Well, what exactly can one say at this point? It is gonna be a long season, we all know this, but are there any bright spots to take away? Any at all? Buehler? Buehler?
Crickets.
I will give a rundown of some of my thoughts on the Chefs (not a typo) and what bright spots (if any) there were from this game and at the quarter mark of the season.
First, I just have to get this out there, I saw probably the worst call I have ever seen in any professional sporting event in my life. In the second quarter on his way to laying the wood and preventing Steve Smith from catching a pass Jarrad Page got called for a personal foul for "leading with his helmet." Now, generally I can see at least why the ref made the call, whether it is a good one or not, but this time I got nothing. This call was terrible, never have I seen an entire crowd react with such vitriole. This was the most collective anger I have ever seen in that confined of a space. The ref would have gotten a better respose if he would have punted a puppy into the stands. The crowd noise after that call was deafening, even with the small amount of fans there, and it lead to one of the top five best sarcastic cheers of all time later when the Chiefs actually got a call to go their way...not that it mattered cause Eli Manning tossed a touchdown pass the next play. Go Chiefs.
Here is what Manning said about that touchdown pass "On the touchdown, they went to cover-two and we ran a double post," Manning said. "We weren't expecting to get that coverage, but we got it, made the adjustment and he ran a great route." I have never heard a Chiefs quarterback utter a sentence as football smart as this and I can only hope and pray Cassel says something vaguely close to this at least once in his football career.
Dustin Colquitt did not have a good game. He shanked more than John Daly wearing no shoes playing Augusta after a 12-day bender. Indicentally, has anyone ever noticed that when a punter has a bad punt the announcer ALWAYS says he "hit it off the side of his foot." Really? Every time? I have seen replays where it appears the punter hits the ball off of his shin which, if I am not mistaken, is not the side of his foot. Disappointing. I am curious how many times we heard that Colquitt "hit it off the side of his foot," on Sunday.
I am curious if we hired a good head coach or someone who knows what the idea of a good head coach is without the actual ability to be one. For example, Jamal Charles has had some problems holding on to the football this year. Haley has been heard in practice saying "don't drop my football," etc. Is this good coaching? It seems Haley thinks he can fear his players into not making mistakes, which is not much different from Herm Edwards who thought he could guilt his players into not making mistakes. Haley needs to try COACHING his players not to make mistakes as opposed to preaching them not to make mistakes.
Haley says they are gonna be a disciplined team, is this something they are actively coaching, making sure the players learn the scheme and have good technique or is this something Haley imagines will happen if he says it enough. When Tom Coughlin went to the NY Giants, Tiki Barber was a good running back with ball security problems. Coughlin came in, and said we are gonna teach you how to hold the ball better and the fumble problems disappeared and Barber became one of the best running backs in the league. This is what needs to happen to Charles instead of just being told not to lose Haley's football.
So Haley came out and tried to run the wildcat from the start, which I like. As a football traditionalist who LOVES the triple option the wildcat is my dream and I would run it at least 50% of the time as a head coach. But I digress. Why put Larry Johnson back there in the Wildcat? Is he a threat to throw the ball? Is he a threat to but a big run? Is he someone who can make a play if the play breaks down? No, maybe, and no. My proposal, put Mark Bradley back there to take the snaps at Wildcat. Bradley played quarterback in high school and threw a beautiful pass to Tyler Thigpen on a trick play last year. Is it that hard to see this? I mean, we have run Bradley on reverses and he runs well after the catch too. So let's see here, he is quicker than LJ, faster, runs better for a wildcat type of QB, and is a threat to throw and can throw well if he's called...you're right Haley, dumb idea. What was I thinking? I award myself no points and may God have mercy on my soul.
The defense showed flashes of playing well from time to time, but overall, it was a dismal performance. Manning tore us up, although I do not place that blame on the secondary. Talking with my dad during the game we came to the realization that our secondary is good and will be for years to come. Put our defensive backfield with the Giants D-line and they are pro bowlers. However, any secondary can get picked apart when the QB has 10 seconds to throw cause there is no pressure.
Which brings me to my next point. The Chiefs are on pace to have more sacks than they had last year, but they are still suspect at best up front with the D-line. Pressure is seemingly nonexistent and they are hanging our cornerbacks out to dry on a regular basis. Many times Manning lined up to throw, there was nobody open, but given another 2-3 seconds somebody squeaked open and he fit the ball in. Sad story, and it doesn't look like it's getting better any time soon.
The offense continues to sputter along. Cassel shows flashes but it is hard to tell if he will be want we want him to be behind this line, he has no time to throw, and even if he did, who knows if our receivers could even get open for him. Larry Johnson will never be the same back he was in '05-'06 behind our suspect O-line. I don't know what else there is to say that I haven't said already about the poor playcalling and bad O-Line play.Final Thoughts:
I will reserve judgment on Haley completely until he has a full season under his belt. It is hard to tell whether he can handle his duties and get this team going in the right direction or he is in over his head. Right now, he needs to show me more because I am not impressed. I understand he is hamstrung by lesser talent, but a good coach will find ways to put these players in position to be successful and get the most of them he can. Right now, the team feels stagnant.
I am not sure what the 5 stages of greiving are, it has been a while since my last pyschology class, but I do know one of them is acceptance. I, and I think the majority of the fan base, has reached that level. We have accepted the Chiefs are a poor, lesser talented football team and it is going to take a lot to bring them back to relevance.
It is hard to be a Chiefs fan right now. They are losing and they are losing ugly with no signs of it getting better. Hopefully, we can start to right the ship by the end of the season and get some momentum heading into next year...I wanna cry....
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