I had to be one of the first to notice him lying motionless on the ground. As the fans around me booed and jeered for what they considered a late hit, I never took my eyes off of Trent Green. Standing with my brother, I was waiting for Trent to get up and have something to say about the crushing hit, but not a muscle on his body twitched. To be honest, seeing his head bounce and then him not getting back up made me think something worse than just “unconscious.” I turned to my brother before those around me had stopped jeering and said, “Hey bud – he’s not getting back up.”

If I’ve ever been that angry at a football game before, I certainly can’t recall it. As they wheeled him out on the stretcher, I looked down at him going into the tunnel and didn’t worry about this season. I was worried that my first game at Arrowhead would be the last for my favorite quarterback in recent history.

Now that I’m confident he’ll get back on the field, I can talk about the game.

The offense looked horrible, and it wasn’t because they had mud on their nice white uniforms. However, I’m no doomsayer. This season has promise. Quit your weeping over our “lost season” for a few moments and I’ll tell you why.

As you know, Sunday was opening day. The first time all year that the first team offense and the first team defense spent an entire game on the field. Granted, it was the first time for the first team units from the Bengals as well, but they are the same team they were last year. No head coach change. No offensive coordinator change. No change in offensive philosophy. No huge turnover on the all-important offensive line. And yet the Chiefs held it together and were in no way blown out.

Larry Johnson’s sub-par game is “OK”. Don’t fret about it. It’s a result of the play calling. Think about this – Johnson’s 148 all-purpose yards pretty much came in just three quarters. They practically took him out of the game for a couple series in a row. The coaching staff is professional and they’ll learn from their mistakes. I don’t expect this type of play calling ridiculousness to happen again.

Did you see Tony G? The man is getting up there in his years and it didn’t look like he’s lost even half a step during this game. He had some great catches over the middle. If this game is any indication, we can expect great things from Gonzo this year as with every year.

I’m sure each of you noticed Carson Palmer had only 120 net passing yards. Trust me, the man has recovered from his injury. He’s played and played well in the preseason. For all of the kicking and screaming about the offense, I don’t feel anyone is quite happy enough about the defense. And even though Rudi ripped a big one for a touchdown, our once-porous defense held him to less than 100 yards. That’s right – the Kansas City defense held last year’s #2 offense to less than 300 yards. And Jared Allen and Tamba Hali – can you believe the motor on those boys? Get excited people!

Dante isn’t going to be fumbling all year. Colquitt won’t shank a sub-30 yarder from our own territory every game. Nine out of ten times the guy that fills the lane on that 22 yard Rudi scamper is going to make contact with Rudi instead of bowling by him. The o-line will get better as they play more together. The coaches will be calling better plays. The defense is going to shut those bastards down time and time again.

Get hyped. Quit your crying. Trent will be back. Larry’s still going to approach 2,000 yards. Jared Allen is going to keep getting to that rock, and Hali will be there too. Those newcomers at DT will stuff the run (did you notice James Reed’s name being called quite a bit?).

The season isn’t lost. I can see the light, and I’m nearly blind without corrective lenses.

One last thing – go easy on some of the players. Huard didn’t look as bad as most people are saying. The fumble and then the sack at the end of the game are bad. . . very bad, in fact. But for a journeyman backup, the guy did fine. He threw the Chiefs only touchdown, didn’t he? Go easy on the o-line. They’re freshly revamped, and they’re going to get better. Go easy on the coaches. I won’t deny they blew this one, but they’ll get better as well.

My corrective lenses have no red-and-yellow tint, I assure you. Please, have some faith.

Also, for those who remember… The picture is coming. I can’t believe we finally signed Ty Law!

Kiel Cary is in no way a professional of any kind. However – he likes to write, loves the Chiefs and Chiefs fans, and thinks he knows more than you. You can reach Kiel Cary at kielcary@yahoo.com with any comments, questions, or hate mail.