FIRST NFL SUNDAY, MY PREDICTION FOR THE CHIEFS & A RECOLLECTION OF 9/11
Here we go, Sunday NFL football! I'll bet many doubted we'd ever get here when the lockout began. Before I turned everything off in the media room tonight, I carefully selected the channels for all five games I intend to watch at noon. Detroit @ Tampa, Pittsburgh @ Baltimore, Philly @ St. Louis, Atlanta @ Chicago & of course, the Chiefs hosting the Buffalo Bills. The late games don't look nearly as interesting, so there might be some quick napping going on after 3PM. A pot roast dinner followed by Dallas @ the Jets. It should be a great Sunday. Only one thing can wreck it for us & I'm guessing you know what I'm referring to, the Chiefs of course.
Honestly, I'm not expecting a whole lot, no playoffs, no winning record, something like 7-9 I think. What I would like to see is improvement across the board tho I know that's not very reasonable...or is it? I expect to see the following:
Jamal Charles rush for 1,400+ yards.
Derrick Johnson & Tamba Hali play well enough to make the Pro Bowl.
Dwayne Bowe catches 10 touchdown passes.
Our young secondary continues to improve.
I'm wishing for the following:
QB Matt Cassel remains healthy & productive(25+ TD passes with less than 10 picks)
LB's Justin Houston, Cameron Sheffield & DL Wallace Gilberry combine for 20 sacks.
Jon Asamoah doesn't make us sorry we released Brian Waters.
Jonathan Baldwin doesn't make us sorry we drafted him instead of Randall Cobb.
Jared Gaither can make a positive impact on this O-line by starting at least 12 games.
We have a solid return game with McCluster & Arenas.
If all those things happen or are even close, with their schedule, I think it will be a good year, one that they can build on. Then in 2012, they better win a playoff game. C'mon, I've been begging & whining for this over a decade already.
Make no mistake about it, today's game is a must-win. With the schedule they've been given, Kansas City can't afford to lose to the Buffalo's, Miami's & Denver's of the league. Do that & we're looking at another 4-12 season. But I'm optimistic today, Chiefs 20 Bills 16.
Today marks 10-years since we were attacked on 9/11/01. As I'm sure you remember, I can recall the exact details of that morning. Like every other night after work, I stopped for a couple of beers with my pals & then went home just before Linda was to get up for work. I changed my clothes & Chief & I went downstairs for his breakfast & a bowl of cereal for me. I barely had turned on the TV when I heard Bryant Gumbel say the World Trade Center had been hit by a plane. After a few minutes I heard Linda stirring upstairs & I went up to tell her what had happened in New York. After turning on the bedroom TV, it wasn't 5 minutes later we stood in horror as a second jet flew into the other tower & we both said "terrorists." Needless to say, the day was like no other, I didn't sleep more than an hour before having to get ready to work that night. As I walked thru the lobby at Bellagio , I heard someone call out my name. It was a player I had known for years, in fact he had offered me a job in his camera & optics company. He came over, hugged me & said "I left L.A. in a limo, can't fly & they postponed the Emmy's. I wanted to be somewhere I knew somebody, like here" he said. He was a New Yorker, lived there his entire life & he already knew he'd lost some friends & neighbors. He stayed with us until the no-fly ban was lifted, but his mood never changed.
I can remember a very quiet dice pit that night, guests were walking around in a daze, watching television made more sense than gambling. Then there was this young lady who chastised our dealers for "not smiling & helping her to have a good time." Many of our people came to Vegas from Atlantis City & they had family or friends who were unaccounted for, you'll recall phone service was chaotic for 24-hours. I'll never forget that woman, I felt sorry for her, not that her vacation was ruined, she drove back to L.A. the next morning. Rather that she couldn't respect the somber mood of the day or understand the reason behind it.
Also very troubling was the 2-3 co-workers who immediately went into full conspiracy mode, you know, "our government did this?" Later outside the staff dining hall, I got into a nose-to-nose shouting match with a guy I had worked with for three years. Normally, I'm not a confrontational person, I believe my reaction was from a lack of sleep & some very frayed nerves. But I never looked at him the same way after that night.
Today is also my little sister's birthday, altho for the past 10-years, we sort of celebrate it on the 13th instead of September 11th. I've heard this is fairly common.
I'm not one who dwells on what happened, I don't need to watch the 20 or so documentaries about 9/11. I do believe it's important to remember what happened. People become so busy they fail to respect the day for what it was, the worst attack on American soil in our nations' history. Pearl Harbor, the Holocaust, 9/11, they should always remind us of the evil some people are capable of. Evil that we need to be mindful of, the Kardashians, Snooki & the like shouldn't consume so much of our time that we forget what's really important. The passengers & crew of United Flight 93 made it crystal clear to millions of Americans, I just wish more people really & truly could understand the sacrifice they made on that day 10-years ago.
I hope you'll honor the memory of the many brave people that died that day plus the thousands of innocent victims that were merely trying to make a living. Remember them for a few minutes & recall what your day was like 10-years ago. Then take a great big deep breath & go on & enjoy some football games.
Honestly, I'm not expecting a whole lot, no playoffs, no winning record, something like 7-9 I think. What I would like to see is improvement across the board tho I know that's not very reasonable...or is it? I expect to see the following:
Jamal Charles rush for 1,400+ yards.
Derrick Johnson & Tamba Hali play well enough to make the Pro Bowl.
Dwayne Bowe catches 10 touchdown passes.
Our young secondary continues to improve.
I'm wishing for the following:
QB Matt Cassel remains healthy & productive(25+ TD passes with less than 10 picks)
LB's Justin Houston, Cameron Sheffield & DL Wallace Gilberry combine for 20 sacks.
Jon Asamoah doesn't make us sorry we released Brian Waters.
Jonathan Baldwin doesn't make us sorry we drafted him instead of Randall Cobb.
Jared Gaither can make a positive impact on this O-line by starting at least 12 games.
We have a solid return game with McCluster & Arenas.
If all those things happen or are even close, with their schedule, I think it will be a good year, one that they can build on. Then in 2012, they better win a playoff game. C'mon, I've been begging & whining for this over a decade already.
Make no mistake about it, today's game is a must-win. With the schedule they've been given, Kansas City can't afford to lose to the Buffalo's, Miami's & Denver's of the league. Do that & we're looking at another 4-12 season. But I'm optimistic today, Chiefs 20 Bills 16.
Today marks 10-years since we were attacked on 9/11/01. As I'm sure you remember, I can recall the exact details of that morning. Like every other night after work, I stopped for a couple of beers with my pals & then went home just before Linda was to get up for work. I changed my clothes & Chief & I went downstairs for his breakfast & a bowl of cereal for me. I barely had turned on the TV when I heard Bryant Gumbel say the World Trade Center had been hit by a plane. After a few minutes I heard Linda stirring upstairs & I went up to tell her what had happened in New York. After turning on the bedroom TV, it wasn't 5 minutes later we stood in horror as a second jet flew into the other tower & we both said "terrorists." Needless to say, the day was like no other, I didn't sleep more than an hour before having to get ready to work that night. As I walked thru the lobby at Bellagio , I heard someone call out my name. It was a player I had known for years, in fact he had offered me a job in his camera & optics company. He came over, hugged me & said "I left L.A. in a limo, can't fly & they postponed the Emmy's. I wanted to be somewhere I knew somebody, like here" he said. He was a New Yorker, lived there his entire life & he already knew he'd lost some friends & neighbors. He stayed with us until the no-fly ban was lifted, but his mood never changed.
I can remember a very quiet dice pit that night, guests were walking around in a daze, watching television made more sense than gambling. Then there was this young lady who chastised our dealers for "not smiling & helping her to have a good time." Many of our people came to Vegas from Atlantis City & they had family or friends who were unaccounted for, you'll recall phone service was chaotic for 24-hours. I'll never forget that woman, I felt sorry for her, not that her vacation was ruined, she drove back to L.A. the next morning. Rather that she couldn't respect the somber mood of the day or understand the reason behind it.
Also very troubling was the 2-3 co-workers who immediately went into full conspiracy mode, you know, "our government did this?" Later outside the staff dining hall, I got into a nose-to-nose shouting match with a guy I had worked with for three years. Normally, I'm not a confrontational person, I believe my reaction was from a lack of sleep & some very frayed nerves. But I never looked at him the same way after that night.
Today is also my little sister's birthday, altho for the past 10-years, we sort of celebrate it on the 13th instead of September 11th. I've heard this is fairly common.
I'm not one who dwells on what happened, I don't need to watch the 20 or so documentaries about 9/11. I do believe it's important to remember what happened. People become so busy they fail to respect the day for what it was, the worst attack on American soil in our nations' history. Pearl Harbor, the Holocaust, 9/11, they should always remind us of the evil some people are capable of. Evil that we need to be mindful of, the Kardashians, Snooki & the like shouldn't consume so much of our time that we forget what's really important. The passengers & crew of United Flight 93 made it crystal clear to millions of Americans, I just wish more people really & truly could understand the sacrifice they made on that day 10-years ago.
I hope you'll honor the memory of the many brave people that died that day plus the thousands of innocent victims that were merely trying to make a living. Remember them for a few minutes & recall what your day was like 10-years ago. Then take a great big deep breath & go on & enjoy some football games.
I give you a lot of crap and I think your wrong about the Chiefs alot, but the 911 part of today's piece was excellent. I'm going to read it at the tailgate this morning to our friends. It was really good. GO CHIEFS!!!
Reply to this
In line to get into Arrowhead right now. I agree with your assessment of our Chiefs. Just like years past, it looks like the tailgating might be the best part again this year.
The 911 part was very thoughtful. We liked it.
Reply to this
Great article Rich. I remember you called me & woke me up, I turned on TV & then called out to Nancy to turn on their TV in family room. We didn't celebrate Nancy's birthday that year but combine hers with mine & her dad's. I watched a great remembrance on the History channel last night all about that day. Hopefully we wll get thru the next few days safely.
Reply to this