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Chief Thoughts: Rise of the Hermpire
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Chief Thoughts: Rise of the Hermpire
September 19th, 2008 @ 11:11 am; by JD
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Not too many laughs this week, just trying to keep in tune with this mess that Herm has taken three years to assemble.

Just when I thought we hit rock bottom with Sunday’s loss to Oakland, Herm keeps talking. After Herm’s press conference, I think by the end of the year we may look back at our franchise record 11 game losing streak with fondness, and refer to it as the good old days.

What I saw, heard and read, was an arrogant, defiant jag, who has nothing but disdain for the fans and places no priority on winning. Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but I was accused of doing that last year, and unfortunately I was proven right.

Huge kudos to loyal readers J-Rock and Steve. It’s takes a big man to apologize and admit to being wrong. We shouldn’t be fighting amongst ourselves anyway. Other than our coach, we all want the same thing, and that’s for the Chiefs to win.

Chiefs 8, Raiders 23

What’s there to say? An embarrassment all the way around, and it didn’t even phase our coach. If I didn’t know better, it seems like he is intentionally trying to bury this team. Maybe this is a real life “Major League”, except that Herm is funnier than the movie, but less believable.

I feel sorry for players like Tony Gonzalez, Donnie Edwards and the other players on the team. They didn’t sign up for this. At this rate, Tony will never break the remaining all-time tight end records.

The ESPN Monday Night Football halftime highlights did not contain KC/Oak footage. This embarrassment from the Raiders wasn’t even worthy enough to waste five seconds mentioning, wow. Let me type that backwards for effect, wow.

Herm said he doesn’t report to the fans. Clearly this man has no fear when it comes to his job security. He is running this franchise into the ground and apparently no one in charge has any balls to take him out. 1-15 is not unrealistic. We are in for a long year.

Hermisms

Before the season started, on picking a kicker:

EDWARDS: “I’m trying to be fair. I’m trying to tell the truth. (Barth and Novak) have been 85-to-86 percent (in practices). If you can get a kicker who can kick 80 percent in the season, you’ll take that.”

JD: Yah, when you are used to kickers kicking 50%, 80% sounds good. How about Herm admitting that telling the truth is hard for him.

Talking about the Chiefs upcoming opponent:

EDWARDS: “They’re (Atlanta) a team kind of like us: they’re kind of young. The quarterback, I think, is going to be a good quarterback. He’s tough. He got hit a lot last week in Tampa. I anticipate them trying to protect him a little bit better. It got to be one of those games where they couldn’t run it as much as they like because they got behind.”

JD: Except that Atlanta has won a game this year, and they did it by scoring more than 10 points and throwing the ball DOWNFIELD.

Q: Larry Johnson made some comments after the game with Oakland that he felt the writing is on the wall for him, that there’s different personnel groups being used, that he’s not a factor in the game. Is there any truth to that?

EDWARDS: “No, Larry is part of the program. We look at it every week and I’m probably giving the game plan away but people probably know it anyway: he needs to touch the ball 20 to 25 times. Running the ball is what we would like to do with him.”

JD: Uh, if everyone already knows our game plan, then you’re not really giving it away are you? And if everyone knows it, maybe you should change it, since it clearly is not working.

EDWARDS: “The game got so skewed late in the third quarter that we got into the two-minute offense in the fourth quarter and were throwing the ball a lot. Not saying that Larry is not a part of that but at that point in time we have different personnel people in the game.”

JD: Maybe if Huard didn’t get benched, I mean “injured”, the game wouldn’t have been so skewed. Here’s a thought, why don’t you start the game with the two-minute offense, and then you can run the ball 20 straight times up the middle to protect a lead. You remember what a “lead” is don’t you?

EDWARDS: “No, Larry is a factor. Larry is always a factor. He always has to be a factor but we’ve got to start running better.”

JD: And Herm the Liar returns, again. Just about every week he will repeat the same thing three times in consecutive sentences, like he’s really trying hard to convince someone. Whether it’s us or him he’s trying to convince, I don’t know. But when we can look at games one and two and see that Larry was clearly NOT a factor, for him to keep repeating it is just silly.

Q: Have you talked to Larry or has he talked to you about it?

EDWARDS: “Oh yeah, we’re good. He came in yesterday. We’re fine. He’s talked to everybody. He should feel that way. He should feel that, he should feel you know what? I want to contribute more. We expect that out of him. That’s a good sign; that’s not a bad sign. That’s good for him. He wants to be in the game.”

JD: Herm is hitting all his marks today! First the “Three Speak”, and now “Good AND Bad”. It wouldn’t be a Herm press conference if he didn’t remind us that things that are good, are also not bad. Thanks your coach, fans, THANKS HERM!

Q: You’ve got to have a back who can block.

EDWARDS: “He’s done a better job of blocking since I’ve been here. Larry’s been in there and blocked and is picking up protection. He’s fine.”

JD: Then why isn’t he in on the two-minute offense? If he runs good, is a factor, and blocks fine, then why is he not in the F’N two minute offense?!

Q: How do you keep these guys believing after a loss like you suffered last week? How do you keep them believing that this is the right way?

EDWARDS: “Well, it’s definitely the right way.”

JD: Holy crap! He didn’t ask you if it WAS the right way. Me thinks thee protests too much.

EDWARDS: “It’s no different than what happened in Miami in the preseason. We had a bad game and came back the next week and played pretty good and won at home. It’s no different except it’s the regular season.”

JD: Then it is different.

EDWARDS: “We didn’t play as good. We played decent up in New England and lost. We played this game and in the first half it was really the same score as in New England, in my opinion, where we were trailing 7-3. As bad as it was the first half (vs. Oakland) you’re one play away from making it a game and taking the lead if you get seven (points).”

JD: You’re right about it being the same score, we had no TDs through three quarters in both games!

Q: Is this all harder than you thought, more difficult than you thought it was going to be?

EDWARDS: “When you plan this thing out, every week is a new journey, a new road you go down with so many young guys. You understand that.”

JD: Well when you don’t know what you’re doing, of course every week is a new journey. Do you think Belicheat goes on a “new journey” every week? No, he expects to win. Every week.

EDWARDS: “Our problem has been this in both games: we get behind, we haven’t played with a lead and when we can’t throw the football and make plays downfield, teams stack the box so it’s very difficult to run.”

JD: Good thing you’re going to play merry-go-round with the quarterback. That’ll DEFINITELY make throwing the ball easier!

EDWARDS: “There will be some ups and downs but we’ve got to score more points. We’re scoring about nine points a game and that’s not good enough.”

JD: Well, what is good enough? We know you think 21 is a lot and 30 is Arena Ball.

Q: It looks like games like Sunday are part of the plan…

EDWARDS: “It’s never part of the plan. Part of the plan is to develop young players and give them the ability to play that they can win with. That’s the plan.”

JD: How about winning? Is that part of the plan?

EDWARDS: “How games turn out you don’t know until the games’ are being played. Then when they are over with you go, wow, we did these things right, we did these things wrong. But these players want to win a game; we all want to win a game. When things happen they happen and you have to adjust and correct it.”

JD: When you know what you are doing, you know how the game will go, and you won’t be surprised that you did things right. I like how he says “we all want to win” as an after thought.

Q: Which quarterback gives you the best chance to win?

EDWARDS: “I think both of them. I think it’s just how you want to orchestrate it this week. We’re going to determine who the starter will be but both will be available to play along with Martin, who will play too. That’s how we’ll look at it.”

JD: Both? Really? Huard has won nine games as a Chief, how many has Tyler won in his NFL career?

EDWARDS: “..but both will be available to play along with Martin, who will play too.”

JD: Uh, aren’t ALL players in uniform on the sideline technically “available” to play? This is just slick Hermy’s way of saying they will ALL play.

Q: You said last week that Damon Huard would start but Tyler would play? Would that be the same this week assuming Damon could play?

JD: Boy, it’s amazing that Huard got “injured” which necessitated you putting in Tyler, even though you said before the game Tyler would play.

EDWARDS: “We’ll see. We’re putting our game plan in now. We would think we would be more decisive with quarterback and let the guy who plays quarterback be the quarterback.”

JD: We would think that you would be more decisive too. People who are decisive, just decide. They don’t say “we would think we would be”. That’s not very decisive.

EDWARDS: “If something should happen to the other guy, well, but we’re thinking right now of just letting one guy play.”

JD: Except that you just said three sentences ago that “Martin will play too”. You just F’N said it!

Q: So it would be either?

EDWARDS: “Whoever we decide on.”

JD: Which is……? ESPN reported today that Thigpen will start vs Atlanta. Are the Kansas City Chiefs a developmental squad or an NFL team? Playing young players for the sake of playing young players is what pre-season is for. The regular season is for WINNING.

Q: Tyler Thigpen said he didn’t know until the fourth quarter that Damon Huard was not going to come back in the game. What’s the process you go through: do you want him wondering if it’s his game or how does that process work?

EDWARDS: “It works real simple for us. We had a plan of getting both quarterbacks to play. When Tyler went in Damon had been hit. Damon’s neck was stiff and looked back earlier in the second quarter and his neck was still stiff. By halftime he was still stiff. In the third quarter it was still stiff and I said obviously you can’t go back in.”

JD: And Herm The Liar returns. I like how he says Huard’s neck was stiff four times in two sentences, so he won’t forget and say something silly, like, oh I don’t know, that Huard had head trauma, dizziness or concussion symptoms. I’m glad Herm finally has his story straight.

Q: Do you think about shaking up your offensive line yet, or when might you do that?

EDWARDS: “It’s too early for that. We did that last year and it never comes together when you start doing that. We went into this season to let those five guys play together. The good part is they are all healthy so far this season. This offense has played two games together and it’s a new offense.”

JD: Really? Because it kind of looks EXACTLY like last year’s offense.

EDWARDS: “That’s the hard part: a whole new offense and a brand new coordinator and we’re not playing with the same quarterback. That’s tough.”

JD: Well you’re the one who’s making it tough by continually screwing with the quarterback position.

EDWARDS: “You’ve got to pull all that together. We’d like to go down the road with these guys, especially with a new offense. It’s hard enough to figure out who’s playing quarterback.”

JD: Uh, isn’t Huard the only guy on the roster that has won an NFL game? Please explain why you’re having a hard time deciding who’s better.

Q: Any medical update on Brodie Croyle and when he can practice?

EDWARDS: “He’s feeling a lot better. I know that.”

JD: Uh, he didn’t say you DIDN’T know that. Little defensive are we? Does Nick Lowery still live in KC? He needs to round up the players and make another visit to the Chiefs braintrust. That is if they still have one.

Q: Surtain is out, right. Will Brandon Carr start?

EDWARDS: “He’s out this week. Yeah, two rookie corners will start.”

JD: Does he have head trauma, I mean neck stiffness too?

Q: Does that kind of give you a knot in your stomach: two rookie corners starting?

EDWARDS: “No, not at all. Not those two kids. Not at all. I anticipated that would happen eventually.”

JD: Another definitive stand from the all knowing Herm the Great.

EDWARDS: “It came to fruition. They’re going to play. You can anticipate certain things when you look at your football team. It’s the youngest secondary in the league now. The good part is they’ll get to play together for a long time.”

JD: Not if you’re fired. I anticipated that it will happen eventually.



This entry was posted on Friday, September 19th, 2008 at 11:11 am. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS feed. Have something to say about this post? Please leave a comment.




    13 Comments
    1. I can’t agree more JD. I love the way you point out the obvious!!!

      The sick thing is we actually have enough talent to win games, but it is obvious to me that Herm is actually trying to lose games so we can get the first pick in the draft.

      Hopefully, we get a good coach drafting for next season.

      I predict the Atlanta game score 30-10. Chiefs lose again, unfortunately.

      Michael Turner will run all over us just like McFadden because our players want Herm fired too.

      Comment by ryan — September 19, 2008 @ 12:40 pm


    2. I look forward to reading your passage every week. Having been a Chiefs fan for as long as I have I have never seen them look this awful. I completely agree that Herm has not been or will not ever be the answer we are looking for. As far as that goes I cannot think of any member of the coaching staff who shouldnt start fearing for their job (even as much as I like Gunther). After the debacle against the Raiders I am in full agreement of 1-15 being very realistic. The streak of sellouts is most likely over and who can you blame for not wanting to invest a small fortune to watch what looked very much like a poorly planned High School playbook. The group of fans at our weekly Chiefs party wound up having a better time ridiculing the coaching and play calling than watching the game. The quarterback/wide receiver option draw plays in the “secret play” bag was as big of a hoot as we had ever seen. We wound up trying to out guess each other on what the next play would be for the remainder of the shame. Oops I meant game. I will ALWAYS be a Chiefs fan no matter what but it would take a very long time for me to ever support Herm and his nonsense. Keep up the great articles. Tim

      Comment by Tim — September 19, 2008 @ 12:42 pm


    3. During the course of my lifetime, I have been accused of being opinionated, sometimes verbose, and definitely outspoken. I am especially outspoken when I think something is wrong and needs correcting. Having spoken out about Herm Edwards time and time and time again, at this point I am almost speechless. There are so many things wrong with Herm Edwards time in Kansas City that to enumerate them and discuss them it would take column after column and the better part of a day. My gast is totally flabbered. Same story, loss eleven, no offense, next loss Atlanta.

      Comment by g.l. — September 19, 2008 @ 2:27 pm


    4. I’m with ya JD!!! I really think that Herm may actually have a mental disorder or some sort of brain damage. Maybe we should look back at his career and see how many times he got hit in the head. The man really talks in circles, and I don’t think he knows what he is talking about. I will be a Chief until I die, I only hope I get to see them win a Super Bowl just once. I hope that Clark will see the light soon and fire his butt. Maybe Clark is allready looking into Herm’s and CP’s replacements!!!! I guess I can dream.

      Comment by Michael Raite — September 19, 2008 @ 4:28 pm


    5. Here’s a message I sent to my fellow Saint Louis U Chiefs fans that meet each week:

      Hey everyone,
      Since the Chiefs are acting pathetic, the sarcasm is going to be laid on very thick this season, seeing my time in Saint Louise might be coming to an end. The Chiefs (and Royals, can’t leave them out) have given me nothing during my time here, but thank God the Rams have sucked as well. The stadium was rockin before the game and I think maybe 20,000 people saw our TD at the end. It was horrible. And I sadly expect more of the same the rest of this year.
      To my point…Highlander on Sunday. Shame time, oops, game time is at noon. We’ll get to see how much Atlanta plays it safe with rookie Matt Ryan. They played it so safe with him, he threw a 60+ yard TD on his FIRST ATTEMPT while Croyle was busy dumping passes 5 yards behind scrimmage. Herm about had a seizure when he saw Ryan on sportscenter that night. Brodie supposedly has a cannon, so says Herm and the organization, but has anyone even seen it???
      Also, I hope you guys can come through for me on this one…Does anyone have Marty’s number? Or Bill Cowher’s perhaps? Jim Fassel? Brian Billick?
      I’m going to type one of the few forbidden words that make my eyes and ears bleed, but here goes…I think we would actually be better with, cough, Paul Hackett as our coordinator. Oh, my eyes burn!

      See ya Sunday!

      GO CHIEFS!!!

      -JP

      Love the column JD. Keep up the great work.

      Comment by JP — September 19, 2008 @ 5:56 pm


    6. You see this type of behavior in people who can’t admit they’re wrong. Everytime he speaks, he digs his own grave deeper and deeper. I’ve NEVER heard Herm take responsibility for anything! At least one of those 11 losses had to be his responsibility. Instead, he comes out and says (he says this every week), “we have to make a play” or “we missed some gaps” or “these guys are young, they’re going to make mistakes”. It’s NEVER, “we didn’t have a good game plan” or “we didn’t prepare the team well enough” or “we didn’t call the right plays on first down”.

      In this case, Herm was wrong in going with Croyle, not signing any veteran free agents and letting some good players go to make the team younger. Croyle has proved himself a loser and should never come back as a starter. There were numerous free agent players available who never even visited KC. As for a couple good players we let go, how about the leading sacker last year (who was young by the way) and Casey Weigman (now starting for one of the best offenses and AFC West opponent, Denver). If he would have done only one of those, we’d probably be a better team, but he did all of those. And he won’t admit it was wrong to do those things.

      Comment by Jeff from VA — September 19, 2008 @ 5:57 pm


    7. JP,

      Personally I would be happy to have any coach who is a real coach. Herm Edwards is in way over his head. Frenkly, I would almost think a random person off the street could function better than Herm. At least someone off the street might be inclined to listen to others around them and take some advice. Herm already thinks he knows it all.

      Comment by g.l. — September 20, 2008 @ 2:45 pm


    8. The Chiefs team that I watched Sunday was the worst NFL team that I have ever watched. How many 3 and outs are we going to put up with? How many NFL teams have you seen include a 3 qb game plan?? What is Clark Hunt saying publicly, anything? His dad is probably turning over in his grave watching his ball-less son run this great franchise. Did you happen to notice how many fans showed up disguised as empty seats? How long before they get the message that Chief fans expect and deserve more? Sunday’s performance made me sick and I really don’t expect anything more from this Herm run team.

      Comment by Mark — September 20, 2008 @ 10:49 pm


    9. Well after today I think we can pull maybe…. 1 win this season. That might be stretching it really.

      Comment by Brian — September 21, 2008 @ 8:05 pm


    10. Look at how far this team has fallen. WTF – when will they realize that Herm has to go and when will this idiot actually answer a F-in question. JD thanks for the write up and GO CHIEFS.

      Comment by Chief Vito — September 22, 2008 @ 9:09 am


    11. fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm fire herm the worm

      that is that

      Comment by Michael Diedrich — September 23, 2008 @ 1:07 am


    12. Michael Diedrich,

      What is it exactly you are trying to say, man? If I am understanding you right you are saying we need to get rid of Herm Edwards as the head coach. I think that is what you mean. If so, I am with you. Fire the piece of ****!

      Comment by g.l. — September 23, 2008 @ 9:32 am


    13. And please Take that stupid ass Carl in the front office when you go!

      Comment by Curtis — September 25, 2008 @ 8:05 pm


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