The Chiefs took a beating from the Raiders when they traveled to Kansas City for the home opener in Arrowhead. 300 rushing yards on Kansas City's defense. The defense had to play because the old Tyler Thigpen was awful in that game. Multiple three and outs and poor passes. Thigpen has improved ever since that game, but the question remains: Can this defense stop Oakland's powerful running game on the road? The Chiefs have won five straight games at Oakland, but history doesn't matter.
Last week: 11-5
Season: 92-80
SF @ BUF -- BUF
BAL @ CIN -- CIN
NO @ TB -- NO
NYG @ WAS -- NYG
MIA @ STL -- STL
IND @ CLE -- IND
CAR @ GB -- GB
ATL @ SD -- SD
DEN @ NYJ -- NYJ
PIT @ NE -- PIT
KC @ OAK -- OAK
CHI @ MIN -- MIN
JAC @ HOU -- HOU
So I asked myself this morning a question in which many people would struggle finding the answer to. What are Kansas City Chiefs fans thankful in the year of 2008? The best draft? No! Beating the Broncos? No! Cheap ticket prices? Yes! Looks like thats the only thing we can be thankful for this Thanksgiving as Chiefs fans. On a more serious note, I hope everyone is having a great Thanksgiving!
Thanksgiving games
TEN @ DET--TEN
SEA @ DAL--DAL
ARI @ PHI--ARI
The Kansas City Chiefs have now lost their eighth straight game on the season. Also making it 19 losses in the last 20 games. Herm Edwards, Carl Peterson and Gunther Cunningham somehow maintain to keep their jobs. As much as I love Cunningham as a coach, it seems like he's not the good defensive coach he once was. It could be because of the lack of talent, however, giving over 400 total yards four times in the last five games and giving up 54 points to a struggling Buffalo Bills offense, is unacceptable. I realize the Chiefs defense had to go take over the field because of the turnovers, but I don't think this defense cannot allow 54 points. Most points allowed in Chiefs history.
Herm Edwards goes for two against the Chargers, he gambles on fourth down early in the game, but he punts on fourth and two with ten minutes left, giving Drew Brees, one of the hottest quarterbacks in the league today, a chance to run out the clock and possibly put points on the board. He did exactly that. Enough with the “positive losses” or “moral victories.” This team has lost 18 of their last 19 games. Is there really a positive loss in the last 18 games? There might be improvement, but who cares about improvement when you’ve only won one game in the past 19 games. Yes, there have been injuries, but look at the Chargers and the Colts last year. They had to deal with injuries all year and they were still in the top three in the NFL last year. Like Gonzalez said, “it’s getting old.”
Last week: 8-8 – Maybe I need to stop pulling for upsets.
Last season: 81-77
CIN @ PIT – PIT
PHIL @ BAL – BAL
HOU @ CLE – CLE
TB @ DET – TB
BUF @ KC – BUF
CHI @ STL – CHI
NYJ @ TEN – NYJ
NE @ MIA – NE
MIN @ JAC – JAC
SF @ DAL – DAL
OAK @ DEN – DEN
CAR @ ATL – ATL
NYG @ ARI – NYG
WAS @ SEA – WAS
IND @ SD – IND
GB @ NO -- GB
With so many bumps and bruises left and right, the Chiefs once again had another shot at winning the game. It came to a point where Herm Edwards had to make a decision. Go for two, or kick the field goal and go to overtime. Herm made his players play to win the game, not tie it. I have no problem with the call despite the Chiefs could not succeed. What I do have a problem with is the fact that Edwards could have made the right play calls earlier with Chan Gailey and they would have never gotten to the point where they would have to force a two point conversion. Don’t get me wrong, when the Chiefs are not playing, I love watching tight football games in overtime. But as a fan, I don’t like seeing the Chiefs in overtime. The Chiefs have had bad luck in overtime the past couple of years. Winning the coin toss doesn’t win you the game, but teams do a very good job of taking advantage by scoring on the first drive in overtime.
If you’re not sold on Tyler Thigpen, then you better get used to hearing his name because he is starting to get some attention. 124 pass attempts without an INT in these last three starts along with six touchdowns. Can you ask for anything else out of Thigpen right now? I just feel bad for the kid that he has to come through in the final drive when he has done his job in the beginning. The defense breaks and they allow opponents to take the lead and Thigpen has to score on the final drive under pressure. Tyler Thigpen has to be the quarterback of the future. Expect me to return to that topic in the off season. For now, the Chiefs are still losing games.
Many people are being soft on the Chiefs this week and mainly that is because of the injury bug that has spread throughout this team. Offense, defense, special teams, heck, even one of our staff members got hurt. Remember the pre-season in which players ran into the Chiefs doctor? I have no idea why people are going easy on the Chiefs. They called the wrong plays in the second half. I credit this defense a little bit for forcing turnovers and limiting their opponents in scoring. However, the amount of yards they give up is ludicrous. They have forced nine turnovers in the last three games, but still give up over 300 total yards and quarterbacks in the last three games have thrown at least 290 yards. How high could those numbers be if the Chiefs were not able to force turnovers? Not to mention the Chiefs have only turned the ball over once in the last three games. A 9-1 victory in turnover battles usually helps you win games, but that hasn’t been the case for the Chiefs and that is no excuse, even with injuries.
I know how all you Chiefs fans feel right now. I am just as frustrated as every die-hard fan at Arrowhead. Herm Edwards and Chan Gailey can be good together. They have shown it in the last three weeks. Herm Edwards has been on the doubtful side for everyone and he had a shot to prove me and everyone else wrong, but he failed. I have more on my mind I want to discuss later.
Last week: 7-7
Season: 73-69
NYJ @ NE – NE
DEN @ ATL – ATL
DET @ CAR – CAR
PHI @ CIN – PHI
NO @ KC – KC
BAL @ NYG – NYG
MIN @ TB – MIN
OAK @ MIA – OAK
CHI @ GB – GB
HOU @ IND – HOU
STL @ SF – STL
ARI @ SEA – ARI
TEN @ JAC – TEN
SD @ PIT – PIT
DAL @ WAS – DAL
CLE @ BUF – CLE
This is going to sound really crazy, but the Chiefs are only three games behind the division leader in the AFC West, the Denver Broncos.
I know the whole "woulda coulda shuda" deal and I don't think anyone needs to be reminded of that. But if Herm Edwards was a little bit smarter with his play calling in the last two games, Kansas City would be only one game behind Denver. Not to mention the Chiefs offense has really played well the last two games against two very good defenses with Tyler Thigpen starting.
If the Chiefs get into the playoffs, the only possible way is by winning the division and getting a #4 seed. That would guarantee them home field advantage in the first round. The Chiefs getting in as a wild card team is very slim.
I'm not saying the Chiefs will make the playoffs, but my point is: If the coaching staff can be smart (especially in the next six games, four of them are against divisional opponents) then Kansas City just might have a chance. The Chiefs defeated Denver at home in week four as they are currently first place in the West. Again, the key for the Chiefs is that the coaching staff needs to stay smart and creative for one whole entire game. The Chiefs may not have a legit shot at the playoffs until 2011, even Herm Edwards admitted that. Some people may consider it “cheap” that the Chiefs can get a #4 seed with a bad record. However, it’s an advantage, and a big one the Chiefs should take advantage of, considering that they will play at Arrowhead Stadium. I like the way Thigpen has played lately as well as the rest of this offense, but like I said before, I still don’t think Kansas City can make it. I hope I am wrong. Let’s see if Edwards can take advantage of this opportunity.
Last week: 7-7
Season: 66-62
DEN @ CLE—CLE
NO @ ATL—NO
TEN @ CHI—TEN
JAC @ DET—JAC
BAL @ HOU—HOU
SEA @ MIA—MIA
GB @ MIN—MIN
BUF @ NE—NE
STL @ NYJ—STL
CAR @ OAK—CAR
IND @ PIT—PIT
KC @ SD—KC
NYG @ PHI—PHI
SF @ ARI--ARI
Forget about the nice touchdown grab by Dwayne Bowe, forget about Kolby Smith scoring the touchdown with Larry Johnson out, forget about the trick play with Tyler Thigpen catching a touchdown and forget about the fact that we now have a kicker. The Chiefs put up 27 points against a team that was second in the NFL in points allowed this season. “It just shows what our offense can do.” Thigpen told me. “It really feels good going up against a tough defense and moving the ball. We need to look at that and build on it.” That was not expected from the Chiefs. Thigpen played a great game against the Jets, but would he do it against a defense that is in the top 10 in every major defensive statistical category? He did, in the first half. The Chiefs were in full control in the first half as the offense chose to do whatever they wanted to do as they were leading 24-3. The Chiefs forced three fumbles and Brandon Carr also got an interception, giving him a total of two on his rookie season. However, when things were looking bright in Arrowhead, the light began to fade away.
With five minutes remaining in the first half, the Buccaneers kick returner, Clifton Smith, came through with a 97 yard kick return for a touchdown. Matt Bryant also kicked another field goal to decrease the deficit to 11 points heading into halftime. After a very quiet first quarter, the Buccaneers began to strike as they reached the redzone. The Chiefs were able to force a fumble inside their five as they recovered. But rookie running back Jamaal Charles fumbled without any force, giving the Buccaneers field position at the two yard line. Tampa Bay got the easy touchdown with a trick play as Earnest Graham threw the touchdown pass to Alex Smith. Jamaal Charles did make up for his error by taking his team to the redzone allowing Conner Barth to extend the lead to eight in the fourth quarter. Charles also got over 100 yards (106 to be exact) for the first time in his career as Kolby Smith left the game early due to a knee injury and will not return this season. Tampa Bay was able to strike back yet again and succeeded on a two point conversion, giving the Chiefs only 14 seconds after the kickoff to win the game. After Thigpen was forced to throw the ball away with seven seconds left, Herm Edwards decided to knee the ball and send it into overtime. Maybe he doesn’t realize that in overtime, the winner of the coin toss scores on the first drive. The snake bit Herm as the Buccaneers won the toss and closed the game up with a chip shot field goal by Matt Bryant.
I don’t know where to go with this. I really don’t. It’s frustrating enough when this team has a 1-15 record in their last 16 games heading into this game. Fortunately, that goes back to last season. But there is a good chance for the Chiefs to have a one win season. Everyone in the locker room felt that this team was un-conservative in the second half. In this game, the Chiefs were not as conservative as usual, but they didn’t succeed in the fourth quarter with the lead. Yes, there was another awful call on Tony Gonzalez by the one and only, Ed Hochuli. Hochuli is having a more difficult than season than Herm Edwards. He had to correct himself three times in overtime for a ball placement. And to be fair, he even threw some bad flags on Tampa Bay. Hochuli deserves a fine/suspension, however, it’s really hard to blame the officiating of the game when you win the turnover battle, fumble at your own two yard line, give up an easy kick return for a touchdown and when your team simply cannot tackle. The Buccaneers created the biggest comeback in franchise history and I applaud them. They show why a team should never give up no matter what the scoreboard says. But in the end, it’s the Chiefs who beat themselves and just like Tony Gonzalez said, “It’s starting to get old.”
Arrowhead Stadium was 90% full. However, fans did not bother coming early to tailgate despite the bueatiful weather on a November 2nd. Will this be the last time we see Arrowhead that full? Here is what I want to know. How will fans take this? Have the fans lost faith after blowing a 21 point lead, or do they see signs of improvement with Thigpen after two very good starts? The only game that will host a full house at Arrowhead will be the Kansas and Missouri game later this month. That tells what path the Chiefs are on.
I haven't been feeling well as of lately, and I'm very sorry for the lack of posting. Keep in mind I do not get paid for this, but I will be getting back on track this week.
After going 9-5 last week, I hope to keep my average over .500.
NYJ @ BUF--BUF
DET @ CHI--CHI
JAC @ CIN--JAC
BAL @ CLE--CLE
TB @ KC--TB
HOU @ MIN--HOU
ARI @ STL--STL
GB @ TEN--GB
MIA @ DEN--DEN
DAL @ NYG--NYG
ATL @ OAK--ATL
PHI @ SEA--PHI
NE @ IND--IND
PIT @ WAS--PIT
