Fire Priefer!
The campaign starts here and it starts now. Special teams coach Mike Priefer is an incompetent nincompoop. He needs to be fired ASAP. He won’t be , but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t call for his head.
Let’s look at this chumps greatest hits with the Chiefs:
- Drafting Justin Medlock with a fifth-rounder. The move’s UCLA ties have King Carl written all over it, but I’m sure he played a part.
- Bringing in and not only keeping Eddie Drummond on the roster last season for its entirety, but insisting on playing him as our returner.
- Bringing in and not only keeping Dave Rayner on the roster for most of last season, but insisting on playing him as our kicker.
- Kicking to Devin Hester last year, costing us the Bears game. He obviously hasn’t learned his lesson, as evidenced by kicking to Ted Ginn Jr., who’s basically Devin Hester Jr.
- Bringing in B.J. Sams and seriously contemplating heading into the season with him as our return man.
- And now, inexplicably cutting Jay Feely–a proven commodity at kicker who was released by the Dolphins simply because he wasn’t a Tuna guy–roughly 24 hours after he touched down in Kansas City.
Point blank–Feely got a raw deal. His agent breaks down the situation. From The Kansas City Star:
“We’re shocked, baffled, disappointed,” said his agent, Glenn Schwartzman. “It was not our understanding that they were just going to give the job to Jay. We in no way thought that. We knew he would have to win the job.
“While no one promised him the job, we were under the impression he would be given a better opportunity to win it. If they’re going to base it off two days of kicking, they probably shouldn’t have signed him. It makes no sense to make a decision about Jay without letting him kick in the preseason game.
“Had we known he wasn’t even going to get that chance, we never would have signed with the Chiefs.”
Feely arrived in Kansas City on Monday and kicked almost immediately. He received little chance to warm up with snapper J.P. Darche and holder Dustin Colquitt.
They had been working with Novak and Barth for months.
“So Jay didn’t have a great day (Monday), understandably,” Schwartzman said. Feely was 10 of 15 Monday.
“It was just an OK day, and I guess that’s what they based their decision on. They felt the other guys kicked better in the two days. We appreciate the Chiefs bringing him in and letting him kick. He will kick somewhere in the league this year and kick well.”
It’s just unfathomable that he wasn’t given the opportunity to get over his jet lag, get used to his holder and snapper, and, most importantly, actually kick in Thursday’s games. Anyone who thinks there was a level playing field in this kicker competition is nuts. This just makes no sense to me. Why not cut Nick Novak, a journeyman kicker who has impressed nobody thus far, and let rookie Connor Barth and proven vet Feely duke it out?
I honestly hope he makes the Chiefs pay for our stupidity by kicking well for someone else. Not only is this clueless, it is classless. Carl Peterson, Herm Edwards and especially Mike Priefer, you blew it again. People wonder why I don’t believe in these clowns and their rebuilding project. I wouldn’t hire Priefer to coach Pop Warner. Regardless of their “explanation” for this, Priefer’s atrocious special teams units have been a joke. Because of that, he needs to be shown, er, shoved out the door.
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Hmmm you make some good points on your list…the only thing I am confused about is why did the jets let him go? I mean the Tuna is not any rookie when it comes to rebuilding a team….so why would anyone in their right minds release a field goal kicker who kicked the way he did? THere has to be something else here..
and also another point you made about why they did it and how it is classless? I can see one good reason why they did it….by having a competition that went on this way, they could better judge how the kickers responded to pressure…..lets face it, it is hard to stimulate game conditions and so by bringing on another kicker from the outside it would bring huge pressure on these kickers….and would give a better grasp of how they react to pressure….
by the way I in no disagree with your analysis of our special teams….only just putting a possible reason on why the feeley situation happened…the bigger question is that this guy has been available for over 2 weeks how come no one else signed him if he is that good? So something is up… ….maybe they found out something after they worked with him…ie found out he could do kickoffs worth a damn etc?…
August 27th, 2008 at 12:44 amTo be fair- we all have said competition for the kicker (and every other position) is a good thing. Competition breeds success, and elevates your game. Well, when they brought in a proven vet, Connor Barth nailed 100%, 15/15 of his kicks, yesterday. When it was crunch time, he stepped his game up. That could be something they looked at. I’m also not buying the idea that Feely was dropped purely because he’s just not a Parcells type of guy.. And if he was, writer makes a good point, why did he not go and kick for other teams? Obviously time is winding down in the pre-season, and he wants to land somewhere. There are a LOT of teams out there with bad kicking situations. If he had any calls, whatsoever, he would have jumped on it quick-like. But he wasn’t. There’s definetly something going on that we can’t grasp, so I can’t blame anyone for this until we figure out what the problem was.
And to be fair on another topic: Justin Medlock was a complete bust for us.. But statistically speaking, ie; how the analysts and scouts measure success, he was the best kicker in that draft. Like we said a few posts back, some guys just can’t hack it in the Big Leagues. We needed a kicker, we drafted the best one avaliable. It just didn’t work out. And once we saw it wasn’t going to work, we nipped it in the butt, and he was canned; can’t blame our staff for that. The other points, Priefer has some blame, but for Medlock I’m giving him a mulligan.
August 27th, 2008 at 1:13 amI agree… there has to be something else going on here that the general public is unaware of… Parcell is not going to cut a guy who was a 91% effective FG kicker last season for a rookie without a reason - and he’s not going to draft a kicker to replace a 91% guy without a reason either - yet he did both things. Feely aint that old, so there has to be something else here.
August 27th, 2008 at 3:55 amI disagree with the post about Feely getting a raw deal…its a business, deal with it…it would have been good for him to get to try out in a game but that is not how it worked out…There is little to nothing that the kicker would need to spend time with the snapper and holder about, just silliness…
I do, however, agree with the bit about Priefer, he is a bum and I couldn’t believe they didn’t fire him after last season when they were cleaning house…I knew just watching Hard Knocks last training camp that he was worthless, just the way he coached and approached the position, get rid of him…
August 27th, 2008 at 4:16 amI was bummed about Medlock - thought he was “THE ONE.” We need to find someone who can be Mr. Automatic (a.k.a. Nick Lowery)
I’d love to see a post about Brandon Albert. It’s been really quiet….is this an LJ injury and he’s out for the first half of the season?
Anyone know anything?
August 27th, 2008 at 5:54 amI have to disagree with most of the post.
1. Position coaches have limited control over who is on the roster. They have a vote, but the GM and coach have bigger votes. As far as as drafting players like Medlock, Kuharic also plays a large part. To blame the ST coach for these moves is silly.
2. I am guessing that Feely wasn’t willing to work out like most K are. He’s said to have a big ego and I imagine he said “if you want me to come kick, you need to pay me”. So the Chiefs probably signed him with some small (20k?) signing bonus and then said “okay now let’s see you kick”. He didn’t do well (remember kickoffs were said to factor in as well), so they cut him.
3.You say Novak has impressed no one. For the record, both Barth and Novak have been making almost all of their kicks in training camp. They also made FG in the pre-season games - each only missing once from beyond 46 yards. Those length of FG are not automatic - not when Lowery, Morten, or Stoyanovich kicked here. The problem is the Chiefs have not had enough in-game kicking opportunities for one guy to seize the job, so they have to magnify every miss and make trying to figure out who’s going to be the anti-Medlock.
What we really need against St.Louis is some of Herm’s old-fashioned “stall in the red-zone” offense. That way we could get some kicking chances for both kickers.
August 27th, 2008 at 6:02 amAmazingly, a commenter on the Star website wrote something profound!
“He should have been kicking since his release from Miami just to stay up to par in case someone did want to bring him in. If he didn’t then thats his problem, not ours.”
And he is absolutely right. If you go into any job as a temp (which is essentially what the pre-season is, evaluating temp employees) and are competing with 2 other guys for the one permanent position, you had better bring your A game. That’s life.
August 27th, 2008 at 7:11 amMedlock misses one field goal and all of a sudden he’s a bum? I still don’t understand why he was cut so let me just add that to the list of reasons why Prieffer isn’t getting the job done.
This Jay Feely decision doesn’t make much sense to me either frankly. Not saying he was the necessarily answer but if this was going to be the approach taken, then why even bother bringing the guy in the first place? Parcell’s theories aside, this makes absolutely no sense to me.
I still maintain that Special Teams ranked close to the top (if not #1) of our problems last year and apparently continues to have a firm hold on its position there. This latest move combined with that mess in Miami are yet the most recent in a long string of glaring examples of why.
You don’t need to add me to the list of those wanting to see Prieffer canned because I’m pretty sure my name will be found at the top of that list.
August 27th, 2008 at 8:39 amOne thing I thought I heard or read about Feely is that he is still recovering from a groin. Anybody else the same? If so, how much of factor might that have been in this decision?
August 27th, 2008 at 8:41 amHe will be recovering from King Carl’s groin as well going into his next gig. ZING!
August 27th, 2008 at 8:50 amPrifer may be a knucklehead, but that isn’t the reason that Feely is gone.
It may take a while for this story to come out, but it will come out…
August 27th, 2008 at 9:43 amWPI rumors the reason for Feely’s release was either contract complications or an undisclosed injury. If it is the latter, then it would be likely be both because reasons because I would think any undisclosed injuries would generally void an agreement (unless the player performed well enough to prove that such non-disclosure was a non-material breach).
August 27th, 2008 at 10:00 amThis was amazingly refreshing. The Chiefs actually did business the right way, based on competition, rather than just some old vets’s name value, like we’ve done all too often in the past. It’s not like barth and Novak were struggling. This was an opportunity to see if we could upgrade the position. Feeley was given a fair shot over 2 days to outkick the other guys, either one, and set him self up for game competion. He failed. They raised their games, especially Barth, who went perfecto on day 2, and they kicked his butt to the curb. This was far fairer to feeley than just a one game tryout. Bravo, to the new way of doing things around here. Competion, not name value. There WAS NO MONEY issue. Feeley wouldn’t have come without a signed contract, and that’s what he got. Let him and his agent cry somehere else where maybe he’ll be handed a job instead of having to earn one.
August 27th, 2008 at 10:39 amA few things…
Bill Parcells will absolutely just get rid of someone for not being a Tuna guy. We are talking about the biggest ego in the NFL, folks. He makes T.O. look insecure.
Almost everyone had Mason Crosby above Justin Medlock on their big boards. Looks like they were right, not us. That was not a Priefer pick, but I’m sure he was involved. I’m sure Julius Chiefsar and Bill Kuharich consult the coaches. He has to get some of the blame for the Medlock fiasco, which leads me to…
I also agree with Double D that Medlock was mishandled. Kickers have fragile psyches because what they do. You can’t jerk these guys around and expect them to exude confidence.
It’s also funny to me how I get blasted for saying Brodie Croyle has had opportunities and squandered them. Yet those same people are saying this 24-hour kicking competition was fair. Hell, why didn’t they just have him kick out on the runway at MCI? He should have gotten the chance to kick on Thursday. Period. It’s just funny how people won’t even give a proven kicker 24 hours, but they’ll give unproven Brodie two years. Boggles the mind.
Sometimes we just put too much faith in the Chiefs brass. This team went 4-12 last year, they have to earn my faith back. No more, they-were-there-so-they-know-best assumption. Uh-uh. No more benefit of the doubt. Carl and Herm are on notice, and that means the Dick Curls and Mike Priefers are, too. As we know from our current President, part of the measure of any man is who he surrounds himself with. Herm sure has some morons on his staff.
Go ahead, defend away. I’ll laugh when Feely kicks well for another team this season. I might even pick him up on my fantasy team as an act of defiance. What a rebel!
August 27th, 2008 at 10:40 amMedlock was a bum long before that missed FG in game 1. He was horrid in OTA’s, horrid in camp, horrid in the exhibitions, never showed an NFL leg, and was a headcase to boot. His game 1 miss on a chippie was just a culmination of everything that came before. Barth, OTOH has been nothing but stellar since day 1. Earned a roster spot at OTA’s, had a good camp, was OK in the exhibitions, and kicked his butt off in a 2 day, 30 kick trial when the pressure was squarely on his shoulders. The only thing barth has in common with Medlock is he’s a rookie.
August 27th, 2008 at 10:42 amFor the record, I like Barth to some degree. But if we keep Novak, we’ll get what we deserve.
August 27th, 2008 at 10:45 amBlue, isn’t this what happened here with Brodie Croyle? What’s the difference? That Feely is actually proven?
August 27th, 2008 at 10:46 amI’m hoping Barth wins the job also. As close as it’s been, I’d rather go with the kid than a proven journeyman failure like Novak. The Feeley thing can always be revisited when/if our younger kicker struggles in the regualr season, and I don’t mean just one or 2 poor kicks. I mean ample opportunity, once the kicker is chosen. Feeley, or equivilent guys, will always be out on the street. Feeley was cut weeks ago, and there hasn’t been a beeline to his door. He’s a horrible kickoff guy, and his range is short. He’s also a headcase, and we see now, a crybaby. At least his agent is.
August 27th, 2008 at 10:50 amCroyle has earned the job. He’s the best QB we have for both the present and future. Huard certainly isn’t, and Thigpen may be, but isn’t ready to compete yet. Last year they just handed the job to Huard based on experience, because both he and Croyle were horrid in preseason. This year, it is and should be Croyle’s job until he loses it after a full season of regular season starts.
August 27th, 2008 at 10:53 amI agree with “writer” I think he was used to create a pressured competition, and in all honesty I’m glad Feely didn’t make the team, kickoffs would have been a real problem if he had, and our coverage teams need all the help they can get.
August 27th, 2008 at 11:00 amWhat? Brodie Croyle’s the new kicker?
August 27th, 2008 at 11:04 amI totally agree, I don’t think Priefer has proven anything as our special teams coach to date. My understanding is that all position coaches have a significant input into roster positions, especially the specialist positions (ie. kicker/punter/LS/returner), since this is ultimately what they’ll be judged on. To be fair to CP, one of the reasons we have had to jumpstart the re-building program is the fact that he DOES listen to his coaches in regards to personnel, and Vermeil never saw a veteran he didn’t like. I’ll reserve my judgement on this unit until after a couple of games, but I definitely think the jury is out. By the way, does anyone know of a QB that Dick Curl has actually groomed? Just curious.
August 27th, 2008 at 11:07 amAdam:
I am not a fan of Priefer. I recall posting a get rid of Pfiefer article during the off-season. I would have no problem getting rid of him, however, not for all the reasons you listed. Signing Sams was not a mistake. If we keep Sams over Savage, that would be a mistake. We missed on drafting Medlock over Crosby. Those things happen. I don’t think it’s fair to lay that at Priefer’s feet.
I believe you make make a good case for getting rid of him for the following reasons.
1] coverage units, both kickoff and punting have been unacceptable.
2] Inability to obtain a reliable kicker.
3] Return units have been poor.
To me, this is not the type of resume that keeps you employed in the NFL. I am surprised that he is still with us.
August 27th, 2008 at 11:14 amJohn. the key word is “used.” He has to feel like a freshmen chick waking up at a frat house the day after a party right now.
August 27th, 2008 at 11:19 amYou did, Merlin. Credit where credit was due. And I refuse to believe that all the coaches don’t have some say in personnel decisions. For instance, I know Dick Curl was instrumental in us not drafting a quarterback the past two years.
August 27th, 2008 at 11:20 amYou’re my boy, Blue, but he hasn’t earned the job. And saying he is the best quarterback we have is sort of like picking an ugly skinny chick over her two quarter-ton friends.
August 27th, 2008 at 11:23 amUnderstand in no way am I defending Priefer here. Just this decision on our kickers in this instance with Feeley. Overall, I think Priefer deserves a pink slip, just like Curl. I thought actually re-inserting Drummond into the lineup, and kicking Tynes to the curb were enough to get him fired. But I fully and completely defend and praise the Chiefs actions in the latest kicking scenario. They handled it exactly right, and maybe it’s a sign they are finally getting it.
August 27th, 2008 at 11:26 amThat may be true, but he IS the best QB we have, for now and for the future. I’m not happy with how he’s playing, but I’m willing to give him more than 6 NFL starts to see if he’ll improve or not. The alternatives right now are a 34 year old career 3rd stringer, who is absolutely the wrong option for a rebuilding team, or a raw, undisciplined talent in Thigpen who just isn’t ready to play yet. Croyle is tghe only option and the correct option, at least for the first 10 games or so. If he’s still consistently doing the same things he does now, then it’s time to look at Thigpen.
August 27th, 2008 at 11:31 amNo need to look at Thigpen. Thiggy Smalls is awful. We need to bring in another option. That is my whole point.
The Tynes point is an excellent point, too. We trade the guy and he helps his new team win a Super Bowl. Ouch. It was also Priefer’s old team. Maybe they thought so little of Priefer that they said if Mike doesn’t like him then, damn, he must be good.
August 27th, 2008 at 11:38 amComparing kicker selection to the task of developing a QB is apples and oranges and I know you know that Adam.
KC has never, ever developed a QB and I’m beginning to believe that the local media and a lot of Chiefs fans don’t have the first clue as to what that involves. Developing a QB means you’re gonna see some real ugly along the way and if you can’t hang for that then maybe you better go root for (or report on) a team that’s finished that job or that has acquired somebody else’s QB through FA.
I submit that we’ve seen what Brodie (and his offense) is capable of with that first game in Chicago. As a result of that success, I believe the coaches have made a very conscientious decision to put him under wraps until the start of regular season. I mean have you seen him any call audibles since that game? Further to my point, the second game focused primarily on the run when the first unit was in; who can argue that that was not also largely a successful undertaking? The third game was an all around abortion (did I mention special teams?) and the best thing we can take away from that is we’re probably gonna have some games like that this year - but hopefully not too many.
And that’s all I’m gonna say about the kicker situation.
August 27th, 2008 at 11:52 amWow. So who was our special teams coach when we had Dante Hall breaking records for touchdown returns in a games and seasons? I thought it was Priefer, but maybe I was wrong. As for the Brodie bashing, the one game I saw on the web, he actually looked better and threw the ball away instead of forcing it in. I cannot believe people are still calling what happened to him last year as a real shot at the job. I mean we had an abysmal line, LJ was out and the only receiver that did ANY good was D-Bowe. (Not talking about Tony. Tony is always good.) I think he has a better chance of doing really good this year IF our line holds up.
As for Feely…..I really don’t care. The kicking competition was fair and as someone previously pointed out, if Feely really wanted the job he would have been practicing. That of course is assuming the injury rumors aren’t true, because if he WAS suffering from an ailment, then he shouldn’t have been practicing AND we should not have brought him in. I have heard nothing but good stuff about Connor Barth, from coaches and other media sources, and to be honest, it IS a rebuilding year, so hell give him the job! I don’t want Novak.
August 27th, 2008 at 11:57 ammerlinnj is right, Prifer should be booted based on the performance of special teams on the field. They have been horrible for at least two years, and have shown NO indication they’re getting better this year in spite of the fact we have acquired some very good young guys who can hit.
As to kickers, and the fairness thing… right now ALL KC fans HATE ALL kickers based on the results they’ve given us since Tynes missed the FG in the playoffs. I’m not a bit surprized we could give a ratz a$$ about a “fair” competition for a kicker.
August 27th, 2008 at 12:31 pmPriefer doesn’t even have a wikipedia page… what a loser.
As far as kickers go, i’m with the guy that commented on Bob Gretz’s site… Wait for it…
Bring in Katie Hnida - this will help us in a few ways.
1.More TV Time. Possibly a couple Lifetime Specials.
2.Press coverage. Putting the spotlight on the staff.
3.Player morale. Let’s see how the guys step it up to take care of little sister, cuz they’re gonna be getting a lot more attention too.
Oh yeah, keep Barth just in case things don’t work out.
2.
August 27th, 2008 at 12:37 pmNo Wiki! Lol, AD!
August 27th, 2008 at 12:48 pmI think I sent you an Email Adam or is ok to post a link here?
August 27th, 2008 at 1:12 pmIt is fine to post a link here, it just has to be approved by us so won’t post automatically.
August 27th, 2008 at 1:13 pmFor all the talk about the Firing Preifer based on the kicker situation, I think we’re missing the biggest reason to fire Preifer. Have you guys been watching our punt and kickoff coverage teams? Abysmal. We have, IMO, the best punter in the NFL and he can hang a 50 yarder in the air long enough to let our guys get down there, but they simply can’t stay in their lanes and make the tackles. If our coverage teams and LBs continue to suck this bad, Colquitt might be our leading tackler by seasons end (which would again make him our MVP).
August 27th, 2008 at 1:39 pmIf we had one, coverage was the few bright points our special teams last year. If we’ve lost that, Prieffer shouldn’t be allowed to last the pre-season.
August 27th, 2008 at 1:49 pmThanks Adam…. This has NOTHING to do with Kickers or Coaches but its fun to watch and maybe you have already seen it.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYgDOWfUuG8
August 27th, 2008 at 2:34 pmThis is a very emotional, lashing-out article.
One thing I do agree with is that Pfeifer is evidently a terrible coach, however I think a lot of your points are blatantly unfair finger pointing.
* Drafting Justin Medlock with a fifth-rounder. The move’s UCLA ties have King Carl written all over it, but I’m sure he played a part.
I still think its ridiculous for people to point fingers about Medlock. Nobody could have known he was going to have a meltdown when he went to the pros. He was very accurate in college and picking ANY kicker is like throwing darts at the wall. Our dart just missed. I don’t know how much input the special teams coach has in a pick like that either. Kicker from UCLA has Carl Peterson written all over it.
* Bringing in and not only keeping Eddie Drummond on the roster last season for its entirety, but insisting on playing him as our returner.
Ok, this was all Pfeifer. He should be taken out back and strung up by his toenails for this alone.
* Bringing in and not only keeping Dave Rayner on the roster last season for its entirety, but insisting on playing him as our kicker.
? Dave Rayner wasn’t on the roster for the entirety of the season. He was brought in for the 2nd game and was cut after the 11th game. We didn’t exactly have a lot of options available to us aside from Rayner, Carney, and the guys we tried out this year, Novak and Barth.
* Kicking to Devin Hester last year, costing us the Bears game. He obviously hasn’t learned his lesson, as evidenced by kicking to Ted Ginn Jr., who’s basically Devin Hester Jr.
Yeah, because in a meaningless preseason game you would rather kick the ball out of bounds than, you know, practice covering a good returner.
* Bringing in B.J. Sams and seriously contemplating heading into the season with him as our return man.
I don’t think they’re seriously considering taking him into the season. They brought him in after an injury to give him a chance AS SEEMINGLY EVERY FREAKING CHIEFS FAN IN TOWN WANTS TO DO WITH EVERY THUG, DRUG ADDICT OR PLAYER SUFFERING A CAREER ENDING INJURY ALWAYS WANTS TO DO! The guy is horrible and they can’t possibly be considering bringing him into the regular season. But lets face it, Savage is the fan favorite, but he hasn’t exactly broken a long run off either.
* And now, inexplicably cutting Jay Feely–a proven commodity at kicker who was released by the Dolphins simply because he wasn’t a Tuna guy–roughly 24 hours after he touched down in Kansas City.
The Chiefs have a squad of young players that they’re telling if you compete and do your job, you will be rewarded and if you don’t you will be gone. They proved it with Nap Harris and I’m betting McIntosh won’t start at RT against the Patriots. So when you bring in a vet kicker and the two guys you’ve had in camp greatly outperform him under pressure, what message you sending the rest of your young team if you take the guy that looked worse than the guys you already had?
I agree that he probably would have gotten straightened out when he had a chance to settle in, but hey, he’s a kicker. Those guys bounce around all over the place. You can’t get emotionally attached them them (lots of broken hearts if Barth gets cut).
August 27th, 2008 at 5:59 pmSorry, for the kickers last year I said our options were “Rayner, Carney, Novak and Barth”. I meant Cundiff, Barth was obviously still in college.
August 27th, 2008 at 6:06 pmNice call, DJ. I wrote this late and just missed that error on Rayner.
I do think that Priefer had something to do with both Medlock’s selection and his development, or lack thereof. And, really, it is the sum of all these things that makes me so mad.
Additionally, I think our coverage and return teams are the worst in the league.
And sometimes I do get emotional, I do lash out at the Chiefs. But someone has to call them on their bullshit.
August 27th, 2008 at 6:32 pmHey I’m totally with you on Pfeifer sucking. There has been nothing good about the Special Teams since he took over.
I’m just saying there is PLENTY of stuff that Pfeifer is at fault for, no need to go overboard and blame him for things that aren’t, which Chiefs fans have a horrible habit of doing.
August 27th, 2008 at 10:09 pmChiefs fans also have a horrible habit of making excuses for the brass and enabling mediocrity. Someone besides Jabba the Whitlock has to counter all the Chiefs apologists out there. Additionally. I would rather error on the side of going overboard with criticism, than remain voiceless and not say what needs to be said. I have no problem saying I was wrong, but I have to speak out when I feel the Chiefs aren’t giving their fans, the best fans in the league, all we deserve.
Sometimes it seems like King Carl is more concerned with getting college teams in his house, and less concerned with what’s going on “in house.” How else can we explain an idiot like Priefer still having a job?
August 27th, 2008 at 10:48 pmI find it ironic that you’re choosing this particular decision to bring up enabling mediocrity.
They brought in an experienced vet that you know had to have the inside avenue to the job, and he played… mediocre. The guys we have on the squad beat him out. Not just one, but BOTH guys, knowing that if they did poorly they were gone stood up to the pressure and performed well.
In this particular case, you would have to say that if the Chiefs had gone with Feely instead of the others that THEN they would be enabling mediocrity. It would also be sending a horrible message to your team that you’ve been telling all summer long that the best man will win the job no matter who is in front of him and then you change your mind and pick the vet kicker who couldn’t get it done over the young guys that could.
Same goes for a lot of things. For the first time in 20 years the Chiefs have bit the bullet and are rebuilding the team the right way, but people just can’t let go of their perverse, Whitlock-induced hatred of Peterson enough to see that THINGS ARE CHANGING. Whether they are chaning because of Herm or because of Clark or because Carl has finally seen the light, who knows and frankly, who cares. All that matter is that change is happening.
Don’t be like a lot of people that can’t forget whats come before and is missing whats happening now.
August 27th, 2008 at 11:29 pmThat’s the whole point. I see the change, but I don’t yet believe that any of it is positive change. They still have to make a believer out of me.
Also, I don’t think Feely had a fair shot. All along I’ve felt like Herm plays favorites. This would seem to back that up. Anyone who thinks he did get a fair shake is basically doing Bob Gretz’s job for him.
I don’t hate Carl, I just don’t believe that he’ll ever be able to get it right. He hasn’t won a playoff game in 15 years. I’ll call this rebuilding attempt a success when I see it. That’s what I’ve said for along time now. All this talk about going young and such sounds great, but how about we wait a while before we call it a success.
August 28th, 2008 at 12:05 amOk Adam since you seem to feel that is your place to hold the chiefs to the fire…..I can now understand your spin better in your comments. It is seeming that you usually take the negative road and so that explains it.
I do understand your frustration and especially with Peterson still being here…but many of us are convinced that things have changed around here and are trying to support these changes. I have heard interviews with our new owner and after hearing that, I am convinced that he is going to make the changes necessary to make this happen. WHen asked why he kept Peterson, he said to make sure that Herm continues on with his rebuilding. If we got a new GM it would mean a new offensive and defensive coordinator and the rebuilding would have to start all over again….I do not know if you have heard about the news in arrowhead where Peterson does not have the influence that he had before…but people are remarking all over the place about it.
Sometimes it seems as though you are just taking the negative side just to be negative. Hey like it or not this rebuilding process is going to be tough especially after so long of this going on…the chiefs need our support even more during this period. When our stadium is full and people are yelling their heads off it helps us win games… It almost sounds like you are not going to support the chiefs unless peterson leaves. I think that is a dangerous precident because it brings us back to the good old days when there was no on in the stands…..Seems better to me to give them the benefit of the doubt especially since they are trying to change….which has not happened in a long time.
August 28th, 2008 at 12:24 amLook; I was with you about Webb to a certain extent. I even understand your anger at Feely being let go. But see it from my eyes. Were we going to hand Feely the job? No. Was he going to compete for it? Yes. We brought him into COMPETE against Barth and Novak. When Barth and Novak saw they had a legitimate solid veteran kicker (who would likely fit better into Herm’s winning formula, this year) they stepped their games up. Big time. 28/30 is something I can get excited about. 15/15 is also an oustanding number. Barth nailed those, when being driven by competition versus a ‘better’ opponent.
Now we’re going into the last pre-season game with two kickers who have a much higher confidence level. And if Barth keeps it up, he’s going to be a straight beast this year. When he was pressed to do so, he stepped his game up.. Isn’t that the point of bringing in Feely in the first place? To see 1: If someone can outright win the job in competition, 2: To see if Feely can be an upgrade over who we have, and 3: To see how well our YOUNG guys respond to having an experienced vet who’s been there, done that, come in. Barth answered the call admirably.
And you kind of admit that Novak isn’t exactly Adam Vinitiari, yet he also did better than Feely. Given Feely’s ‘diety’ status, and that Novak is a nobody, isn’t the fact that Novak still did better than Feely saying something? Even if Feely was fatigued from jet lag, hadn’t had experience with our holders, and was only here for a short time, he should, as a consumate veteran, and proven commodity, be better than Novak, a journey-man kicker who’s going nowhere, right? Mmmhm. But he didn’t. Feely wore an Arrowhead for 2 days, but alas, to use your own words, he didn’t earn it. He didn’t have a chance to, you might say, but he got beat out 2 days in a row by a rookie kicker. If he’s that good, that shouldn’t happen. At this point in time it’s Barth’s job to lose. Let’s move on now.
August 28th, 2008 at 12:40 amWhy I am negative sometimes, writer, is to counter the rampant, out-of-control, delusional homerism that is commonplace with lots of Chiefs fans today. I also am from the Show-Me State, so you have to show me. I’ve been waiting for Carl Peterson to deliver a Super Bowl birth and a homegrown QB for twenty years. Now, because he swears it’s happening after all these years I’m supposed to automatically believe that a 4-12 team and an 0-6 starting quarterback are finally going to make the aforementioned happen? For me, seeing will have to be believing. Even if you do think this is the right way to do things–for the record, I’m not against our plan—who says that our brass can pull it off?
We have some nice young pieces (Bowe, Dorsey, Albert, D.J., Flowers) and some good vets (Tony G, Waters, L.J.), but we have a long ways to go and a lot of questions to answer. Granted, I think our main foundation for the future is better than both the Broncos’ and Raiders’. I just don’t know if I believe Carl and Herm have the chops to build on said foundation and take us to the highest level.
And, yes, I’m well aware that Bill Kuharich and Co. are calling a lot of the personnel shots now. In fact, I was the guy who clamored for Peterson to move to the business side and for Kuharich to take over as GM. I’m also not sold on Herm “Teacher’s Pet” Edwards.
And xxxlp, I am moving on, but not before saying that if you think the Chiefs’ latest kicking competition was fair, someone in your family or circle of friends needs to get you a Webster’s for Christmas and highlight “fair” in bright yellow. I might even have an old paperback extra one I can send you
The bottom line is that he didn’t get a fair shot because he didn’t get at least a few days to settle in and then kick in a game. Even in season if you bring a guy in it will be on Monday or Tuesday, and he will have until Sunday or Monday to get used to everything, settle in and shake off the jet lag, and then kick in a game. This simulation wasn’t even realistic. I’m rooting for Barth, though. Him kicking well can exonerate the Chiefs mishandling of this situation. All I have to say on it…
August 28th, 2008 at 2:06 amAnd the funny thing is that I am a very optimistic person in real life. I just haven’t seen enough proof to believe in Brodie, Carl, Clark, Herm and this rebuilding project as of yet. I also try to bring down expectations a bit, because as a Chiefs fan I want to minimize the fans’ (inevitable?) heartbreak as much as possible. That’s the main reason why I am so bluntly honest. That and I feel like someone has to be. Why not have A.A. lead that charge?
August 28th, 2008 at 2:18 am*Long Post Warning!*
I never said it was fair, I said it delivered on its intended purpose, which was to see if first and foremost our OWN guys, who’ve been in camp, would step up and answer the ‘call to arms’. They did. It could have gone both ways. Connor could have looked at Feely and been like “Oh shit, I guess I’ll be seeing the Turk soon.” But he didn’t. Novak could have said “Well, guess I’ma go pack my bags and try to stick with another team.” Nope, he wants this job, and kicked better than Feely. Our guys stepped up.
Think of it as a business. You have a 50-something guy coming in to do whatever it is you do in that business. However; you also have a kid who just graduated from college, and is new to your business. That kid can be timid and shy, and look at that old guy and follow his lead, and be a 2nd tier guy, or he can say screw it, and go for broke, to try and move up in the business. That kid this week was Connor Barth. That kid moved up in the business. He’s not at the top of the chain just yet, he has to fight off Novak. But anytime you can secure someone good like that, at a young age, it’s a good thing… Even if we have to go through a bit of rookie bumps along the way, and even drop a couple games, Barth is the theoretical answer for the long-term, whereas Feely was relatively short-term.
Do you remember the punter before Dustin Colquitt? He currently holds a 42.2 net yard punting average in the NFL. That’s not Guy numbers, but it’s definetly respectable. Feely isn’t a superstar either, but is respectable. However, the Chiefs ended up getting someone younger instead. I don’t think anyone would argue that Colquitt is a great punter, even top 10 in the league today, if not better. That seemed to have worked out. Let’s give this one a chance to pan out as well, eh?
I remember Dustin’s rookie year when he wasn’t doing so well, and everyone then was throwing a fit about why we got him, blah blah blah. They’re silenced now. This’ll blow over when Barth nails a game-winner for us, or Feely botches an easy kick that ends up costing a game.
I don’t think many of can be ‘heartbroken’ about this season. It’s like dating a girl for a long time, and you guys do nothing but fight, and you realize hey, it’s not going to work out, so you part ways. Are you going to be sad? Yeah, for sure. But at the same time, you saw it coming. You had some great hopes, and even towards the end, you still thought maybe you could make it work, but you just kinda knew that things were over and done with. We all WANT it to work with that girl- just like we all want the Chiefs to do well. But I think deep down every single person who reads this site, knows that this year, that girl isn’t going to stay with us; and possibly get married (make the playoffs, and possibly go to the Super Bowl). Not this year, fellas. Plenty more fish in the sea, plenty more years left on Carl’s contract. It happens.
The good news is, the Chiefs (or our ‘guy’ in this analogy,) have gotten a new haircut, bought some spiffy new clothes, and trying to buy some new cologne. We’re trying to get the girl, but it ain’t gonna happen overnight.
And holy hell that was a long post. Time for me to go to bed, to ponder analogies of Chiefs, women, and dating, and consequently dream about dating one, (or maybe all?) Chiefs Cheerleaders. Good times.
August 28th, 2008 at 5:44 am[...] Addict wants the head of special teams coach Mike Priefer. What Chiefs coach don’t they want the head [...]
August 28th, 2008 at 7:35 amI thoroughly enjoyed that xxxlp. From where I’m sitting, however, it’s like George McFly trying to get Lorraine when Marty gets back to 1955. George is going to need a lot of help and a lot of things to happen before he actually gets the girl. The odds are against him, but yet there are some reasons to be optimistic. Just not overly optimistic. Guarded optimism, might be the term, and I’m not sure I’m even quite that. I’m more like Doc Brown saying “damn” ten times in a row
And if Feely tanks and Barth soars, then the Chiefs were right and I was wrong. I just doubt that will be the case.
August 28th, 2008 at 12:30 pmAdam said:
“Why I am negative sometimes, writer, is to counter the rampant, out-of-control, delusional homerism that is commonplace with lots of Chiefs fans today.”
I find that interesting because I’m the exact opposite. I am perceived as overly optimistic becuase I seek to counter the “rampant, out-of-control, delusional” hating that is so commonplace with lots of Chiefs fans today.
It seems you base a lot of your personal opinion on “feeling” rather than logic, which is fine if that’s what you want to do, but it does not necessarily mean that you are viewing things accurately.
You say you “feel” Herm plays favorites. So why did they bring Feely in in the first place if he wasn’t going to have a fair shot because Herm had his favorites? Both Novak and Barth are over 85% on their kicks throughout camp and preseason, which is pretty good. So if they wanted one of those guys, there was no reason for them to bring Feely in at all. The logical truth is, Herm brought in a good vet to try out against these other guys and the vet performed poorly. It wouldn’t really have been a competition if he gave the job to the guy that missed the most.
I could say the same thing about your “feelings” about Webb. You “feel” that Herm favors him, even though Webb was drafted in the 6th round and has up till this year at least been 4th on the depth chart. How much favoritism can there be?
Ah, but this leads to your other “feeling” that Sippio is a great player and your “feeling” that he isn’t being given a fair shot because you “feel” that Herm doesn’t like him. Weel if Herm doesn’t like him, why hasn’t he been cut yet? Why was he invited to camp at all? Why was he invited to camp last year? The logical conclusion is that Herm likes the guy and that he’s a good guy to have around your young receivers, but the guy has limited abilities that are going to prevent him from being a productive NFL receiver.
Thinking emotionally can be a good thing. It give you fire and passion. But you need to keep a good degree of logic sprinkled in there too, otherwise you just sound like a hater, which I don’t think you really are.
August 28th, 2008 at 12:32 pmI “feel” like you have some valid points. I also “feel” that you are a bit of a Chiefs apologist. Do you perhaps have a bumper sticker that says, “In Herm We Trust” on the back of your ride. I’m just kidding. It’s not all reactionary either, as I like to speak my mind really before I consider anyone else’s opinion so I’m not influenced by the MSM, the Chiefs themselves and other fans.
Here’s the other thing. I have a theory that 75% of the time or more, people only comment on blogs when they disagree with you. So, since I have admittedly been hard on the Chiefs this preseason–and deservedly so, I might add–many of the commenters respond back with the opposite, pushing me further to the extreme to combat their sometimes ridiculous optimism (10-6–really?).
I’ve toyed with the notion of going Bizarro Adam for one day and praising Brodie and Webb and Herm and saying we’ll go 11-5, and seeing if that brings the pessimists out of the woodwork. I might have to bring out Bizarro Adam this weekend. Sounds like a fun experiment to me.
August 28th, 2008 at 1:56 pmI think it might be illustrative to go back and see what fans and “experts” were predicting for the 1999 Colts prior to the start of their regular season. I’m not okay with the Chiefs being competitive 2 or 3 years from now; I expect them to win this year, next year, and every year. The key to a successful season always involves the next game on your schedule.
Just because I happen to believe the Chiefs can be much better than most everybody else thinks doesn’t mean that I don’t think there will bumps and setbacks along the way. My hope is that those kinds of days will be few in number.
Look, it boils down to this for me. Either these guys are worthy of being called NFL players, or they aren’t. If they’re the former, then they can win. It may be cliche, but it’s nevertheless true that nothing great was ever achieved by somebody who said “it can’t be done.” The first step in becoming a successful team is for the coaches and players to hold the unswerving belier they can win the next game. As long they believe that, then so will I.
August 28th, 2008 at 2:21 pmI agree with you on that Adam, I usually don’t make a comment unless it is a different point of view than was expressed (so I bet your right, come out praising the chiefs and you will see others who take a different view) or if I have insufficient knowledge on that particular topic, thus some of my comments on your blog that probably seem off the topic. So I try to get opinions form you and your readers on things I’d like to know about, not that I agree or disagree or that I am trying to control the topic.
August 28th, 2008 at 3:00 pmThanks, John. I don’t have a problem with it. That’s just the nature of the game. It always makes for interesting point-counterpoint debate as well.
August 28th, 2008 at 3:13 pmIf there’s one thing we’re good at here at AA, it’s definetly debating.
August 28th, 2008 at 3:58 pmI might argue with that xxxlp.
August 28th, 2008 at 4:03 pm:O. I object!
August 28th, 2008 at 4:06 pmI second that motion!
August 28th, 2008 at 4:48 pm“I have a theory that 75% of the time or more, people only comment on blogs when they disagree with you.”
Absolutely true. (this is the other 25%)
If someone says something you totally agree with, about the only thing you can say is “Great Post” which while its nice for the person who made the original post because it strokes his ego, its really boring to read.
I admit I’m kind of a Chiefs apologist. But its mostly because any change is out of my hands and all I see being negative doing is pissing on yourself in the wind because it does no good but get you hung up on taking the negative on everything. You’ve seen those guys that are always negative and then the team has an awesome game and everyone SHOULD be happy, but this guy just can’t do it, he still has to think of some way to dump on the team or take a dig at Peterson or some crap. That is the end result of being negative.
Whats the worst thing about being an overly optimistic homer? If they win, you’re right. If they lose, who cares, you think they’ll be better next time. But you don’t agonize over things that you can’t personally change.
Some things I take an opposing argument on just because I think someone said something out of line or unreasonable. I don’t think Webb is ever going to be better than a #4 WR in the NFL, but I think it is blatantly unfair to accuse him of being “the boss’s son” even if the boss’s son isn’t getting preferential treatment and is having to work his way up the ranks.
August 28th, 2008 at 5:28 pmI say the opposite. If you are honest and realistic, even pessimistic, about you team’s chances: A.) You are either wrong and your team wins; or B.) You are right. You can’t lose and you don’t set yourself and others up for heartbreak.
Just the way I see it. Maybe the Chiefs have finally manage to make me a jaded fan.
I also honestly just don’t think we’ll be very good.
August 28th, 2008 at 6:00 pm“I also honestly just don’t think we’ll be very good.”
Oh, we won’t be. There are too many things betting against us this year. But that doesn’t mean that what is going on now is not the foundation for years in the future.
Are all these rookies that are starting today going to be starters when we have a Super Bowl caliber team in a few years? I sincerely doubt it. Right now we’re throwing rookies in to start just because we got no one else. We have almost no depth on this team whatsoever. Thats just going to take time to build and as time goes by, guys that are starting today will get replaced by guys that are better.
You’ve got to keep the long run in view, which is something Chiefs fans haven’t had to do for 15 years when Peterson was dangling out the “We’re one good player away from the Super Bowl” line in front of us.
There’s nothing impressive about the foundation of a house, but after time goes by and the rest of the mansion is built on that foundation, you finally see it was all worth it.
August 28th, 2008 at 11:46 pm