Yet again, the Chiefs offense had a strong first half. But inevitably came half time; that strange rift in the football-time continuum where something mysterious happens to the Chiefs. As seems to have become the norm, the Chiefs offense didn’t come out of the locker room when the bell called. What the heck is going on here? What’s happening in that locker room?

Ok, to their credit, the opening drive of the second half was fairly impressive; however, the drive stalled in the redzone and ended in just 3 points. Then the next drive wasn’t helped by a Tyler Thigpen interception. After that, the offense got the day off. After all, 31 points is “arena league” according to the head coach, so how much more could they possibly need for a victory in the NFL, right?

The Chiefs have not scored more points in the second half than the first half since week seven against Tennessee when the Chiefs scored 10 points in junk time. That’s a pretty impressive run, and not in a good way. What could possibly be causing this? The players don’t change at halftime, and neither do their skills; unless you think we happen to have the most ill-conditioned team in history. The fact is, half-time adjustments fall on the coaching staff, and I find it highly suspicious that Herm Edwards has been criticized for second half gaffs and failures for eight years.

But if properly probed about the problem, I’m sure Herm Edwards would default to his typical answer: “These things happen.” Right coach, why should we try to find an answer when you can just write everything off as bad luck? When things aren’t the previous coach’s fault, or the players’ faults, its just bad luck. I mean, what else is there to blame?

However, I do have to give the coaching staff big credit (as I have before) for keeping the Chiefs players motivated. These guys are playing hard every game. They believe in the team. No one seems to have given up, despite the dismal season and heartbreaking failures. Most of the players that have spoken out about the head coach have voiced strong support for Herm Edwards. This is undoubtedly due to Herm’s fantastic motivational preaching skills and the fact that “church” is mandatory. And guess what? Im glad the players support Herm while he’s coach. Imagine if this team was in rebellion. We’d be in shambles. We’d be the Raiders. We’d be the Lions.

Herm’s Post Game Comments

Listening to the postgame comments of Herm Edwards, it seems obvious to me that he absolutely despises this new Chiefs offense and he hates the fact that his hand was forced into using it. Despite the immediate improvement of our offense, he can’t help but talk about what he believes are its limitations when probed about the overall scheme. Perhaps it’s out of resentment for the fact that it proved his philosophies were holding the offense back in the past.

Speaking of the offense, remember the days when Herm would only talk about the defense? You ask a question about the offense and you’d get a comment about the defense? Well, the tide seems to have turned now that the Chiefs offense is the brighter spot of the team. Several times now I’ve noticed Herm respond to questions about the defense with comments about the offense. Amazing.

VLTC’s OTC Grades

QB: C-
- Made some plays and I love his athleticism.
- Too many errant throws, three of which lead to interceptions.
- Is Thigpen’s arm that weak, or was it the weather?
- Thigpen seemed disheartened in the latter part of the game, needs to show better leadership in tough situations.

RB: A-
- They did there job when given the ball.
- Could of used more runs.

WR: C-
- Bowe needs to be a bigger factor.
- Should have been more open with the defense keying on Tony Gonzalez.

TE: B+
- Was heavily covered, but still got seven catches and a touchdown.
- Nice fight for the score.

OL: B+
- Good day all around. Good running game, gave Thigpen time.
- Did you see Damion McIntosh pancake *TWO* guys *DOWNFIELD* on the long screen play to Jamaal Charles? Mac has slowly improved at RT; a transition that was expected to take a little time. Perhaps he can still be the answer there for a few years.

DL: F
- This grade will not change until they earn it.
- No sacks again.
- Way to clean Chad Pennington’s feet, Jason Babin!
- Tank Tyler, lift your head up and see if the QB threw the ball first!

LB: D
- Made some impressive plays.
- Made some impressive mistakes.
- Demorrio Williams has a great ability to recognize outlets early, but correspondingly gets burnt by fakes. If he can learn to maintain his responsibilities while staying aggressive, he could still help us next year.

DB: C-
- Held wide receivers to a total of 101 yards, not bad.
- Otherwise, sub-par day from this generally strong group.

Coaching: F
- Like the defensive line, you’ve earned this grade until proving otherwise (i.e. fix the 2nd half problem).

ST: D
- Dustin Colquitt/Connor Barth not factors.
- Coverage units still struggling.