Anyway, I've seen nothing since last night at around 9:00 PST. I've avoided looking at anything Chiefs, and secluded here at our Christmas resort there is a distinct dearth of folks remarking about things. It is refreshing, indeed, though I can't not ruminate on our team's performance. It was ugly, especially -- and all-too-typically -- on the defensive side.
Here's the thing.
I haven't seen it, but I'd bet every Chiefs fans wants Ward's head right now. But please. For one he's brand spankin' new and they held out injured Kendall Fuller so he's ready for postseason play, that was a good call. For two, Russell Wilson and Doug Baldwin are already exceptional football players, and they just had monster games last night. Did they pick on Ward? Of course they did. But enough times, especially as the game wore on and Ward got a bit acclimated to things, he actually did a fine job of blanketing his assignments.
Thing about that is, it really looked to me like he needed a ton more help. He looked to be alone out there, and yet, was this because our safeties had to be pulled up to help with the run because our linebackers are just not doing very well? I'm sure there's been enough very justified railing against Reggie Ragland and Anthony Hitchens. These guys are supposed to be at least decent at plugging things up, but they far too often just seem to be getting run over. I don't know. Just my own personal impressions from what I see. But again I don't think it was nearly as much Charvarious Ward at all. If anything he grew up a lot last night. He looks athletic enough for the position, but again, maybe there are bad things about his game I just didn't see.
Sorry, but what I did see is more of what will surely be considered that broken record -- over and over and over again. Sorry but I'm a truth teller:
The NFL is really truly abjectly ding-dong.
A pass interference call against Ward occurred in our end zone after the ball was tipped. Replays showed the call was holding, a legitimate penalty that should have been called, but the call was pass interference, a very questionable interpretation and if it happened after the tip the officials should have ruled against that call. Coach Reid threw the red flag to challenge.
Reid's challenge should have been upheld. Instead the ruling on the field stood, even though the hold was not called but a phantom pass interference was. Essentially, a very plain non-call that should have been rightly ruled a non-call was allowed to be called. Challenge overruled, Chiefs lose a time-out that actually would've helped them later stay barely alive in the closing minute. Instead the Seahawks were able to take a knee to end the game.
Now yes you could say "Well it was a holding call they didn't make to begin with." I understand. I'm with you. I never ever want to win a game because WE got the incorrect call, never ever. But the fact is, rules are rules. The holding call wasn't made, and the pass interference call should have been voided. By the book, to be fair.
Not. This is the Chiefs.
This, by the way, is why there must be two officials in the booth with original play-calling ability. I've said this a million times, broken record ad nauseum I know! Again again again let's just get the play call right even if it is a penalty or turnover or any kind of call requiring an "interpretation." Please! We can get the interpretation right people!
Then there was this gem. Oh yes, as usual, there was more. With the Chiefs still in it late, I believe if I'm not mistaken we were down by a FG, and the Seahawks were in the red zone. I even believe we'd had them at 3rd-and-goal with the ball at the 7 or 8, something like that. Not sure and I'm not going to look it up because I just don't want to see any ding-dong stuff about this game -- unless of course I see news about Chiefs fans rising up and demanding that Clark Hunt and his supposedly wieldy NFL power fire Roger Goodell and put the NFL on notice for this crap.
Anyway, back to the ding-dong thing from the game. Again, it was late with the Seahawks threatening, ahead by 3, and we needed a crucial stop. Ward was called for holding Doug Baldwin in the end zone. The replay showed that Ward barely touched him, and he may not have even done that. He definitely did not hold him. In that split second Baldwin noted that this young inexperienced cornerback was on him, remembered that the officials were feasting on him, and when Ward made a motion that would look like holding to the officials, Baldwin really sold it by running right into Ward's arm then spinning away from it -- and he got the call.
Afterwards the announcers were joking around about not wanting to have the job of being an NFL official, because those kinds of calls are just too hard to make. They weren't dissing the Chiefs mind you, they were clearly remarking in the sense that they knew it was a completely horseshit call. They knew.
The Seahawks then had a 1st down at the one. It was forgone conclusion. They got the touchdown that put them up by 10.
Bottom line, it is one thing to see this happen in a regular season game that fortunately meant nothing in terms of us being perfectly fine with winning next week against a weaker Raiders team to get the No. 1 seed. It is wholly another thing to see it happen in the postseason. No matter what happens next week, we have a playoff game. Only thing is, we will likely have a playoff game, No. 1 seed or not, against a presently marauding Titans team or a Colts team (joy) or Ravens team or some team like that and the distressing thing is that we need every single weapon we have to defeat not only any one of these formidable opponents, but an NFL that loathes our presence in any game of any major consequence. NFL games turn on single big plays, and when the NFL negates key players (think Kareem Hunt) or the officials negate key plays (think Charvarius Ward) it is really hard to win. Don't we know it.
That graphic in the Chargers game not only showed the world that we've lost six straight home playoff games -- simply unfathomable without the help of the NFL, sorry, it just is and Chiefs fans know it -- but that we've lost 11 of the last 12 postseason affairs and have a 4-16 playoff record since our Super Bowl win in January of 1970.
Don't we know it.
If anything good came from last night's game -- anything really good that results in some postseason wins merely because we'll play well enough to defeat all that crap -- it is that we have to keep practicing and playing and plugging and punching it all out to stay in shape for that January affair. If we had won last night we'd essentially have three weeks of meaningless football until our first playoff game. As it is we have to be going strong through to our first game, and if we by chance lose next week we'll likely drop down into a road game against some other division winner the following week. I think no matter what we've got to stay in it so we'll be ready for it.
I also always wonder why people might think, oh no, we'll just be more tired when we get into the playoffs. Here's why that is so frustrating: you mean the other team won't be? What magical juice did they drink that keeps them from being as tired as we would be? In fact next Sunday the Titans and Colts will be playing a game that is essentially a playoff game. Winner gets a playoff spot, loser goes home. Then it's likely they'll have another playoff game, and when they win that one they must play the rested No. 1 Chiefs on the road. And then what's going to happen?
I'm just going to tell you right now. I've pounded out a lot in this blog post right now, I have. It belies my extraordinarily simple preview post theme. The whole thing is very very simple actually. Most of this preview post is, as you know, therapy. That's all. You know that. I appreciate your very very very gracious indulgence, really.
But what is the simplest plainest easiest every-Chiefs-fan-knows-it one single main point that is in some ways THE ONLY thing that matters?
It is that even with a Chiefs team that is as good as it is -- please, the entire universe knows we have a stunningly phenomenal quarterback and a couple of good running backs and a terrific tight end and a fine offensive line and a cohort of exceptional wide outs and a couple of really pretty good cover men and a future Hall-of-Fame safety and a trio of ferocious pass rushers and a splendidly accurate punter and a booming kicker and a world-class special teams unit and one of the most ingenious and innovative head coaches in the game and I'm not making any of this up to feel like my team is better than it really is...
It is that as good as this team is, all we need to see in any given playoff game item is
A really stupid crazy-ass thing NOT to happen.
You know it. We all know it. It is ever-so true.
Can we just have a playoff game where we are not utterly destroyed by the stupid crazy-ass thing?
Really.
That simple.
That's it.
Thuh end.
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