Chiefs at Chargers - Week 3 - Record: 3-0

I saw something from the 538-to-win people, you know, they're the ones who can predict election outcomes and a bunch of other things (even though they really whiffed on the Trump win last November) -- they took a survey of I-don't-know-who-or-how-many, but they found that the Chiefs were the least disliked team in the NFL. On the list of most disliked teams, the Chiefs were at the very bottom, No. 32.

At first glance that's, hey, cool! Very few people dislike us! The fewest of any team! That has to be good! Woo-hoo!

But then, we're not particularly liked either. On the list of most liked teams, we were near the bottom, not last, but close to the bottom. Still. It is as if we embody the essence of the Oscar Wilde quote: "Worse than being talked about is not being talked about."

The Chiefs are just there. You can't dislike them, but, that's because they're so stuck in that middle-America podunk little middle-of-nowhere smallish-size nondescript city perception. As you know Kansas City is light years from being nondescript or meaningless. It's just, Kansas City doesn't have a New York Times ubercasting network to govern what people are supposed to think about things.

Already the world is shifting into ultra-crazy mode, especially with this media-generated racialist war exploding out of control. The NBA's Golden State Warriors talk about not going to the White House for its championship celebratory recognition, and Donald Trump tweets "Well you're not invited anyway so nyaah." So the entire sports world including the NFL rages against that mean racist Trump.

Colin Kaepernick starts separating himself from the allegiance-to-the-flag activities that open every NFL game, others join him in support of the racialist spasms that define today's raging culture war, and when Trump recently urges the NFL to fire those guys, they now amp up their rage so the New York Times suckling media outlets can showcase the folly for the most spectacular virtue signaling there can be.

As a result, at least it appears to be a result, the NFL is floundering. People complain about a lot of things, and some of it is legitimate. In my view the speed and force of the game causing more likelihood of brain injuries among the players is one of those things, and some day when I have time I'll include my thoughts about that in a post.

But the culture war now comes roaring into the game in a big way. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell doesn't have a clue about what to do, for the entirety of his tenure, what is it now, ten years? He's been worthless. He simply has not shown the leadership required to make sure the game doesn't suffer from all this internecine virulence. Now that it's getting worse, he'll still bumble and stumble about addressing it, miserably failing to move things to a point where what is truly just and righteous prevails.

Meanwhile the Chiefs are in the middle of this meandering morass all the while starting off the season well, yet again firing out to a 3-0 record.

Today we started off hot, scoring two touchdowns in about 3.87 seconds, then simply slogged through the rest of the game before Kareem Hunt found a crease to score a close-out touchdown late.

At the end of the game the announcers crowed about the Chiefs having now won 25 of their last 29 regular season games. Yes, you could justifiably say we do some things very well. They are indeed all the things we've talked about for the past several years of Andy Reid-Alex Smith football. All Chiefs fans know them too well.

But as the scoreboard said "17-10" for what seemed like about 14 hours of this game, I couldn't help but see a number of things that bother me about this Chiefs team.

- Our pass protection. Again our O-line is simply not giving Alex Smith enough time. I'm sure I see opponent quarterbacks have far more time than we do, I'm sure of it. I mean, on one play late, Melvin Ingram, one of the best pass rushing linebackers in the league, sacked Alex Smith, and on the replay it showed the most feeble attempt to even block him. Please. Please please please.

- Our run blocking. This should be our best quality on the O-line, but it was still iffy. Yes we've got Kareem Hunt back there, and those times we can get a small seam and he can do magic. Maybe I'm expecting too much -- and I have a right to, I'm a fan -- but watching the Chargers running game early they were able to blast out for huge gains regularly. This relates to the next inadequacy:

- Our linebackers. Where were they on those gains? To their credit they had to have made adjustments because they did keep the Chargers to zero points after they got 10 in the 2nd quarter, but in my view there were a number of other reasons for that, one of which was that Philip Rivers was just off today. There were throws he'd always make that today were just crap. Maybe he has lost a step, this is his 14th year in the NFL.

- Penalties. Holy moly, how many more penalties can we get? At one point in the 4th quarter they said we'd had 111 yards in penalties. And there were more after that, I'm sure, including a Phillip Gaines PI at the goal line with less than half-a-minute left in the game. It's awesome we are so aggressive, but can we juuuust dial it back a bit and still play well?

These things concern me. They are all major issues, major, and while you may think I'm a little melodramatically overblown with any one or two of them, I just don't think a good Andy Reid talking-to will solve them.

On the other hand, there are some awesome things about this team.

- Kareem Hunt. Is it possible just to get him the ball every single time we run an offensive play? Really. With the exception of Hunt, Tyreek Hill and, believe it or not, Albert Wilson, the rest of the Chiefs offense was invisible. And again, not to belabor the point, but the O-line is partly to blame. Alex Smith just can't get untracked more routinely. Travis Kelce, for one, was nowhere today. But Kareem Hunt was just phenomenal, again. The kid powers, weaves, dances, and has terrific vision.

- Our pass coverage in the D-backfield. I really believe that we are missing Eric Berry, I do. For the overall purpose of pressuring the opponent's offense, Berry is just a factor that is missing right now. But these guys are playing their hearts out to make up for it. Terrance Mitchell had two picks and harassed their receivers constantly. He wasn't perfect, but I'll take it. Marcus Peters was All-Pro. Daniel Sorensen was all over the field. There's someone I'm not mentioning I'm sure, but it was very satisfactory today.

- Our tackling. Have you noticed that as far as our defensive technique, we're pretty danged good? We rarely miss tackles. The tackling is very sure, and if we can't make the solid hit we're regularly stopping people by grabbing ankles and holding on. And there's always help, no one is giving up on the play. Defensive Coordinator Bob Sutton has really taught these guys to play fundamentally sound defense, and over the course of a game that really pays off.

- Special teams. One of our strengths was still true today. Colquitt punted well and Santos had a field goal right after getting creamed on a field goal attempt. Our coverage team did splendidly keeping the Chargers far from their end of the field, but once we did foolishly try that snap-to-Albert Wilson fake-punt run that got snuffed. Our defense did hold keeping it from hurting us.

- The big plays. I've always been nervous about our reliance on the big play. You can't always count on it. Thing is, everyone says how good the Chiefs are at it. Maybe there's a reason. Maybe there's something we've got that makes us more likely to get them. Maybe it can be coached and developed and perfected. Today there were the interceptions. The key stops. That sack by Justin Houston late when it was still a one-score game. The bursting blistering touchdown from Hunt to seal it. Maybe that isn't such a bad thing for a team that needs a little more recognition, that needs to climb up the list of most liked teams a bit more.

This is a nice win for a team that, while it does have a lot of work to do, does seem to have what it takes to get the job done.

Maybe in a world distracted by the idiocy of the culture, and even though they're dismissed as whatever by most of the NFL-watching world, the Chiefs can continue to authentically be a team that deserves to be considered one of the best.

That's pretty cool right now.
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Eagles at Chiefs - Week 2 - Record: 2-0

I did not like this game at all. I just didn't. It was waaay too nerve-racking.

We're up 27-13 with 0:14 left in the game. The Eagles are in the red zone and I'm thinking, "Nkay, touchdown pass, on-sides kick recovery, Hail Mary pass completion for the touchdown. I'm sure of it. They'll get 14 points in 14 seconds. Only the Chiefs."

And sure enough, they get the touchdown, our vaunted special teams bungles the kick return and they get an easy on-sides kick recovery, and their QB Carson Wentz throws a perfect floating strike into the middle of the endzone with all four of their tall lanky receivers ready to swallow it up. That's until Eric Murray's lone flailing hand shoots high up from the crowd to bat it away. Whew...

(Eric Murray -- life-saver -- if you remember there was that extraordinarily dorky play at the end of the first half when Terrence Mitchell misplayed an interception right into the hands of their tight end who went racing for the endzone. Murray was left all alone to make a touchdown-saving tackle. WHEW...)

I already don't have any hair on my head, so then I had to have lost hair on other parts of my body. Okay, way too much information about the near heart seizure we all were about to suffer, but yeah, this game was indeed really aggravating.

Yes I must say it was really fun to watch Superman Travis Kelce fly across the goal line on that amazingly spiffy shovel-pass play. It was really fun to watch our defense step it up in the 4th quarter featuring another Superman flight by Daniel Sorensen to thwart a Wentz pass attempt. Then there was Superman Justin Houston deflecting thrown footballs off his head (allowing Chris Jones to make an interception). Then there was Superman Kareem Hunt powering his way across the goal line to put us up by those two scores late in the 4th quarter.

We have a team of Supermen, really.

Because that's what it took for us to win this game against the Eagles good quarterback, tough defensive front, and phenomenal offensive line. Thing is, even against that line our D-line registered six sacks and umpteen QB pressures.

But it took the efforts of our special talents at the specialty positions to ultimately take care of business, because for most of the game our O-line and Alex Smith were miserable. This was not a fun game to watch, it just wasn't.

The number of times Smith reverted to his looking, looking, looking and not throwing the ball to receivers he can make completions to and then just getting sacked was just mind-numbing. Again again again he is doing this. But then, at a crucial point in that last touchdown drive he steps back and fires a fantastic throw to Chris Conley down the sideline for a big gain. GUHHH? Why doesn't he have the confidence to make that throw more often?!!

In the end it was those big plays from our studly Superman players -- and Kareem Hunt, I mean, wow...

The crazy thing is that Alex Smith was 21 for 28. Huh. That's actually pretty good. And a couple times he scrambled or ran for important yardage. Huh. We can all go back to that old saw about how he actually managed the game well in light of the 57 times he was sacked, yeah, I guess. I guess we can say this game was a lot like a 2013 game in which we win by a few points because he just controlled things well. Okay.

Really, I shouldn't complain. Seeing Hunt do his thing -- that's better than before. Seeing receivers like Conley and Tyreek Hill out there making plays -- that's better. Seeing our defensive front anchored by people like Jones and Houston playing pretty well against a good O-line -- that's better. Seeing our D-backs hold their own in an Eric Berry-less defense, that's actually not bad at all. I mean, Eric Murray -- heroically rescuing us Chiefs fans from certain football obsession death on a number of occasions today!

So while this was a bit exasperating, we got the win and there are things we can be pleased about. It may look daunting, but when you have a team of Supermen, it'll all turn out fine in the end!
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Chiefs at Patriots - Week 1 - Record: 1-0 - Part II

A lot of things to mention about this one, so let's roll. Here are my impressions in no particular order.

Eric Berry. Didn't this happen before? Berry being lost for the season in the very first game? Yeah, back in 2011, when he got smeared by some Bills blocker messing up his knee. This year it was his Achilles, and that same injury took Derrick Johnson out for the year in the first game of the season in 2014!

What is it with the Achilles? How on earth does that happen? Berry was just dancing around on the field covering Rob Gronkowski like he had all night and ::pop!:: there goes the Achilles.

The interesting thing is that in 2011, after a slow 0-3 start, the Chiefs won a few games and toughed out a 7-9 record with a pretty horrible team (we also lost Jamaal Charles early in the season), largely because our defense was not that bad and very well conditioned actually. That was one of the few good things about Todd Haley, he had our team in shape.

What will happen this year? Everyone is stunned about the Berry thing, but we do have some depth and Berry is a very strong leader in the clubhouse, that won't go away.

The offensive line. Everyone was raving about Alex Smith and Kareem Hunt and well they should. Smith was 28-35 with tons of yardage on long accurate strikes to receivers breaking open and four touchdown passes on the night. Awesome, truly awesome. I do think having Pat Mahomes right there knowing he'll be taking over some day is getting Smith to step up his game, I really think that's some of it.

Then there's Kareem Hunt, who had 148 yards rushing and a truckload more on pass receptions. It was the greatest debut performance by a running back in NFL history. Sensational, truly sensational.

But really. Taking nothing away from Smith and Hunt, it was made possible by the terrific play of our offensive line. This was and always has been a major concern of mine. This year people were saying we're good there, we're good, don't worry -- but I've still wondered.

Tonight? I was blown away, simply because Alex Smith actually had time. I mean, please, it was like night and day. You know, you do: the times we watch Alex Smith step back and get creamed in the pocket, is, well, legion. You know! Meanwhile the times we watch the opposing quarterback step back in the pocket and look around, fry an egg, read a book, take a nap before waking up and throwing the ball downfield for an easy pass completion... Errgh!

Tonight it was splendidly wonderfully gloriously different.

Alex Smith had time to go through his progressions.

That was huge, really really huge. We've always been told Smith is one of the smartest quarterbacks there is, and I've always wondered, well, how come he's really crappy at seeing those receivers break open for optimum pass completions???

A lot of it was answered tonight.

The offensive line finally gave him plenty of time to do that. Sure there were a few times he tucked it and tried to scramble away. Sure the New England defensive front played more poorly than I think a lot of people thought. Sure the whole Patriot defense looked already defeated in the 4th quarter when our offense put a 21-spot on the board.

But give credit to that offensive line for making this all happen.

Justin Houston. Justin Houston just being on the field and 100% healthy got Tom Brady scared (see my last post). If Tom Brady played scared, think about what will happen with other quarterbacks. Our defensive line was especially resilient even though I think it was a bit more soft than I wanted to see. It held strong however when it counted most, notably on two critical 4th down-and-inches stops.

Andy Reid. Just a quick shout-out to one particular thing I know we all liked really really a-lot.

The two-minute drill just before the end of the 1st half.

How great was it to see us take the ball a long way down the field with just over two minutes left to score a touchdown bringing the score from 17-7 down to just 17-14 down. It was methodical, it was mistake-free, it was robust, it was imaginative.

Oh that we might see that happen more this year, especially at the end of close postseason games to get wins.

The Patriots fans. I have no animosity towards the Patriots at all, I really don't. I know lots of people do because they're the NFL equivalent of the "super team". But if you can legitimately build a fine professional sports franchise then you should benefit from your success, more power to you. Of course, I am and always have been a big fan of the Golden State Warriors, the NBA's version of the Patriots. I'm great if they win the next 57 titles.

But then, I do want the Chiefs to be a super team also, but they must earn it, and I'm great with that. All that said, I must say that through the 4th quarter it was kind of fun to hear the silence in Gillette Stadium, behold the stunned looks on the faces of those Patriots fans, and listen to the announcers tell of how much the place resembled a morgue. It gave you a chance to enjoy the only thing you could hear, all the whoops and hollers of the Chiefs players when they scored all those touchdowns putting the game out of reach.

But then this is the curse of winning. It is indeed an odd thing. Except for the instance when they actually consummate the season and win the actual title, whenever the Warriors win a regular season game I confess it is kind of, eh, they won again, whatever. When they lose it's, Whuhh?! Are you kidding me? When the Chiefs win like they did Thursday night, it is thrilling! We weren't supposed to win.

Having a very difficult history in the postseason? Hey, right now that's great for Chiefs fans because the wins are that much more gratifying. It's devastating for Patriots fans! Right now. I'd rather be a Chiefs fan.

I'm sure there are a number of other items related to this game, this is great for now. It wasn't a perfect game by any means, and I do believe too much is made of the Patriots loss when again, they were still ahead at the start of the 4th quarter. It isn't as if they're suddenly a bad team.

And the Chiefs are not suddenly a juggernaut. They play in the very tough AFC West and we have the schedule of a division-winning team.

But it is easy to like what we saw Thursday night, and we'll see if they can get decent play from Berry's replacement and continue the vibrant enthusiasm that carried them to this win.
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Chiefs at Patriots - Week 1 - Record: 1-0 - Part I

Tom Brady flinched.

You simply could not miss it. In the middle of the 2nd quarter or whenever it was, at a point when the game was still close and New England playing well enough, Tom Brady went back to pass, stood in the pocket, had plenty of time, and

He flinched.

He hunched over with a jerk, just for a second, when he heard the footsteps before straightening up again, then threw some pass -- I don't even know what happened with it, it may have been a touchdown for all I know -- but damn.

Tom Brady was scared.

Everyone saw it, right there on national television on the showcase NFL opener.

Sure enough, even behind 27-21 as the 4th quarter began, the Chiefs turned it on and took down the most dominant team of the modern day at their place.

There is so much to write about regarding this game, Kareem Hunt, wow, Alex Smith, wow, Eric Berry, wow, our overall resilience throughout the game, wow, so many other things, but I simply have to plug in a Part II later because it is late at night now and I still have work early tomorrow morning.

Anyway, whoa-hoo, what a night.
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Chiefs 2017 Preview - The "Let It Be" Post

The Chiefs will not make it to the Super Bowl this year.

I've decided that my life will be much better if I jettison something that has been a thread running through my Chiefs fan life and my Chiefs blogging here:

I expect the Chiefs to win the Super Bowl OR ELSE!

Well, how far has that gotten me? Every time I see a past year's highlight of the Chiefs doing great things all I can think is "Oh, yeah, that was the year we lost to ___ in the playoffs, so what of it?" It has gotten to the point where I cannot appreciate the great things they do, like all the wonderful plays they had last year on the way to a division title, which included sweeping all their division opponents (Den, Oak, SD).

See, that's pretty awesome. I've decided I'm going to revel in Chiefs achievements by the moment, and let it be. Very nice.

Now I understand most Chiefs fans -- or any wise mature fan for that matter -- do that anyway, I got that. And I understand everybody wants their team to win it all, there's nothing wrong with that, I got that too. I'm ohh-kay, thanks for your concern.

But the letting it be regular season approach applies most strikingly because this is the Chiefs -- one of four teams existing since the merger in 1970 to have never appeared in a Super Bowl (Jets, Lions, Browns the others). Sure they'd won the Super Bowl the season just previous to that, that's cool.

Still. This is a team that simply cannot win once it gets into the postseason. Every time they make an appearance they notoriously go through a kryptonite portal when all their weaknesses get amplified and strengths disappear. Yeah, you know. 

And they're the reverse of clutch. Sure we beat the Texans in '15 -- finally a playoff win! But we beat them 30-0 -- not complaining mind you. But since our Super Bowl win in '69 we've played ten postseason games decided by a touchdown or less and lost eight of them (the wins: Oak '91 Pit '93), including the last six such games in a row -- here they are for all the ugliness: Pit '16 (by 2) NE '15 (by 7) Ind '13 (by 1) Ind '03 (by 7) Den '97 (by 4) Ind '95 (by 3).

It is pretty standard that for a Chiefs fan to watch a close postseason game it requires experiencing maddening heart-ripping disconsolation. You know, Chiefs fan, you know.

Oh Dave WHY do you start a post about the most promising team in Chiefs history with this?

It is because I don't think this team is the most promising in Chiefs history. We all know that team is a couple years away when FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY we will have a drafted and developed quarterback running the show. You do know that this upcoming September 13 will be the 30th anniversary of the Chiefs last win from a D&D QB -- THE THIRTIETH ANNIVERSARY. All the NFL openers for this year will have been played by that date and guess what, most of the teams that won will have won with a quarterback they drafted and developed as most all of them have for the past 30 years for any game they won.

(Here's a link to the Jon Bois piece from three years ago that graphically demonstrates this abomination. I wonder what it looks like now, updated? Please note, it isn't any different for the Chiefs.) (And for those of you who don't know why this is so meaningful, who haven't beheld The Quarterback Project, here is a link to that.)

Of course a couple years from now we'll be looking for great things from D&soon-to-be-D'ed Pat Mahomes, who has looked spectacular through his crazy rawness in preseason games. But for now, we're going with non-Chiefs-D&D Alex Smith, who is famously the third winningest regular season quarterback over the past four Andy Reid years.

Yes, there are people clamoring for Pat Mahomes to start right now. Wrong wrong wrong move. He still has a ton to learn and he's been playing mostly against second string exhibition game squads. I do think he's up to learning, that's awesome, we all have seen he catches on fast and has got the tools and, you know what? -- He's shown he's got good decision-making instincts. Every Chiefs fan is excited for Pat Mahomes.

Meanwhile the love-hate relationship continues for Alex Smith. You know what it's like. 

Love - He's really smart and manages the game extraordinarily well. Hate - He won't or even can't throw the ball down the field (aren't you salivating over a good refined Pat Mahomes regularly throwing to Tyreek Hill? Ahhhhh... [note the drool at the side of my mouth]) 

Love - He proficiently executes a complicated Andy Reid offensive scheme. Hate - He loses track of receivers breaking wide-open way too often. 

Love - He's mobile as all get-out and opens things up with his legs. Hate - He doesn't go through his progressions well enough to avoid getting sacked. 

Love - He makes splendidly amazing throws in tight windows. Hate - He makes inexplicably wretched throws to wide open receivers. 

Love - He gets those quick wide-out screens going to our playmakers and they get pretty decent yardage from them. Hate - Because he can't throw the ball down the field we must run those plays far too frequently anyway, which keeps defenses crowding the line, limiting what our offense can do.

Are there more? You can probably think of a few, and no matter what there's one thing about them -- they drive you crazy. Crazy great one moment, then crazy soul-crushing the next.

Now, yeah, I know. Every team has quarterbacks like that. No, nah, they don't. Yes we can be very fortunate we've got Alex Smith, and please don't get me wrong, I do believe Smith's abilities can get us to the promised land. But there is always that thought that one time in the postseason something stupid is going to happen that'll kill us.

It's happened far too often. Whether it's Alex Smith doing something that messes us up or any typically stupid thing happens to mess us up, it's just going to happen.

At least that's the attitude. No, it isn't defeatist, it isn't fatalistic, and I'm not even going to spout that it's realistic to cover myself trying to make my skepticism more noble or anything, all I'm saying is my approach to this year is merely to enjoy what we do regular season, that's all. Just let Chiefs good things be. And I am wildly hoping that I am so wrong wrong wrong about the regular season-beyond -- please join in my rooting for me to be wrong.

As it is, what are the realistic expectation for the Chiefs 2017? Let's just look at each unit for a bit and see how Super Bowl possible each one is. While I am tempering my expectations, let's just go for broke and look at the possibilities, why not.

Quarterback. Somewhat Super Bowl possible, but then I've already elaborated on that above.

Running back. Not really Super Bowl possible. We lost Spencer Ware to injury and we cut C.J. Spiller. Everyone's thinking about how great it will be to give rookie Kareem Hunt the ball, and sure I'd love to see spectacular things from him, but, well, I have my doubts. I think the Chiefs can do some things here with De'Anthony Thomas. Last year they had Tyreek Hill run plays from the backfield and it was okay actually, they just can't get away with it too much.

Tight end. Really Super Bowl possible. Travis Kelce says it all.

Wide receivers. Mildly Super Bowl possible. That's mainly because of Tyreek, but really, still, what have other teams specifically planned for covering him when the rest of the receiving corps is just not that overwhelming? We cut Jeremy Maclin, Chris Conley is okay and in real need of a break-out year (which we're all hoping happens, for sure). I have no idea why we continue to keep Albert Wilson, he just drops too many passes. Let's hope Demarcus Robinson steps up this year or rookie Jehu Chesson shines for us.

Offensive line. Barely Super Bowl possible. I've heard that this unit is pretty good, but I'm sorry I just don't think so. It was painfully exposed in the Seattle pre-season game, and I know Seattle has a terrific defensive front, but what kind of teams do you think we're going to play in the postseason? We have serious questions at guard especially, and we even had to trade for a tackle just before the season started. They are decent with run blocking but still too inadequate for pass protection against teams with strong pass rushers -- huh, kinda like Denver, Oakland, and San Diego.

Defensive line. Pretty Super Bowl possible. This appears to be one of our strengths. We got a fine replacement for Dontari Poe in Bennie Logan. Chris Jones is a monster and we all can't wait to see him get untracked. We've got guys who can stand up lineman, and this new kid with the eye-chart name, Tanoh Kpassagnon is incredible.

Inside linebackers. Mildly Super Bowl possible. I think people are overrating our linebacking core, also. Derrick Johnson is a legend in Chiefs football, but this will be his 13th year in the league -- for a defensive player that's a lot and he's already had two season-ending achilles injuries. We've shuffled guys around trying to find the right mix. I will say Ramik Wilson has progressed, and this other new kid we drafted, another eye-chart name, Ukeme Eligwe -- he's been earning rave reviews, let's hope he can transfuse himself well into NFL play real quick.

Pass rushers. Somewhat Super Bowl possible. Just because of a healthy Justin Houston here. It'd be much more Super Bowl possible if Tamba Hali could regain his form, but he's already starting the season on the PUP list. Dee Ford still needs to prove himself, that's kind of sad but I'm great with seeing if this'll be a breakout year for him. Until he shows it we'll just have to accept where we're at with this group.

Cornerbacks. Somewhat Super Bowl possible, but again for this unit it is only because we do have a phenomenal play-maker out there, Marcus Peters. I like Steven Nelson a lot, but we've got to have a healthy Terrance Mitchell and we've got to get more consistent play from Phillip Gaines.

Safeties. Mildly Super Bowl possible. You may be saying, "Aagh! What about Eric Berry?" Yeah, I really like Eric Berry, I really do, I've said that a million times and I do mean that. He was rated the 13th best overall player among the NFL Network's top 100 as voted on by the players -- very cool. But I've got to see Berry really truly actually beat a good quarterback in a playoff game before I have any postseason confidence in the guy, sorry. And our other safeties? Daniel Sorenson, Ron Parker -- serviceable, that's fine, but really Super Bowl possible?

Special teams. Extraordinarily Super Bowl possible. This is one area that is genuinely fantastic. It earns raves from everyone everywhere and it deserves it. And it isn't just the great Tyreek Hill returns and the return game overall, but our coverage game is solid, Dustin Colquitt is a great punter (let's hope he holds up because he's in his 13th year!) and Cairo Santos is one of the most reliable kickers in the league. I know, it doesn't seem like it, but he is.

Thing is, the special teams alone won't get us to the Super Bowl. Honestly, this team overall is an upper-mid-level team with a realistically modest chance to go deep in the playoffs. I truly believe they are that kind of a team, I do, and while I never look at any preseason prediction stuff, I have heard the Chiefs are these days have routinely ranked in the upper half of any power rankings list.

That's cool, because for now, I'm just going to enjoy each game as it is -- the Super Bowl doesn't even count as far as I'm concerned.

I do like these Chiefs, so I'm just going to let it be. It'll be fun.

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The Clark Hunt Factor

I was going to title this post "The John Dorsey Factor", but really, it is all about Clark. After the extraordinarily unceremonious firing of John Dorsey everyone has been completely flummoxed. How on earth could we be losing one of the best things to happen to the Chiefs -- we had a really really really good general manager!

I did take a moment to peek around the web at some of the things people were saying about it. Indeed some were justifiably upset -- has Clark lost his mind?! -- others offered some reasons why.

The most reasonable among them was something a number of people mentioned, and something I didn't consider but that I did think about a couple of times before. Two particular players stand out as symbols of John Dorsey's dismissal.

Jeremy Maclin and Eric Berry.

Berry was intensely wooed by the Chiefs and for good reason. He's a fine safety and a phenomenal human being who inspired the entire sports world with his courageous battle not only against cancer but for returning and play football for the Kansas City Chiefs. He had a great regular season last year, making a number of game-changing stops and interceptions, all of which showed up on every highlight reel there could be.

Thing is, Dorsey signed him to a whoppingly huge contract extension the length of which goes way beyond the standard playing years of most defensive players -- especially one who has had a major life-threatening illness. Does Berry deserve it? I don't think many would say he's not one of the best defensive players in the game and a model of strength and character. I've always loved Eric Berry. Not many football fans haven't.

But that much money? And, please, I've mentioned this before, Berry has really pretty much been very subpar in the playoffs. He did do well in the Texans playoff game, but against Brian Hoyer. Otherwise, in order: Joe Flacco, Andrew Luck, Tom Brady, and Ben Roethlisberger have all torched Berry. Sure all of those QB's are great and Berry needs his defenders to help around him, but in each one of those games Berry himself was responsible for key breakdowns. We wouldn't have won the Baltimore game, but the Indianapolis, New England, and Pittsburgh games were all close and Berry's failures definitely contributed to those losses.

Jeremy Maclin was also signed for a gargantuan contract and every Chiefs fan was thrilled. And every Chiefs fan thoroughly appreciates everything Maclin did, I mean he did do some amazing things for us on the football field. But let's face it, was he worth that much money? He was injured frequently -- no fault of his, yes, I understand, but even when healthy, was he so much of a game-changer that he was worth that much?

Now I've always been wary of huge signings and free agency, so it is reasonable for someone to think my perspective influenced by looking at things through crap-colored glasses. But you have to remember, we're talking about how much money a Jeremy Maclin is making against how much any other given player is making and what those players are doing on the football field.

Was Maclin doing more than any other given wide receiver getting paid the same or less?

Will Berry do what he's been doing for each of the next six years? And do his expected job well enough to beat the better quarterbacks in the playoffs? -- After all, really, that's what he's getting paid for.

The point is it does look a lot like John Dorsey had too many dollar signs swimming along his retina.

The counterargument, and it is a good one, is ya gotta pay to win. Dorsey was simply thinking in terms of getting winning players on the field and realizing you've got to pay them -- we needed Jeremy Maclin at the time and he took care of business. That was a very very good thing.

The problem with that is that there is a salary cap, and the reason everyone is saying "Dorsey didn't manage the cap well." And it wasn't just Maclin or Berry, though those are the most glaring examples. This is one of those nuanced aspects of general manager leadership, how do you convince a player to play for money that is just right for him, enough to keep him as a key component of your team?

Fortunately John had drafted phenomenally well. It'd be nice to see a Demarcus Robinson step in a fill Maclin's shoes. But then, this brings up a thought I had since seeing all this come down yesterday.

At the same exact time of the Dorsey firing, Andy Reid got a nice contract extension. How about that -- contract extension for Andy, pink slip for John. I'm wondering. Could it be true that the makeup of the Chiefs team is more Reid than Dorsey?

This is why this is all about Clark.

Could it be that Clark knew the team was mostly Reid's handiwork and not Dorsey's? Could it be?

I don't know, and I'm just not going to look around the web to see what some are saying to find out. Thing is, it'll all come out over the next several years. Will we all, Chiefs players especially, fully understand the reasons behind it and be on board with Chiefs success because Clark did actually do the right thing? That'll come from what we see on the field, ultimately.

You know, a few posts ago when I was pondering Chiefs blessings, I remarked about how John Dorsey was rumored to be cleaning house, and how good that made me feel. Let's get some people in there who will actually win the playoff games we should be winning!

Sure enough, the first major casualty of this semi-quasi-house-cleaning was John Dorsey himself.

Again, to switch to the rose-tinted glasses with frames inlaid with little Super Bowl trophies, let's hope we can get that general manager who can do the nuanced thing, the most important of which is to put players on the field who will pull out those clutch playoff wins.
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Now What? I Was Getting Used to Thinking the Chiefs Were Really Doing Things Where They Could Actually Win

Just picked up the news that the guy who has been most responsible for the Chiefs splendid revitalization was fired.

John Dorsey is gone.

What the ----?...

Details are still coming in, and there seems to be all kinds of conjecture about what happened. It seemed Dorsey had dispelled the considerations that he'd bolt to Green Bay -- good. It appeared he'd pulled off another spectacular draft, snatching up a quarterback everyone knew was going to be groomed for success a few years out -- good, this means John's planning to be around.

Now this.

Sorry, but this is crushing for the Chiefs. We can try to put a nice coat of the sweetest vanilla frosting over this, but it is still a rotting heap of sewage. You absolutely have to have a guy like Dorsey at the top making wise personnel decisions every single day, not just on draft days.

Sure we can hope for the best from a new GM coming in, that's fine, it's all we got right now anyway, really, so there's that. But what about the stability of a franchise that just dumped one of the very best, most respected GM's in the game? Are we really going to get someone who is just as good as John?

::Sigh::

As it is we have to really hope that Clark had a really really good reason for this that everyone will really really really understand was justified.

Really.

Because if the wholly reasonable justification and the widespread certain assurance among everyone isn't there, I truly fear for our beloved franchise, I really do. Call me melodramatic, but I've seen too much sports stuff and seen too much the critical importance of having stable and skillful front office people driving team success.

Again, here's hoping there's a reason and that we're better for it.

Right now though, it's pretty much just mourning.
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The 2017 Season Foremath (or, if you must, The Draft Aftermath)

It's easy to progress through the Chiefs draft ramifications with a post titled "The Draft Aftermath", but really, since this blog enterprise is only about game day activities, it really should be "The Season Foremath". It could even be "The Draft Foremath" because what transpired for the Kansas City Chiefs over the course of the draft was already established.

Long before last week's developments, Clark Hunt got serious about Chiefs winning by plugging in John Dorsey and Andy Reid to run things.

Those two in turn have been fastidiously building a stout, reputable organization of winning professional football in a number of ways. It has paid off with four straight winning seasons and a roster that is considered one of the deepest in the game. This has enabled Dorsey and Company to prosecute this draft like no other Chiefs brain trust ever has. A plethora of draft picks were deftly parlayed into higher picks to get stronger talent available at the top.

Now I didn't watch any of it, I never do. Again, I can't handle listening to the television commentators speak about how splendid some guy taken by another team is going to be, and then speak about how neato our guy is going to be, getting our hopes all up and later discovering he's a bust. Percy Snow, anybody?

But that was then, this is now.

John Dorsey knows what he's got, both in his coaching staff and in his own ability to find guys who can play. And while I didn't watch any of it or volitionally look at any of it except for a few peeks at Patrick Mahomes -- I couldn't help it! -- my radar picked up some and my friends and family told me about some.

Here's who I know we got, in the order of being drafted. Sorry, I don't know names, except for that first guy. A couple of them I saw were delightfully unusual, but let's just say I'm looking forward to them becoming households names, then all of us can really know them. And sorry, I don't even know who else we may have gotten last week, not even sure we had any other picks left after these guys. But these guys alone are just fine. So yeah, here they are.

QB, DE, RB, WR, LB.

That first one is that Texas Tech guy my brother said we should avoid, but I had to peek at what they said is so great about him. (Hey, a Chiefs quarterback first-round pick, yowza!) Great arm, great mobility, great confidence. Thing is aside from any of the other things that may be not-so-good, the big question is is he a good decision-maker? That's the most important thing of all, and every Chiefs fan is eager to see what Reid can do with him and trust that John did enough of his homework to trade up to No. 10 overall to get him.

Whatever the case, I trust John. Don't give a rip about the expense (a 3rd this year and our ::gulp:: No. 1 next year), if this guy will take us to the promised land this deal was pretty cheap actually.

I think I saw that the DE is 6'7", something like that? To firm up the D-line with a pick that high -- I like it. (Update: my brother just texted me saying he saw this guy play in person when Villanova played his team, James Madison. Said he was freakishly athletic. We'll take it.)

We traded up to get the running back too, and I've been getting the idea running backs are too costly in the first couple rounds, but are at a premium there in the 3rd. If this rule holds, we scored big here too. The WR we got had a terrific year in 2015 but not in 2016 -- those guys can be real finds because I'd always heard if you can see a guy do something amazing once he can do it again. A work colleague told me about this LB -- he said he is a big, fast, phenomenally relentless guy who comes from a small college, a factor that may have scared away other takers.

I don't know about you, but John and these five guys, all of them not only solid but filling needs -- add them to the team we already have -- I'm great with that.

I was also informed a little while ago that the Chiefs open the NFL season against the Patriots in Foxboro on national television, Thursday Night Football. I'd been told that we should be afraid, be very afraid. Eh, no doubt the Patriots are a historically great team, but I really like John and Andy.

And that we're picked to play in the inaugural showcase game of the season, against the Super Bowl champs? Some people must be noticing too.

There is no question every Chiefs fan is thrilled beyond ecstasy that a Chiefs GM would actually have not only the ferocious ganas to trade up so brazenly on draft days, but to back it up with a record of getting the best players in the draft and outside of it.

All of the culminates in another of the most important items in "The Season Foremath". I happened to catch that getting Mahomes to run the offense over the course of the next several years may be a major indicator that Dorsey and Reid are here to stay for a while.

Oh that that would happen.

That means this not only comprises "The Season Foremath", but the "The Chiefs Dynasty Foremath".

I can't wait until September 7th.
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The Draft

As I've shared a million times before, I don't pay attention to anything Chiefs, at least not right now. Um, ahem, why then do I not only have a Chiefs blog, but actually squeeze in some time to write down a few things about what's going on with the Chiefs right now?

I do this blog because I really like the Chiefs. I don't pay any attention to anything except game action stuff because no matter what, all the outside stuff just drives me crazy. I am writing now because I'm presently going to write about future game action, naturally related to what's happening tomorrow.

I'm not so dense to fail to recognize that the first round of the draft is tomorrow. This is the first time I've blogged about it before the event itself. Some years in the past I've posted about this or that guy we got. This time I'm posting before, for one simple reason.

I trust John.

So far John Dorsey has killed it in the draft. This is why I'm great with whatever John decides to do. I'm thrilled we have someone there who's going to make whatever decisions that need to be made to ensure our team will win playoff games.

See, that's the key.

Look, as it is I confess I have been nervous about hoping one of those fine QB's or RB's is there for us to snatch at our, what, 25th pick? Again, I don't know, but the pick is down there somewhere.

I know there's the Clemson QB, the Notre Dame QB, and some other QB's they've talked about. I don't know much about any of them except that I saw them play a bit in college a couple times, and my radar has picked up that these guys are highly considered. My brother mentioned that we should not get that Texas Tech QB, he says he's not as good as they say. That makes me nervous, but if we end up with him -- again, I'm great with what John thinks Andy can do with him.

I know there's the Louisiana State RB, the Stanford RB, and the Florida State RB, and if we can't get that QB, I'd love to pick up one of those guys.

We really really really need that QB, though -- oh that for once that guy would land in our laps -- 

For ----- fuh-reekin' ----- once.

But then I think, what if all those guys are taken by the time our pick comes around.

Disconsolation. Mnffnmph.

But then again...

I trust John.

If all those guys are gone, he'll do what he needs to. Everyone debates obsessively about whether or not the selection should be fill-a-need or take-the-best. If we don't get that world-beater QB or RB, then I think it should be take-the-best, but you know? John knows best.

Ultimately, it doesn't matter who we get.

There's only one thing that counts.

I can't deny that it'd be really really really nice to enjoy, for once in a Chiefs fan's lifetime, there on that crisp Sunday late afternoon, first, second week of January, the Chiefs methodically driving down the field, under two minutes left and behind in the score, but within range and yes, our incisively confident QB

Just takes care of business.

Yeah, it'd be nice if we could enjoy a few of those days, over the course of the next few years or so. With the quarterback we get tomorrow gettin' it done. Or the running back setting things up so whichever quarterback we have can get it done. Or whoever it is that was a take-the-best guy we got in that great 2017 Chiefs draft doing something extraordinary to add to the dramatic proceedings and protracted exuberance of postseason game conquest. Yeah, that's our vision.

But no matter what, it is nice to know John'll get it done now.

So it'll get done then.
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The Kansas City Blessing, Part III

My cousin, the die-hardest of die-hard Chiefs fans, sent out a Facebook notice shortly after the Chiefs latest playoff debacle, a simple but impassioned declaration that it didn't much matter any more. Yes there was much more depth to the message than that, but the thrust was something every Chiefs fan feels every time after time after time after time after time we refuse to win a playoff game that is ours for the taking.

Oh believe me I feel the same way. In my last post I'd spoken about the galaxy of hope we have if and when John Dorsey waves his wonderful wonder wand and does what he must this year -- however dramatically disruptive it may be -- to get the Chiefs to put a playoff team on the field that will nfncknking win a playoff game for once. But I do realize that in my exuberance I may have been a bit hard on some of our better players.

Don't get me wrong, the essence of what I said still holds. I'm hearing that the Chiefs are going full-throttle to ink Eric Berry, and that's perfectly fine, really -- but let's face it, arguably the best safety in the NFL still loses to good quarterbacks in the playoffs. Berry's been the lesser player four times -- Flacco, Luck, Brady, and Roethlisberger have all schooled him. He did beat Brian Hoyer (yay!)

But to Berry's credit, a ton of other factors weigh on the Chiefs. The NFL/media/business/officiating/Norse-god military-industrial complex is still consistently destroying the Chiefs chances to advance to games that'll lose too much money should the Chiefs appear in them. And the evidence is clear from one thread raging through the rumor mill I happened to see when one time this past week I peeked at Chiefs stuff.

Yeah, I peeked for just a moment to see if my work colleague's rumor threads had some veracity...

Big mistake.

Right after I'd posted about how splendidly awesome it was to have John Dorsey at the wheel driving an organization that is scorching up the player personnel development highway, I see that everyone is convinced he's slipping off to Green Bay after this year.

You are nfcknghfcncghkcking kidding me.

This is precisely the kind of thing that verifies everything I've said about how much the complex is crushing Chiefs fans hopes to enjoy some decent measure of postseason joyfulness. You know, I like looking (when I do which is rarely) at Arrowhead Pride and Arrowhead Addict and any number of other Chiefs sites and blogs, because the articles are indeed for the most part optimistic. That's a nice thing, an encouraging thing -- really, not being facetious at all, it is good to read good things about good Chiefs things happening often enough. There's a place for that.

But then there are my cousin's sentiments, and frankly, how many other Chiefs fans not only feel this way but know why they do?

How many Chiefs fans look at this gathering storm projecting Dorsey going the Packers and know that this is precisely the kind of thing that justifies the abject despair Chiefs fans feel all the time? That there is no reason in the world Dorsey should be going there except that the complex is loathe to see him continue to do great things for a team they simply do not tolerate being successful?

The best that happens is Dorsey likes the stability and purpose of the Chiefs organization right now and wants to see his work to its end -- a Super Bowl championship by 2023. Really, this is the way it should be. There is no reason in the universe the Chiefs are any worse than the Packers organization-wise -- at least that I've seen, no reason. So yeah, maybe Dorsey will see that the Chiefs Kingdom at every level appreciates everything he does here and he'd make no more money and have no more accoutrements in Green Bay than in Kansas City.

The second best is that after Dorsey is gone to the Packers, we can pray his replacement will take what he's done and do almost as well, hoping what we'll have from Dorsey's work and his successor's will propel us to that success we've all been so longing for.

Thing is the precariousness of that latter scenario, oh how familiar are we with that, is precisely why smarter Chiefs fans like my cousin legitimately, justifiably, and teleologically feel the way they do.

This is why in the face of knowing exactly what we're up against, seeing it, beholding it, being honest about it -- one of the main elements of the Kansas City Blessing is simply the fortitude any Chiefs fan has in the face of the impediments. I mean, what if the blessing at this exact moment in time is that being so sought-after means John Dorsey is as good as we all know he is? Maybe Dorsey stays after all, or if he's gone his replacement will be even better?

There is always that one thing I've shared a few times before -- that the horror of all the playoff horrors gets Chiefs people to do that much more they know they must do to win championship football, and that when they do it will be that much sweeter.

So yeah, I'll still blog about each game, however much that is. I'll still be one of the faithful -- through the pains and thrills and likely even more pains, but knowing there are those like me, that's cool.

The best of the Kansas City Blessing, however, is really in that image of the Chiefs fans at the top of this blog post. A random image from an event the Chiefs had at an elementary school --

Those kids are the Kansas City Blessing.

Hopeful still, enjoying the delights and wonders and beauties of the Chiefs Kingdom which is much more than football -- that's awesome.
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The Kansas City Blessing, Part II

I wasn't planning on putting up a new post. I'd figured the most recent one would be the last for the 2016-2017 pro football episode, but I felt compelled to write about a few more specific things, for a few more quite significant reasons. There had been a number of other things on my mind that I didn't get to last time and I won't be revisiting them here, though a thread that ran through this latest postmortem to the Chiefs season is still quite prominent.

Yesterday a colleague of mine came in to my work area, someone with whom I converse about sports items at times, and while he knows I am a bit of a sports celibate, as it were, I indulge him and we have moderately engaging discussions. I don't contribute much except for whatever my sports-attuned radar has picked up from news or other sources.

He is, by the way, the gentlemen who mentioned a number of weeks ago that he felt the Chiefs are the only team with five game-changing players on the team, five of them (Hill, Kelce, Berry, Peters, Houston), and that he could think of no other NFL team with any more than two or three. Game-changers mind you, players who can almost single-handedly win games merely by their extraordinary talent and persistent will.

Which is why what he shared with me on Friday afternoon is something I felt I simply must address here in this blog. It starts with this still resounding truth every Chiefs fan knows so well and is so painfully familiar.

There is no way this team should have lost yet another playoff game, this one to a far less talented Steelers team.

This truth simply cannot be lost on wise insightful Chiefs management, it simply cannot be.

Here is what my colleague told me, and again, I know nothing about any of this, I have not in any way pursued discovering more about these possibilities, I haven't the faintest idea the veracity of the things my colleague divulged. I know nothing other than what he said, except that I do know

What these things mean for the Chiefs Kingdom.

He said the Chiefs are jettisoning a lot of high-priced guys, in surprising fashion. Any of us can think of anyone the Chiefs could do without, but some of the names were surprising. He mentioned Albert Wilson, but that's not a surprise because he simply could not run open routes underneath coverage and he dropped far too many passes he should've been able to grab.

He mentioned Jamaal Charles, but that's not really a surprise either except that Jamaal was such a valiant Chiefs player for so long, and really, so damn good. But you know? When you think about it, how well did Jamaal do for us in getting us to promised-land glory? You know, when you think about it, really very little.

In 2009 the Chiefs were poor. In 2010 Charles did well to get us the playoffs, but the rest of the team was not up to his ability, so that was really not on him. He was injured for the year in 2011, and 2012 was a catastrophe for everyone. There was 2013, but he got injured early in the Colts playoff game so that wasn't really on him either. In 2014 he was again spectacular but you know? He simply was not spectacular enough, because we inexplicably lost games to Tennessee, San Francisco, Arizona, and Pittsburgh we had no business losing. And then in 2015 there was the second ACL tear -- worse than the first because even today he has still not fully recovered from it, so yeah, not on him, but if he's not out there on the field, then he can't be employed as we need him to win postseason football games. Thing is, everyone has been pretty certain Jamaal, as great a Chiefs player as he will always be, is gone. Not much of a surprise.

The real surprise was who my colleague also mentioned, Eric Berry. Yeah.

Eric Berry.

I'd thought we'd surely be keeping Berry and likely letting Dontari Poe go, but ya know? As I think about it, if Berry is going to ask for the moon, I'd say good-bye too. How come?! Well, here's the thing, and this will give you a hint of what I think is going on within the inner workings of the Chiefs Kingdom.

Those playoff games.

In 2010 we got smoked by Baltimore. Berry was a rookie, and the team just wasn't as good as the Ravens, so that's fine. But Berry wasn't a world-beater in that game either. Then there was 2013 when Andrew Luck torched us in the last quarter-and-a-half of that nightmare game. Even though our D-backs were hurting, Berry was still back there letting the Colts get quick huge plays when stopping any two or three of them would've won us the game. That's a big one on Berry.

Then there was 2015 when Berry blew key coverages that allowed the Patriots, a team with absolutely no running game, to beat a better Chiefs team. And then there was this year, when Berry again blew critical coverages allowing the Steelers to get into field goal range one too many times.

Yes, Eric Berry is a hero, to everybody, always will be, always will be one of my favorite players no matter what. But I'm sure John Dorsey is going to go to Berry and say, "Look, it's about dubyas, and you didn't get it done when we needed it -- a number of times when we really needed it, in a big way. We still like you and would like for you to be a Chiefs player forever. Here's our offer, we'd love to have you return to play for us." Again, if he doesn't, then you know what?

I trust John.

My colleague mentioned there were other guys with their heads on the chopping block, he couldn't recall any, but he said one might be Eric Fisher. Eric Fisher?! Well, you know, Fisher is a fine offensive lineman, and last year we did sign him to a long term deal, but you know what? He still could've easily not held that Steelers guy when we really needed him to just play even modestly like a No. 1 overall pick.

The first item my colleague brought up, however, was about quarterback. He said that the Chiefs are going hard after Tony Romo. Now my first thought is, oh no, yet again we're going after some veteran who'll be around for maybe three years -- it's the Chiefs standard practice ::sigh:: But then I thought, good, the Chiefs are finally wanting to really take care of business.

Sorry, but Alex Smith, let's face it, you haven't done the job. You've actually played okay in the playoffs, really, you have, but please -- you haven't won us playoff games. You're good, but not winning-playoff-games good.

So if the Chiefs get Romo, cut loose Smith and all these other high or overpriced players, draft a fine quarterback for the future and stockpile a slough of other selections (some with compensatory picks -- oh do I like John Dorsey more and more), and with a ton of saved cap space snatch an undervalued free agent here and there...

We're in business.

Thinking about these things my colleague shared actually gave me a glimmer of hope. No, actually, it is giving me a galaxy of hope.

John Dorsey wants a team that will win playoff games and he'll do what he does really well to get it.

I like it a lot.

The strategy is simple, and he's got the skills to pull it off. We already have the game-changer pieces in place. I'd like to believe Dorsey has already told Andy Reid, we like you, you're a fine play-maker and strong team-leader, let me get the guys you need. Now some may wonder why Dorsey doesn't consider getting rid of Reid too, but please, finding good, solid coaches is much harder. Yes we can justifiably blister Reid about his inability to adjust or failure to be much more organic or refusal to manage late-game clocks or whatever, but he's still a terrific coach.

I'd also like to believe that Dorsey's gone to players like Tyreek Hill and Chris Jones and told them, look, you are the future, we really like you, and we will put a winning team around you.

And I know he's going to go to those players like Romo et al and share with them the vision for winning Chiefs football by bringing them on board to do the great things the Chiefs can do. Regarding someone like Romo, Dorsey's got a feather in his cap and something the Chiefs have really never had: a core of three terrific wide receivers in Maclin, Hill, and Conley, as well as the best tight end in football.

And I know he's going to run the table on draft day because he's already shown he's got the eye for nabbing talented players where he can get them.

A key takeaway in all this is we know he means business because he's going to toss anyone who isn't going to be serious about winning Chiefs football. He summarily did it to his third-round pick, Keivarae Russell, right in the middle of the season, and everyone was stunned he did that. Why though? Why so surprised? If he's no good or doing nothing to show he'll get better, get rid of him.

Oh my do we need bosses who are serious about lighting a fire under the ass of guys when it counts the most. No more spells, curses, deer-in-the-headlights looks from Chiefs players on the playoff football field. We're so sick of seeing that, every Chiefs fan wants to puke.

Get the job done, dammit.

Who cares who anybody is, who cares how much money someone's making or how special anyone thinks anyone is or what anybody thinks one way or the other?

We need a winning Chiefs football team, and that means winning postseason football.

Period.

This is the delightfully wonderful thing about hearing what my colleague shared with me yesterday.

John Dorsey means business. He's going to get guys who will win and if you're not one of those guys, you're outta there.

Wow. Wow, how many times have you felt the way you do now about this?

Now again, I can't say whether or not any of this is veritable or the extent to which things will change or whether we even have a legitimate shot at Romo or not. The veracity of any particular thing one way or the other is not even what really matters.

You know what matters.

I can't wait until next January.
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The Kansas City Blessing

September 30, 2014.

That was the day the Shuttlecock Curse silliness was finally put to rest.

You remember, being a Kansas City sports fan. Apparently in 1986 or something, shortly after the Royals won their first World Series title, the Nelson Gallery put a big honkin' shuttlecock on the front lawn. The thinking was since it was there, the Chiefs and Royals have stunk in postseason play, or worse, not even been there at all.

Seemed like eons. It was all the fault of that stinkin' shuttlecock.

Well, on that brisk September day, the Royals annihilated that sucker.

As every red-blooded Kansas Citian knows so well, the Royals defeated the A's in the American League Wild Card Game in one of the craziest fashions imaginable. Then they dispatched the Angels who only led the majors in wins that season. Then they disposed of the Orioles who some said were better than the Angels. Then they were 90 feet away from putting it to Madison Bumgarner -- who was only having the greatest pitching performance in World Series history -- and damn well winning the World Series outright.

Never you mind. For the Royals came back with a vengeance in 2015, first storming to the AL Central title, then taking down the Astros, then the Blue Jays, then the Mets to finally win it all with the greatest display of clutch hitting in major league postseason history tallying seven wins across that span in games they trailed by two or more runs.

Kansas City major professional sports team, World Champions.

Now yeah, it wasn't the Chiefs. And while there are likely a few Kansas Citians who care little about baseball, it was still a sign.

It was a major sign that a team with exceptional on-field talent, strong front office leadership, and the heart of a champion could overcome the gargantuan non-$$$-generating non-media-darling impediments and not only win it all but

Win it all being real and true and courageous.

You just saw it all over the Royals for two straight years. And if you are someone who likes the baseball Kansas City team and followed them through that delightful run, you know how phenomenally exhilarating it was. And everyone knows that much of that joy came from the what-seemed-like-an-eternity feeling of excruciating despair when the Royals were the absolute dregs of major league baseball.

I share this because I think this is a key component to what is happening with all this Chiefs stuff. I don't think there is any question there is something, something beyond anything we can explain that is keeping the Chiefs and their fine team from winning anything meaningful once they get into the playoffs. The Chiefs have been too talented far too often for there to be any other reason.

But that's where the Kansas City Blessing comes in. I shared a couple years ago that "Winning is a curse." For a number of reasons, it really can be. One of the things that makes losing a blessing is that when your team does win, it is that much sweeter. I am looking forward to the day when the Chiefs win the Super Bowl again.

For one, it will be that they deserved it. They certainly aren't getting any help from the officiating or the NFL business/media interests or any of that, but that's the way it should be. I don't even want there to be any charmed plays or any of that going our way. I'm looking forward to the postseason games the Chiefs gut out, battle to the end, get the clutch win, and captivate the nation by their merits both in their talent and their character.

And for two, it will be overwhelmingly joyous because we've been faithful to the team. My heart breaks for all the fans who took on the ice storm effects and got to Arrowhead early this year only to have their hopes crushed yet again. I feel it when I think about the Charlie's Saloon patrons in Philadelphia who are so devoted for no reason other than the owner one time looked at the Chiefs and thought, "Yeah, that's a team worth rooting for."

What is so encouraging is that none of them will give up on the Chiefs. And right now, in spite of this season's woeful turn in the playoffs yet again -- right now is the best time to be a fan. It can't be said enough, Clark has brought stability and purpose, John has brought wisdom and insight, Andy has brought inspiration and industry, and the players know it, feel it, and consider their teammates as family.

It'll happen soon, I believe it will.

But you know? I don't care if it's 2039 when Joe Montana's grandson, five-year Chiefs veteran and original D&D! quarterback Jedidiah Montana leads the team to their first Super Bowl win since IV, I'm good with that, really.

As long as I know they're on the right track as they are now.

It's a blessing to be a Chiefs fan, it really is.

You may know I am a Christian man, and after our season ended I had read from the 51st chapter of Isaiah in my devotional time. It was good to be assured there is a God who restores, who honors those who seek righteousness as it says there in the first verse of the chapter. The third verse is the one that is most meaningful for now, and I'd like to share it with you here.

Yes, there will be a time when Chiefs success will be deliriously glorious. It's great to talk about Chiefs things anytime, whenever, about whatever, but I've said everything about this season for now. There'll be much more for next year, certainly.

To conclude this one, a promise from God. Yes, this particular message was for the Israelites, I know, but He cares about Chiefs fans too.

"The Lord will surely comfort Zion, and will look with compassion on all her ruins; He will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of singing."
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The Quarterback Project 2017

I must confess, I peeked at Chiefs stuff. I peeked in complete violation of my vow to be sports celibate. Tonight I looked around at some Chiefs stuff, including the discovery that Alex Smith, Dustin Colquitt, and DJ Alexander were added to the Pro Bowl team (to join Berry, Peters, Hill, and Kelce). Nice to see them there. Of course it'd be better if we saw them in the Super Bowl, but, well... next year...

(Ahem, I just noticed in the photo to the right, the AFC is in all Chiefs colors. Hmm. Maybe it's a sign...)

I also looked at Arrowhead Pride, the best Chiefs blog there is (except, of course, The Chiefs Game Today, of course) and noted two key articles that relate to the subject of this post. One that I still did not read much of -- not that it wasn't quite thorough -- was about Alex Smith's responsibilities for the playoff loss to the Steelers. The other that I read none of at all -- at least not right now anyway -- was about the Chiefs very very very real possibility that they finally select that fine available quarterback high in the draft.

It is nice to see some people treating seriously the importance of having that thing I think I've emphasized no fewer than 57,209 times over the entirety of the blog effort --

Getting that drafted and developed winning quarterback.

What I've argued is something I'm seeing confirmed in more and more sources, such as this one that popped up in a somewhat unusual place, but it is still quite veritable. Without an elite quarterback, you're not going to the promised land.

I started this effort with a blog post I made right in the middle of an abjectly abominable stretch of Chiefs history known as the "2007-2009 Abjectly Abominable Stretch of Chiefs History". I did much more with this thread starting with this post, and detailed the horrific history of quarterback selecting in the draft. In fact I'd say that's being kind because calling it "horrific" implies that there was actually any real quarterback selecting at all.

Needless to say, the hypothesis that teams have long stretches of Super Bowl absences explicitly because they do not have strong long-term drafted and developed quarterbacks is being proven each year the Chiefs don't make it. This year they should have, they really should have, they had the team to do so, and yet -- and yet.

There are indeed a number of solid reasons the Chiefs simply cannot get past the first stages of post-season play. Those reasons have been bled to death in the blog. There're the charms-curses-lucky-bounces that always go against the Chiefs. There're the NFL/business/media/whoever-doesn't-get-a-dime-because-of-Chiefs-success machinations making the burden on the Chiefs much greater whenever they're fielding a fine team. There're the inexplicable ways Chiefs' weaknesses expand and strengths dissolve every time we put our feet on a playoff-game field.

But one of the most stunningly profound aggravations related to all of the supernatural -- as I've been calling it, and I think appropriately so -- is the Chiefs situation with drafting quarterbacks. Their "luck" -- shall we say -- at being at that right spot to snatch that guy who'll be our drafted and developed winning quarterback for many years has been the absolute worst in all of any professional football across the universe in every dimension of existence. Let's face it, we all know it is true.

And we all know how that "failure" -- shall we say -- has resulted in the absolute worst record in the NFL for reaching the AFC Championship Game since the merger. As I pointed out in the first post-Divisional-Game post, the Chiefs have a "record" of 1-13 for times making the AFC Championship Game and times in the playoffs not making it.

And a major major major component of that non-success is -- now for the 57,210th time -- our not having that D&D guy at the helm.

I've thought about updating the posts from 2012, the ones in which I do detail the horrors of our interminably painful quarterback situation, but I'm just not going to. No need to. The only thing that has happened since was we picked up Alex Smith (more on him in a minute that's not a whole lot different than what we know about related to The Quarterback Project) and that after the horrific 2012 season when we amazingly had a No. 1 pick there was, yep, no No. 1 quality quarterback for us. Oh there was one in in 2012 (after the 2011 season), and in 2011, annnd in 2010, annnnnnnnnnd in 2009 -- all exceptionally good quarterbacks for their teams, all still around playing well. (Just FYI they were, respectively, Andrew Luck, Cam Newton, Sam Bradford, and Matthew Stafford.)

So, what the situation for now? What has to happen?

Please, because I actually do practice my sports celibacy with some stalwart rigor, I do not know any college quarterback coming out. Actually, forgive me, I do know of a couple, but only because I saw stuff about them long ago when watching some small bits of college football. I know about Chad Kelly, is he any good NFL-wise? All I know is they said good things about him on the television broadcast back then. I think I'd heard Deshone Kizer from Notre Dame was okay, but again, I know nothing about their prospects for the NFL because it is too painful to flail about trying to project any of this.

A long time ago I did pay rabid attention to it all, every year, got all excited -- "Brodie Croyle! Wonderful! We're going to the Super Bowl now for sure!" -- and was only crushed every single time these guys failed. So why go through the agony, why put yourself through that.

No more. Please don't get me wrong. I'm hoping this year we do get that good guy where we're at in the draft. Notice too I didn't mention Deshaun Watson, because while some thought he'd drop as far as the Chiefs draft spot, I'm sure he got catapulted up in the upper regions of the draft with his performance in the college football championship game where he had the exact kind of clutch super-important post-season game type of play the Chiefs desperately need.

And please know I'm great with Alex Smith having his career-year next season when he plays great enough to win post-season games too.

Now notice I said great enough. Much of the thread of that Arrowhead Pride piece Alex Smith vs. the Steelers was a reiteration of what I'd been sharing, that Smith was pretty damn good actually. Several of our players were pretty damn good. It's just that it was so typically not good enough, in the most perverse way imaginable, as usual.

When will it get to a point when the Chiefs play a string of post-season games with that vigorous confidence that tells you, that slams you with the truth that -- for a switch -- we're going to win this game no matter what. Yes we've got the talent, but when will it be for that good, slugged-out, close playoff game, against an opponent with a very good quarterback themselves, with several clutch plays going our way because we willed it to happen.

Again I'm very great with Alex Smith winning Super Bowls in each of the next two years he'll be running things for us. That is, should the Chiefs make that happen because again, I'm not sure where he stands with his contract and all. My presumption is he's got two years left.

But then, that's why this draft thing is so critical right now. I will always hope the very best for the Chiefs, as always, but I'm not sold we'll get to the Big Dance simply because, yes, we don't have that D&D guy which is so undeniably essential. Alex Smith? I like him! I want him to have rings, I really do!

But I'm not holding my breath.

I will hold my breath, however, if we can get that guy. Watson, Kizer, Kelly, whoever else there is who the absolute perfect fit at No. 26 or wherever it is we draft, and then -- hey, here's a thought --

Watch Andy Reid to use his skills with quarterbacks to mold and shape him into The Drafted and Developed Guy.

I've said many times before in this blog effort, "This is the time". And while indeed it may have been the time way back then, each and every time it hasn't been. That's The Quarterback Project for you, in bright living color. So yeah, now it's about looking forward to 2022, 2023, when the guy we get this year will be fully ready and able to get Chiefs rich, wholesome Promised Land delightfulness.

You know what's also great about that, and this is a good note to end this post on. It is that John Dorsey and his personnel team have shown they really do know what they're doing out there, making great calls on players. Damn, if we can have a draft like this last one where we snatched two first-rounders way out in the 2nd round (Chris Jones) and 5th (Tyreek Hill), then we're well on our way to complement that D&D QB.

It's also very encouraging that Clark Hunt has gone a long way to establish a secure, stable, and strong organization -- fully willing to scour it clean of any of the toxicities of the Scott Pioli incompetencies and the Carl Peterson abrasions and even, yes, with the greatest deepest respect, the Lamar Hunt ineptitudes.

There is great hope for the Kansas City Chiefs -- truly fully authentically so, and we all know it.

Now we just need to enjoy seeing that fine QB drop into our draft selection spot...
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