ADDITIONAL CHIEFS' THOUGHTS & A WHOLE LOT MORE
In yesterday's rant about the Cowboys-Chiefs game, written about 20-minutes after the overtime loss, I singled out S Jarrad Page as not knowing his job description. I should have included the other safety, Mike Brown in that rant, he was as guilty as Page. Both took terrible angles resulting in Cowboy touchdowns. Yesterday was Myles Austin's very first start in the NFL, his first. Set the bar pretty high didn't he? He broke the all-time franchise record yesterday. I heard Chiefs' GM Scott Pioli wandered the parking lots at Arrowhead yesterday after the game talking to fans, thanking them for coming out to the game. Nice gesture from a guy who's been called the "biggest ego in franchise history" by many in the Kansas City media. I'm not defending Pioli, I think he's already behind the curve rebuilding this team. But he should be recognized for his good will yesterday. Anyone ever see Carl Peterson talking one-on-one with fans in the parking lot? Lamar Hunt used to do it all the time before games, but never Peterson. When Dwayne Bowe snagged Matt Cassel's 4th & 7 pass for the tying touchdown with 23-seconds left in regulation, I pondered the 2-point conversion, but after seeing the Cowboys bench, their body language, the way their heads were hung, I thought they were beat. I thought going to overtime was the right move. Monday morning hindsight says it wasn't, especially the way the play calling went in overtime. We win the toss & we go right back into the shell we'd been in all day. Where was the urgency they showed in the tying drive? With the offensive line, down 2 starters, running on fumes, going for 2 points was probably the right move. If you know you have the best personnel, you go to overtime. But if you're out-manned & everybody in the stadium knows it, taking a 1-play shot is probably the better chance to take. Waiting, hoping for the Cowboys to implode one more time is not a strategy. One more item, the national media, which includes the networks, is clueless about the situation in Kansas City. I heard several times yesterday & this morning about how hard it is to win in Arrowhead Stadium for visiting teams. To that, I say bulls*#t. Tom Jackson & Troy Aikman were especially sold on this point, I doubt Tom Jackson has seen a game at Arrowhead in maybe 10 years. The "Arrowhead Mystique" was back in the Marty Schottenheimer days. Since the start of the 2007 season, the Chiefs are 3-17 in Arrowhead. Yesterday, about 12,000 fans were disguised as empty seats, added to that were at least 20,000 Cowboy fans, which at the max, left 44,000 real Chiefs' fans in the building.
The Washington Redskins host the Chiefs next week & they're in a very precarious position. In all 6 games this season, their opponents enter the game winless. They opened the season against the Giants, then came the Rams, Lions(loss), Tampa Bay, Carolina(loss) & Kansas City. Left tackle Chris Samuels will not play, he injured his neck yesterday & will be out for more than next Sunday. They have already lost starting guard Randy Thomas for the season. Their depth is very questionable, so it shouldn't be much to ask for a few sacks come Sunday.
The Cleveland Browns got their 1st win yesterday in Buffalo, 6-3. Cleveland QB Derrick Johnson was 2 of 17 for 23 yards & they won. Two fumbles by punt returner Roscoe Parrish doomed the Bills. Buffalo lost two starting linebackers yesterday, both to knee injuries. Kawika Mitchell & Marcus Buggs will be out for the season. The Chiefs play this pair in December.
Aaron Curry, the difference maker I wanted for our defense, wasn't the pass rusher the Chiefs needed, he had only 8 1/2 sacks in his Wake Forest career. Yesterday Curry recorded his 4th sack of the season & he led the Seahawks in tackles with 10. I saw Tyson Jackson jump up & down after Mike Brown recovered a fumble yesterday, that was extent of his involvement in the game that I saw. Officially he was credited with 1 tackle. WooHoo!
Heard a great remark yesterday from Chris Berman when he said "Darrius Heyward-Bey, he's got more names than catches". Clever & it's true. He has 2 catches for the season good for 36 yards & no scores. Let's compare this brilliant pick to some of the rookie class picked long after DHB & Michael "I got my new uniform Friday" Crabtree. Hakeem Nicks of the Giants caught 4 passes for 49 yards & a touchdown yesterday, giving him 3 TD's for the season. Jeremy Maclin caught 6 balls for 142 yards & 2 scores yesterday. Austin Collie caught 8 passes for 97 yards & 2 touchdowns last night for Indianapolis. C'mon DHB, you're falling behind.
Speaking of the Raiders, did you hear Tony Dungy say last night he had advised Michael Vick against signing with Oakland in August or in the future. He said "Oakland isn't a good situation for you, you don't want to go there."
The Colts played 3 primetime night games in the last 4 weeks, all on the road & won all three against 2008 division winners, Miami, Arizona & Tennessee. Pretty tall order when you looked at the schedule before the season started. I have to say Peyton Manning's performance in all 3 was nothing short of phenomenal. He is the best QB in the league.
The Jacksonville Jaguars got destroyed in Seattle yesterday 41-0. A couple of starters were in trouble before kickoff. Defensive end Quentin Groves was late to the airport, crashed his Cadillac Escalade into two parked cars injuring three people, walked away with the help of airport police & got on another flight to Seattle. Two of the injured people are still hospitalized, there's a lot more to this story I think. Then Sunday morning, Mike Sims-Walker, the Jags leading receiver was benched for "violating team itinerary". Does that means he was someplace he wasn't supposed to be? I think so & there will be fines in his future. They had to scrap almost half of the game plan without Sims-Walker in the lineup.
He finally did it. At the insistence of his offensive coaches, Colorado head coach, Dan Hawkins, has benched his son, Cody & elevated Tyler Hanson to starting quarterback. This might be permanent, it should be, Cody Hawkins could be an excellent small college QB, but not in the Big-12, no way should he be starting in this conference.
Injured running back Kendall Hunter could well be redshirted by Oklahoma State very soon. His foot/ankle injury the Cowboys are being so secretive about, isn't getting any better, he won't play Saturday against Missouri, he hasn't been seen at practice. Look for a decision next week, coach Mike Gundy has bigger troubles right now trying to get WR Dez Bryant reinstated by the NCAA. Bryant will have a sit-down in Indianapolis with NCAA officials tomorrow. It's doubtful he will be reinstated in time for Saturday's game.
Washington's Jake Locker was the difference maker in the Huskies' come from behind win over the Arizona Wildcats. He threw 3 touchdown passes, a 2-point conversion, ran for a 56-yard touchdown & the Huskies, outgained by 205 yards, mounted a furious 4th quarter comeback to win 36-33. The winning touchdown came on one of the most bizarre plays I've seen this season as Washington linebacker, Mason Foster, caught a deflected pass off an Arizona receiver foot as he lay on the ground. Foster grabbed it, turned toward the goaline & became a Huskie hero.
The Washington Redskins host the Chiefs next week & they're in a very precarious position. In all 6 games this season, their opponents enter the game winless. They opened the season against the Giants, then came the Rams, Lions(loss), Tampa Bay, Carolina(loss) & Kansas City. Left tackle Chris Samuels will not play, he injured his neck yesterday & will be out for more than next Sunday. They have already lost starting guard Randy Thomas for the season. Their depth is very questionable, so it shouldn't be much to ask for a few sacks come Sunday.
The Cleveland Browns got their 1st win yesterday in Buffalo, 6-3. Cleveland QB Derrick Johnson was 2 of 17 for 23 yards & they won. Two fumbles by punt returner Roscoe Parrish doomed the Bills. Buffalo lost two starting linebackers yesterday, both to knee injuries. Kawika Mitchell & Marcus Buggs will be out for the season. The Chiefs play this pair in December.
Aaron Curry, the difference maker I wanted for our defense, wasn't the pass rusher the Chiefs needed, he had only 8 1/2 sacks in his Wake Forest career. Yesterday Curry recorded his 4th sack of the season & he led the Seahawks in tackles with 10. I saw Tyson Jackson jump up & down after Mike Brown recovered a fumble yesterday, that was extent of his involvement in the game that I saw. Officially he was credited with 1 tackle. WooHoo!
Heard a great remark yesterday from Chris Berman when he said "Darrius Heyward-Bey, he's got more names than catches". Clever & it's true. He has 2 catches for the season good for 36 yards & no scores. Let's compare this brilliant pick to some of the rookie class picked long after DHB & Michael "I got my new uniform Friday" Crabtree. Hakeem Nicks of the Giants caught 4 passes for 49 yards & a touchdown yesterday, giving him 3 TD's for the season. Jeremy Maclin caught 6 balls for 142 yards & 2 scores yesterday. Austin Collie caught 8 passes for 97 yards & 2 touchdowns last night for Indianapolis. C'mon DHB, you're falling behind.
Speaking of the Raiders, did you hear Tony Dungy say last night he had advised Michael Vick against signing with Oakland in August or in the future. He said "Oakland isn't a good situation for you, you don't want to go there."
The Colts played 3 primetime night games in the last 4 weeks, all on the road & won all three against 2008 division winners, Miami, Arizona & Tennessee. Pretty tall order when you looked at the schedule before the season started. I have to say Peyton Manning's performance in all 3 was nothing short of phenomenal. He is the best QB in the league.
The Jacksonville Jaguars got destroyed in Seattle yesterday 41-0. A couple of starters were in trouble before kickoff. Defensive end Quentin Groves was late to the airport, crashed his Cadillac Escalade into two parked cars injuring three people, walked away with the help of airport police & got on another flight to Seattle. Two of the injured people are still hospitalized, there's a lot more to this story I think. Then Sunday morning, Mike Sims-Walker, the Jags leading receiver was benched for "violating team itinerary". Does that means he was someplace he wasn't supposed to be? I think so & there will be fines in his future. They had to scrap almost half of the game plan without Sims-Walker in the lineup.
He finally did it. At the insistence of his offensive coaches, Colorado head coach, Dan Hawkins, has benched his son, Cody & elevated Tyler Hanson to starting quarterback. This might be permanent, it should be, Cody Hawkins could be an excellent small college QB, but not in the Big-12, no way should he be starting in this conference.
Injured running back Kendall Hunter could well be redshirted by Oklahoma State very soon. His foot/ankle injury the Cowboys are being so secretive about, isn't getting any better, he won't play Saturday against Missouri, he hasn't been seen at practice. Look for a decision next week, coach Mike Gundy has bigger troubles right now trying to get WR Dez Bryant reinstated by the NCAA. Bryant will have a sit-down in Indianapolis with NCAA officials tomorrow. It's doubtful he will be reinstated in time for Saturday's game.
Washington's Jake Locker was the difference maker in the Huskies' come from behind win over the Arizona Wildcats. He threw 3 touchdown passes, a 2-point conversion, ran for a 56-yard touchdown & the Huskies, outgained by 205 yards, mounted a furious 4th quarter comeback to win 36-33. The winning touchdown came on one of the most bizarre plays I've seen this season as Washington linebacker, Mason Foster, caught a deflected pass off an Arizona receiver foot as he lay on the ground. Foster grabbed it, turned toward the goaline & became a Huskie hero.
Comments