The Philosophy of the Kansas City Chiefs

I was going to follow up my brief post about our win over the Browns with a "Part II", but I thought I'd spend some time getting right into the philosophy. That's what it's all about, anyway, right? The philosophy, that's all there is, particularly in light of our current postseason status.

We've got a playoff game coming up in two weeks, and Chiefs fans everywhere are doing the deep impassioned contemplating about where we'll be playing and the excitement of seeing our team there, especially coming out of this extraordinarily memorable 2015 Chiefs season.

The most comprehensive part of the philosophy is always how our players match up -- again: Do we have a shot at this thing? Every year we get this far I run my cerebral machinery ragged working through all that -- every true Chiefs fan does.

Here is some of what that is about this year.

Our pass rush missed Justin and Tamba big-time on Sunday. Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel ran all over us -- we're lucky he simply couldn't get passes to his receivers at key moments. He could've killed us if he'd made one or two connections he should've made. On the other hand, the pass rush still did a decent enough job of flustering a young inexperienced quarterback so he couldn't make those throws.

Will our vaunted pass rush continue to be that critical component to get that playoff win Jan 9-10?

Our offense has fine players at the skill positions, but it still needs a serviceable offensive line. These guys are playing their hearts out so-proud! but they are not the most talented bunch cause-for-concern. Jeff Allen was back in there and on Charcandrick West's big run he took down two Browns defenders with one block. Some time later, however, he was flagged for a thoroughly unnecessary penalty that negated a big Alex Smith run.

Will our O-linemen get enough of the job done to get that playoff win Jan 9-10?

Our defensive backfield is playing at the highest level right now. They have to be commended for keeping Manziel from making the big play Sunday. Ron Parker is a fierce strong safety, Eric Berry is Pro-Bowler demonstrating the highest level of leadership, Sean Smith is a pass-snuffer who should be a Pro-Bowler, and many are saying Marcus Peters is the difference maker -- and what a year he's having. The only thing is that Peters can lose guys, being too aggressive.

Against a team with a playoff-caliber quarterback, will our D-backs help get that playoff win Jan 9-10?

Our special teams have been typically exceptional this year, but there have been some hiccups. The James Winchester-Dustin Colquitt snap issue seems to have been resolved. Colquitt has also had some very atypically poor punts of late, and he is one of the keys to the Chiefs sustained No. 1 ranking in field position advantage. He's got to have every punt be true and inside the 10 (as usual!) for us to keep that edge. Cairo Santos has shown to be quite reliable, so we should be good in the field goal department -- any Chiefs fan with any memories of past playoff disappointments related to the kicking game knows how important that is!

Will the Chiefs special teams be resilient and clutch for us to get that playoff win Jan 9-10?

Alex Smith is being commended as one of the best quarterbacks in the league right now. There is so much truth to that consideration. As we've pointed out a hundred times before, he's smart, he's resourceful, he's protective-of-the-football, he's relentless, he's skilled. There're 25 other teams who'd kill to have him.

How will Alex do in a playoff game? He has already played in a few of them. With the 49ers he had a stellar game against the Saints, one of the classic divisional playoff games in NFL history. Right after that he struggled against the Giants, but that was mostly because the 49ers receivers were playing abysmally. In that infamous game after the 2013 season against the Colts, Alex actually had a terrific game.

I know we can't expect him to be Superman all the time, but part of my thinking revolves around our second half performances of late. I really wonder, though, how come we simply can't score points in the second half of games? Yeah, we did score points late in the Raiders game, but only after our defense got them the ball deep in Oakland territory; we scored zero points in the second half of the Chargers game. Yeah, we did score a few in the second half of the Ravens game, but not in the Browns game -- zero points yet again.

We're not sustaining those important second half drives. I know we did have a great one in the Ravens game, and maybe I'm making more of this than I need to.

When we need it and need it bad, will we have a critical time-chewing drive to get that playoff win Jan 9-10?

Andy Reid is being talked about by some as a candidate for coach of the year. It is obvious that he has done a lot to keep the Chiefs playing smart, inspired football for the duration. He also does a fine job of preparing for games. My concern is the predictability of his playcalling.

Late in the game against the Browns on Sunday, in a 3rd down situation just like the one mentioned above, he called one of his patented swing passes to Travis Kelce -- you know the one, Smith fires a quick pass to the right side and Kelce has two receivers to run interference so he can rumble for the few yards to the first down.

The Browns swarmed him.

It's like, how could they not see that coming a mile away.

Now the Chiefs do run other plays off that set, and they do work frequently.

It's just, yes, I'm going to bring this up again, why can't Reid run a play -- just one! -- in which Smith takes the snap, from the shotgun even, and drops 10, 15 yards -- way back there. He then runs out of it like he does so well -- kind of like a deep quarterback draw. Make it designed, make it so he gets a head start, and since he's so far behind the line of scrimmage he now has the option to throw or run!

Now, I'm not even saying Reid has to do that in particular (though I think it'd be amazing to see, of course). What I am saying is while he does have innovative play calls, he could do much more particularly with play action. That's the key. Alex Smith is someone who can be "out-of-control" in a very controlled way. Make stuff happen from that! Keep the defense out of control! Remember Hank Stram from Super Bowl IV? "It looks like a Chinese fire drill out there! Look at Kassulke! He doesn't know where to go!"

The great thing is that Reid too has tremendous playoff experience, and lo-and-behold, he has actually got the Chiefs to get scores with less than two minutes left, particularly at the end of first halves of ball games. Reid previously has been notorious for not being able to get that clutch scoring drive when needed.

Will we get the most from the play-calling and game-managing to get that playoff win Jan 9-10?

Now, these are just some of the more significant items banging around in our craniums as we get ready for that vaunted date. This hasn't even gotten to the philosophy philosophy part yet. We've done the football philosophy, and there is indeed so much more.

What about the philosophy philosophy?

There is a saying attributed to Socrates, and it goes something like this. "If you have a good wife, you'll be happy. If you have a bad wife, you'll be a philosopher."

I like to think being a Chiefs fan is something like this.

Anyone who's been a fan for some time knows too well the cruel reality of our playoff "success". Since the merger in 1970 -- yes, just after the last pre-AFC/NFC-NFL-format Super Bowl won by, yes, the Chiefs -- the Chiefs have been in the Super Bowl a grand total of zero times. Only once have we even been in the conference title game to try to get there. Only six teams since have not made at least an appearance in the Super Bowl since -- the Jaguars the Texans the Browns the Lions the Jets and, ahem, the Chiefs.

The "Super Bowl" name was invented by Lamar Hunt, so renowned that the NFL holds exclusive rights to those exact words -- unless you pay the NFL you must use the words "big game" or other such pap if you intend to make money from its reference. Hunt created the AFL for his team, the one that would be the Chiefs, to have a league of teams to play against. He eventually worked out the AFC-NFC merger, one that established the NFL as the premier sports organization in the country. As such the trophy for winning the AFC championship and moving on as the AFC's representative in the Super Bowl is named, yes, "The Lamar Hunt Trophy".

The Chiefs have never won The Lamar Hunt Trophy.

Oh, we had our chances. Oh yes, this where we get to be philosophical.

For you see, after all of our heartbreaking losses in playoff games, I've come to the realization that it just isn't going to happen unless it is meant to happen. I've spoken frequently of a curse against this team, and I'm not going to try to justify it or explain it -- I've already done too much of that, and most Chiefs fans who've endured through the eons understand.

I've done all kinds of rationalizing this or rationalizing that about the Chiefs fortunes or misfortunes as the case may be, and it has gotten to the point where I've stopped. Yes I do the requisite football philosophy things, you know, the things I just wrote about above -- will Alex Smith do this or that, will Justin Houston be game-ready come Jan 9-10 -- all the standard mental (and emotional!) gyrations.

But the philosophy philosophy things come down to just a few things, really.

Some of it is in the very important question Why is this important? Lots of ruminating on that question is done by all, certainly, and I can't think Chiefs fans don't do three or four lifetimes full of that. Just as important as that is merely this simple and wonderful truth.

That Chiefs fans are some of the most dedicated in the world.

That is something we can all take tremendous pride in. Yeah yeah I know detractors will say all fans are great and ya-da-ya-da. Sorry, but there is proof of the exceedingly passionate nature of Chiefs fans.

One is their devotion in light of the horrific playoff nightmares we've endured. That is a true testament to a fanbase's greatness. Not to say we should always lose to keep being the proudest sad sacks with the most character or anything! But we've been toughened up to appreciate our team in very special ways as a result. Granted there are Browns fans, and fans of other teams who can say the same kind of thing, I'm with you on that. Chiefs fans and Browns fans have reason to commiserate together, true.

Secondly, there is Arrowhead Stadium. Much has been made of the decibel record for loudest fans, that's great, but I was peeking around at boutique sports website stuff and came across rantsports.com's ranking of the best stadium experiences in football. No. 1? Arrowhead Stadium, baby. It isn't just because of the fans who go there but it is in the whole experience that the Chiefs offer. Arrowhead is one of the oldest stadiums in pro football, and not only does it hold up, but the renovations that made it the "new" Arrowhead demonstrate leadership's commitment to merit the ranking it has.

Thirdly, just how much the fans are in the game. I can only think of that game back in 1990, when the Broncos offense was backed deep in their own territory, they had the ball at, like, the two yard-line, and the fans were going nuclear. Poor John Elway! He couldn't think straight! The referee called an official timeout and told the fans to quiet down. He actually did that! How comical! How much is that a testament to the fans' phenomenal enthusiasm.

But here's the final piece of the philosophy endeavor that is just as important, and this is the thing that is the best of all.

The Chiefs are actually making truly meaningful strides in setting up Got-It Football.

This starts with Clark and John.

I've said this a number of times before, Clark has been above board about everything and working like crazy to make his team a persistently successful franchise. And this from the top of the front office down. Remember, even under Lamar Hunt, the Chiefs were a disaster at the management level for years and years. Yes, Lamar was an innovator and a gamer and devoted man regarding family and the team and the league and everything. But he just wasn't a very good manager.

It appears to me, from what I can see, it really does seem to me that Clark has been doing what it takes to be that successful franchise. One thing he said recently helped make his approach and his commitment easy to see. When asked about how his team came back from that early season losing, he said, (something like) "I've really wanted to make this team steady." "Steady" was the key word, he said he really wants there to be a steadiness to the Chiefs. To me that says a ton.

Then there's John Dorsey. Here's what I think. You can correct me if I'm wrong -- I don't know everything, so forgive me. But I think Jack Steadman was a great personnel man, but a lousy football man. And he ran the team for years and years and years. Sure he gave the reins to people like Jim Schaaf , but he didn't do a very good job either, simply because Steadman did not have the football savvy to really make the organization's steadiness successful.

Carl Peterson was a great football man, but a lousy personnel man. Those football skills helped get the Chiefs great success in the 90's, but I believe our playoff failures were in part because of Peterson's inability to get enough Got-It infused into protracted on-field success. We may think about blaming him for '95 for not getting a better kicker than Lin Elliot or a better quarterback than Steve Bono, but the key for a general manager is making sure whatever you had that got you wins in the regular season, gets you wins in the postseason. A lot of that is in the steadiness -- Steve Bono had a terrific year at quarterback in '95, but he was never going to be good enough to be successful through the years.

From what I see, Dorsey has both the personnel and football leadership to make this Chiefs team something special. Much of the football comes from the depth he's brought -- he's done a terrific job plugging in players who can play at a high level when someone goes down. There are dozens of examples from this year's Chiefs play, but just look at quarterback. How many teams would love to have Chase Daniel even starting for them?

Look at the ways Dorsey has drafted and picked up free agents. Charcandrick West and Albert Wilson are key contributors on offense -- free agents, and starters who've done exceptionally well.

The personnel comes in his ability to get players who are gamers, who are winners, who are leaders. Who hasn't been inspired by this team? Eric Berry is one who's at the top of the list, he's a no-brainer, but there are so many players on this team who look like they're in it to win it. It is just something I haven't seen as much on other Chiefs teams. Please correct me if I'm wrong, I don't mean for a second to give short shrift to any other given past Chiefs teams or players, really. Others have had some measure of Got-It, yes.

But this team is special.

And because of that, here's my approach to playoff time Jan 9-10.

Not even worrying about it.

Yes I'm a wildly passionate Chiefs fan! Yes I want the Chiefs to win! Yes I will revel in great success! Yes I will be crushed if we lose! Yes I will ride the insanely spasmadic roller coaster ride of a close playoff game!

But the fact is, I already know about Chiefs history. I've already endured it. I'm a grizzled Chiefs fan veteran, war-wounds still scratchy and aggravating. It doesn't even matter now. I've accepted it, every team is an NFL team, every game is made to be a ruthless battle, so let's enjoy the ride win or lose.

What I do know is this.

This is a good Chiefs team, top to bottom.

There is no reason not to take pride in that. And because of that, because of the steady success that Clark and John and these players are devoted to achieving, because of the steady measure of Got-It this team is exhibiting, I'm sure the Chiefs will not just win a playoff game sometime in the next five years or so, they'll do much better and go much farther.

And that knowledge, that assurance, right now, is great with me.
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Browns at Chiefs - Week 16 - Record: 10-5

Can you believe that?

A 10-5 record when a mere ten weeks ago we were wallowing at 1-5.

Yes, I do confess I was calling for Andy Reid and Alex Smith's head, yes, I confess. Much of our success, however, is because of the hard work those two guys have put in since. Much is because of a bunch of other Chiefs people, too, don't get me wrong.

Thing is, right now I'm fully immersed in family Christmas-oriented obligations that must capture most of my attention for the immediate time being. I simply won't be able to blog on all I'd like to, and yes, it drives me crazy because, yes, as you surely know --

WE'VE GOT A PLAYOFF GAME RESERVED HOWABOUTTHAT.

Yes, I was able to watch the game today. Yes, it was driving me crazy, my delicate, fragile mental constitution being violently yanked between enduring our crushing weaknesses and enjoying our stunning strengths.

Again, I simply won't be able to get to it now, but I will later in the week. Come back then and visit! In the mean time, here're just a few of the things I want to get at.

- Andy Reid: What is it that is getting him great success with this team in spite of really aggravating things like the Chiefs offense scoring so few points in the second halves of games?

- Marcus Peters: Is this guy the main reason our defense is saving our butts in every 4th quarter of every game?

- Justin Houston and Tamba Hali: Wow, do we need them out there -- is this keeping them out of games to really get healthy a meaningful strategy to ensure they're especially beastly in two weeks?

I'll be at all this and more in a bit! Looking at Wednesday, does that sound good? See you then!
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Chiefs at Ravens - Week 15 - Record: 9-5

Every year at this time I'm always working out where we stand, where the Chiefs are as a team. Do you do that? Tell me if I'm wrong, but a big glop of our cerebral activity is used to figure out our playoff chances and how reasonable it is for us to succeed getting there, and getting beyond.

Where do we stand in the playoff picture? Who are we playing to secure that spot? How challenging will it be? What are the weapons we have -- and any critical injuries to address? Where are the other teams also in the chase, and what are their chances? Who are we rooting for or against or...?

There are a dozen other issues related to these occupying our grey matter right now.

Thing is, this year, at this point in the season -- two games left and the Chiefs still firmly holding on to that first wild-card spot -- I don't know what to think, and I'm almost tired trying. At this point the Chiefs still have a chance for something as splendid as a first round bye (they now cannot get the No. 1 seed by virtue of New England's win today) or as disappointing as missing the playoffs all together.

Sure we're going to go crazy trying to answer those questions and seek some kind of solace in comforting information that we're fine, that we've got this or that advantage, that we're perfectly okay on the track to Super Bowl glory.

Well...

From our history I just don't know how valuable all that effort is, really. I'm kind of resigned to the eventuality of not getting it done like we want. Don't worry, I'm enjoying the ride -- today's game was eminently enjoyable and I am indeed holding on with the deepest and richest hope for great things.

But think about the gymnastics our minds have done about these things in the past. We've been the No. 1 seed -- how many times? -- and still lost the first playoff game. We've squeaked into the playoffs with good teams and, well, yeah, still lost the first playoff game. We even miraculously slipped into the playoffs on that wonderful New Year's Eve day in 2006, only to then encounter a weak Indianapolis defensive line suddenly finding its game against us.

Well, more on playoff stuff later, when it's merited.

It appears that it will be as the Chiefs continue to steamroll their way through the NFL after that 1-5 start, winning their 8th straight today. But today I saw some of those things that make me still wonder about our chances for great Super Bowl glory. When I think this, believe me, I think about this year's World Series Champion Royals, ya know? They had their liabilities too, but they were the greatest postseason comeback team in major league baseball history, and it was because of their guts and their grit and the grinding game they played.

The Chiefs have shown they've got that too.

Will it be enough?

I mean, I like the tough play, but dammit I'm so sick of the goofy celebrating in the end zone I'm actually glad the Chiefs were penalized after Charcandrick West's early touchdown. The Ravens got a very short field and a far-too-easy touchdown as a result. Good, now stop it. Learn from it, Chiefs players, and be professionals. Spike the ball, award high-fives all around, and get back to the sideline to get ready for the next play. It reminded me of the Key & Peele sketch where the touchdown scorer may perform just one more hip gyration that'll get him penalized.

Among the more notable liabilities exposed in great boldness today was the offensive line play. Sorry, but it is just not the best. I'm concerned this line just doesn't have enough of it to make our team truly competitive in postseason play -- sorry, just sayin', and I'm sure I'm not the only one. The O-line does well mentally -- they don't make mistakes, that's a good thing. I'm just talking about their quality. Will it win the trenches battle against a playoff team's defense?

Our backs do a decent job of zipping about and covering for this. Both Alex Smith and Charcandrick West are elusive runners whose skills keep drives going when we need it. Smith has developed the ability to make that key pass when he needs to, and glory-be he's still throwing the ball down field as he has over the past several games. Do you know he was 21 for 25 today? That's terrific, actually. A full dose of Maclin and Kelce this week helped a lot.

Our defense did well enough, but this was a Ravens offense run by a lower-level quarterback who got one of his touchdowns on a hail-mary at the end of the 1st half when his receiver made an incredible play on the ball to score the stunning touchdown. Marcus Peters pick-six in the 4th quarter to seal the win was after the receiver fell down.

This was another injury-depleted weak opponent we did struggle against. Don't let the 34-14 score fool you. We got very lucky with much of our scoring, including a fumble return for a touchdown by Tyvon Branch.

Yes every team is an NFL team, got that.

In that sense, some good things included our toughness in the 4th quarter. We are becoming notorious for outlasting our opponents late in games. Or offense is moving the football when it needs to, we had a very nice modestly time-consuming drive at the beginning of the 4th that led to a FG. Our defense is stiff enough to keep games out of reach, today it bent a bit too much before Peters' interception but that just shows we're pretty decent in coming up big on any given play.

Again, lots of thinking to do by Chiefs fans. What does all this mean going forward? Thinking thinking thinking...

For what it's worth...
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Chargers at Chiefs - Week 14 - Record: 8-5 - Part II

How confident are you?

That's the question of the day, Chiefs fan-wise. Please know that the question isn't asked to elicit the presumptively expected "Not confident at all, I mean we have that issue and that issue and that issue too!" No, I do ask the question because there are indeed legitimate items we can be confident can get the Chiefs a well-deserved playoff win.

Note, playoff win, not just game. Don't know about you, but I'm ready for a playoff win.

I know talk of playoffs is muted to some extent, for with three games left we still need secure the spot. I'm great with that, let's go do that and enjoy the ride there. Only I'm a bit nervous about all the talk of our soft schedule, how easy it will be, how lightweight our opponents are from here on. Ergh.

Look at San Diego. They were ravaged with injuries. They were at Arrowhead. They have a mess of a front office and a coaching staff under fire. They've been weak all year -- we blistered them earlier 33-3 at their place. They had no business being within 57 points of us, but there they were, inside our one-yard line with just under a minute left in the game, poised to tie it.

Well, with all their issues, they still have Philip Rivers who is insane against us -- our wins in the last four games now against them and the 2011 Halloween night snap-fumble in overtime, notwithstanding.

We have Baltimore next week, still a proud franchise barely two years removed from a Super Bowl title. Then there's Cleveland who we always have trouble with and who has this supposed-to-be-great new QB Johnny Manziel. Then we finish against Oakland who just defeated Denver in Denver and who were holding their own against us last week until Derek Carr floated some passes into our waiting arms in the 4th quarter. I mean, every NFL team is an NFL team.

Sorry fellow Chiefs fan, but this ain't had yet. As I pointed out in my last post, 2005, really cool, storming our way into the playoffs... until we just couldn't put away mediocre Cowboys and Giants teams when we needed to.

So which is it? How confident are you?

A good thing about the Chiefs is their aggression, but this coupled with their depth and skill makes them a genuinely dangerous team. Right after the Oakland game when everyone was expecting Dee Ford to show he can be just as good as Justin Houston but just plain failed, here he explodes with a terrific game getting three sacks, two of them very clutch, and making the final play of the game, probably the Play-of-the-Day, when he blanketed Danny Woodhead in the endzone, totally horizontal, keeping him from catching the game-tying touchdown.

My question is, are we disciplined enough? That's one of the major questions going into the final stretch here. We just have too many penalties, and while the aggressive nature of our game will result in a few of those, some of them are just too stupid. Think Steven Nelson's completely unnecessary push on Frankie Hammond's 50-some-odd yard long punt return, that was a killer. Think Travis Kelce's obvious slam into a defender on Charcandrick West's 60-some-odd yard long screen pass for a touchdown, he could've just ran his route by him and it'd've been fine.

Are we disciplined enough to deserve to win that playoff game? Yes we are family, yes we've got that solid front office presence with Clark and John leading the way, yes we've got tremendous gravitas in Andy Reid and his coaching staff.

You know what I've seen Reid do really well? Get the team into a very nice offensive rhythm, and Alex Smith is just the bright, incisive quarterback to power all that. Thing is, the offense was really sluggish in the 2nd half of this game yesterday. Ahem, zero points for the half. That stinks. Where was Jeremy Maclin? Where was Travis Kelce? These two amazing weapons were invisible. Yes we didn't have the ball a whole lot, but why not?

In fact, we got so stinkin' lucky yesterday. Chargers wideout Malcom Floyd dropped a sure touchdown pass deep that would've tied the game. Marcus Peters just lost him on that route -- whew. Jahleel Addae had an Alex Smith pass slip right through his hands, would've been an easy pick-six -- another whew.

Now, Smith's interception streak ended early, it didn't hurt us, but know what I think? Good riddance. That streak tells us that Smith really does a good job protecting that rhythm, that's great, it is. But it also tells us he's not willing to throw the ball down the field. On the other hand, he's actually been doing that lately, throwing the ball down the field, and that's a wonderful thing! There are passes Smith is throwing are spot-on and we're getting terrific gains from them. Get a pick every once in a while, Alex, as long as you are doing that big-pass-play stuff more! How long have we all been waiting for that!

The thing that's kind of grating is the running thing Smith does. In fact the Chiefs started going with a read-option in the 2nd quarter, and it was working so well the Chargers eventually sent too many defenders in the box. Smith fired to Albert Wilson on a quick slant and Wilson turned it into a splendid touchdown -- yay another one to a wide receiver!

Thing about that is, why is Alex Smith having to be a running back to open that up? Sure everyone likes that fired-up thing he's got when he runs and gets yards and makes things happen -- awright! Only, why are we relying on Smith to get pounded after a run to make things happen on this offense? Yesterday the Bengals premier quarterback, Andy Dalton, was lost for the season when he was tackling a guy after a turnover. Remember last week when Smith made the tackle on Charles Woodson after he picked up a fumble and ran with it?

The thing about our offense that makes me most nervous is our offensive line. Don't get me wrong, they've actually done amazingly with the injuries and the shifts and all that. Really, they've done great. And how about Spencer Ware and Charcandrick West running up a storm -- wonderful!

But dang, look at these guys. Can they keep it up? Center Mitch Morse is a rookie and had a concussion a couple weeks ago. Tackle Eric Fisher has too many lapses for that No. 1 Overall guy. Tackle Jah Reid is a cast-off who can easily be had on any given play. Guard Laurent Duverney-Tardif is a throw-in after no one could earn that second guard job. Donald Stephenson and Zach Fulton have been huffin-&-puffin to fill in admirably, but how long can they hold up? Ben Grubbs is lost for the year and for how long will we lose Jeff Allen?

Please, know, I'm hopin' hopin' hopin' just as much as you are, I am. I just see teams like the Seahawks, whose highlights I happened to catch, just a few, from their game yesterday, and, dang. Russell Wilson could've had a family barbecue behind his line before he threw the football. Meanwhile, Alex Smith, I think he's got 0.0007 seconds to unload before he gets hammered. I do believe Andy Reid is calling plays and using his weapons extraordinarily well, considering.

What's the contemplative philosophy in all this, as I promised yesterday? Well, all of this is it. Really, it is. I was at a conference today and this quote was introduced to us all. I want to share it with you because it struck me. It is from Machiavelli.

"It is a common defect in man not to make any provision in the calm against the tempest."

I do think this team has that endearing grit that is getting them win after win after win. I can't say that isn't a factor. Just seeing them hold on yesterday when Rivers was about to skewer us again was testament to that. I do think the team is putting together a fierceness and resilience that may carry the day.

I guess I just want the Chiefs to be ready to blast whoever they face in the playoff so there is no doubt. But you know what?

That won't happen.

I'm resigned to things being close, and that's great as long as we win. I think I'm like any fan, if a game is close there's too much of a chance you'll lose. Especially in the NFL, when it's one playoff game, and that's it, guh-bye. I guess there's just that longing that the Chiefs will one day have that episode on the NFL Network that showcases our gutsy stunningly clutch playoff win.

There is so much more contemplative philosophical stuff banging around in my head. Let's be honest though, a lot of it is all the stuff that's been in this blog for the past many years. A lot of it is what I'll keep contemplating and philosophizing about next. A lot of it is just all the stuff we Chiefs fans say to one another all the time out of that one question we've always got right there at the front of our minds.

Whaddya think? Can we do it? Will we do it? What do you think?
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Chargers at Chiefs - Week 14 - Record: 8-5 - Part I

I'm waxing a bit philosophical these days, as I'm wont to do every December. Every December is spent in great contemplative mode, when our Chiefs set their sights on next year's draft, flail about making a run at a playoff spot they won't get, or position themselves for that secured playoff game that... well, I'll leave it at that for now.

Recently I very briefly happened to come across a couple references on some Chiefs newsgroup from a number of fans having some measure of appreciation for the 2005 season. I confess I do too, not just because it was the season I started this blog enterprise. There was that nifty opening day win against the Jets. There was that nice beat down of Tom Brady and the Patriots at Arrowhead. We took down the Raiders twice, we blasted the Texans at their place, and when the Broncos came to town Larry Johnson scored the game-winning touchdown in the 4th to put us at 8-4 on the year. There was Trent, and Dante, and it was D.J.'s rookie year. There was that great line anchored by Willie and Will, all under the brilliant tutelage of Dick Vermeil.

I remember seeing "The Playoff Picture" chart -- you know, the same one they show you every ten minutes around this time -- on the television of the pizza place where my son was having his soccer team's after-the-season party. There it was: "Chiefs 8-4" and firmly holding on to one of the playoff spots. How proud I was.

Little did I know at the time that the Chiefs would go on to lose nasty games at Dallas and New York the next two weeks. We did go 2-2 the rest of the way, finishing 10-6, and you'd think that'd've put us into that coveted playoff spot. 10-6, that's good enough isn't it? Rarely do teams with that record fail the make the playoffs.

Alas, the Steelers were at 7-5 at that time, and they ran the table, not only going 4-0 to finish at 11-5 and edge us for the final playoff spot, but also going on to win the whole thing that year.

Errgh.

Are the Steelers charmed or something?

And the Chiefs?...

I bring this up because this year, at least with the records, it looks eerily similar to 2005. The 2015 Chiefs are right there, right now holding on to the first wild-card playoff spot. We're 8-5, just like in 2005. Buuut... There are the Steelers, at 8-5, right now outside looking in by virtue of the Chiefs tie-breaker advantage. It'd be nice to have a shot at the Broncos for the AFC West outright, but that's a stretch -- just like it was in 2005.

Are you confident this year it'll be different? Are you not confident?

What is it?

Thing is, there are a million things that enter into this equation.

A million turgid yet wonderful, difficult yet engaging, perplexing yet enlightening philosophical types-of-things that enter into this equation.

I want to write about all of them right here.

But because I have a job, and that job is being a teacher, and this week is the last week my students have for the present semester, I am indeed swamped with work today. Over the course of this week it'll be waaay better!

So please, stay tuned. I'll have the meat of the post in a "Part II" later.

Again, I wonder.

How confident?...
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Chiefs at Raiders - Week 13 - Record: 7-5

You know that the Chiefs were 7-5 last year when they'd just lost to the Broncos, right after they'd lost to the Raiders, right after they'd stormed out to a 7-3 record. The difference this year is that our storming is coming right now, right at the time it needs to.

Last year we collapsed over the last six games -- this year we've started those last six 2-0. And beating another AFC opponent is critical for any tiebreakers we may need to get into the playoffs.

What is especially sweet is three of the next four games are at Arrowhead.

Once again, a huge amount of the credit for this game has to go to the coaching staff. The game started with the Chiefs looking beaten. The Raiders marched right down the field like a knife through melted butter, scored a touchdown, and I thought, ugh, this is going to be a long day.

In fact, the anxiety about this one lasted all the way up to a splendid completion from Derek Carr to Amari Cooper to get the Raiders deep into Chiefs territory, already up 20-14, beginning of the 4th quarter.

Then the defensive adjustments took hold.

Our pass rush started to make its presence felt after being AWOL most of the day. Sad that Dee Ford is not Justin Houston, not even close. In fact, he is so not Justin Houston that they put Frank Zombo in for the last minute and he had two sacks. It really doesn't look like Dee Ford is much. I can't be unfair, though. Maybe just expectations are a bit high, I mean, Justin Houston. Hopefully Dee Ford will work his way into being a great Dee Ford.

But back to the beginning of the 4th quarter when it looked really gloomy.

That's when our interception crew went to work.

First it was Josh Mauga snatching a duck floated up by a scrambling Carr, then rumbling forever until a speedy Raiders WR caught him and dragged him down at the two. (Oh, and by the way, it was Dee Ford who hit Carr's arm as he tried to throw, yeah.) Couple plays later Maclin took a swing pass into the end zone.

Then it was Marcus Peters peeling off a route to pick a poor timing pass and he sprinted for miles and miles, until finally being pulled down at around the 10. Maclin again got the nifty swing pass catch and the touchdown.

Then it was Tyvon Branch, the former Raider, with the play of the game. Peters got his hand in the face of a Raiders receiver who let the ball bounce off his hands. Behind him was Tyvon Branch who lept, bobbled it in midair, came down with it flat on his back, and hopped up to -- get this -- run it back for a touchdown, almost 40 yards untouched.

In a sense, this was make-up for last year when we dropped interception after interception, one of which was in the Raiders game in Oakland when Husain Abdullah dropped an easy pick that would've kept the Raiders from getting the eventual game-winning points. If I remember I'm pretty sure Josh Mauga dropped one in that game too.

Today we made the picks we should've made.

So kudos to the defense, who for yet another game made the adjustments and played the full 60, outlasting their opponent when it came down to crunch time.

That is indeed a strength of this Chiefs team -- they go the distance. Yeah, there was that awful Minnesota game, but that has appeared to be an aberration -- everyone considers that the game when we just didn't show up. Every team has those. Yeah, we were terribly choke-worthy in the Broncos and Bears games, but we lost those after playing very well because the breaks went against us in the most gruesome way.

Are the breaks going our way now? Unquestionably. But you can't say this team hasn't been setting themselves up to take advantage of them. Today was a classic example of that.

You know what else I like about this team?

It is fired up. It is almost as if those five losses in a row early were a really good thing for them. Again, the points I made in my first Broncos game post are most applicable here. A losing streak like that can be a terrific thing for a team with a great deal of pride.

And the other things about that -- at least by virtue of the story from the game announcers -- is that the players really responded to Andy Reid who told his team after the fifth of those losses, essentially, "Hey, I'm all in. Join me and let's be all in together." I don't know, but there's just something about that you can see exuding from the players on the field.

Yeah the Chiefs may look awkward when things start, but again.

They play inspired ball for the full 60.

To me that's making a world of difference right now for them.

Other things of note related to that include Alex Smith and the passing game. He was sacked three times in the first half and the head-shaking by all Chiefs fans was off the charts. But he was only sacked once in the second half, early. Now yes he did have the advantage of getting those three picks and enjoying phenomenal field position for two of them.

But then, that's a characteristic of Chiefs football, working to get good field position. They really take advantage of the field-position game. And I will tell you, Alex Smith does great things with good field position. He really did well late, being a fine commander out there.

Here's the thing about our quarterback -- I mean, does it seem this way to you? It just seems that he is someone who needs to get his feet wet in a game, and early he's just rusty. "Throw the ball" "Throw the ball" "Throw the ball" over and over and over again. But he does settle in and get a feel for the rhythm of things, and most times he does fine.

He did also move into 3rd place all-time in passes attempted without a pick, kind of a neat thing that for all the sacks and poor throws, we should appreciate more, I guess.

I have to add that I can't say enough about Derrick Johnson. He was all over the field today, doing everything, being everywhere, inspiring everyone else around him. How great is it to have him out there every game now. It could very well be that our collapse over those last six games last season was in part because we just didn't have D.J. to rely on when we needed that kind of play.

Because we played so robustly in the second half, particularly the 4th quarter, those goofy kicking things didn't come back to hurt us. We bricked two PAT's, (that new 33-yard PAT rule is truly hateful, truly truly), but the crazy thing is that the Raiders' Sebastian Janikowski, one of the best kickers in all of NFL history, not only boinked a PAT off the upright, but he boinked a field goal attempt off the upright. Dang. I thought that could only happen to us!

Turns out none of that mattered in the end.

Turns out that when it was bad early, the Chiefs dug their heels in and got the job done. This was a very very very fun win.
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