Fatlock`s monday morning ramblings

[wolfpack]

Chiefs face a painful offseason

By JASON WHITLOCK




Just as Chiefs kick returner Eddie Drummond went nowhere trying to make a play against a swarm of New York Jets during the second quarter, his team went nowhere again Sunday. Kansas City finished the 2007 season with a team-record ninth consecutive loss and a dismal 4-12 record.



EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. | The worst team in professional football closed out its season with an agonizing-to-watch, 13-10 overtime loss to the Jets that was really a poorly disguised cry for help.You just hope Clark Hunt, Kansas City’s wet-behind-the-ears owner, was listening.

His organization is in decay, and denial won’t cure what ails the Chiefs, who finished 4-12, their worst campaign in 30 seasons.

“Everyone needs to take a look in the mirror,” defensive end Jared Allen said when it was over.
“Let’s bring the pain,” Tony Gonzalez stated glumly. “Do something and do something drastic. There is something wrong, obviously.”

Obviously. The Chiefs wrapped up the 2007 season extending a franchise-record losing streak to nine games and jockeying for an elite draft position. The Dolphins and the Rams completed the year with records worse than the Chiefs, but there is no real discernible difference between Kansas City and 1-15 Miami.

Put them on the field in a New Year’s Day Toilet Bowl game and Vegas oddsmakers would likely favor the ’Phins. At least they’ve tasted victory in the past two months.

Yeah, it’s time to bring the pain. There is no easy fix for the Chiefs.
“We have to add more depth,” Allen said when asked what the organization needs to do during the offseason. “We’re shallow in a lot of positions.”

Brian Waters added: “Everybody has to be on the same page. There was a tidbit of hesitation about going young. I guess I can’t blame them; no one expected us to be this bad.”
No one? Not true. This 4-12 season was five years in the making and extremely predictable. In a desperate attempt to make the Super Bowl before Dick Vermeil got tired, the Chiefs spent the Vermeil era on a rampage to win it all taking every shortcut available.

They didn’t develop talent; they acquired it through trade and free-agent spending. Those chickens have come home.
Willie Roaf, Priest Holmes, Trent Green, Eddie Kennison, Casey Wiegmann and John Welbourn — the veterans Vermeil acquired for his record-setting offense — have either retired or announced their retirement with their play this season. Meanwhile, Vermeil’s defensive acquisitions — Ryan Sims, Junior Siavii, Eddie Freeman, Kawika Mitchell, Kendrell Bell, Shawn Barber, Patrick Surtain, Ray Crockett, Glenn Cadrez, Dexter McCleon and Greg Robinson — could form an all-bust fantasy team.
Carl Peterson, the general manager who takes enormous pride in being the league’s toughest contract negotiator and in his ability to avoid “salary cap hell because of it,” is locked in an “incompetence hell” of his own creation.

You just hope Clark Hunt is watching. You hope he understands that loyalty has its limits. He briefly slipped into Herm Edwards’ postgame news conference, and disappeared just as quickly.

We don’t know much about Clark. We don’t know how much he values winning. He’s probably not Jerry Jones, a billionaire whose ego is fed by the Cowboys. That’s all right. But 4-12 should hurt. It should embarrass. It should provoke.
Peterson called the nine-game losing streak “unacceptable.”
What then is 15 years without a playoff victory? How about putting together the league’s worst team in your 19th year of leadership?

Sunday was a cry for help. The Jets are nearly as bad as the Chiefs. A mediocre New York defense gutted Kansas City’s offense, holding the Chiefs to 53 rushing yards, sacking Brodie Croyle three times and limiting him to 20 of 43 passing. On offense, the Jets rushed for 199 yards. On their game-winning drive, Thomas Jones ran at will, setting up the clinching field goal.

What did we learn this season about the Chiefs that we didn’t already know?
Tony Gonzalez and Jared Allen are two of the best players at their positions. Nearly everything else is a total mystery. The season was a waste. Someone has to pay for this.
“Let’s bring the pain.”


var comment_headline='Chiefs face a painful offseason'.replace(/ /g, '%20');

[for ever red]

Well that about siad most of it.

[Guru]

Unreadable. Put breaks where the paragraphs end.

[hermhater]

Unreadable. Put breaks where the paragraphs end.

I suffered through (put some breaks in there dude!) it and Whitlock actually didn't have his head up his ***.

For him, that is better than most weeks!

[McLovin]

I suffered through (put some breaks in there dude!) it and Whitlock actually didn't have his head up his ***.

For him, that is better than most weeks!

No Carl and Hermie have their collective heads up their asses.

[OTR Chiefs fan]

Whew! What a season!

Here's what I saw out of this season. You can agree or disagree, just my observations.
1) We certainly did not have enough talent on the field this year to produce a winning team. Especially on the O-line. Because of the O-line problems we didn't get to see if Brodie Croyle is the real deal or not. I saw some positive glimpses, so I'm willing to give him another year and see what happens. I certainly like the addition of D-Bowe who gave us a down field threat. We need to improve our recieving corp. Kennison and Parker need to go. The jury still out on Webb.
2) I liked what I saw out of Kolby Smith. I think he could be a good back up for LJ. But that's all predicated on improving the O-line.
3) Overall, I think our defense is pretty good. I think they got wore out at the end of the season from being on the field so much. We do need to upgrade in the cornerback position. It's time for Ty Law to go, Surtain maybe another year. I liked what I saw out of Brackenridge and I think the rest of the defense we need to add some depth.
4) On special teams I thought we were pretty good on coverage and terrible on returns. Give Drummond the boot! That experiment obviously didn't work.
5) Management and coaches: This is probably where I'll get the most flax. But that's okay I've got kevlar skin! Believe me when I say that I'm not a Carl or Herm supporter, but I think they are going in the right direction. I think we should give them another year. We are paying for the Vermeil years and that I do put the blame on Carl. By not developing young players during those years. I think over the last two years our draft picks have been pretty good and I'll give Herm and Carl credit for that. Even though I like D-Bowe I still think we should have drafted an O-lineman in the first round. I think it would have served us better in the long run and we could have picked up a decent receiver in the second round. Well at least we'll get a decent pick in the next draft. I think Gunther is solid on the defense and needs to stay on. The thing I don't know like about Herm is the offensive play calling. I don't know if it's him or Solari or both, but it hasn't been very good over the last two seasons. I did see them open it up a little more this year in the passing as oppose to 2006 and that was an improvement. But the play calling was too predictable and some of Herm's game time decisions were questionable. There definitely needs to be some improvement there. I haven't impressed with Solari since he's been here, so maybe it's time for him to go.

Well there's my two cents and then some! So agree or disagree

[Chiefster]

Unreadable. Put breaks where the paragraphs end.

Done, I cleaned it up as best I could; just don't ask me to read writing.

[hermhater]

Whew! What a season!

Here's what I saw out of this season. You can agree or disagree, just my observations.
1) We certainly did not have enough talent on the field this year to produce a winning team. Especially on the O-line. Because of the O-line problems we didn't get to see if Brodie Croyle is the real deal or not. I saw some positive glimpses, so I'm willing to give him another year and see what happens. I certainly like the addition of D-Bowe who gave us a down field threat. We need to improve our recieving corp. Kennison and Parker need to go. The jury still out on Webb.
2) I liked what I saw out of Kolby Smith. I think he could be a good back up for LJ. But that's all predicated on improving the O-line.
3) Overall, I think our defense is pretty good. I think they got wore out at the end of the season from being on the field so much. We do need to upgrade in the cornerback position. It's time for Ty Law to go, Surtain maybe another year. I liked what I saw out of Brackenridge and I think the rest of the defense we need to add some depth.
4) On special teams I thought we were pretty good on coverage and terrible on returns. Give Drummond the boot! That experiment obviously didn't work.
5) Management and coaches: This is probably where I'll get the most flax. But that's okay I've got kevlar skin! Believe me when I say that I'm not a Carl or Herm supporter, but I think they are going in the right direction. I think we should give them another year. We are paying for the Vermeil years and that I do put the blame on Carl. By not developing young players during those years. I think over the last two years our draft picks have been pretty good and I'll give Herm and Carl credit for that. Even though I like D-Bowe I still think we should have drafted an O-lineman in the first round. I think it would have served us better in the long run and we could have picked up a decent receiver in the second round. Well at least we'll get a decent pick in the next draft. I think Gunther is solid on the defense and needs to stay on. The thing I don't know like about Herm is the offensive play calling. I don't know if it's him or Solari or both, but it hasn't been very good over the last two seasons. I did see them open it up a little more this year in the passing as oppose to 2006 and that was an improvement. But the play calling was too predictable and some of Herm's game time decisions were questionable. There definitely needs to be some improvement there. I haven't impressed with Solari since he's been here, so maybe it's time for him to go.

Well there's my two cents and then some! So agree or disagree

I'm gonna read this with breaks later.

Bump.