we'll be in for even more head shaking.
What'd we do in the San Diego game that concerns me for this one?
We had crappy pass defense. Sure we lost two of the key cogs to our previously pretty decent pass defense, Justin Houston and Tamba Hali. But once again we allowed Philip Rivers to go off on us when we should be better than that -- a playoff game winning team must be better than that. We also had missed opportunities for picks that could've swung the game in our favor big-time.
We got injured. Sure our reserve guys have to step up and play, but when you lose a Houston and a Hali -- and have your other starting defensive end already out -- that really hurts. Will it hurt this week? Thing is, every team has injuries. Do we have to hope that the only way we can win ball games is to be the team less injured than the other team? Denver has its injury issues too, so how about we beat Denver just because we're the better team. How about that?
We did poorly with the two-minute offense, scoring too soon allowing them plenty of time to win the game. Will Andy Reid's Achilles heel keep us from getting close clutch wins when we really need that two-minute drill to be sensational? Yeah, I know, how about one that just works. Unless Reid's vaunted game-planning keeps us way ahead in playoff games, we'll definitely need it then.
We failed to beat a good quarterback. Here're all the quarterbacks we've had wins against this year, in order: Blaine Gabbert, Tony Romo, Michael Vick, Eli Manning, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Terrelle Pryor, Casey Keenum, Jason Campbell, Jeff Tuel. Only Romo and Manning are anything there. Here're the quarterbacks we're going to face: Peyton Manning, Robert Griffin III, Matt McGloin, Andrew Luck, Philip Rivers. Um, excuse me, but there're four terrific quarterbacks there, and I know nothing about this guy on the Raiders who's replaced Terrelle Pryor.
Here's the upshot of this, really. Let's get to it.
We should get past Washington and Oakland, even on the road. If we do we've got a worst case 11-5 record no matter what else happens. But that means we're surely a No. 5 seed and open the postseason on the road with a wild-card game against some team with a pretty damn good quarterback (Joe Flacco? Ben Roethlisberger? Even a ::shudder:: Tom Brady?) The point? It is simple.
If we don't beat Denver with a statement win this Sunday we are very truly hurtin'.
Even if we beat Denver but continue to slog against any remaining team on the schedule, we're still very truly exceptionally hurtin'.
Yeah, I know this is more nattering nabob of negativity stuff, but I'm telling you. There is no reason it shouldn't be time for the Kansas City Chiefs to shine. It's time.
And please, I'm not just saying that. We're a good team. To be plippitting popper of positivity -- if you'll allow me...
We have a great coach the whole two-minute thing notwithstanding. Andy Reid has done and still does an extraordinary job of coaching, teaching, motivating, and any number of things that has us playing well.
We have a talented, skilled, resourceful, inspiring, proven quarterback who could get better and better. It is so sweet to see him work the offense as proficiently as he does. I've railed on our receiving core all year long, and I'm still not sold on them, but if they can get going and Smith finds them as we know he can -- it'll be really fun to watch that light show.
We have a special teams unit that has played crazy-ass good. Last week's guy to shine was Quintin Demps, getting huge yardage on return after return. (Now we just need to see he doesn't have that many kick returns!)
Our running game is terrific, and last week our offensive line did wonderfully getting it untracked. Jamaal Charles is always the man of the hour in that area, but how about using Knile Davis a bit more? If our O-line is that good, let's get him untracked too.
Our defense has been stellar, except for the San Diego debacle. I'd like to think the ten games before that were more of a demonstration of our ability than just the one game last week.
We'll just have to see if our preparations for Denver this week will pay off in all these areas.
And of course, they'll have to deal with Arrowhead's fans.
So don't forget this Sunday --
Get loud!
_
By the way, all the things I mentioned about that first Chiefs-Broncos game that need to happen favorably for the Chiefs still apply for this one. This post right after that game were some of the things that didn't happen favorably for the Chiefs then. Just BTW, FYI, all that...
_
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Chargers at Chiefs - Week 12 - Record: 9-2
The power company sent us a notice earlier in the week. Our power would be out at any time from 8:00 to 4:30 for maintenance. I'm thinking, of course, GREAT, that'll be right when the Chiefs game is on. Just great.
The phenomenally stupid irony of this is the we were playing the Chargers today.
Now, let's get this out of the way right now. That catch by Dwayne Bowe, the one that should've been the game-winner -- sensational. There he's doing his Mr. Hyde action there. We're down late, he slips into the middle of the end zone, he turns just right fiercely holding off the close defender and snatching the ball with one hand, keeping his grip even when the guy has his hand on it. Wah-oww.
Okay, got that outta the way. Now for the supreme ugliness.
We simply cannot beat Philip Rivers. We can't. You do know that makes 11 wins for that guy against us. I can't figure it out. He's Superman against us. This is a generally crappy 5-6 team. This was a gimme win for us. There was no reason in the world we shouldn't have hammered this team.
Except for the fact that they've got Philip Rivers.
But still, what is it with this? Again, this is a 5-6 team. What in blazes are all those other teams doing to keep Philip Rivers mortal? Against us, he's a god. Six other teams the Chiefs'd squash like a bug have their way with him, but us? We're the ones on the underside of his foot. So yeah, there has got to be some curse related to this guy and his success against us.
With the electricity off I listened to the game on the radio, because we get the Chargers games out here. And believe me, I think the very worst thing about the Chargers owning us so much is the utterly puke homer announcers for the Chargers. Who are they? I don't even know, I have to look it up, what a minute...
...Okay, Josh Lewin and Hank Bauer, that's who they are. Let's name names. Okay okay, I really don't wish harm to anyone, but these guys should summarily suffer the simple penalty of just not being anywhere near a microphone. And please know, I appreciate announcers who are good in spite of my arch rival sentiments. Greg Papa of the contemptibly reviled Raiders? One of the best. Vin Scully of my equally hated Dodgers? One of the greatest ever. And as a rule I always try to find the best in every announcer or announcing team, I really do.
But Josh Lewin and Hank Bauer? Please go away. Please, whoever is running that network, please send them to announcer oblivion forthwith. And it wasn't just today, I'd heard them before when forced to, for instance when I have to be on the road for some reason when the Chiefs are playing the Chargers, and it has always been excruciatingly unbearable. I almost want the Chiefs to hammer the Chargers only because I want those guys to feel it.
I thought they would today, hey, we shot up to a 14-3 lead, until -- yeah -- there must be some curse. Because when the game was still early I had to endure these clowns announce not only the injury to Tamba Hali, but Justin Houston. Not saying these guys gloated or anything about the injuries, it's just they're just wretchedly bad homer announcers.
Okay, lessee, two of the best pass rushers in the game out early, annnd Philip Rivers in there and ready to carve us like Thanksgiving turkey (I'm sure I've used that metaphor around this time before regarding the Chargers QB), annnd some curse that always kills us about to proceed to kill us?...
Yep, guess things are back to normal.
At halftime I couldn't stand it anymore -- I was getting ill. My family and I went to a pizza place with working electricity and we watched a second half go back and forth, which may have been thrilling for some, but it was astoundingly depressing for me because we should've been clobbering these guys.
Sure enough late in the game we were up 28-24 and Philip Rivers throws the ball right into the hands of our D-back Quintin Demps at the goal line. He can't make the pick. They get the FG and now it's 28-27. When we get the ball we're driving, and Jamaal Charles gets untracked and is sure enough he's gone for a TD, until he does a little juke he didn't have to make and got pulled down at the 10. We had to settle for a field goal, 31-27. Should've been 35-24. That should've been it, right there.
But the Philip Rivers curse is still in full working order.
As it is, the Chargers have won 10 of the last 12 Chiefs-Chargers games. They've either been blowouts or heartbreakers (remember that inexplicably crushing last minute 22-21 loss in '08 - the one when we were up 21-10 at the two-minute warning? Yeah, I try to forget too...) Even the two Chiefs wins were nail-biting close (remember we got a nice fumbled snap from Rivers in '11 to help us out?) -- we just can't comfortably blast this team, ergh, we can't even beat them at all. The last genuine Chiefs blowout was way back in '00, a 42-10 affair when the Chargers were wrapping up the very short-lived Ryan Leaf experiment and finished the season 1-15. Whupp-dah-doo.
I remember a few years ago -- in the midst of our awful '07 '08 '09 years -- I could crow for our Chiefs that overall head-to-head we were firmly ahead of all the other rivals in our division. Raiders, Broncos, Chargers -- the Chiefs had winning records against each one. Now, we're behind the Chargers because we just can't beat them any more.
The last time we beat the Chargers in both games of the season? 2003, when Doug Flutie was their quarterback. That's ridiculous. Since then we're 5-14 against them. Six of those losses have been by 14 points or more.
Well, we play them again the last game of the season in San Diego. Right now I'm very concerned about this team. Sorry, but I've kept thinking -- even mentioning it in this blog -- that we may actually not be all that. Is our team as good as Tamba Hali and Justin Houston? If it is we're in huge trouble. Yes, we've been blessed to be healthy all year long, but what will be the deal with them? As of now I don't know what the extent of their injuries are, but if we lose them -- wow.
I mean, today our defensive backfield was laid bare. Remember that we'd been barely beating third-string quarterbacks all year. Well, now we've faced Peyton Manning and Philip Rivers and gotten roasted by them. (I think I remember wailing loudly about that in this blog a while ago...)
I was really thinking Andy Reid did a good job of running that two-minute offense at the end of the game. Managing that last-few-minutes game has been one of the few things people have always been nervous about regarding his coaching skills. We score the go-ahead TD late, okay, all right, so I was thinking he'd done pretty decently... until then I noticed that he had the offense storm down the field and get a TD -- with 1:20 left. Yep, sure enough Philip Rivers had just enough time to get a few long screen passes to Danny Woodhead (where was our defense on those) and then get one of his patented laser-strikes on 3rd-and-15 to a wide-out for the game-winner.
Oh Andy Reid, why didn't we give the ball a few times to Jamaal to run clock? Get them to burn their time-outs? Errrrghckck... Sure, play for the TD, but we could've done fine with a FG to send it into OT if we didn't get the TD.
At the end of this day, you'd like to think we should have some comfort in still being 9-2. Sorry, but I just don't. I really don't. With what we've got coming up I'm looking at an historic collapse. I am indeed looking at a 9-7 finish. -- Oh Dave don't be so melodramatic.
Sorry, but until we can beat a Philip Rivers or a Peyton Manning -- and do so with some meaningful statement, no getting lucky breaks at key points and squeaking out some mildly invigorating win -- until that happens I just don't think we're going to get past Playoff Game Number One.
Sorry but to me this was extraordinarily discouraging, at just about every level. Sorry. I'm really tired of this.
The power was out in more places than just our house. We've since gotten it back here, but will it come back to Arrowhead?
_
The phenomenally stupid irony of this is the we were playing the Chargers today.
Now, let's get this out of the way right now. That catch by Dwayne Bowe, the one that should've been the game-winner -- sensational. There he's doing his Mr. Hyde action there. We're down late, he slips into the middle of the end zone, he turns just right fiercely holding off the close defender and snatching the ball with one hand, keeping his grip even when the guy has his hand on it. Wah-oww.
Okay, got that outta the way. Now for the supreme ugliness.
We simply cannot beat Philip Rivers. We can't. You do know that makes 11 wins for that guy against us. I can't figure it out. He's Superman against us. This is a generally crappy 5-6 team. This was a gimme win for us. There was no reason in the world we shouldn't have hammered this team.
Except for the fact that they've got Philip Rivers.
But still, what is it with this? Again, this is a 5-6 team. What in blazes are all those other teams doing to keep Philip Rivers mortal? Against us, he's a god. Six other teams the Chiefs'd squash like a bug have their way with him, but us? We're the ones on the underside of his foot. So yeah, there has got to be some curse related to this guy and his success against us.
With the electricity off I listened to the game on the radio, because we get the Chargers games out here. And believe me, I think the very worst thing about the Chargers owning us so much is the utterly puke homer announcers for the Chargers. Who are they? I don't even know, I have to look it up, what a minute...
...Okay, Josh Lewin and Hank Bauer, that's who they are. Let's name names. Okay okay, I really don't wish harm to anyone, but these guys should summarily suffer the simple penalty of just not being anywhere near a microphone. And please know, I appreciate announcers who are good in spite of my arch rival sentiments. Greg Papa of the contemptibly reviled Raiders? One of the best. Vin Scully of my equally hated Dodgers? One of the greatest ever. And as a rule I always try to find the best in every announcer or announcing team, I really do.
But Josh Lewin and Hank Bauer? Please go away. Please, whoever is running that network, please send them to announcer oblivion forthwith. And it wasn't just today, I'd heard them before when forced to, for instance when I have to be on the road for some reason when the Chiefs are playing the Chargers, and it has always been excruciatingly unbearable. I almost want the Chiefs to hammer the Chargers only because I want those guys to feel it.
I thought they would today, hey, we shot up to a 14-3 lead, until -- yeah -- there must be some curse. Because when the game was still early I had to endure these clowns announce not only the injury to Tamba Hali, but Justin Houston. Not saying these guys gloated or anything about the injuries, it's just they're just wretchedly bad homer announcers.
Okay, lessee, two of the best pass rushers in the game out early, annnd Philip Rivers in there and ready to carve us like Thanksgiving turkey (I'm sure I've used that metaphor around this time before regarding the Chargers QB), annnd some curse that always kills us about to proceed to kill us?...
Yep, guess things are back to normal.
At halftime I couldn't stand it anymore -- I was getting ill. My family and I went to a pizza place with working electricity and we watched a second half go back and forth, which may have been thrilling for some, but it was astoundingly depressing for me because we should've been clobbering these guys.
Sure enough late in the game we were up 28-24 and Philip Rivers throws the ball right into the hands of our D-back Quintin Demps at the goal line. He can't make the pick. They get the FG and now it's 28-27. When we get the ball we're driving, and Jamaal Charles gets untracked and is sure enough he's gone for a TD, until he does a little juke he didn't have to make and got pulled down at the 10. We had to settle for a field goal, 31-27. Should've been 35-24. That should've been it, right there.
But the Philip Rivers curse is still in full working order.
As it is, the Chargers have won 10 of the last 12 Chiefs-Chargers games. They've either been blowouts or heartbreakers (remember that inexplicably crushing last minute 22-21 loss in '08 - the one when we were up 21-10 at the two-minute warning? Yeah, I try to forget too...) Even the two Chiefs wins were nail-biting close (remember we got a nice fumbled snap from Rivers in '11 to help us out?) -- we just can't comfortably blast this team, ergh, we can't even beat them at all. The last genuine Chiefs blowout was way back in '00, a 42-10 affair when the Chargers were wrapping up the very short-lived Ryan Leaf experiment and finished the season 1-15. Whupp-dah-doo.
I remember a few years ago -- in the midst of our awful '07 '08 '09 years -- I could crow for our Chiefs that overall head-to-head we were firmly ahead of all the other rivals in our division. Raiders, Broncos, Chargers -- the Chiefs had winning records against each one. Now, we're behind the Chargers because we just can't beat them any more.
The last time we beat the Chargers in both games of the season? 2003, when Doug Flutie was their quarterback. That's ridiculous. Since then we're 5-14 against them. Six of those losses have been by 14 points or more.
Well, we play them again the last game of the season in San Diego. Right now I'm very concerned about this team. Sorry, but I've kept thinking -- even mentioning it in this blog -- that we may actually not be all that. Is our team as good as Tamba Hali and Justin Houston? If it is we're in huge trouble. Yes, we've been blessed to be healthy all year long, but what will be the deal with them? As of now I don't know what the extent of their injuries are, but if we lose them -- wow.
I mean, today our defensive backfield was laid bare. Remember that we'd been barely beating third-string quarterbacks all year. Well, now we've faced Peyton Manning and Philip Rivers and gotten roasted by them. (I think I remember wailing loudly about that in this blog a while ago...)
I was really thinking Andy Reid did a good job of running that two-minute offense at the end of the game. Managing that last-few-minutes game has been one of the few things people have always been nervous about regarding his coaching skills. We score the go-ahead TD late, okay, all right, so I was thinking he'd done pretty decently... until then I noticed that he had the offense storm down the field and get a TD -- with 1:20 left. Yep, sure enough Philip Rivers had just enough time to get a few long screen passes to Danny Woodhead (where was our defense on those) and then get one of his patented laser-strikes on 3rd-and-15 to a wide-out for the game-winner.
Oh Andy Reid, why didn't we give the ball a few times to Jamaal to run clock? Get them to burn their time-outs? Errrrghckck... Sure, play for the TD, but we could've done fine with a FG to send it into OT if we didn't get the TD.
At the end of this day, you'd like to think we should have some comfort in still being 9-2. Sorry, but I just don't. I really don't. With what we've got coming up I'm looking at an historic collapse. I am indeed looking at a 9-7 finish. -- Oh Dave don't be so melodramatic.
Sorry, but until we can beat a Philip Rivers or a Peyton Manning -- and do so with some meaningful statement, no getting lucky breaks at key points and squeaking out some mildly invigorating win -- until that happens I just don't think we're going to get past Playoff Game Number One.
Sorry but to me this was extraordinarily discouraging, at just about every level. Sorry. I'm really tired of this.
The power was out in more places than just our house. We've since gotten it back here, but will it come back to Arrowhead?
_
Monday, November 18, 2013
Chiefs at Broncos - Week 11 - Record: 9-1
A date: November 17.
That was the day in 1998 that I started my "sports celibacy" as I call it. I just don't pay any attention to any sports stuff, even Chiefs stuff, outside of those three hours on Sunday when the Chiefs are playing. I must say that my radar picks up a lot, from news reports and friends and family telling me things about the Chiefs, but I don't as an ironclad rule go out of my way to find out stuff.
The reason I started it that day was because the night before, a 4-5 Chiefs team hosted a 9-0 Broncos team on Monday Night Football, and got whupped. Chiefs 4-6, Broncos 10-0. This was after a summer of supposedly minor retooling to make the previous year 13-3 supposedly superpowerhouse Chiefs into a supposedly true Super Bowl contender.
But then this debacle at Arrowhead. I simply decided to end the agony and didn't pay any attention to any sports, even Chiefs, until I resumed just Chiefs games in 2003.
The reason I bring all this up again is because last night, this prime-time game of the year, was played on, yes, November 17.
A funny thing about that was that the announcers said that November 17 was the anniversary of the "Heidi Bowl" game, that infamous event in 1968 when the Jets and Raiders were battling in a long, close game, and at 7 pm the network switched over the film Heidi. I thought about that and thought, wow, what a metaphor for my distance from sports anything.
As a Chiefs fan it is my sworn duty to nurture a healthy revulsion for the Oakland Raiders, and sure enough, after everyone was settling in to enjoy wholesome children's fare, the Raiders went on to score two touchdowns in the last couple of minutes to put the Jets away.
There is it, right there, I know, I know... Dave, you shouldn't be putting yourself through the torment of your hated rivals doing great and your teams doing poorly! You should indeed be doing something else without any attention given to this pointless sports stuff!
Well, there is a good point to that, which is why I still maintain some reasonable semblance of meaningful sports celibacy. Really, if I don't, it'll drive me crazy.
But there are a lot of enjoyable things about our Chiefs and enjoying them for three hours a week through the fall, and while I'm not going to go into them all, I will simply say that I enjoy writing here about our team, win or lose, and I can enjoy making remarks about the splendid opportunity we had to showcase our talents on national television last night.
Yes, we did lose a game that was aggravating because of the rotten officiating calls that went against us as well as the stupid things that we did to ourselves that killed us.
There is a ton to write about, but I'm just going to review what I thought could not happen last night for us win, and mention what did happen that couldn't happen. (See previous post for that preview.)
1. Justin Houston and Tamba Hali could not let themselves get blocked. They did. In fact, they didn't even touch Peyton Manning the whole night. Manning just has too quick a release and his receivers are just too damn good for us not to rattle him a least a few times. We did bat some passes down, and our D-backs did actually do a fine job covering, getting many of Manning's passes to fall incomplete. The problem is these guys are too damn good, and even with the average of, say, three of every four Denver incompletions, it is that one completion in each of those sets that is the killer.
Really, when you think about it, the final score was 27-17, but look at it this way. That's five scores to three scores. Those two extra scores were because their QB and WR's are so good that they were able to get big plays just those couple more times to put us away.
Give credit to their offensive line, they played great. But I also think we don't do enough mixing-it-up on the D-line to keep them guessing. Where were the occasional stunts and safety blitzes just to put a little more pressure on?
2. Dwayne Bowe could not be head-shakingly putrid and Alex Smith could not be misfiring too much. While Bowe caught a touchdown pass and Smith made some good throws, they were just not workin' it last night. Bowe was running his goofy routs and Smith was throwing the ball where it was just uncatchable. Dexter McCluster made an amazing sideline catch but it was late in the game and we just don't have the vertical passing game to keep that stuff going.
That's really the key, bad, critical, rotten, crucial, spewtanamous thing that is most aggravating with it all. Smith did throw the ball down the field more than he had been, but damn. Donnie Avery, not much. Dwayne Bowe, just didn't get untracked. Dexter, even with the great grab, not much. Junior Hemingway, A.J. Jenkins, non-existent.
These two factors represented the most profound breakdowns last night.
Other than that, everything else was not too bad. Yes, we lost the game, but we played well.
We had stupid things happen like, what was with that Wes Welker fumble that Derrick Johnson snatched up in the pile and ended up in the hands of... Wes Welker? Welker was even shaken up on the play. What was that?
Dustin Colquitt didn't get the ball downed inside the 10 once. Just didn't happen, and that didn't help. Those pin-backs mean fewer chances for them to get big plays that hurt.
Jamaal Charles ran well, but only after we were behind by ten. At the beginning of the game he couldn't go anywhere.
Our tight ends were fantastic, and what a great catch and butt-plant in the back of the end zone for Anthony Fasano. He was in the mix a lot more last night, that's what we need to see happening.
Eric Berry and the other D-backs actually did a good job of containing, they really did, but without any pass rush they couldn't hold them off forever. Five scores for them to three for us. That's close. That we stuffed Denver in that respect, that's good. That we couldn't take advantage of that -- erghkk.
Dontari Poe and the other D-linemen were beast shutting down their running game. That was nice to see, and bodes well for the chance that we can actually get to Manning next time.
We play Denver again in two weeks, so we'll see how we adjust for that game. We'll have the hometown noise to help, that'll be a plus.
I will add that it is far better to lose to Denver and go 9-1 than to lose and go 4-6 like we did in '98. Our team played well on the whole last night, they really did, and maybe the adversity will make them stronger as the season winds down.
A postscript to the sports celibacy '98 / Heidi Bowl '68 thing is that the loss by the Jets to the Raiders in that 1968 game was the only loss the Jets would suffer over the course of their last eleven games into the postseason, which included a playoff win against those Raiders and a Super Bowl win.
And the Chiefs? They went on to win the Super Bowl the next season.
There's always next week.
_
That was the day in 1998 that I started my "sports celibacy" as I call it. I just don't pay any attention to any sports stuff, even Chiefs stuff, outside of those three hours on Sunday when the Chiefs are playing. I must say that my radar picks up a lot, from news reports and friends and family telling me things about the Chiefs, but I don't as an ironclad rule go out of my way to find out stuff.
The reason I started it that day was because the night before, a 4-5 Chiefs team hosted a 9-0 Broncos team on Monday Night Football, and got whupped. Chiefs 4-6, Broncos 10-0. This was after a summer of supposedly minor retooling to make the previous year 13-3 supposedly superpowerhouse Chiefs into a supposedly true Super Bowl contender.
But then this debacle at Arrowhead. I simply decided to end the agony and didn't pay any attention to any sports, even Chiefs, until I resumed just Chiefs games in 2003.
The reason I bring all this up again is because last night, this prime-time game of the year, was played on, yes, November 17.
A funny thing about that was that the announcers said that November 17 was the anniversary of the "Heidi Bowl" game, that infamous event in 1968 when the Jets and Raiders were battling in a long, close game, and at 7 pm the network switched over the film Heidi. I thought about that and thought, wow, what a metaphor for my distance from sports anything.
As a Chiefs fan it is my sworn duty to nurture a healthy revulsion for the Oakland Raiders, and sure enough, after everyone was settling in to enjoy wholesome children's fare, the Raiders went on to score two touchdowns in the last couple of minutes to put the Jets away.
There is it, right there, I know, I know... Dave, you shouldn't be putting yourself through the torment of your hated rivals doing great and your teams doing poorly! You should indeed be doing something else without any attention given to this pointless sports stuff!
Well, there is a good point to that, which is why I still maintain some reasonable semblance of meaningful sports celibacy. Really, if I don't, it'll drive me crazy.
But there are a lot of enjoyable things about our Chiefs and enjoying them for three hours a week through the fall, and while I'm not going to go into them all, I will simply say that I enjoy writing here about our team, win or lose, and I can enjoy making remarks about the splendid opportunity we had to showcase our talents on national television last night.
Yes, we did lose a game that was aggravating because of the rotten officiating calls that went against us as well as the stupid things that we did to ourselves that killed us.
There is a ton to write about, but I'm just going to review what I thought could not happen last night for us win, and mention what did happen that couldn't happen. (See previous post for that preview.)
1. Justin Houston and Tamba Hali could not let themselves get blocked. They did. In fact, they didn't even touch Peyton Manning the whole night. Manning just has too quick a release and his receivers are just too damn good for us not to rattle him a least a few times. We did bat some passes down, and our D-backs did actually do a fine job covering, getting many of Manning's passes to fall incomplete. The problem is these guys are too damn good, and even with the average of, say, three of every four Denver incompletions, it is that one completion in each of those sets that is the killer.
Really, when you think about it, the final score was 27-17, but look at it this way. That's five scores to three scores. Those two extra scores were because their QB and WR's are so good that they were able to get big plays just those couple more times to put us away.
Give credit to their offensive line, they played great. But I also think we don't do enough mixing-it-up on the D-line to keep them guessing. Where were the occasional stunts and safety blitzes just to put a little more pressure on?
2. Dwayne Bowe could not be head-shakingly putrid and Alex Smith could not be misfiring too much. While Bowe caught a touchdown pass and Smith made some good throws, they were just not workin' it last night. Bowe was running his goofy routs and Smith was throwing the ball where it was just uncatchable. Dexter McCluster made an amazing sideline catch but it was late in the game and we just don't have the vertical passing game to keep that stuff going.
That's really the key, bad, critical, rotten, crucial, spewtanamous thing that is most aggravating with it all. Smith did throw the ball down the field more than he had been, but damn. Donnie Avery, not much. Dwayne Bowe, just didn't get untracked. Dexter, even with the great grab, not much. Junior Hemingway, A.J. Jenkins, non-existent.
These two factors represented the most profound breakdowns last night.
Other than that, everything else was not too bad. Yes, we lost the game, but we played well.
We had stupid things happen like, what was with that Wes Welker fumble that Derrick Johnson snatched up in the pile and ended up in the hands of... Wes Welker? Welker was even shaken up on the play. What was that?
Dustin Colquitt didn't get the ball downed inside the 10 once. Just didn't happen, and that didn't help. Those pin-backs mean fewer chances for them to get big plays that hurt.
Jamaal Charles ran well, but only after we were behind by ten. At the beginning of the game he couldn't go anywhere.
Our tight ends were fantastic, and what a great catch and butt-plant in the back of the end zone for Anthony Fasano. He was in the mix a lot more last night, that's what we need to see happening.
Eric Berry and the other D-backs actually did a good job of containing, they really did, but without any pass rush they couldn't hold them off forever. Five scores for them to three for us. That's close. That we stuffed Denver in that respect, that's good. That we couldn't take advantage of that -- erghkk.
Dontari Poe and the other D-linemen were beast shutting down their running game. That was nice to see, and bodes well for the chance that we can actually get to Manning next time.
We play Denver again in two weeks, so we'll see how we adjust for that game. We'll have the hometown noise to help, that'll be a plus.
I will add that it is far better to lose to Denver and go 9-1 than to lose and go 4-6 like we did in '98. Our team played well on the whole last night, they really did, and maybe the adversity will make them stronger as the season winds down.
A postscript to the sports celibacy '98 / Heidi Bowl '68 thing is that the loss by the Jets to the Raiders in that 1968 game was the only loss the Jets would suffer over the course of their last eleven games into the postseason, which included a playoff win against those Raiders and a Super Bowl win.
And the Chiefs? They went on to win the Super Bowl the next season.
There's always next week.
_
Monday, November 11, 2013
Preview of Week 11 - Chiefs at Broncos - 9-0 vs 8-1 - Prime-Time Game of the Year
There is no question this Sunday night's game is the game everyone will be talking about. It looks as if this is a contest between the explosive Broncos offense and the smothering Chiefs defense. While that is still a pretty accurate assessment of the most anticipated aspect of this game, I'd like to go over what it'll take for the Chiefs to win.
I thought I'd combine my mid-season preview analyzing our players with the impact they'll need to have on this particular game. Here are the top ten impact players and what they can do and what they can't do on Sunday for us to win. They are in order of my consideration of their magnitude of impact.
1. Alex Smith. He's smart, he's resourceful, he's athletic. What he can't do Sunday: Refuse to connect with open receivers. His Achilles heal is his throws, about a third of them just don't get to receivers when they are wide open. Sure all NFL quarterbacks can't be 100% accurate all the time, but with Smith, it just seems to happen much more often than it should.
2. Jamaal Charles. He's quick, he's fast, he's resilient. What he can't do Sunday: Get injured. Really, that's the only thing that would keep him from being a major factor in a Chiefs win. In fact I worry that Andy Reid is just using him far too much and the wear could get to him. The other aggravating thing is if we just can't get any vertical passing game going, the Broncos could key on him so much that he is throttled.
3. Dustin Colquitt. Yes, our punter, who's one of the greatest ever, and really, a critical part of our defense. What he can't do Sunday: Get anything less than a good 40+ yards on every punt. With the Broncos offense as potent as it is, it is imperative to keep them from having even decent field position. Again, those extra plays an offense has to have starting from the 10 or worse will give us an edge we will need.
4. Justin Houston. He slobbers over quarterbacks who hang around in the pocket, like Peyton Manning. What he can't do Sunday: Let them block him. Houston has got to frustrate Manning and get him out of his rhythm. Our defensive backfield this year is okay, but not great. Most of the pass defense's effectiveness is shutting down QB's at the line.
5. Tamba Hali. Ditto. (See "Justin Houston" just above there.)
6. Dontari Poe. He's done great being the rock around which our D-line stands up the opponent's O-line. What he can't do Sunday: Give their backs very many holes to run through. If Denver can get any kind of ground game going it'll be a terribly long night. This, I believe is the key behind whether or not we can keep this close or get blasted by a blistering pass offense.
7. Eric Berry. He's quick, he's fast, he's got laser instincts for the ball. What he can't do Sunday: Get burnt. While he's a fantastic safety, Berry can struggle against big strong receivers, and from what I've seen, every receiver Denver has except very slippery Wes Welker is big and strong. He has also sometimes put himself in poor position to defend effectively against quick-release passes, and which quarterback has one of the quickest releases ever in the history of NFL anything?...
8. Dwayne Bowe. Let's just face it, this guy is the classic Chiefs Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. He's either jaw-dropping phenomenal or head-shakingly putrid. What he can't do Sunday: It's simple -- he can't not be jaw-dropping phenomenal. I really believe for the Chiefs to have a chance we've got to have some meaningful, effective, productive vertical passing game. Yeah we may be able to get by with a few catches from Donnie Avery, Dexter McCluster, and Jamaal Charles, we absolutely cannot get by without a profoundly -- and I mean profoundly meaningful contribution from Bowe.
9. Derrick Johnson. One of the fastest, smoothest, beastest run-stuffers in the game. What he can't do Sunday: Disappear. This guy intrigues me as much as Bowe does. Really, for three or four straight plays he's in the mix, always there, making the hits to which we all marvel. But then for a couple plays, he just doesn't seem to be there. Yes, we can't expect greatness every play, I know -- as a fan I expect too much. Oh well, just a Chiefs fan, that's all. But the thing with Johnson is that the other team will get some big play that is just demoralizing, and I know, it isn't as if it is D.J's fault by any means. But sometimes with those plays he's just overpursuing or not where he should be or something. The Chiefs this year have been very prone to big plays, and if Denver gets just a few... I shudder with that thought...
10. Anthony Fasano. A terrific tight end who's been slowed by injuries. What he can't do Sunday: Be invisible. Alex Smith's passing skills require a good, go-to tight end. When Fasano came back a few weeks ago I thought we'd start to see him making at least five, six catches a game, maybe even a couple more that were particularly clutch ones. I think he's had no more than two or three in every game since.
Those are my top ten. Yes I could put in our corners, Brandon Flowers, Sean Smith, and Marcus Cooper who've got to be on their game to cover those fine Denver receivers, but I mentioned them above with remarks about Dontari Poe. I could add remarks about Dexter McCluster, who's really turned into our best receiver and has got to get that fine separation he's regularly been getting this Sunday. And what about our offensive linemen? I'd heard Denver's weakness is their defense, but if they can get to Alex Smith it'll be a very uncomfortable evening for Chiefs fans Sunday night.
There you go. The special Chiefs Game Today look at Sunday night. You may think, "Hey, why so negative? Why so much with the 'What you can't do Sunday' stuff? That's just depressing talk there, Dave. Let's be positive and cheer on our team!"
It's just I want to share my thoughts, offer a realistic take on what Sunday night might look like. Don't get me wrong, I fully believe we can win, I do. But the realism: The Chiefs have got to perform. I think they're capable of it, and I'm looking forward to them putting it to the Broncos, I am.
But we'll just have to see Sunday night, won't we?
_
I thought I'd combine my mid-season preview analyzing our players with the impact they'll need to have on this particular game. Here are the top ten impact players and what they can do and what they can't do on Sunday for us to win. They are in order of my consideration of their magnitude of impact.
1. Alex Smith. He's smart, he's resourceful, he's athletic. What he can't do Sunday: Refuse to connect with open receivers. His Achilles heal is his throws, about a third of them just don't get to receivers when they are wide open. Sure all NFL quarterbacks can't be 100% accurate all the time, but with Smith, it just seems to happen much more often than it should.
2. Jamaal Charles. He's quick, he's fast, he's resilient. What he can't do Sunday: Get injured. Really, that's the only thing that would keep him from being a major factor in a Chiefs win. In fact I worry that Andy Reid is just using him far too much and the wear could get to him. The other aggravating thing is if we just can't get any vertical passing game going, the Broncos could key on him so much that he is throttled.
3. Dustin Colquitt. Yes, our punter, who's one of the greatest ever, and really, a critical part of our defense. What he can't do Sunday: Get anything less than a good 40+ yards on every punt. With the Broncos offense as potent as it is, it is imperative to keep them from having even decent field position. Again, those extra plays an offense has to have starting from the 10 or worse will give us an edge we will need.
4. Justin Houston. He slobbers over quarterbacks who hang around in the pocket, like Peyton Manning. What he can't do Sunday: Let them block him. Houston has got to frustrate Manning and get him out of his rhythm. Our defensive backfield this year is okay, but not great. Most of the pass defense's effectiveness is shutting down QB's at the line.
5. Tamba Hali. Ditto. (See "Justin Houston" just above there.)
6. Dontari Poe. He's done great being the rock around which our D-line stands up the opponent's O-line. What he can't do Sunday: Give their backs very many holes to run through. If Denver can get any kind of ground game going it'll be a terribly long night. This, I believe is the key behind whether or not we can keep this close or get blasted by a blistering pass offense.
7. Eric Berry. He's quick, he's fast, he's got laser instincts for the ball. What he can't do Sunday: Get burnt. While he's a fantastic safety, Berry can struggle against big strong receivers, and from what I've seen, every receiver Denver has except very slippery Wes Welker is big and strong. He has also sometimes put himself in poor position to defend effectively against quick-release passes, and which quarterback has one of the quickest releases ever in the history of NFL anything?...
8. Dwayne Bowe. Let's just face it, this guy is the classic Chiefs Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. He's either jaw-dropping phenomenal or head-shakingly putrid. What he can't do Sunday: It's simple -- he can't not be jaw-dropping phenomenal. I really believe for the Chiefs to have a chance we've got to have some meaningful, effective, productive vertical passing game. Yeah we may be able to get by with a few catches from Donnie Avery, Dexter McCluster, and Jamaal Charles, we absolutely cannot get by without a profoundly -- and I mean profoundly meaningful contribution from Bowe.
9. Derrick Johnson. One of the fastest, smoothest, beastest run-stuffers in the game. What he can't do Sunday: Disappear. This guy intrigues me as much as Bowe does. Really, for three or four straight plays he's in the mix, always there, making the hits to which we all marvel. But then for a couple plays, he just doesn't seem to be there. Yes, we can't expect greatness every play, I know -- as a fan I expect too much. Oh well, just a Chiefs fan, that's all. But the thing with Johnson is that the other team will get some big play that is just demoralizing, and I know, it isn't as if it is D.J's fault by any means. But sometimes with those plays he's just overpursuing or not where he should be or something. The Chiefs this year have been very prone to big plays, and if Denver gets just a few... I shudder with that thought...
10. Anthony Fasano. A terrific tight end who's been slowed by injuries. What he can't do Sunday: Be invisible. Alex Smith's passing skills require a good, go-to tight end. When Fasano came back a few weeks ago I thought we'd start to see him making at least five, six catches a game, maybe even a couple more that were particularly clutch ones. I think he's had no more than two or three in every game since.
Those are my top ten. Yes I could put in our corners, Brandon Flowers, Sean Smith, and Marcus Cooper who've got to be on their game to cover those fine Denver receivers, but I mentioned them above with remarks about Dontari Poe. I could add remarks about Dexter McCluster, who's really turned into our best receiver and has got to get that fine separation he's regularly been getting this Sunday. And what about our offensive linemen? I'd heard Denver's weakness is their defense, but if they can get to Alex Smith it'll be a very uncomfortable evening for Chiefs fans Sunday night.
There you go. The special Chiefs Game Today look at Sunday night. You may think, "Hey, why so negative? Why so much with the 'What you can't do Sunday' stuff? That's just depressing talk there, Dave. Let's be positive and cheer on our team!"
It's just I want to share my thoughts, offer a realistic take on what Sunday night might look like. Don't get me wrong, I fully believe we can win, I do. But the realism: The Chiefs have got to perform. I think they're capable of it, and I'm looking forward to them putting it to the Broncos, I am.
But we'll just have to see Sunday night, won't we?
_
Sunday, November 03, 2013
Chiefs at Bills - Week 9 - Record: 9-0
We find ways to get it done.
That's really the story of this Chiefs team. I know I know we're at the top of all the power rankings and I know I know the nicest things are being said about us. But I also know that a whole lot of people think we're really actually truly not for real, and yes, there is that part deep in my gut that believes they have a point. I know.
But we still find ways to get it done.
Yes I go crazy knowing we didn't get a single offensive touchdown today. I was sick when Dexter McCluster dropped that wide-open pass with vast amounts of running space before him just before the end of the first half that would've tied the score at 10. But then I think about how our fortunes came rushing right back when at our one-yard line their quarterback tossed the ball right into the hands of an eager Sean Smith who took it the distance. That made the ball game 10-10. Good enough.
I'm not going to get into all the questionable stuff about our team or say yet again that at some point here we're going to face quarterbacks who aren't third stringers (namely guys with the initials P.M. and P.R. -- see, I told you I wouldn't say it again...)
I will say that there is a reason we are winning game after game after game. What is it exactly that we did today that got us the dubya that didn't depend on splendidly favorable fortuitous events? These are things we do regularly, in no particular order:
- We grind in the 4th. This may be our best attribute. Jamaal Charles is an absolute workhorse. I am insanely concerned about the wear-and-tear, so we'll see. But he's still out there, not just taking the blows but getting huge yardage late when we need it. Our offensive line seems to have more stamina than the opponent's defensive line, holding strong late in the game. And they said the Bills D-line was a pretty good one. We are winning games in the 4th quarter on both sides of the ball and that is critical for any genuinely contending team.
- Alex Smith not only doesn't make mistakes but he gets the job done in that 4th quarter. On the last drive today to run clock he threw a fantastic pass to Dwayne Bowe to get a key first down. Yes, as we've said before, he throws too many bad balls. But again, he really knows how to manage a game. Not only does he play good quarterback in this sense, but his extraordinary athleticism gives us chances for good to happen on any given play.
- Dwayne Bowe is still a terrific go-to guy. I haven't said a whole lot about him this year, and some of that comes from my frustration about his drops. He had a couple more today. Erghh. But just as he always does, he comes through big-time when we need him. He was more in the mix today, did you notice? He caught more passes today than he has in any other game, I'm pretty sure, and one of them is worth noting. Vintage Bowe: Buffalo blitzed Smith something fierce, but his mobility enabled him to scramble left, straighten up, and fire a strike to Bowe who (a) made the great route adjustment to get open, and (b) finished with one of his patented sideline grabs, you know the kind, toes gingerly touching just inside the white. First down Chiefs.
- Our opportunistic defense makes the other team pay. Besides the pick-six and fumble recovery for another score, we had another interception that led to our first score, a field goal. Yes, our D-backfield is waaay softer than it's been in the past, but we don't give up, and after giving up a big play here and there (come on, gotta give them a break, this is the NFL) they always come back and make the big defensive play. How many times did Marcus Cooper bat a ball away today? In fact he was the one who slapped the ball out of the receiver's hands for Tamba Hali's recovery and TD.
- Our pass rush is ferocious. We didn't get any sacks today, but we get tremendous respect for the pressure we put on the quarterback. Even though we had an oh-fer today, in any given game if we can just get three or four, and we've done at least that in just about every other game, we've got a tremendous edge. In fact, I saw something on the television that said something about us matching the 1977 Falcons defense for allowing the fewest points in the first however many games? That's pretty dang great.
- Derrick Johnson is still one of the best "run-sackers" I've ever seen. How many times does he shoot that gap and take down the runner. Every game he has at least one or two terrific stops like this. He is so fast, not just quick but get-up-the-field fast, and he has such good vision -- and he's old! For an NFL player this is his 9th season!
- Our special teams play is phenomenal and it is led by one of the greatest Chiefs players ever, really, he is, Dustin Colquitt. Yet again he was able to get a punt to be downed within the five-yard line, and this was late when Buffalo really needed to get something going. How valuable is it to have a guy who can so often get the opponent to start drives deep, I mean waaay deep in their own territory. Every cerebral footballer knows that means an extra four or five plays they've got to run to ultimately get a score, and that's four or five more plays more likely they'll struggle with, meaning more first downs to have to try to get and thus more times their attempts to get those first downs will fail. I mean, really, Colquitt is, indeed, one of the most valuable members of this defensive unit, he really is!
- Our coaching staff not only calls solid games, but it keeps these players fighting on every play. There is a sense I have that these guys like playing football together -- that no matter what, they're playing as a family. I know that sounds sentimentally cliché, but these guys draw their strength from one another, and no one is thinking anyone is any better than anyone else. They just get the job done and get it done for the team. Next play, next play, let's go, next play.
Just great, great stuff.
We have a bye next week, then, yes...
To Denver.
I already know about our shortcomings. I already know about our liabilities. I already got all that, yeah, yeah. Who knows what'll happen then, hey, I've already been told they've flexed that game to Sunday night prime-time. How great is that.
For now, just proud of these guys, this team -- the joy they've brought to Kansas City and to Chiefs fans everywhere, and the quite justified respect they've earned from the sports world.
_
That's really the story of this Chiefs team. I know I know we're at the top of all the power rankings and I know I know the nicest things are being said about us. But I also know that a whole lot of people think we're really actually truly not for real, and yes, there is that part deep in my gut that believes they have a point. I know.
But we still find ways to get it done.
Yes I go crazy knowing we didn't get a single offensive touchdown today. I was sick when Dexter McCluster dropped that wide-open pass with vast amounts of running space before him just before the end of the first half that would've tied the score at 10. But then I think about how our fortunes came rushing right back when at our one-yard line their quarterback tossed the ball right into the hands of an eager Sean Smith who took it the distance. That made the ball game 10-10. Good enough.
I'm not going to get into all the questionable stuff about our team or say yet again that at some point here we're going to face quarterbacks who aren't third stringers (namely guys with the initials P.M. and P.R. -- see, I told you I wouldn't say it again...)
I will say that there is a reason we are winning game after game after game. What is it exactly that we did today that got us the dubya that didn't depend on splendidly favorable fortuitous events? These are things we do regularly, in no particular order:
- We grind in the 4th. This may be our best attribute. Jamaal Charles is an absolute workhorse. I am insanely concerned about the wear-and-tear, so we'll see. But he's still out there, not just taking the blows but getting huge yardage late when we need it. Our offensive line seems to have more stamina than the opponent's defensive line, holding strong late in the game. And they said the Bills D-line was a pretty good one. We are winning games in the 4th quarter on both sides of the ball and that is critical for any genuinely contending team.
- Alex Smith not only doesn't make mistakes but he gets the job done in that 4th quarter. On the last drive today to run clock he threw a fantastic pass to Dwayne Bowe to get a key first down. Yes, as we've said before, he throws too many bad balls. But again, he really knows how to manage a game. Not only does he play good quarterback in this sense, but his extraordinary athleticism gives us chances for good to happen on any given play.- Dwayne Bowe is still a terrific go-to guy. I haven't said a whole lot about him this year, and some of that comes from my frustration about his drops. He had a couple more today. Erghh. But just as he always does, he comes through big-time when we need him. He was more in the mix today, did you notice? He caught more passes today than he has in any other game, I'm pretty sure, and one of them is worth noting. Vintage Bowe: Buffalo blitzed Smith something fierce, but his mobility enabled him to scramble left, straighten up, and fire a strike to Bowe who (a) made the great route adjustment to get open, and (b) finished with one of his patented sideline grabs, you know the kind, toes gingerly touching just inside the white. First down Chiefs.
- Our opportunistic defense makes the other team pay. Besides the pick-six and fumble recovery for another score, we had another interception that led to our first score, a field goal. Yes, our D-backfield is waaay softer than it's been in the past, but we don't give up, and after giving up a big play here and there (come on, gotta give them a break, this is the NFL) they always come back and make the big defensive play. How many times did Marcus Cooper bat a ball away today? In fact he was the one who slapped the ball out of the receiver's hands for Tamba Hali's recovery and TD.
- Our pass rush is ferocious. We didn't get any sacks today, but we get tremendous respect for the pressure we put on the quarterback. Even though we had an oh-fer today, in any given game if we can just get three or four, and we've done at least that in just about every other game, we've got a tremendous edge. In fact, I saw something on the television that said something about us matching the 1977 Falcons defense for allowing the fewest points in the first however many games? That's pretty dang great.- Derrick Johnson is still one of the best "run-sackers" I've ever seen. How many times does he shoot that gap and take down the runner. Every game he has at least one or two terrific stops like this. He is so fast, not just quick but get-up-the-field fast, and he has such good vision -- and he's old! For an NFL player this is his 9th season!
- Our special teams play is phenomenal and it is led by one of the greatest Chiefs players ever, really, he is, Dustin Colquitt. Yet again he was able to get a punt to be downed within the five-yard line, and this was late when Buffalo really needed to get something going. How valuable is it to have a guy who can so often get the opponent to start drives deep, I mean waaay deep in their own territory. Every cerebral footballer knows that means an extra four or five plays they've got to run to ultimately get a score, and that's four or five more plays more likely they'll struggle with, meaning more first downs to have to try to get and thus more times their attempts to get those first downs will fail. I mean, really, Colquitt is, indeed, one of the most valuable members of this defensive unit, he really is!
- Our coaching staff not only calls solid games, but it keeps these players fighting on every play. There is a sense I have that these guys like playing football together -- that no matter what, they're playing as a family. I know that sounds sentimentally cliché, but these guys draw their strength from one another, and no one is thinking anyone is any better than anyone else. They just get the job done and get it done for the team. Next play, next play, let's go, next play.Just great, great stuff.
We have a bye next week, then, yes...
To Denver.
I already know about our shortcomings. I already know about our liabilities. I already got all that, yeah, yeah. Who knows what'll happen then, hey, I've already been told they've flexed that game to Sunday night prime-time. How great is that.
For now, just proud of these guys, this team -- the joy they've brought to Kansas City and to Chiefs fans everywhere, and the quite justified respect they've earned from the sports world.
_
Sunday, October 27, 2013
Browns at Chiefs - Week 8 - Record: 8-0
Do any Chiefs fans sense how much we're living on the edge? I mean we are on the sharpest razor's edge of play this season. Yes we have a good team with a good coach and a good quarterback and a good defense and a good closing game and a good Arrowhead crowd and all the rest of it. But I hate to tell you, but these scores just tell me that we're flipping the coin and getting heads every single game. There are just so many things happening in each of these games that tell me without a good number of those bounces going our way we could very well be 4-4 right now.
So yeah, I'm sorry. Let's all cheer and revel in our good fortune and good play and our good perfect record so far, but come on.
May I warn you, if you want to remain in your cocoon of comfortable Chiefs bliss please commence with covering the ears closing the eyes and shouting Camptown Races, but forthwith I'm going to be the most nattering of negativity nabobs. Fair warning.
Nkay, what's with our pass defense? Wow did it suck today. Our vaunted pass rush did nothing creative out there, they were stood up, straight up, and Jason Campbell connected with his receivers at will in the second half. And this is Jason Campbell. He's not terrible, but he was, what, the third straight throw-in-the-game quarterback we've faced? Please. What's going to happen when we come up against an Andy Dalton or Joe Flacco -- or, yes, I'll point it out again, what will happen during the FOUR times we ARE still going to face Peyton Manning and Philip Rivers this year? I'm cringing as I write this!
They say we have the best defense in all these special categories, you know, sacks, red zone defense, all those kinds of things, that's great -- but I saw we're still something like 20th against the run, and today we just schlurped against the pass. Suuure we got to their QB late in the game, just like we always do. And yeah, it takes hard work to hang on to games by a thread week after week after week. I am proud of our boys for their tenacity in doing that, I am, I'm not being sarcastic.
And this is the NFL. Every team is good and the Chiefs are playing tough, playing opportunistic, playing right at the times they need to.
But man, let's just face reality. We are playing a weak schedule. We just aren't being tested by the Patriotses and the Ravenses and the Bengalses. We are also relying too much on guys like Browns receiver Davone Bess who practically handed us the game all by himself today.
I'm thrilled by what we're doing, I really am. I know we're very very very likely to lose a game to someone along here sometime. We'll likely finish the season with some kind of 13-3 record or something, that's splendid.
But I can't not say it. This game just made feel very queasy, because I kinda sorta kinda thought about 2003 -- oh my 2003 that's great that's the last and only other time we started 8-0 all right yay! -- but the fact is if you're a very realistic Chiefs fan you know, painfully, that was the year our defensive liabilities were brutally exposed in that first playoff game.
I bring this up because a team that lives on 23-17 wins is highly susceptible to a 23-17 beating in a playoff game. And sorry, all this Chiefs fan is about is us winning playoff games.
Oh but be patient Dave. Enjoy the show now Dave. Everyone has a less than stellar day at work Dave. Why are you being the most negative kind of nabob Dave.
Well, I just say what I see, that's all. Yes I do sometimes feel like the plittering poopie of pessimism. It's just that I'm just sick of being the third to last team going the longest without winning a playoff game (the Bengals and Lions the only teams to have gone longer -- and the way they're playing this year the drought should end for both of them). I'm sick of blasting out to 13-3 records only to have to endure yet another catastrophic loss on Day One of playoff time. We can't even be a 10-6 team and squeak in like a Giants or Steelers and fly on into the Super Bowl.
Yeah, yeah, I shouldn't talk about any of this. We're a good team, we're playing well, we've got guys with heart out there giving their all. Please, know -- Dave can't be prouder of them.
It's just I can't help it.
As it is, just another of those notes I like to include here and there. This was our fifth home win of the season. 50 days from September 8th to today, October 27th -- five wins at Arrowhead in those 50 days. Do you know how far you'd have to go back before September 8th to get a total of five previous home wins? Well, count one home win last year, count three home wins in 2011, and the last home win of 2010 was December 26th against Tennessee that clinched us a playoff berth that year --
A total of 987 days.
Sooo, we got five Arrowhead wins here in 50 days' time, and before that it took us 987 days to secure five Arrowhead wins.
Funny, when the Chiefs were bogging down throughout the entire second half today, when we just weren't pulling away from this Browns team, when our offense just got smothered over and over and over again, I actually heard the boo's.
Wow. Yeah, I am quite the nattering negativity nabobitous guy, but wow. These Chiefs fans haven't been able to behold a regular winner at Arrowhead for a looooong time. No wonder they're grumpy.
I'm not willing to be that grumpy now, even though, yeah, I'm still eagerly waiting to see a consistent vertical passing game. Still. Still...
I'm just afraid of how grumpy I'm going to be when we're the talk of the entire sports world and
And...
Day One of the playoffs arrives.
_
So yeah, I'm sorry. Let's all cheer and revel in our good fortune and good play and our good perfect record so far, but come on. May I warn you, if you want to remain in your cocoon of comfortable Chiefs bliss please commence with covering the ears closing the eyes and shouting Camptown Races, but forthwith I'm going to be the most nattering of negativity nabobs. Fair warning.
Nkay, what's with our pass defense? Wow did it suck today. Our vaunted pass rush did nothing creative out there, they were stood up, straight up, and Jason Campbell connected with his receivers at will in the second half. And this is Jason Campbell. He's not terrible, but he was, what, the third straight throw-in-the-game quarterback we've faced? Please. What's going to happen when we come up against an Andy Dalton or Joe Flacco -- or, yes, I'll point it out again, what will happen during the FOUR times we ARE still going to face Peyton Manning and Philip Rivers this year? I'm cringing as I write this!
They say we have the best defense in all these special categories, you know, sacks, red zone defense, all those kinds of things, that's great -- but I saw we're still something like 20th against the run, and today we just schlurped against the pass. Suuure we got to their QB late in the game, just like we always do. And yeah, it takes hard work to hang on to games by a thread week after week after week. I am proud of our boys for their tenacity in doing that, I am, I'm not being sarcastic.
And this is the NFL. Every team is good and the Chiefs are playing tough, playing opportunistic, playing right at the times they need to.
But man, let's just face reality. We are playing a weak schedule. We just aren't being tested by the Patriotses and the Ravenses and the Bengalses. We are also relying too much on guys like Browns receiver Davone Bess who practically handed us the game all by himself today.
I'm thrilled by what we're doing, I really am. I know we're very very very likely to lose a game to someone along here sometime. We'll likely finish the season with some kind of 13-3 record or something, that's splendid.
But I can't not say it. This game just made feel very queasy, because I kinda sorta kinda thought about 2003 -- oh my 2003 that's great that's the last and only other time we started 8-0 all right yay! -- but the fact is if you're a very realistic Chiefs fan you know, painfully, that was the year our defensive liabilities were brutally exposed in that first playoff game.
I bring this up because a team that lives on 23-17 wins is highly susceptible to a 23-17 beating in a playoff game. And sorry, all this Chiefs fan is about is us winning playoff games.
Oh but be patient Dave. Enjoy the show now Dave. Everyone has a less than stellar day at work Dave. Why are you being the most negative kind of nabob Dave.
Well, I just say what I see, that's all. Yes I do sometimes feel like the plittering poopie of pessimism. It's just that I'm just sick of being the third to last team going the longest without winning a playoff game (the Bengals and Lions the only teams to have gone longer -- and the way they're playing this year the drought should end for both of them). I'm sick of blasting out to 13-3 records only to have to endure yet another catastrophic loss on Day One of playoff time. We can't even be a 10-6 team and squeak in like a Giants or Steelers and fly on into the Super Bowl.
Yeah, yeah, I shouldn't talk about any of this. We're a good team, we're playing well, we've got guys with heart out there giving their all. Please, know -- Dave can't be prouder of them.
It's just I can't help it.
As it is, just another of those notes I like to include here and there. This was our fifth home win of the season. 50 days from September 8th to today, October 27th -- five wins at Arrowhead in those 50 days. Do you know how far you'd have to go back before September 8th to get a total of five previous home wins? Well, count one home win last year, count three home wins in 2011, and the last home win of 2010 was December 26th against Tennessee that clinched us a playoff berth that year --
A total of 987 days.
Sooo, we got five Arrowhead wins here in 50 days' time, and before that it took us 987 days to secure five Arrowhead wins.
Funny, when the Chiefs were bogging down throughout the entire second half today, when we just weren't pulling away from this Browns team, when our offense just got smothered over and over and over again, I actually heard the boo's.
Wow. Yeah, I am quite the nattering negativity nabobitous guy, but wow. These Chiefs fans haven't been able to behold a regular winner at Arrowhead for a looooong time. No wonder they're grumpy.
I'm not willing to be that grumpy now, even though, yeah, I'm still eagerly waiting to see a consistent vertical passing game. Still. Still...
I'm just afraid of how grumpy I'm going to be when we're the talk of the entire sports world and
And...
Day One of the playoffs arrives.
_
Sunday, October 20, 2013
Texans at Chiefs - Week 7 - Record: 7-0
The beat goes on.
Close hard-fought game. Chiefs giving up big plays but still containing. Offensive specialists coming through at the right times. Exceptionally solid special teams play.
And the 4th quarter D getting it done.
I can't help but think about how mind-bogglingly a stretch of difference there is between this team and last year's team. Everyone knows the talent was there, but last year we just slogged through the game until in the 4th quarter it was just accepted by all that we were going to lose. Yes we have a nice new quarterback. Yes we have a nice new coaching staff. And yes having those two additions gives us that intangible that has us playing the full 60 minutes of football, and yes --
Just turning it up in the 4th quarter.
Through the game I'm still nervous, though: It's too close. We're not getting untracked. Alex Smith is making bad throws and Dwayne Bowe is not pulling down passes. Ergghkk. But then I think...
4th quarter coming up. If our defense is on the field we're good to go. And sure enough it wasn't any different in today's game. What'd we have, something like four sacks in the 4th quarter today?
While all that is splendid indeed, I can't see how this team can run the table. That wake-up call is around the corner sometime, so just be ready. Think about it. This was a 17-16 win against a team with a quarterback who'd never played a snap, was without his best running back behind him, and he still completed six passes of 25 yards or more. What's going to happen when we face a team with a Peyton Manning or Philip Rivers? (And those two guys in particular? We face them in four games still to come this year.)
I'd heard that they were also without a key D-back, and yet Alex Smith was still throwing balls that were off, one of which was picked late when we could've put them away then and there. This is not to mention that pass he bricked to a wide-open Sean McGrath in the end zone on the series just before that which would've put the Texans out then.
Those things drive me crazy just because this is the Chiefs, my team, my guys, my all-that-stuff. But I still wouldn't trade Smith for anything because he does show guts and resourcefulness when needed. He is still a clutch player and shows phenomenal talent too often, talent we so need to help get us to the level of being real contenders.
I have to also give a shout out to Dexter McCluster and whoever on the Chiefs staff who's figured out how to use him. He was everywhere today, and playing big-time football. Is that Doug Pederson, our offensive coordinator? Kudos to all of them making that all happen.
And I have to add that having Anthony Fasano back in there is so sweet to see. I think the ruling on the field on his nice catch and power into the end zone should've been a touchdown, but it wasn't, and the review couldn't confirm it because no one could see decisively where the ball was. But that's probably a good thing -- it shows he can catch and hang on the ball in a pile of tacklers. It'll be sweet to see what more we can do with him out there now.
One last thing. Was thinking about that 17-16 score. Didn't we beat another team by that exact same score earlier this season? Hmm, who was that? Oh yeah, the Dallas Cowboys. Lessee, the Chiefs were once the Dallas Texans, and in 1962 the Cowboys shoved us over to KC after we beat the Houston Oilers in the AFL Championship game, and then in, what, 2002, after Houston had lost the Oilers and got a new NFL team, they called themselves the, ahem, Texans.
Just a weird item of the kind that bang around in my tiny little mind every once in a while.
_
Close hard-fought game. Chiefs giving up big plays but still containing. Offensive specialists coming through at the right times. Exceptionally solid special teams play.
And the 4th quarter D getting it done.
I can't help but think about how mind-bogglingly a stretch of difference there is between this team and last year's team. Everyone knows the talent was there, but last year we just slogged through the game until in the 4th quarter it was just accepted by all that we were going to lose. Yes we have a nice new quarterback. Yes we have a nice new coaching staff. And yes having those two additions gives us that intangible that has us playing the full 60 minutes of football, and yes --Just turning it up in the 4th quarter.
Through the game I'm still nervous, though: It's too close. We're not getting untracked. Alex Smith is making bad throws and Dwayne Bowe is not pulling down passes. Ergghkk. But then I think...
4th quarter coming up. If our defense is on the field we're good to go. And sure enough it wasn't any different in today's game. What'd we have, something like four sacks in the 4th quarter today?
While all that is splendid indeed, I can't see how this team can run the table. That wake-up call is around the corner sometime, so just be ready. Think about it. This was a 17-16 win against a team with a quarterback who'd never played a snap, was without his best running back behind him, and he still completed six passes of 25 yards or more. What's going to happen when we face a team with a Peyton Manning or Philip Rivers? (And those two guys in particular? We face them in four games still to come this year.)
I'd heard that they were also without a key D-back, and yet Alex Smith was still throwing balls that were off, one of which was picked late when we could've put them away then and there. This is not to mention that pass he bricked to a wide-open Sean McGrath in the end zone on the series just before that which would've put the Texans out then.
Those things drive me crazy just because this is the Chiefs, my team, my guys, my all-that-stuff. But I still wouldn't trade Smith for anything because he does show guts and resourcefulness when needed. He is still a clutch player and shows phenomenal talent too often, talent we so need to help get us to the level of being real contenders.
And I have to add that having Anthony Fasano back in there is so sweet to see. I think the ruling on the field on his nice catch and power into the end zone should've been a touchdown, but it wasn't, and the review couldn't confirm it because no one could see decisively where the ball was. But that's probably a good thing -- it shows he can catch and hang on the ball in a pile of tacklers. It'll be sweet to see what more we can do with him out there now.
One last thing. Was thinking about that 17-16 score. Didn't we beat another team by that exact same score earlier this season? Hmm, who was that? Oh yeah, the Dallas Cowboys. Lessee, the Chiefs were once the Dallas Texans, and in 1962 the Cowboys shoved us over to KC after we beat the Houston Oilers in the AFL Championship game, and then in, what, 2002, after Houston had lost the Oilers and got a new NFL team, they called themselves the, ahem, Texans.
Just a weird item of the kind that bang around in my tiny little mind every once in a while.
_
Sunday, October 13, 2013
Raiders at Chiefs - Week 6 - Record: 6-0
Throughout the first half all I could think was, yep, they're going to do it to us again. The Raiders are going to beat us again at Arrowhead. It'll soon be seven straight home losses to these guys in as many years. We let Tyrell Pryor get untracked too often to make the plays he needed to make.
But then...
This is Arrowhead.
And we did have a packed house. And the Seattle fans went and showed us up a short while ago setting the record for loudest crowd noise. And that meant that our fans had to summarily take back that little bit of notoriety.
As the game progressed and the fans got louder, and louder, AND LOUDER, I was really doubting that they'd get the record, just knowing that the Seattle stadium's acoustics gave them an edge. Except that...
The Arrowhead fans got the record!
Thing is, whether or not they got the record is way less important than the fact that however loud they were, it was having a major effect on the Raiders offense.
Today, there is no question, the fans were definitely the 12th man out there. The Raiders offense had something like eight or nine pre-snap penalties against them -- delays of game or false starts. At one point in the 4th quarter, when I believe the score was still 14-7, the Raiders faced a 4th and 48. Penalty after penalty and sack after sack took them down. In fact sacks-wise we had ten on the day.
We are definitely a 4th quarter team, no question. For the three quarters we really slogged around on offense. We did take advantage of somewhat short field position to score our first two touchdowns. But the truth is --
I'm still kind of scared about our offense. Our offensive line is still not nearly as stiff as it should be on pass protection. Our receivers are just not getting untracked -- yet again. And today Alex Smith had a very sub-par game. After that 4th-and-48 Raiders series and we had a chance to do our standard grinding to close things out, Smith overshot an open Donnie Avery, then right after that threw very poorly to A.J. Jenkins on a gimme screen pass.
Our defense rescued us by making three very opportunistic picks, one by Quintin Demps earlier in the 3rd quarter that set up the go-ahead touchdown, one by Marcus Cooper that set up the field goal that sealed it, and another by Husain Abdullah he took to the house.
Yes, Smith still played very smart quarterback, but come on, unless we get crackin' with weapons other than Jamaal Charles we're going to experience a very painful sobering up. We do have games coming up against an underachieving Texans team, a deceptively good Browns team, a rejuvenated Bills team, and then, after the bye, that date with destiny -- Denver.
_
But then...This is Arrowhead.
And we did have a packed house. And the Seattle fans went and showed us up a short while ago setting the record for loudest crowd noise. And that meant that our fans had to summarily take back that little bit of notoriety.
As the game progressed and the fans got louder, and louder, AND LOUDER, I was really doubting that they'd get the record, just knowing that the Seattle stadium's acoustics gave them an edge. Except that...
The Arrowhead fans got the record!
Thing is, whether or not they got the record is way less important than the fact that however loud they were, it was having a major effect on the Raiders offense.
Today, there is no question, the fans were definitely the 12th man out there. The Raiders offense had something like eight or nine pre-snap penalties against them -- delays of game or false starts. At one point in the 4th quarter, when I believe the score was still 14-7, the Raiders faced a 4th and 48. Penalty after penalty and sack after sack took them down. In fact sacks-wise we had ten on the day.We are definitely a 4th quarter team, no question. For the three quarters we really slogged around on offense. We did take advantage of somewhat short field position to score our first two touchdowns. But the truth is --
I'm still kind of scared about our offense. Our offensive line is still not nearly as stiff as it should be on pass protection. Our receivers are just not getting untracked -- yet again. And today Alex Smith had a very sub-par game. After that 4th-and-48 Raiders series and we had a chance to do our standard grinding to close things out, Smith overshot an open Donnie Avery, then right after that threw very poorly to A.J. Jenkins on a gimme screen pass.
Our defense rescued us by making three very opportunistic picks, one by Quintin Demps earlier in the 3rd quarter that set up the go-ahead touchdown, one by Marcus Cooper that set up the field goal that sealed it, and another by Husain Abdullah he took to the house.
Yes, Smith still played very smart quarterback, but come on, unless we get crackin' with weapons other than Jamaal Charles we're going to experience a very painful sobering up. We do have games coming up against an underachieving Texans team, a deceptively good Browns team, a rejuvenated Bills team, and then, after the bye, that date with destiny -- Denver.
_
Sunday, October 06, 2013
Chiefs at Titans - Week 5 - Record: 5-0
At the beginning of the year one key thing had happened that I thought had proved we still weren't ready for primetime football. Right after all the teams had to cut down to the minimum number to start the regular season, we went out and picked up something like six or seven of the rejects. To me it was like searching for a decent ham & cheese sandwich from the corner deli's garbage bin.
But wow, has that turned out to be great for us. John Dorsey is looking like a genius making those deft personnel decisions -- very sweet. Two of those players stand out as guys who've really made a difference so far for the Chiefs.
The first is tight end Sean McGrath, who we really needed to step up when three -- yeah, that's just the typical wretched Chiefs luck -- three of our tight ends went down with injuries, Tony Moeaki, Anthony Fasano, and Travis Kelce. McGrath has really been a key go-to guy for Alex Smith, and do we need that since Smith's game is made up mostly of those short quick routes many of which go to the tight end.
The second is Marcus Cooper, and paying no attention to anything sports during the week I simply have had no idea who this guy is. But listening to the announcers today speak, it sounded like the guy is one fine athlete who just needs to get some decent direction and coaching to play a good pro game.
And was he clutch today. First he smartly pounced on an inadvertently booted punt into their end zone right at the optimum time to score the touchdown. Late in the game he made what could be the key defensive play of the game, literally yanking a pass right out of the clutches of the receiver he was covering. We were ahead by only three at the time, and we were able to drive down and get another field goal to force them to have to get a touchdown to be back in it.
As a team we were opportunistic again, we played stout stand-up defense again, we ground out things late again, but...
We got too many penalties again, we gave up big plays again, and our vertical passing game was just not clicking again. Yes Alex Smith had a subpar game with the slick rainy conditions. We got over 200 yards on offense in the first half and got two field goals? Come on. And he had too many passes that were just, whuhh??? On the other hand he did still get some decent connections to Donnie Avery and Dwayne Bowe that were key. And when it was all said and done, Smith still played that wise thoughtful football, especially late, something he has shown he can do exceptionally well. I'll take it.
I also have to make mention of yet another phantom pass interference penalty on Eric Berry. He'd just made a fantastic defensive play on a third-down pass, yet he didn't do anything worthy of the flag. The Titans series continued, and Tennessee scored a go-ahead touchdown. On the Chiefs next series there was a questionable roughing the runner call when their linebacker plowed into Alex Smith -- I agree it was tough to make, but they ranted and raved about that one. Sorry, but your guy launched his body at a guy clearly running out of bounds -- a penalty -- while nobody said a thing about our guy doing nothing that was just a critical.
In a way this is one thing I like, however, about this team. The players are carrying themselves with great composure, not letting those kinds of things get to them. Big play against you? Poor-call penalty on you? Another down: Just get out there and take care of business, baby.
Another testament to the splendid impact Andy Reid is having on this team?
Maybe.
Thing is, as far as I know, we are one of three undefeated teams left in the NFL. How insane is that. And while it is thoroughly enjoyable, indeed, I still watch how precariously we are winning these games. Next week we get Oakland at home. The Raiders are just not that great, and we haven't beaten them at Arrowhead since 2006.
Ugh, just looks like the perfect recipe for that letdown.
As it is, just soaking up the winningness. Pretty cool.
_
But wow, has that turned out to be great for us. John Dorsey is looking like a genius making those deft personnel decisions -- very sweet. Two of those players stand out as guys who've really made a difference so far for the Chiefs.
The first is tight end Sean McGrath, who we really needed to step up when three -- yeah, that's just the typical wretched Chiefs luck -- three of our tight ends went down with injuries, Tony Moeaki, Anthony Fasano, and Travis Kelce. McGrath has really been a key go-to guy for Alex Smith, and do we need that since Smith's game is made up mostly of those short quick routes many of which go to the tight end.
The second is Marcus Cooper, and paying no attention to anything sports during the week I simply have had no idea who this guy is. But listening to the announcers today speak, it sounded like the guy is one fine athlete who just needs to get some decent direction and coaching to play a good pro game.
And was he clutch today. First he smartly pounced on an inadvertently booted punt into their end zone right at the optimum time to score the touchdown. Late in the game he made what could be the key defensive play of the game, literally yanking a pass right out of the clutches of the receiver he was covering. We were ahead by only three at the time, and we were able to drive down and get another field goal to force them to have to get a touchdown to be back in it.As a team we were opportunistic again, we played stout stand-up defense again, we ground out things late again, but...
We got too many penalties again, we gave up big plays again, and our vertical passing game was just not clicking again. Yes Alex Smith had a subpar game with the slick rainy conditions. We got over 200 yards on offense in the first half and got two field goals? Come on. And he had too many passes that were just, whuhh??? On the other hand he did still get some decent connections to Donnie Avery and Dwayne Bowe that were key. And when it was all said and done, Smith still played that wise thoughtful football, especially late, something he has shown he can do exceptionally well. I'll take it.
I also have to make mention of yet another phantom pass interference penalty on Eric Berry. He'd just made a fantastic defensive play on a third-down pass, yet he didn't do anything worthy of the flag. The Titans series continued, and Tennessee scored a go-ahead touchdown. On the Chiefs next series there was a questionable roughing the runner call when their linebacker plowed into Alex Smith -- I agree it was tough to make, but they ranted and raved about that one. Sorry, but your guy launched his body at a guy clearly running out of bounds -- a penalty -- while nobody said a thing about our guy doing nothing that was just a critical.
In a way this is one thing I like, however, about this team. The players are carrying themselves with great composure, not letting those kinds of things get to them. Big play against you? Poor-call penalty on you? Another down: Just get out there and take care of business, baby.
Another testament to the splendid impact Andy Reid is having on this team?
Maybe.
Thing is, as far as I know, we are one of three undefeated teams left in the NFL. How insane is that. And while it is thoroughly enjoyable, indeed, I still watch how precariously we are winning these games. Next week we get Oakland at home. The Raiders are just not that great, and we haven't beaten them at Arrowhead since 2006.
Ugh, just looks like the perfect recipe for that letdown.
As it is, just soaking up the winningness. Pretty cool.
_
Sunday, September 29, 2013
Giants at Chiefs - Week 4 - Record: 4-0
You must know if you don't already that my favorite major league baseball team is the San Francisco Giants. I was born near Kansas City, but my parents moved to the bay area where I grew up. So whenever I see the matchup between the Giants and the Chiefs, I'm wondering if I'm being asked about who I favor more.
The baseball Giants have won two World Series in the past three years, but this year they have been abysmal, almost finishing in the cellar of their own division. The football Giants have won two of the last six Super Bowls themselves, but this year they have suffered injuries and a major drop in their play, and they came into Arrowhead with an 0-3 record.
It was just the kind of game the Chiefs could be down for after they've shot out to a 3-0.
It looked for much of it like the Giants were going to give us a run. It was 10-7 for a long time, and it should've been 10-10 if their kicker didn't brick a gimme field goal. Their only touchdown was yet another big play the Chiefs gave up, a long TD pass from Eli Manning to Victor Cruz. It did look like the Giants were very capable of using the Manning-to-Hicks-or-Cruz connections to beat us.
Not to be.
As the game progressed our defense just got tougher and tougher and tougher. They started to wear down their O-line and finally got to Manning, sacking him a few times, even forcing a fumble once. With that much pressure Manning had trouble being consistent enough to make things happen offensively for the Giants. I've always seen Manning as a tremendously resourceful quarterback, making something from nothing at least once every three plays. That's what has always done the Giants well.
The Chiefs messed that up just enough to make it extraordinarily difficult to Manning to do anything meaningful at all.
Thing is, it was still close midway into the second half! Our offense was not getting Jamaal untracked, our receivers were not getting separation enough, or they were just plain dropping balls. Errgh. Just wait -- don't mean to be a downer, but that receiver thing will kill us unless it gets fixed. That super nice catch and score by Bowe late can't disguise the worries I have about us being able to do that kind of thing in the clutch when needed.
The most electrifying part of the game was McCluster's punt return. Sure enough, just before that, more than any other time, I was shouting to him at the television set, come on Dexter, time to run one back -- it's time. I was kind of stunned when he did. Now I'm not going to try to brag or be a big shot and say I called it, because I admit I do frequently will my players to do great things at the TV all the time. But I will say that indeed this was one of those more particularly directed times.
His run was a thing of McCluster beauty. The turns and twists and cuts he made to break free were spectacular. Just like that, it was 17-7, and the way our defense was playing and the way our offense was able to grind late, this game was ours at that point.
Sure enough, with about nine minutes left, we started that grinding, again. We actually got a 53-yard field goal from Succop, but a penalty on the Giants gave us a first down, and we just did more grinding until Smith hit Charles with a TD pass to make it 24-7. Third game in a row with exceptional running clock late.
As for the overall, everyone is surely feeling great about this, the 4-0 start, all that. But one simple thing I can think is that the Chiefs have always done well against NFC teams, and so far we've beaten three NFC teams. Yes, this Chiefs team is a fine team. Yes, it seems only Chiefs fans know that this team has had beast talent, but with no quarterback and no coach, and subsequently few wins. Now that we have them we're doing what we should be doing.
The question is, will we continue the run against AFC teams? Next week we are visiting the Titans, a pretty decent AFC team from what little that I gather. How will we do against the other fine teams in our own division, especially the phenomenally good Broncos?
I must close with a couple brief notes about former Chiefs.
First, I'd say a few Chiefs fans were watching the NFL Network Tuesday night for the premiere showing of one of the most poignant editions in their A Football Life series, the one on Derrick Thomas. So much of it made me sad inside, from his father's legacy to his tragic death to, yes, all of the crushing playoff losses. Interestingly I discovered that probably his worst game Derrick ever had was that Monday night game with Denver, that Monday in November of 1998 when I myself left it all behind and didn't watch the Chiefs or anything about them for five years.
On that Monday night it seemed all the Chiefs frustrations of eight years of the most wretched luck any team could ever have were packed into Derrick. He had all kinds of personal foul penalties during an embarrassing loss to Denver who themselves, with his buddy former-Chief Neil Smith, would go on to another Super Bowl win, their second in a row.
Thing is, I had no idea all that with Derrick happened that night. Yes, it was a good time to take a very long break from it all myself. Only I still wept when he died in 2000, and I wept again just seeing it all again this past Tuesday night.
Fast forward to 2003, when I resumed a small involvement in sports again, committing to just watching the Chiefs. It was a good year to do it, that year we blasted outta the gate refusing to lose until the tenth game of the season. We had so many weapons, what with Trent Green and Priest Holmes and Willie Roaf and all of them, but the most exciting player of all was unquestionably
Dante Hall.
I am the announcer of my son's high school football games, and in just catching some basic facts about the visiting team for this past Friday night's game, I surfed around at the school's website.
Guess what I discovered.
That Dante Hall was a running backs-special teams coach for the team.
Sure enough, I arrived early for the game, caught where he was at the corner of the field coaching his return specialists (of course!) and taking advantage of my on-field pass, I made my way to introduce myself to him. He greeted me with an engaging smile, we chatted for a few minutes, and I told him my son was a kick returner too but was injured.
After the game Hall actually sought out my son to chat with him as well, encouraging him to work hard to get back on the football field.
How great was that! Later Friday night my son and I talked and smiled and went back and looked over all the videos and stories about Hall's legendary exploits just reveling in the moment of being able to meet and speak with easily one of the greatest Chiefs ever.
And I can now only think about McCluster's splendid punt return today to just magnify the meaning of all of that. Afterwards they showed him on the sideline, naturally, with his arms crossed in that iconic "X" pattern.
Just too great.
_
The baseball Giants have won two World Series in the past three years, but this year they have been abysmal, almost finishing in the cellar of their own division. The football Giants have won two of the last six Super Bowls themselves, but this year they have suffered injuries and a major drop in their play, and they came into Arrowhead with an 0-3 record.
It was just the kind of game the Chiefs could be down for after they've shot out to a 3-0.
It looked for much of it like the Giants were going to give us a run. It was 10-7 for a long time, and it should've been 10-10 if their kicker didn't brick a gimme field goal. Their only touchdown was yet another big play the Chiefs gave up, a long TD pass from Eli Manning to Victor Cruz. It did look like the Giants were very capable of using the Manning-to-Hicks-or-Cruz connections to beat us.
Not to be.
As the game progressed our defense just got tougher and tougher and tougher. They started to wear down their O-line and finally got to Manning, sacking him a few times, even forcing a fumble once. With that much pressure Manning had trouble being consistent enough to make things happen offensively for the Giants. I've always seen Manning as a tremendously resourceful quarterback, making something from nothing at least once every three plays. That's what has always done the Giants well.
The Chiefs messed that up just enough to make it extraordinarily difficult to Manning to do anything meaningful at all.
Thing is, it was still close midway into the second half! Our offense was not getting Jamaal untracked, our receivers were not getting separation enough, or they were just plain dropping balls. Errgh. Just wait -- don't mean to be a downer, but that receiver thing will kill us unless it gets fixed. That super nice catch and score by Bowe late can't disguise the worries I have about us being able to do that kind of thing in the clutch when needed.
The most electrifying part of the game was McCluster's punt return. Sure enough, just before that, more than any other time, I was shouting to him at the television set, come on Dexter, time to run one back -- it's time. I was kind of stunned when he did. Now I'm not going to try to brag or be a big shot and say I called it, because I admit I do frequently will my players to do great things at the TV all the time. But I will say that indeed this was one of those more particularly directed times.His run was a thing of McCluster beauty. The turns and twists and cuts he made to break free were spectacular. Just like that, it was 17-7, and the way our defense was playing and the way our offense was able to grind late, this game was ours at that point.
Sure enough, with about nine minutes left, we started that grinding, again. We actually got a 53-yard field goal from Succop, but a penalty on the Giants gave us a first down, and we just did more grinding until Smith hit Charles with a TD pass to make it 24-7. Third game in a row with exceptional running clock late.
As for the overall, everyone is surely feeling great about this, the 4-0 start, all that. But one simple thing I can think is that the Chiefs have always done well against NFC teams, and so far we've beaten three NFC teams. Yes, this Chiefs team is a fine team. Yes, it seems only Chiefs fans know that this team has had beast talent, but with no quarterback and no coach, and subsequently few wins. Now that we have them we're doing what we should be doing.
The question is, will we continue the run against AFC teams? Next week we are visiting the Titans, a pretty decent AFC team from what little that I gather. How will we do against the other fine teams in our own division, especially the phenomenally good Broncos?
I must close with a couple brief notes about former Chiefs.
First, I'd say a few Chiefs fans were watching the NFL Network Tuesday night for the premiere showing of one of the most poignant editions in their A Football Life series, the one on Derrick Thomas. So much of it made me sad inside, from his father's legacy to his tragic death to, yes, all of the crushing playoff losses. Interestingly I discovered that probably his worst game Derrick ever had was that Monday night game with Denver, that Monday in November of 1998 when I myself left it all behind and didn't watch the Chiefs or anything about them for five years.
On that Monday night it seemed all the Chiefs frustrations of eight years of the most wretched luck any team could ever have were packed into Derrick. He had all kinds of personal foul penalties during an embarrassing loss to Denver who themselves, with his buddy former-Chief Neil Smith, would go on to another Super Bowl win, their second in a row.
Thing is, I had no idea all that with Derrick happened that night. Yes, it was a good time to take a very long break from it all myself. Only I still wept when he died in 2000, and I wept again just seeing it all again this past Tuesday night.
Fast forward to 2003, when I resumed a small involvement in sports again, committing to just watching the Chiefs. It was a good year to do it, that year we blasted outta the gate refusing to lose until the tenth game of the season. We had so many weapons, what with Trent Green and Priest Holmes and Willie Roaf and all of them, but the most exciting player of all was unquestionably
Dante Hall.
I am the announcer of my son's high school football games, and in just catching some basic facts about the visiting team for this past Friday night's game, I surfed around at the school's website.
Guess what I discovered.
That Dante Hall was a running backs-special teams coach for the team.
Sure enough, I arrived early for the game, caught where he was at the corner of the field coaching his return specialists (of course!) and taking advantage of my on-field pass, I made my way to introduce myself to him. He greeted me with an engaging smile, we chatted for a few minutes, and I told him my son was a kick returner too but was injured.
After the game Hall actually sought out my son to chat with him as well, encouraging him to work hard to get back on the football field.
How great was that! Later Friday night my son and I talked and smiled and went back and looked over all the videos and stories about Hall's legendary exploits just reveling in the moment of being able to meet and speak with easily one of the greatest Chiefs ever.
And I can now only think about McCluster's splendid punt return today to just magnify the meaning of all of that. Afterwards they showed him on the sideline, naturally, with his arms crossed in that iconic "X" pattern.
Just too great.
_
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