In last week’s article, I outlined a simple method by which one can recover from a potentially debilitating loss, personal or professional: put it behind you. Dwelling on prior mistakes does nothing to assist a person or group in making better decisions for the future. Usually it has rather the opposite effect. Hearkening back to a much older article, written about the 2009 draft, I’ll reiterate the premise of Milan Kundera’s The Unbearable Lightness of Being, which is that we, as a society, tend to forget both successes and mistakes from the past, and thus are destined (or doomed) to repeat both. Kundera applies this concept in the macro, over decades or centuries, but it can be a useful tool to employ even day to day. Learning from our mistakes makes us stronger, but in the long run, remembering them makes us weaker.
As I write this, I’m watching one of the most error-prone football players of our time have an absolutely awful game. He’s relying heavily on his tailback to bail him out of bad situation after bad situation. To his credit, however, he forgets every interception he throws by the next time he hits the field. That’s a good thing, because he throws a lot of them. Lately it seems he does more wrong than right, personally and professionally, but in the macro he’s done more right than wrong, and that will be his legacy.
It’s far too early to discuss the legacy of the 2010 Kansas City Chiefs, but thus far, ya gotta be impressed with the transition from a year prior. Last season, the offense wasn’t posting scores in the 30s. Last season, the defense wasn’t holding opponents to 20 or less. They had a terrible draft, no true offensive coordinator, a bad defensive coordinator, and prior to the final game, no real semblance of chemistry. It’s still plausible that the Chiefs will crash and burn in the manner of the 2007 Detroit Lions. There are no easy games in the NFL, and even some of the bad teams on the remainder of the schedule have had the best of them in recent years (see: the 2008 loss to Buffalo). The downfall of the 2007 Lions was an offense that couldn’t move the ball on the ground, which just doesn’t work in winter months in the NFC North. The 2010 Chiefs don’t suffer from that affliction, however, so the chances of avoiding an embarrassment of that nature are greatly reduced.
In all fairness, the Jaguars are a bad team. Those three wins of theirs obscure the fact that their defense is as bad as it’s ever been in franchise history, and that Jack Del Rio may finally be in over his head. Had the Chiefs of a year ago taken the field, it would have been competitive. As it stands, with the 2010 Chiefs, this game fell squarely in the Should-Win column. In that regard, it had the makings of a trap game. At the end of the first half, the Chiefs looked as if they might have been exactly that: trapped. But they didn’t look bad, and they didn’t look demoralized. The team that let a safe lead slip away a week ago could have, in the face of adversity, looked exactly that way.
What they did instead was lift the burden from Thomas Jones’s shoulders and start making plays in other phases of the game. The team’s two primary underachievers, Dwayne Bowe and Derrick Johnson, started finding the endzone. Matt Cassel atoned for a 3 of 6 start by completing 10 of 12. Jamaal Charles, largely ineffective in the first half (save for a gimme touchdown on a Pro Bowl block from a Pro Bowl left guard), found his legs. Jackie Battle, Mike Cox, Tony Moeaki, and rookie Eric Berry played their parts. Even Terrance Copper contributed. Those of you who didn’t see the game are probably surprised at that. So was I. My guess is so was he.
In short, it was a textbook win. It was a competitive football game that turned into a thrashing. The better team was the victor.
That doesn’t mean all is well in the kingdom. The Chiefs are still woefully short at a couple of positions, and, while the Jags aren’t very good, they still exploited some of those weaknesses. Cassel once again did a functional, utilitarian job of passing the ball. His numbers still aren’t very good. He’s averaging 174 passing yards per game. That’s a fair chunk less than Damon Huard circa 2006 (234 yards per game). He’s doing it with a less run-happy offensive coordinator too, and while Charlie Weis placing his trust in the hands of Charles and Jones is perfectly understandable, I’m concerned that he’s doing it less out of trust for his tailbacks and more out of distrust of his signal caller.
Yes, I’m harping on Matt Cassel again, even after a victory. I see no future with the guy. Still, I’d take him in a heartbeat over Todd Bouman, who looked to me to be nothing more than a Tommy Maddox retread – temporarily successful on account of lack of film for the opposing defense to study. Post-halftime, however, Romeo Crennel proved once and for all that the Patriots probably didn’t need all that film they acquired illicitly. Two quarters of seeing Bouman in person was all he needed to make the necessary adjustments to effectively shut him down.
It was a trap game wherein the better team dodged the trap. Next week’s is not much different. The Chiefs are superior to the Bills in nearly every aspect. At 0-6, they’re probably a little demoralized too. Chan Gailey is a solid coach, however, and he knows a thing or two about some of Kansas City’s key players. Herein lies a delicate balancing act. The Chiefs must forget they won today and play with the hunger of a team that just lost, but at the same time play with the uplifted spirit of a team that expects to win every week. That, or they could elect not to over analyze the entire process and just focus on playing some football.
Yeah, probably better to go with the latter. Leave the analysis and neuroses to us professionals.
Kansas City beats the hell out of Buffalo. Chain Gailey is a horrible NFL coach. I understand you write to keep the readers so they dont get to excited about our Chiefs, so that if they start sliding down in the more losses then win column it wont sting so bad. Or maybe a “I told you so” approach. Either way KC is doing very well. Cassel is doing his job. We are a run 1st team, so to ask #7 to do much more then stay the same is asking for to much. Now I dont think KC is a Super Bowl contender. Playoff attendant? Yes. KC needs to work at owning their skills and build off their positives and shrink down their negatives. This offense has the potential to be very potent. The defense has proven to be very stingy. Thats the ingredients for success my friends.
Comment by Dan B from Ohio — October 25, 2010 @ 10:41 am
Dating back to 1983, when he took his first stint as a head coach, Chan Gailey has been involved in only two losing seasons: 1990 with the Broncos and 2008 with the Chiefs. I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that a 28-year veteran coach who has coached winning teams at every level of the game is probably not a horrible coach.
As for KC being a playoff team, but not a Super Bowl team, I think that’s an accurate assessment. I want a Super Bowl team. That means going into the offseason with the goal of fixing broken pieces, and that starts at the top. The Chiefs are sporting one of the best coaching staffs in the league, but they absolutely must make improvements at QB, WR, and DL to compete for a championship.
Comment by nathanKent — October 25, 2010 @ 12:28 pm
Over the last 4 games no quarterback has a better scientifically calculated rating greater than matt cassel’s. I am no big fan of qb rating but this one stat is very telling of our success this season. We don’t need a peyton manning type at qb. We have been competitive in every game up until the 4th qtr. Championship teams win games in the 4th quarter. In every game we have won during 4th qtr opposing teams have been our bitch. If you take away the garbage end of game play vs. 49ers we have given up 0 points in the 4th qtr in our 4 wins. Add on top of that our defense is giving up only 14 points in the 2nd half in our 4 wins. Chiefs are best in the NFL and possibly ever through 7 weeks at 48-0 in points off turnovers on the season. That in its self is the biggest stat of the season and could take us deep in playoffs if it continues. Matt Cassel has the potential to be better than Trent Green and win playoff games because we now have a real team with balance and an identity that has few weaknesses in game plan and personnel. Chief finish season 13-3 Patriots come to town and lost to Patriots WEST. “Bowe Show” will be showing live at noon next Sunday if any one wants to attend i highly recommend you do. The last episode was the best I have ever seen.
Comment by JT — October 25, 2010 @ 12:36 pm
I agree that we need to address those positions. I also believe we need to find an heir to Mike Vrabel’s OLB spot. The guys knowledge and leadership is irreplaceable, but, as you saw in the game yesterday, his physical abilities have started to noticeably slip. If we could add another decent pass rusher opposite of Tamba Hali…oh wow, we could be a scary defense!!!
So, yes, we need to address the QB position because I am not sold on Cassel as a franchise guy either. Yes, our team is run oriented, but I just feel an extreme nervousness every time the guy drops back to pass. I just have no confidence in the guy to lead us to a victory on a day the run game isn’t working so hot.
We need a #1 or #2 receiver. I think D.Bowe has stepped up the past two games, but we need a guy who can compliment him (or a guy that D.Bowe can compliment…if that makes sense).
I believe our rotation of Nose Tackles (Edwards, Toribio, Smith) has done pretty good. If we could add a young, dominant beast in the middle of the defense, that would just free up our linebackers even more.
We could use some more depth on the offensive line as well. Playing with two active tackles for however many weeks we did is really not smart.
With another exceptional draft our two, this team is going to be contending for many, many years to come. Of course, it all depends on Pioli’s ability to get our guys with expiring contracts to come back and be apart of this franchise long term.
Comment by KC63 — October 25, 2010 @ 2:29 pm
144 passer rating! He doesn’t need to throw for over 200 yards if we’re runnning the ball for 236 yards (something that helps win the time of possession). I think Cassel did a great job. Once they let him throw, he got in a rhythm. I know it probably is painful to recognize that he is 9th in passer rating right now. The Chiefs are 8th in points scored and 12th overal Offense ypg. Thats pretty good.
I agree with second paragraph of response 2. We are probably a playoff team, but not ready for a Super Bowl. And, we should fix the QB and WR positions in the next off season. But I hope that we can continue to improve by the end of the season and be a Super Bowl Team.
Comment by Jeff in VA — October 25, 2010 @ 2:50 pm
JT, this is where we fundamentally disagree. Every team needs a Peyton Manning type.
KC63, how about Andy Studebaker? I think he has great potential in the passing game, and with a little work he could contribute against the run as well. Don’t rule out Wallace Gilberry either. He’s light enough to make the transition to pass rushing OLB, or possibly function as a ‘tweener. We don’t really have a solid read on Cameron Sheffield either, but from limited preseason action I see some potential there as well.
For the time being, however, Vrabel and Studebaker splitting snaps is probably the best approach. Regardless, even with Vrabel’s age showing, this LB corps has matured a lot from last year.
Comment by nathanKent — October 25, 2010 @ 9:43 pm
My definition of a Peyton Manning type: Consistently Accurate passer even when pressured, Game manager/Field General, understands defenses, doesn’t lose composure, and Wins Games in the 4th qtr.
I left other facets to Peyton’s game unmentioned but the point is obvious Peyton is probably going to be known as the best qb ever. The only problem with him is he will likely only ever win one Super Bowl against a team that had Grossman at qb.
If you want a team to win Super Bowls you don’t NEED a peyton manning type. You need a Matt Cassel type. Hopefully he continues to improve but he is built in the image of Brady who I believe has 3 Super Bowl rings. Brady leads a team as opposed to Manning who pretty much is the team. When Brady went down most thought the patriots would not be able to win even 9 more of their 15 remaining games to make the playoffs turns out they got 11 wins with Cassel. Yeah they had Moss and remnants of a really great defense, but they didn’t have Weis. or Crennel?
We are very fortunate to have a weak schedule this year. But this is the NFL and every one gets payed and some get fined, seems to me Chiefs just get flagged. All you should be talking by week 14 is the first team to clinch a berth in the playoffs. We are officially on a Warpath. We were #1 in the NFL after week 4 and after week 14 the same will be true. Tamba Hali most qb pressures this year of anyone in the NFL per game Derrick is about to break 50 year old records that took players nearly a decade to accomplish and he might do in a single 12 month period (2010) by including Denver 2009 season. We all know that DJ could already have the record of 6 INTs for TDs with how many drops he’s had over the years. I feel like Berry will be the one set the record books forever though. Just found out today Berry is 2nd all time NCAA history with over 500 career INT ret yards.
Hate Cassel all you want but the only way we get another qb is if “Bonecrusher” Bernard Pollard breaks his leg in the playoffs. The first time I saw matt cassel play ever, I was impressed. But I also wrote off his success because he was on a good team had randy moss and our defense kinda sucked although lacking no faith of my own. Croyle’s arm is more accurate but I like the setup we have. Two very calm and cool qbs who are now starting to take care of the ball. I would hate to be Philly right now. Or the Giants. My fav for the NFC is Atlanta and actually not because of TG, but for the balance they have. Plus they are an overtime vs Steelers and the “Amazing Maclin” away from being undefeated through seven games. Matt Ryan is Brodie Croyle’s arm on Matt Cassel’s body. Hopefully Cassel can improve the way Brady did in New England and we can have something as special. Three rings is unlikely. I could stop watching sports for a few years if the Chiefs just won one of Lamar’s quoted “Superbowls” in my lifetime.
Menu for Sunday:
Buffalo served up with some Harvard QB rib add in a little F. Jackson garnish and you have yourself a Feast.
Chiefs 38 Bills 17 32nd ranked rushing defense. You can’t teach someone to tackle in 7 days chiefs break 200 yards rushing for third straight game.
Comment by JT — October 26, 2010 @ 12:45 am
That’s right. Let’s now overthink this, therefore as it stands, the Chiefs are 1-1.
Comment by Argin — October 28, 2010 @ 12:50 pm