Steelers at Chiefs - Week 7 - Record: 2-5

Yay! We were up by 10 with about five minutes left, and we didn't choke! How about that!

I mean, I'm not kidding you. There we were, up 23-13 with about five minutes left, and I am truly thinking that we could let this get away again. That we're just established as the team that, whenever you are up, you can never count yourself in it. That we'll scratch and claw and find a way to lose.

Well, since we won, it is time to talk about the fine things this team did.

Yes, we were playing against the Steelers 3rd string QB, and the Steelers did turn the ball over three times when they'd only done that four times previously all season. But only one of them was because of the inexperience of Landry Jones.

The other two were pure Chiefs, baby.

Eric Berry made a diving catch on a batted ball off the hand of a Steelers receiver, and Jones fumbled the ball late when Tamba Hali finished one of his patented speed rushes off the edge. The former led to a touchdown, the latter sealed the win late when Pittsburgh was threatening yet another Chiefs choke.

What else was splendidly Chiefs-worthy for the first time in seven weeks?

Charcandrick West. I knew this kid could be good. He's fast, elusive, and strong. It is easy to see how he's been handling the running duties and not Knile Davis. He ran for over 100 yards today. I really like seeing this because I truly think the Chiefs have relied too much on Jamaal Charles. Believe me, I'd very much rather Charles be in there, but I'm hoping we can start to showcase more of our weapons. With West looking very good against what I gather is still a pretty good Steelers defense, this is a very nice development.

Our offensive line. They did a decent job, they did. Sure they aren't perfect, sure there're a lot of things they could improve on, but, hey, see just above -- 100-yard RB games aren't just the work of the guy carrying the ball.

Alex Smith. Oh he did throw those ducks that still had me screaming at the television. He did allow himself to get sacked just before the half to keep Cairo Santos out of field goal range, that was particularly gruesome. But hey, he did make some excellent throws at other times, particularly to Travis Kelce. One of them was on a key 3rd down late. Hey, a clutch 3rd down conversion, awright!

Chris Conley. He's starting to show what he can do. He made some nice receptions, though one deep one should've been squeezed and wasn't. His second best was his tough TD catch -- wow another one to a WR! -- late in the game that gave us the nice pad in the score. His best was actually a spiffy catch and power run that got the ball deep into Steelers territory that I'm pretty sure was in the mix helping to lead to our first TD.

Our defense. Yeah, just a shout out to the whole team. Our D-line was a bit more bendy than they were last week, today trying to stop Le'Veon Bell, but a TV graphic was really interesting and not altogether surprising about the fine work of these guys: Adrian Peterson, Matt Forte, other good RB's we've faced -- all kept under 100. That's cool.

Our defensive backs were very strong, too, even though they were facing that 3rd string QB. At one point Antonio Brown pushed off Marcus Peters so obviously that the curse could only account for the side judge standing right there not seeing it. The Steelers scored their only TD right after that, but it tells me that Peters and the guys are doing pretty well, when someone like Antonio Brown feels he's got to do that. Sean Smith almost had a pick that was defended well by the receiver.

I like how this team isn't giving up. I like the toughness they showed. I like seeing the camaraderie. I believe all of this helped them get the W today.
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Chiefs at Vikings - Week 6 - Record: 1-5 Part II

I'm enjoying the Kansas City Royals ALCS game on the television right now. What a wildly different Kansas City thing this is than the Chiefs. At this moment here in the 2nd inning they're losing 3-1, but no matter. They will always be considered as the team that'll make a game of it, come back, be winners. Doesn't even matter if they lose this one, they're American League champions. Up to now no other team has won an ALCS game over the past two years than the Royals. They've captured the attention of all sports observers as a team of gamers, competitors, winners.

Then there's the Chiefs.

In thinking about this team, I thought of the Eddie Murphy film Beverly Hills Cop. Murphy plays a street-wise cop from Detroit named Axel Foley, trying to solve a murder in upscale Los Angeles. When a couple Beverly Hills police officers fail to reign in his unorthodox ways, the department's captain assigns a couple more sharper looking cops to do the job. When they confront him during an improvised stakeout, Foley compliments them as the "A-team."

"We're not falling for the 'banana in the tail-pipe trick'" they boast.

Thing is, they do still get had by Foley when he cleverly evades them to achieve his objective.

Yeah. You know what I'm thinking.

The Chiefs, they look like the "A-team" but sadly, they're the "D-team."

Yes, I know it is easy to hop on the anti-Alex Smith bandwagon, and I confess, right now I'm right in the middle of that extravaganza playing lead tuba. But this whole thing is infected.

The whole thing.

We can start with Smith, and in a newsgroup post from some forlorn Chiefs fan (which ones aren't?) I found this quote. Just like to share it with you.

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something is more important than fear. The brave may not live forever but the cautious do not live at all."

This quote perfectly encapsulates what we all see in Alex Smith. He's talented, he's versatile, he's smart, he's quick, and he's all those other nice things.

But think right now of Tom Brady, then think of Alex Smith. Tom Brady - Alex Smith. Alex Smith - Tom Brady.

Can you see the difference?

Smith is better in every area. ::Guh?:: No, no, check this out. He was the No. 1 pick overall ten years ago, while Brady was, what, back in 1999 or some time, what, 12th round, 582nd overall? Brady right now is 40 years old, something like that, Smith is still in his prime.

Except...

Look through their eyes into their souls.

Sorry, but the whole having-a-dozen-coaches excuse is so old and worn it hurts. Sorry but the whole offensive-line-isn't-good-enough excuse just doesn't cut it. Sorry but I just don't believe that it is always the fault of the receivers or the coaches not calling the right routes or any of that.

To his credit Smith has never whined about any of that, but then, it has always seemed like he just never cared.

Again, look again.

You can see Tom Brady is fearless, and Alex Smith is -- if not fearful, just not - really - there - at all.

It is that simple.

I actually hoped that this would be Alex's year. That he'd come around. I still held out hope, I did. For good reason. He's better than Tom Brady.

But he will never win anything because he so embodies that quote.

He'll run plays. He'll do as he's told as a good soldier would. He'll even proudly wear the Chiefs red and gold. Please, I mean that, he's a fine young man!

But I'm telling you, that last series against the Vikings did it for me. Here's what it was, and please, never mind anything that the coaches did or didn't do -- none of that really matters with a quarterback who simply refuses to lose. Alex Smith, on the other hand -- down by 6, ball close to mid-field, just over two minutes left -- plenty of time:

1st down crap pass somewhere around Kelce.

2nd down crap pass somewhere around Avant.

3rd down crap pass somewhere around Wilson.

4th down crap pass to nobody in particular.

Sorry, but we all know.

Tom Brady would never have let that happen. Never ever never ever never ever never ever.

He's won four Super Bowls. How?

It's right there in his soul.

And yeah, as it pains me to say this -- Alex Smith doesn't have it.

Not only can you see it in his eyes, but the results show it, and Chiefs fans have had enough of it.

So yeah, I really really really want the Chiefs to start Aaron Murray on Sunday. I can't believe there isn't a Chiefs fan who doesn't want this. Sorry but skip over Chase Daniels. I like Daniels, but he's not the long-term guy.

So what if Murray gets trucked? Let's see him go. Let's see what he can do. I know some are saying "You can't just put a guy in like that in the NFL and expect anything. It just doesn't work that way. Give it up. Just never mind."

Sorry, but that's a load of mnfmnmp. At this point we truly do have nothing to lose. Why don't we do something to get ourselves geared up for future success?

We still have to replace Reid after this year and get that terrific new coach to get us geared up for 2019 and beyond, that's a given. For now, how about getting Murray some reps? Plus, here's the thing, what if Murray tanks and it's a for-sure thing? What if we look and see he doesn't have the Brady-esque killer instinct that'll carry us for a number of years?

Then we'll get to know. Then we'll know that with our high draft pick for next year we can pluck up a Trevone Boykin in the draft so we're fully ready for 2019.

Whatever the case: Clark. John. Chiefs front office people. Get with the program and start getting ready for 2019 right now.

I'm a Chiefs fan and I always will be, yet all I've known for years and years and years is this interminable death because we just refuse to be brave. I'm ready for us to be brave, people. I'm so sick and tired of being cautious, and as the quote says, never living at all.

Just to let you know, there're a dozen other things I'd like to say about Chiefs things, right here in this post. This thing, that thing, interesting and important things Chiefs. But I'm kinda tired right now. I've said all that matters right now. I think all Chiefs fans know what the reality is. It's pretty simple.

Will we be brave?
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Chiefs at Vikings - Week 6 - Record: 1-5

So now? Is that it? Is that the end of Odin's curse? Is it done?

We lost a typically choke Chiefs game to a team we should've beaten. We didn't choke like last week but we were chokefully unclutch if you know what I mean. The Vikings are not bad, but we still should've beaten them. Well, granted...

With a true D&D quarterback.

I mean, we had a chance to be clutch today, down 6 with just over two minutes left -- and Alex Smith predictably threw four straight crap passes. Sorry, but Smith has just as much talent as Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, or any of those guys.

But he refuses to be a winner.

With the time Smith had to pull this one out, those guys would never fail to do what it takes to win it. To use their talent to actually finish -- to win clutch games.

Well, here's the thing for today. There are a million things I want to say about this game. About the Chiefs -- the season, the history, and especially the destiny. About 2019 when we'll finally see the culmination of the hard work our brilliant new coach and his deft arrangement of a D&D quarterback and D&D wide receiver core that'll win games.

But this weekend is yet another one that features wedding activity -- this one's my niece's. Got to jet to that, it is this afternoon.

If I can I'll get to a post that's "Part II", I will, I'd like to.

In the mean time, I'm going enjoy beholding the couple's wedded bliss, savor the celebration, have fun dancing --

All with the joy of the 2019 Chiefs adding to the revelry.

It'll be very good.
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Chiefs at Vikings - Week 6 - Game Preview

One of the worst years in Chiefs history was unquestionably a few years ago, the 2012 season. It was disastrous: 2-14 record, tragedy, despair, ineptitude, and pretty much anything else bad I can't think of right now. Thing is, I blogged more during that season than any other, by far. I've always intended this blog effort to contain my thoughts exclusively about each game, one time a week -- that's it.

Of course, I feel like chatting a bit more when serious therapy is required. As it was in droves back in 2012.

And... as it is now?

In last week's post I plugged in a sentence that I thought, hmm, maybe that's a bit melodramatic. I noted that this whole thing was "devastating". I mean, there's still lots of season left. Why so despondent? After thinking more about it, I believe the reason wasn't as much the crushing nature of the Bears loss. No, it was the simple fact that the game's result was just more pronounced evidence that

The curse simply has not gone away.

That's what is so devastating. It just never never never never ever seems to end. Last week the immense despondency of that realization was just so palpable, and there is no way it couldn't be expressed in the post.

You know how many times I hear about the storied history of the Chiefs? Sure there're those 60's - 1969 Hall-of-Famer packed teams. Sure there's the whole Martyball-Christian Okoye wonderfulness. Sure there're the Joe Montana thrills. Sure there's the Priest Holmes resurrection and the Dante Hall excitement and the 2006 miracle season's end. Sure there's some splendidness to all-things-Chiefs.

But please.

"Storied."

Puh-lease.

The only thing we're storied for is our choking, our abject failure to do anything meaningful in the postseason for years upon years upon years. How many teams in any sport have two droughts with no playoff wins of 20 years or more? Yeah, the Chiefs have two of those droughts, the second one still going.

Let me ask you this question: How many games can you remember in this "storied" history when the Chiefs were down and just came back and won the game with a victory of epic proportions? Really, how many? Think right now, just from what you remember. Know how many I can think of?

Two.

That playoff game against Pittsburgh after the 1993 season when Montana tied it on a TD pass to Tim Barnett with seconds left to send it into OT, and that Monday Night Football game at Denver in 1994 when Montana led the winning TD drive with a minute left. There may be more, but I just can't think of any right now. That's pathetic. And I know tons of Chiefs stuff. Tons and tons and tons.

Now, in our history how many classic chokes can you think of? There've been two this year alone.

Our playoff history is an entire encyclopedia of chokes. Sorry, I just have to do this.

1971 - Jan misses easy FG's he should never have missed, and a half-dozen other stupid things happen.

1990 - The Chiefs are up 16-3 in the 4th quarter and let the Dolphins storm back to win by one point.

1995 - Key guys, like our quarterback of all people, play like crap, but we're actually still in it!... Until the kicker misses three very critical very makeable FG's. We lose by three points.

1997 - The infamous Broncos game featuring a dozen different distinctly stupid things.

2013 - A 38-10 lead in middle of the 3rd quarter evaporates in a perfect storm of injuries, misplays, and the unluckiest breaks you could ever see.

(Notice too how often our chokes have some atrocious thing having to do with field goals, just so often. It's almost as if the curse relates to something revolving around Jan Stenarud, ya know? The number of Chiefs field goal related chokes is suffocating, really. Just look at the last two weeks. Against the Bengals two weeks ago Cairo Santos -- who has shown he's actually a decent kicker -- banged in seven field goals, all for naught as we lost the game. Against the Bears he kicked one, then right after the Jamaal Charles injury the salt was ground deeper into our souls when Santos' FG attempt was blocked. On the last play of the game he gallantly tried a 66-yarder, but, well... We needed two FG's against the Bears and only got one, and lost by a point. That's the Chiefs history, right there.)

And these cited playoff games are just the most crushing chokes. The catalog is bulging. "Oh you're such a downer, Dave,  I like the Chiefs, I'm looking to the future, what's wrong with you, continuing to bring all this up..."

Well, it might be different if there were some legitimately well-earned invigoratingly finely-performed Chiefs wins in amongst all the wretchedness. But there aren't. There're zero. We're holding on a record eight straight playoff losses. We've had three total playoff wins since 1970, and two of those were against pathetic teams (the Steelers win the only exception). Sure the Lions are just as bad, but they have their curse too, so what of it?

The reason I bring it up is because there are some critical things the Chiefs have had going with them that definitely make the curse what it is. Those things in a moment. But I will iterate that there is a spiritual dimension to all this, and I'm convinced it somehow started right after we won Super Bowl IV. What has to happen to take out that impediment? I dunno. I'm still praying.

Some think just getting rid of the Nelson Gallery shuttlecock will do the trick, but that's just stupid. Everyone says the Royals have been affected because the sculpture went up in 1986 right after their World Series title, but right now the Royals are the talk of baseball for their excellent, exhilarating, and -- yes -- clutch play.

No, this is a Chiefs thing and it is real and it is ugly. It has nothing to do with shuttlecocks or Indian burial grounds under Arrowhead. But it is something. The things that have happened to the Chiefs through the ages make that very plain. We've had teams filled with Pro-Bowlers, especially over the past couple years, and we're still losing. Sorry -- that doesn't just happen.

It happens to the Chiefs all the time.

I sometimes think God may be telling me something. I love pro football and I love the Chiefs, but I hate several key things about the NFL. Here're a few.

- The latest is the Fanduel/Draftkings fantasy team thing. These are nothing but sophisticated gambling hustle sites, and we have to endure their commercials over and over and over again watching our pro football on television. Already they're under investigation for what is essentially insider trading, which means their people have brazenly ripped off all those who brainlessly dump their money into these things.

- The concussion situation. I confess I'm one of those torn with his enjoyment of the sport and the dangers it poses. I am 100% behind any measures to limit the physical impact between the players, and actually think the NFL should go further to reduce more injuries. Sadly I'm shouted down by those who enjoy it only as some kind of blood sport.

- This whole October thing when the players wear pink, the whole breast cancer awareness thing. Please, no more of that. Why are they pressured to declare their care for women by doing this? Can't they do that simply by giving some of their money to the cause, and simply having their behavior reflect it? There is also a very profound emasculating element to this that is extraordinarily disconcerting.

- The idiotic alcohol commercials enabling far too much drinking and loutish fan behavior resulting in fan violence incidents. This has always been something I've loathed about the sports thing, in some ways it just seems to be more pronounced today.

I think Roger Goodall is a crappy commissioner and should be fired. He doesn't provide the leadership the league needs in so many more sophisticated areas than just trying to make sure players don't commit acts of domestic violence, which is really what basic character development and district attorneys should be addressing much more anyway.

This relates to the very essential thing that the Chiefs definitely need to do to go a long way to ending the curse, to moving towards being regularly clutch for once in their benighted existence, to actually getting and exerting a full measure of got-it -- you know, that stuff that tells you when you watch a football team that they're just going to win the games they need to.

I do believe this can happen, it can, but I am declaring to you right now I won't believe it will actually be truly veritable until we all behold the Chiefs finally winning a playoff game and doing it with everything you clearly see in a team that demonstrates they are winners.

What gets us there?

Leadership.

And for this team here, that means head coach and quarterback.

Yes, it could mean ownership. I will tell you there are a few times I think that the curse will only be lifted when the ownership is no longer with the Hunt family. Could be, I don't know. Thing is, it seems to me that Clark has learned and grown and is completely above board doing everything right in his commitment to making the Chiefs great.

Yes, it could mean management. I saw someone point out somewhere that Scott Pioli, reviled as GM during his Chiefs tenure, is now 5-0 with the Falcons while John Dorsey's team is 1-4. To me, that's just more testament of the curse. Dorsey has been a million times better drafter and personnel guy than Pioli. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe there are some elements to this leadership network that need purging, I dunno. But I do know this.

The Quarterback-Wide Receiver Project still lethally infects this team. This means our inability to draft and develop a good quarterback or a good core of wide receivers at any point in our history has wrecked this team. As far as on-the-field, this is the number one reason the Chiefs haven't come close to the Super Bowl since 1970. I've already written tons about this.

The key here is the head coach. That's the key right now, and we should focus on that, by miles.

I have to tell you that I once considered my baseball team, the Giants, had a curse on them that would never end. They had never won a World Series while in San Francisco, 52 long long years of futility, and they too always seemed to have the stupidest things happen to them.

But then they got Brian Sabean and Bruce Bochy. It took a few years, but Sabean picked up the players and Bochy used them deftly to bring Giants fans not one, not two, but three World Series titles over the past five years. And they did it by drafting and developing fine home-grown players. Look at them. Tim Lincecum, Brian Wilson, Pablo Sandoval, Buster Posey, Matt Cain, Madison Bumgarner, Brandon Crawford, Brandon Belt, Joe Panik. All those guys critically instrumental to all this success -- all of them fine players and tough competitors and true winners.

Look this year at the Chicago Cubs. They're in the NLCS, also with a lot of home grown talent and... yes... a general manager, Jed Hoyer, who's brilliant and a manager, Joe Maddon, who's a genius -- just able to do a dozen things that a quality leader and manager and coach and motivator does to win games. No trying to get guys from other teams with just a little left in the tank, none of that. Just cruising forward as a team from Day One for however long it takes.

Hey, take a look at... the Kansas City Royals. They're back in the ALCS and they've got fantastic leadership in Dayton Moore who's shown himself to be masterful at developing his home grown talent. Detractors criticize manager Ned Yost for making bonehead moves sometimes, and maybe they're right, but he still engenders great team play among his players. Ironically the Royals have shown themselves to be almost complete opposites of the Chiefs -- that thing us Chiefs fans so long for -- thoroughly and rapturously clutch. (A fascinating fact they shared on the TV: the Royals were behind at some point in every game of their ALDS series with the Astros. They still won three of them, one of them an epic comeback win in the 4th game after being down 6-2 in the 8th inning.)

My point?

If Andy Reid takes us to the promised land this year I'll be happy and it'll be wonderful and everyone'll be happy. I really don't think that's going to happen. I'll still hope that it does, I always will. I mean, this is a good team, and looking at our schedule, we can still win a lot of games this year. I'm great with that.

And please, losing Jamaal Charles isn't the worst thing that can happen. As far as I saw, Charcandrick West showed great vision and speed for the short time he was in there Sunday. Knile Davis needs to work on his vision, but he's got the speed and power to get the job done. I actually think talent-wise we're okay.

Still.

The long term...

Clark Hunt, John Dorsey, and the Chiefs absolutely, positively, unequivocally, must go out and seek and find and get that guy who'll do what should be done with this team. And here's something critically important. I'm going to put it in caps in bold lettering it is so important.

NO - MORE - RETREADS.

I like Andy Reid, I do, I like him, but he's only a fine play-caller-before-two-minutes-are-left and a nice friend-of-the-players kind of coach. Andy Reid also looks like half the loser coaches out there in the NFL. Ever notice what the loser coaches look like? They look scared. They look irritated. They look frustrated. They look bewildered. And they look that way because their souls are exposed.

We need someone who you can see inside of them -- you know they know what to do to win football games. The Bill Belichicks, the Mike Tomlins, the Sean Paytons, the John Harbaughs. And it has to be someone authentically triumphant -- someone not Herm Edwards who looked it but wasn't. And please, I do really like Herm Edwards. But he didn't have the making-it-happen deep inside of him.

Another important factor is that Andy Reid's not long term. He's a rental. Oh how many times have we put on the field a rental. One of our best coaches ever was Dick Vermeil, how great was he, seriously. But he could never be long term!

As much as I'd like Jon Gruden to come from the booth or Jim Harbaugh to come back from Michigan, I actually think the one key thing that would break this curse is to do this thing:

Get the very best, smart, inspiring, demanding head coach from the big college or the pro assistant coaching ranks and watch him do his wonders. Brand spankin' new to rev this baby up from Day One. Yes I know every team wants that and tries to get that. I know. You can't just wave a magic wand to make it happen.

But I have this silly notion that John Dorsey has just enough got-it in his soul to make this happen, that he'll know. Just really smother on the elbow grease and get to it. Get on with the search, get on with carefully examining the souls of the best among available coaches out there and find that guy. I dunno, yeah, I dunno. Just having a bit of faith.

The thing is, however, this - just - has - to - happen.

So yeah, I'll wait. I'll enjoy the ride. I'll enjoy when we finally get that D&D quarterback -- Aaron Murray? -- and we finally get some of those D&D receivers -- is Chris Conley one of them? I'm willing to wait until 2019, that's cool.

As long as we mean business.

Here's something I'm thinking. Look at who the Chiefs are playing this weekend. Could it be a sign? Could something happen that's mystical and ethereal and supernatural and...

Wonderful?

There it is. That rematch of Super Bowl IV.

Chiefs-Vikings.

How about that. It's gotta be the end of the cycle, and for

A new one to begin.
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Bears at Chiefs - Week 5 - Record: 1-4

Let's look ahead to 2019.

That's when confident Aaron Murray will make clutch pass completions. That's when ruthless Chris Conley will snatch those key touchdown passes. That's when smothering Marcus Peters will continue his All-Pro pass swatting. That's when overpowering Travis Kelce will be that veteran presence on the field. That's when our new seasoned genius coach will be providing that inspiration that'll turn itself into those key big plays contending teams make to win.

Maybe, just maybe maybe maybe just maybe, there will be no more curse affecting this Chiefs team and this team will actually win - games - like - they - should.

(Also maybe that's when there'll actually be more Chiefs fans in their own stadium than Bears fans. I mean, please Chiefs fans, where were you today? That there were more cheers at Arrowhead when Chicago did well, that's just shameful... Except, to your credit, maybe you know what I know and, let's face it, what we all know...)

Again, the 2015 Chiefs team, even with all that talent, just isn't a very good team. In fact, this team is actually perfectly clutch -- clutch losing. This was very similar to the Broncos game three weeks ago when we were ahead 24-17 with :40 left -- and lost. In this one we were ahead 17-6 with three minutes left, then 17-12 with :20 left -- and lost.

As a Chiefs fan, this is devastating.

There is no question this team was, at one time, definitely destined for playoff success. I'd love to crow about our fine pass defense, our actually decent offensive line play -- really, it just wasn't that bad. I'd love to say hey-yeay about De'Anthony Thomas and his nice touchdown. I'd love to again give a great nod to Dustin Colquitt who, yes, as the punter, is the best player on this team.

But with all that talent, this is a mess of a team. Sure it may play well at times, but damn. This team did not score a point after going up 17-3 in the 2nd quarter. Good teams do not fail like that. Good teams make the little things happen for them. This Chiefs team allows the stupid things to happen to them. Who knew that blocked FG would be a difference maker. How many other little dinky things were those kinds of catastrophic difference makers, like that questionable PI on Marcus Peters in the last minute of the game or that slightest of a bobble that invalidated a Jeremy Maclin reception with six seconds left keeping Cairo Santos out of FG range to try to win it.

But that's the 2015 Chiefs.

Yeah, we can point our fingers at the Jamaal Charles injury -- looks like he's out for the year, a great testament to the curse's strength -- but this train wreck goes far beyond that.

And yes, sign me up: I'm officially in the "Fire Alex Smith" movement. Let's face it, he's still ditching his progressions, he allowed himself to get sacked a bunch more times today, and when he needs to make a good throw he throws a duck. Oh, what's that you say? He threw for 857 yards in last week's game? How many touchdowns was he responsible for? Zero. He doesn't finish, and we're not going to win when you don't take it to the next level and finish. If you didn't notice we had one offensive touchdown today. That stinks.

And ya know? This was a Bears team that just isn't very good. This one should've been 30-3, early. They were missing their two key receivers, they were riddled with other injuries -- yet we let Jay Cutler find a way to pull this win out.

That's the curse in all its glory.

The Chiefs valiantly try with all their Herculean might and they utterly fail. The Bears gurgle up some spittle and -poof- here's a win dropped in their laps. 

So yeah, make sure you understand this right now.

I'll still cheer on my Chiefs. I'll still hope like crazy that Alex Smith and Andy Reid prove me wrong. No matter how abysmal it is or how much the curse is still shattering our hopes year after year after year, I will still hope the best for our Chiefs, right here right now right this season.

But the only way we start winning, winning regularly, and winning playoff games is when we have a tough smart young coach a la Bill Belichick who is very good and bountifully relentless -- Andy Reid is not that -- and we have a courageous quarterback who will simply make - the - play -- Alex Smith with his planetload of talent just won't do that.

Andy Reid and Alex Smith? There is absolutely no excuse for your failure to get another score in the second half. With this team? None whatsoever.

So I'm looking forward to 2019, to be honest with you. I'm just going to be excited about what John Dorsey will keep doing well to make the team that will actually have the ganas to win football games, with a quarterback and head coach who will do what it takes to make that happen. Aaron Murray will be that guy then, and -- hey, can we get Jon Gruden out of the TV booth? Jim Harbaugh back up from the pros? Anyone who's that authentically good coach?

In 2019 we'll have him, we will. And that year we'll finally -- glory be! -- win an actual NFL playoff game.

As for now, this is just about the loudest this has ever been shared in this blog, but it's just about how I feel right now:

::SIGH::
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Chiefs at Bengals - Week 4 - Record: 1-3

This Saturday my oldest son got married, and the weekend has been filled this activities oriented around that event. So today my fastidious attention to all things Chiefs game-of-the-week was preempted by other more important affairs. Oh yeah, the Chiefs are very important, but, well, you get the idea.

Thing is I did happen to catch a handful of things the Chiefs did, or, as you know, did poorly.

Here's what I saw:

- Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton complete significant passes at will, while Alex Smith simply would not complete a key, clutch pass when he needed to. And I happen to catch a graphic in the middle of the afternoon, you know, from the ones they show at the bottom of the screen, that Alex Smith was the No. 1 quarterback statistics-wise on the day. Hmmm...

- A brilliant diving catch by their receiver on a deep ball after which he was able to get up and score a touchdown. I did see one nice pass play from Smith to Jeremy Maclin that, hey! Got us into range for one of Cairo Santos' seven field goals on the day. (Um, just FYI, we didn't score a single touchdown.) Maclin, by the way, was the No. 2 receiver statistics-wise, I guess measured by yardage. Hmmmmmmmm...

- Alex Smith, for just the couple of times I happened to see, sure enough step back to pass and look ----- and look ----- and look ----- and get sacked. One time my son was watching while I wasn't right there in front of the computer screen, and of course you know what he was saying. "Throw the ball. Throw the ball. Throw the ball. Erggh." That's the mantra now around our house, "Throw the ball. Throw the ball. Throwtheball. Throwtheball Throwtheball Throwtheballthrowtheballthrowtheball

- Right after the announcers said, "Into the game comes De'Anthony Thomas, he's fast, look out..." the Chiefs run a reverse to him upon which Wallace Gilberry -- who certainly heard those announcers just like every other Bengals player, fan, and, well, pretty much every else in the world -- takes about three easy steps to allow Thomas to slam right into him for an eight-yard loss. Nowww, Thomas can run about a 2.7 40, while Gilberry can run it in about 46 minutes. What's wrong with this picture?

- Finally Travis Kelce take a short pass -- score still a manageable 21-15 -- and rumble a bit before fumbling it, but upon further review, it --------- was ruled a fumble, even though the television referee remarking on these kinds of things said his forearm was clearly on the turf before he fumbled it. Ahh, shades of that horrific call in the Cardinals game last year.

See, this is the thing about the curse. About the fact we have absolutely no got-it.

The important take-away here that when I happened to catch random plays from a few other games I happened to catch some snapshots from, I watch quarterbacks able to make plays in the most impossible situations. Nick Foles of the Rams comes to mind -- late in his close game he threw a dart in the endzone for a critical touchdown when the pocket was fully engulfing him.

Alex Smith does not do that.

Another was receivers just getting into position because they've run robust routes and will not give up, often just reaching up and jealously snatching that ball out of the sky. The Chargers terrific new tight end did that today on a play I saw, one in which he scored a touchdown. And these are not highlight plays. These are just plays I happened to see happening.

Do the Chiefs even have another receiver besides Jeremy Maclin?

What I see in these Chiefs is this.

I see a team of phenomenally talented players -- they are better players than those on other teams, they are. I see a team of players deftly gathered together by a general manager who has done wonders putting these guys on the field, whether they are draft picks or free agents. I see a team with tremendous potential and ability and passion and expertise in their craft.

But one thing is for sure.

They're not very good.

I know. How could that be?

Sorry, but it is a carryover assessment from last week.

I really question the job Andy Reid is doing.

When you have a team like this and they actually play like that, it is on the coach.

Look at them out there. You know Andy Reid can send a great play out there. You know he can dial up the x's and o's so they are just ever so proficiently sent out there. You know he can get players to respect him and play for him and love him.

But ya know?

That's all they seem to be doing.

Really. They're just running plays, instead of

Playing football.

And that's on the coach.

It goes way beyond being a genius play-caller game-planner player-manager nice-respected-head-coach-kinda-guy.

Watch these Chiefs games. Notice how much the other team looks much more inspired? Notice how the other team is on top of every play? Notice how the other team is working more in sync with the other players? Notice how the other team has some kind of leadership-instilled conception of what it takes to win this football game right now?

Notice how the Chiefs do not have that?

Let's be honest. They don't.

With a team like this they should be 3-1. I honestly thought they'd at least win two of these past three games -- tough ones, yes, against good teams, two of which were road games, I know -- but they've been completely outplayed by teams with not-any-better talent and serious injury problems.

Just in the AFC West the Broncos are using their planet-loads of got-it to rocket out to a 4-0 record, with a first-year head coach and aging quarterback. Whaat? The Raiders were about to go 3-1 except for a last second field goal because I'm sure they're playing inspired ball even though they are still just brand spanking new trying to gel and all that. And the Chargers with a pathetic offensive line -- or so I'm told -- won today to pull up to 2-2.

The Chiefs, they're in last place.

Yes some of it is in their player situation. Alex Smith is simply not a clutch get-it-down confidence-spilling-over quarterback, he's just not. I wish he'd get back what he had in that NFC Divisional game against New Orleans in 2011, but let's face it, it's just not there. Will it ever be?

Our wide receiver situation is still abysmal. At one point during one of those bits I saw today the announcers were crowing about the Bengals receiving core -- this guy and that guy and this guy. We have Jeremy Maclin, a far-too-green Chris Conley, and pretty much nobody else.

Our offensive line is still too offensive. It isn't awful. I do think they give Smith enough time most times, but then Smith simply won't throw that laser strike to a receiver smothered by two D-backs because he doesn't have the confidence to throw it and his receiver isn't good enough to make sure he gets it.

And what's with our pass defense? Did it evaporate that quickly? I seem to remember, wasn't it one of the very best in the league last year? Or was that a mirage? We had Sean Smith back today. We have Eric Berry in there at full strength. Oh yeah their receivers are special, but what about our guys? Isn't that what they're out there for???

How come were not really truly actually competitive???

Calling Andy Reid! Calling Andy Reid!

I'd like to think we'll come to Arrowhead and get well after a very tough part of the schedule. But what good is it if we can't even compete against the better teams?

This is painful people.

I really feel pessimistic about this once truly promising season. We can get a nice good-feely when the Chiefs do pull out a home win against some eventual 8-8 team we match up well against, yeah -- yay.

But damn it I want to see our boys get a playoff win, and earn it.

I'm sorry I just don't think that's going to happen this year, or in any year we simply don't have a bright, young, demanding, innovative, and instinctive head coach who intuitively knows how to bring a team like this together and incisively knows how to communicate that to his players and compete like it should.

Really.
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