No Chiefs Game Today - But With the Right Kind of Leadership...

Oh the woeful Old-AFL teams.

Today it was the Patriots suffering in the final throes of this year's embarrassment. Yes, AFL fans, yet again there will not be an AFL team winning the Super Bowl. Indeed there won't even be one in it. This year's AFC representative will be the Baltimore Ravens, and it will not be an AFL team, namely the Bengals Bills Broncos Chargers Chiefs Dolphins Jets Patriots Raiders or Titans.

I did my own little statistical study of AFL appearances and wins in playoff games since the last AFL team won the whole thing, eight years ago when the Patriots did it. There are ten AFL teams in the AFC, and six not-AFL teams. That gives the AFL a 63% chance to do great playoff things, while the not-AFL'ers-in-the AFC (Browns Colts Jaguars Ravens Steelers Texans) have a 37% chance. And yet, of the 87 AFC playoff spots there have been since '04, 45 have been taken by the non-AFL'ers, to 42 for the AFL'ers.

And wins? That's even worse. 26 post-season games have been won by the non-AFL'ers, to only 17 for the AFL'ers. Again, that non-AFL success is with only six teams of the 16 in the AFC. Oh, and by the way, eight of those 17 were won by New England. And, um, how many of the remaining nine were by the Chiefs?...

Okay, everyone who's a true genuine Lamar Hunt fan, everyone together now...

::SIGHHHHHH::

Still, this must mean that it is time. I know I've said this before, but THIS IS THE TIME. The time is now, NOW when it has to be, the time for the Chiefs to explode as THE representative of that proud AFL contingent and BE that team that starts to dominate. We're due, we are so due.

Let's get right to it. I want to first finish up this year by looking at the dregs of the past so we can ever-so revel in the great success of the future. As I promised before, here for my last post of the 2012 season is

The Worst Seasons of the Kansas City Chiefs - All-Time

(Again, all kinds of rabid discourse about the placement is not only allowed by wholeheartedly encouraged. Here they are in my opinion. Brace yourselves -- the reminiscing here will be quite wrenching.)

Now, before I start, there were all kinds of honorable mentions that I at least have to get on the page. In fact, please know that really -- any of these years could be on the list of top five, so no argument there. 1987, 1999, 2007, 2004, 1988, 2008, 1977, and certainly I could mention at least a little something about each, most I think somehow involving Frank Gansz. Hey, just about any year in the 70's and 80's is eligible. Thing is I really want to get to the meatier awfulness. Besides, any Chiefs fan certainly knows the horror that encapsulates each of those years.

So once again, the ickiness please.

5. 1998

I absolutely have to put this year in the top five because it was the year that did me in. It was November 17, 1998, on that very day when I made the firmly bold decision to be, ta-dah, sports celibate. Really. I simply could not take it anymore. In fact, I wrote a whole post in a blog series a few years ago detailing all of this, the short version is that the Chiefs kicked-living-ass outta the gate, then utterly, utterly collapsed. Just hearing Bubby Brister ramble for a 30-plus-yard touchdown run to help the Broncos beat us on Monday night at Arrowhead was just too much to take.

Yes, I cracked.

That was it. When I recently looked back at the results from the rest of that season for the first time since that day, I noted that we pretty much stank the rest of the year, too. Weird. Didn't know a thing about it. Didn't know a thing about anything Chiefs until in 2003 I did decide I'd allow myself the pleasure (as it was) to just watch or listen to games on Sunday -- nothing else.

4. 2011

Yes, I had to put last year way up here in the top five of Chiefs abysmalosity simply because of the insane string of ACL injuries we suffered right at the beginning of the season which sunk the whole season before it even really started. I mean seriously, I cannot think of any other team in the history of anything that had happen what we had happen.

First it was Tony Moeaki, then it was Eric Berry, then it was Jamaal Charles. Three of our very best, gone. We ended up getting shellacked each of the first three games we played, until, hey! We started playing better! We actually won a few games, and ironically it was said the reason was our exceptional pre-season conditioning. The problem was that every one of the AFC East teams just shredded us and Todd Haley showed he just could not handle a whole franchise as a head coach.

I could add how awful our quarterback situation was then, too, but ya know? Maybe this whole thing is a blessing in disguise, to the extent that maybe, just maybe, Chiefs management will really fully see the catastrophe that is signing some 57th round draft pick barely-capable-as-a-back-up to be the team's savior.

We have all new leadership people -- head coach, general manager, all that -- that's great. But if we keep Matt Cassel around I'm going to be really angry. The whole point is that we have just got to see through a guy like Cassel who admittedly looked so much like a quarterback that it was easy for someone less perceptive to fail to see he had nothing.

Same thing for Brady Quinn. It should've been the same thing for Steve Fuller, Todd Blackledge, the rest of the quarterback flunkie parade through our history.

Well, now we have way more perceptive people running things, right?

3. 1996

Did you notice that for all the wonderfulness the 1990's were for the Chiefs, when you look at it, it really did suck actually. Look at all the years that appear on at least one Chiefs Game Today "Worst" list (the other list is here): 1994 (ouch), then 1995 (OW-ee ouch), then this one (don't worry I'll get to the gory details), then 1997 (::groannn::), then 1998. Throw 1999 in there, yeah, the one when the Raiders beat us at home on the last day of the season keeping us from getting into the playoffs, and you've got quite an agonizing decade there.

1996 was easily one of the worst, and would've made the "Playoff Edition Worst" because of the nature of what happened, except that, ahem, we didn't make the playoffs.

Why? Well, let's see. We dominate Detroit at their place on Thanksgiving and only have to win one more game to get right back into the playoffs, as we should of course -- we'd been there six straight times. It was becoming a habit except that we still had to get to that Super Bowl. So, let's go do the getting-to-the-Super-Bowl thing. Except we can't beat the Raiders at their place. Fair enough, we'd blistered the Raiders over and over during 90's. I figure they could win one or two.

Indy is next at home, perfect revenge game from the previous year's stunning playoff loss to them, except we can't beat them then either.

So we're at 9-6 for the last game of the year in Buffalo, and we just can't beat them either. We're now at an unbelievable 9-7 but hey! We still have a chance to back in to the playoffs if Jacksonville loses to Atlanta. At the end of that game Atlanta drives down to the Jaguars one-yard line, and can't score the touchdown. But hey! A field goal from all-time super-kicker Morten Anderson, will still win it! Yay!

Except that Anderson misses the 18-yard chip-shot of all chip-shots.

You - have - got - to - be - kidding - me.

2. 1974

This was the year that truly got the misery of all things Chiefs going for years, and years, and years, and -- okay I'll stop now.

Now I didn't know a thing, really, about what happened with the Chiefs during those years. Yes, I was still a passionate fan, but I was into high school stuff and when you're a teenager there're just so many other things pulling on you.

But guess what.

Right now I'm reading the Lamar Hunt biography by Michael MacCambridge, remember? And sure enough, this was really the year that sunk us. The Chiefs actually had winning seasons in '72 and '73, hard to believe but they did.

Then the wheels started to come off, and the reasons are ones we all know too well. Hank started becoming too autocratic, and this drove Jack Steadman nuts. Stram was summarily fired after the season and without him Steadman just fumbled all the football-oriented decisions the Chiefs had to make. To his credit he hired Jim Schaaf in 1976 to do all that, but, come on, Jim Schaaf. More years of Chiefs misery.

Another reason was the typical one that hammers any franchise for years on end: Really dumb player moves. The Chiefs had some of the most notoriously idiotic trades and signings, and all this was coupled with the more famous and indeed very profound factor of hanging on to guys way past their primes. Of course a huge part of all that was our ruthless failure to draft and develop a quarterback, and I think around 1974 was when the idea was calcified that we could pluck another Len Dawson from somewhere anytime we wanted and be just fine.

The one thing I had always considered was a perfectly good reason for Chiefs woefulness but never heard much about was one confirmed by the book. Sure enough: Lamar was just spending too much of his time and energy with all that pro tennis and pro soccer crap.

That's the critical leadership deficit right there.

It just cannot be said enough. You don't want your owner meddling in things he doesn't know anything about, but you gotta have him there supporting the team with 100% of his football attention.

I can't say that I don't see Clark doing that right now as the Chiefs prepare (really hopefully) for the next era of Chiefs football. He did aggressively snatch up highly respected Andy Reid, and the fact that he did means he really has a authentic desire for the Chiefs to excel. I personally still think we have to rely on retreads too much, but maybe Reid will be a good fit for now. The key is that Clark is proactive in the best way he can be, and that's so critically important if we mean business.

So before I give my last assessment of things, I must not forget to slot in here the number one top most awful season in Chiefs history. It is none other than

TA-DAAAH!

1. 2012

I really don't think anyone would disagree with this pick. There was just so much atrociousness about this season that it is simply unparalleled. Not even close. The not leading a game until mid-season stuff. The having such terrible quarterback performances stuff. The Keystone Kops play of our offense and sometimes our defense stuff. That we have five pro-bowlers from this team and not a coach to get the best from them stuff. The "We're so bad we can't even be bad in the right year" stuff regarding not having that future Hall-of-Fame quarterback there for us to get with our No. 1 overall draft pick.

I could go on and on. I'm sure I'm missing a ton of the splendidly best of the ferociously worst that this season was.

As for now, we have that pick.

Again, I don't know who's in the draft or what. As I told you, I go way out of my way to avoid looking at any of that stuff -- yeah, it does, it really does... It drives me crazy.

I already know the marquee signal-caller is just not there. Is there some guy who is such a stud at whatever position he is at that he'd really single-handedly make this team a serious contender? If we do have enough good players like those pro-bowlers with whom to put this guy into the mix, then yeah, maybe we should keep the pick and get that studliest guy on the board. The problem is that no player at any position other than quarterback can ever really turn a team around that dramatically.

This is why I think we should find some team that is salivating for that guy at No. 1, trade down for five or six draft picks (at least), and really stock up on some solid players over the next two or three years. We'll have to use two of those picks to go get Alex Smith -- erghck, another retread QB and another former 49er one at that, but hey, it's what we got -- then use another to snatch up a Matt Barkley or Geno Smith who as far as I know should be available lower in the draft.

I dunno. Just my idea.

I had to say this about Scott Pioli, and it didn't work out real well. Now I have to say it again, this time about our new general manager John Dorsey. It's gotta be better this time, it just has to be. Here goes:

Pleeeeeease make good personnel decisions.

You know, John, we have to be the next dominant team from the old-AFL, you do know that don't you John? You do know that some AFL'er is soooo due for this, and that team has to be the Chiefs, you do know that John, don't you?

Okay, good thing we got that cleared up.

Because John, let's face it, I have got to have a lot more good seasons to choose from to put in the next "Best Chiefs Seasons Ever" post and there just can't be any more to add to the "Most Rotten Seasons" list. I am perfectly happy with the next "Top Five Best" list -- wait, how about a "Top Ten Best" list, there will be so many to choose from -- a list that'll include lots of years beginning with "one"s and "two"s, you know 16, 17, 23, 25, hey, I'm great with one to add that is 13.

Did you get that John?

On to 2013, the next NEW beginning of THE truly great era of Chiefs football!
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