CHIEFS FIND NEW WAYS TO DISAPPOINT THEIR FANS & EMBARRASS THEMSELVES
For those of you who did something other than watch our Chiefs because the telecast was blacked out in the Kansas City area, consider yourself lucky. Each week brings a new disappointment, or two, or three. Let's get the gory details out in the open, Cleveland running back, Jerome Harrison, carried 34 times for 286 yards, the 3rd most all-time. Yeah, I said all-time, like in the whole 88-year history of the National Football League, only 2 other guys had days better than Harrison had yesterday against the Chiefs. He scored 3 touchdowns, giving him a total of 3 for the entire season. His 286 yards rushing almost doubled his season total of 301. Yes, the guy who beat Jim Brown's franchise record had 301 total yards & zero touchdowns for the first 13 games of this season. But he hadn't played against Kansas City until yesterday.
I'd been griping about the 200-yards a game our defense was surrendering almost weekly, jeez that was child's play compared to yesterday when the Browns ran for 351. How Todd Haley handles the utter breakdown of his defense will be pivotal in the future of his regime. He needs to clean house, yes, he doesn't have the best personnel, as a unit one could say they can't tackle, certainly a priority at this level in my opinion. Their linebackers continue to overrun plays, creating gaping cutback lanes that even a journeyman back like Harrison can exploit. Clancy Pendergast, Tim Krumrie & company have to go, there's simply no viable excuse for this defense's impotence. This defensive coordinator keeps getting his pants pulled down in front of the whole world & he gets to keep his job? I can't see it. Other than a couple of corners & Hali, I see nothing worth salvaging & I mean nothing.
I have but one complaint with Todd Haley's coaching yesterday. After the NFL's most dangerous kick returner of all-time runs one back for a touchdown against you, why on earth, do you give him the opportunity to do it again? Well they kicked to Joshua Cribbs once more & guess what? He ran that one back for a touchdown too. What a surprise! Maybe Haley should have told special teams coach Steve Hoffman "under no circumstances are you to kick to Cribbs again today." Maybe that would have been a smart, responsi move as a head coach.
I'm also not going to pile on Matt Cassel, yes he could've been much better, he missed a few guys who were wide open, but the loss today was hardly his fault. His receivers let him down again, dropping 8 passes, making their league leading total, a very gaudy, 47. Anyone else think this is unacceptable? Tight end Jake O'Connell dropped 2 that would've gone for first downs. Dwayne Bowe dropped a couple, including a touchdown pass. Mark Bradley dropped a sure-first down pass & Leonard Pope dropped what would also have been a touchdown. Cassel did a much better job getting the ball out instead of allowing himself to be sacked. There was a Brad Cottam sighting for the first time ever, the 2nd year tight end caught 4 passes for 62 yards & 3 first downs. He even looked rather athletic doing it. Could it be the 'light has gone on' for Cottam?
Jammal Charles had another big day yesterday, 25 carries for 154 yards & a 47-yard touchdown. Like I've said the past couple of weeks, if Charles had an adequate backup, he could be a very productive back, but I believe they're going to have to keep his total touches under 30 per game.
The Chiefs makeshift offensive line held up pretty well against Cleveland's makeshift defensive line. Both units have been decimated by injury. The Chiefs had a good balance on offense, 323 yards passing & 168 yards rushing. They gave up one turnover to Cleveland's three. They held Brady Quinn to 66 yards passing & 2 interceptions. So how did they find a way to lose this one? Simple, they made a run-of-the-mill back look better than Jim Brown for a day & Haley put on his stubborn cap & refused to kick away from Josh Cribbs. That's about it in a nutshell.
For the 53,315 in attendance in Arrowhead today, those loyal folks who spent hundreds of dollars to watch their Chiefs try to win their 4th game of the season & the legions of local fans who were denied an opportunity to see their team on TV, I say "get used to it, there's more to come." Until the Pioli/Haley regime admits they've made a serious mistake turning their defensive future over to the Three Stooges, this team will never improve. When your squad is incapable of even the most basic fundamentals, they have no shot at becoming anything other than what they currently are, cannon fodder. One bright spot on the horizon, the season will be over, mercifully, in 13 more days. Then you can spend your weekends watching good football teams with real defenses.
I'd been griping about the 200-yards a game our defense was surrendering almost weekly, jeez that was child's play compared to yesterday when the Browns ran for 351. How Todd Haley handles the utter breakdown of his defense will be pivotal in the future of his regime. He needs to clean house, yes, he doesn't have the best personnel, as a unit one could say they can't tackle, certainly a priority at this level in my opinion. Their linebackers continue to overrun plays, creating gaping cutback lanes that even a journeyman back like Harrison can exploit. Clancy Pendergast, Tim Krumrie & company have to go, there's simply no viable excuse for this defense's impotence. This defensive coordinator keeps getting his pants pulled down in front of the whole world & he gets to keep his job? I can't see it. Other than a couple of corners & Hali, I see nothing worth salvaging & I mean nothing.
I have but one complaint with Todd Haley's coaching yesterday. After the NFL's most dangerous kick returner of all-time runs one back for a touchdown against you, why on earth, do you give him the opportunity to do it again? Well they kicked to Joshua Cribbs once more & guess what? He ran that one back for a touchdown too. What a surprise! Maybe Haley should have told special teams coach Steve Hoffman "under no circumstances are you to kick to Cribbs again today." Maybe that would have been a smart, responsi move as a head coach.
I'm also not going to pile on Matt Cassel, yes he could've been much better, he missed a few guys who were wide open, but the loss today was hardly his fault. His receivers let him down again, dropping 8 passes, making their league leading total, a very gaudy, 47. Anyone else think this is unacceptable? Tight end Jake O'Connell dropped 2 that would've gone for first downs. Dwayne Bowe dropped a couple, including a touchdown pass. Mark Bradley dropped a sure-first down pass & Leonard Pope dropped what would also have been a touchdown. Cassel did a much better job getting the ball out instead of allowing himself to be sacked. There was a Brad Cottam sighting for the first time ever, the 2nd year tight end caught 4 passes for 62 yards & 3 first downs. He even looked rather athletic doing it. Could it be the 'light has gone on' for Cottam?
Jammal Charles had another big day yesterday, 25 carries for 154 yards & a 47-yard touchdown. Like I've said the past couple of weeks, if Charles had an adequate backup, he could be a very productive back, but I believe they're going to have to keep his total touches under 30 per game.
The Chiefs makeshift offensive line held up pretty well against Cleveland's makeshift defensive line. Both units have been decimated by injury. The Chiefs had a good balance on offense, 323 yards passing & 168 yards rushing. They gave up one turnover to Cleveland's three. They held Brady Quinn to 66 yards passing & 2 interceptions. So how did they find a way to lose this one? Simple, they made a run-of-the-mill back look better than Jim Brown for a day & Haley put on his stubborn cap & refused to kick away from Josh Cribbs. That's about it in a nutshell.
For the 53,315 in attendance in Arrowhead today, those loyal folks who spent hundreds of dollars to watch their Chiefs try to win their 4th game of the season & the legions of local fans who were denied an opportunity to see their team on TV, I say "get used to it, there's more to come." Until the Pioli/Haley regime admits they've made a serious mistake turning their defensive future over to the Three Stooges, this team will never improve. When your squad is incapable of even the most basic fundamentals, they have no shot at becoming anything other than what they currently are, cannon fodder. One bright spot on the horizon, the season will be over, mercifully, in 13 more days. Then you can spend your weekends watching good football teams with real defenses.
Comments