Last Sunday, a momentous event took place at Arrowhead Stadium.
No, it wasn’t Tony Gonzalez and his amazing pursuit of tight end greatness that came oh so close to fruition. And no it wasn’t Herm Edwards deciding to take the chains off of Chan Gailey and allowing him to coach for a change. Those events obviously were huge, but they all finished a close second to this:
The Chiefs 12 game losing streak came to end, concluding the longest and most frustrating period in the franchise’s storied history.
While that event in and of itself may not lead to immediate long-term success, the Chiefs showed me something on Sunday. They came out and played smashmouth football for four quarters against a team that was unbeaten, a division rival and Super Bowl contender, even though no one with a pulse gave them a chance to do so. They took it upon themselves to show the fans of this team that they had not given up, that they were not going to go quietly in the night this season, and for that I commend them.
You see this game takes a toll on the men that play it, and no matter how often they say they don’t listen to the radio shows, read the newspapers, or pay attention to the blogs, the players do in fact notice when the fans become extremely negative in their approach towards the team. Individuals that play professionally in any sport will tell you that the fans can make or break a team’s spirit during the course of a game or match. They rely on us just as much as we rely on them, and when a crescendo of negativity rears it ugly head like it has in weeks past, the players feel compelled to take action to smash it as quickly as possible, to prevent a complete loss of respect.
I myself played a part in promoting that culture of negativity last week, by posting an article pushing the need for the immediate dismissal of coaches and players in the wake of the Chiefs lackluster performance in Atlanta in week three. I still stand firm in my belief that Gunther Cunnningham needs to go, and anyone who thinks that McSack is still deserving of a starting spot at right tackle needs to have their head checked, but I came away from the game last Sunday feeling much better about Herm Edwards’ continued coaching career in Kansas City.
Will he deliver us to the promised land in the next three to five years? That’s anyone’s best guess at this point, but the case can be made for Edwards to keep control over this rebuilding effort, despite his faults as a head coach.
The most important part of the Chiefs victory last Sunday was the amount of respect that they earned in the process of unshackling 11 months of disaster. The Chiefs had not won a game since October 21st, 2007. They were the epitome of an atrocious team, garnering comparisons to franchises with pitiful histories such as Detroit and Arizona.
The Denver Broncos on the other hand had thrown up a boatload of points on two pretty good teams in consecutive weeks against San Diego and New Orleans. and came into the game looking to easily roll over the Chiefs en route to a 4-0 start to their season. Many pundits had already penciled them in as a legitimate Super Bowl contender, overlooking multiple faults in their defense, and given the way the Chiefs had played in every facet of the game during the first three weeks of the season, it came as no surprise that few outside of Kansas City gave the Chiefs any shot of keeping the game close. let alone actually winning it by two touchdowns.
But instead of giving up before the opening coin flip even took place, the Chiefs decided that they were going to win this football game. No longer would they allow the specter of a 12 game losing streak to haunt them into more and more defeat. They knew that to win they would have to make the Broncos play the game on the terms set by the Chiefs instead of allowing Denver to dictate the flow. And they set out to do just that.
Two plays into the game, the Chiefs much-maligned offensive line blasted a hole the size of Missouri in the Broncos defense, and Larry Johnson took full advantage, smashing his way downfield for 65 yards. That set the tone of the game immediately, and sent a very clear signal to the Broncos that this game was not going to be the walk in the park that many in the media believed it would be.
And while the Chiefs struggled early on in the game to score more than three points at a time, they never let up, and forced the Broncos into mistake after mistake, intercepting Broncos QB Jay Cutler two times, and punching the ball loose on two other occasions as well. Eventually the Chiefs offense took advantage of those mistakes and pounded their way into the end zone en route to a 33-19 beatdown.
Obviously this was only one game in the standings. The Chiefs still have the youngest team in the league, and will inevitably make many more mistakes this season. It’s doubtful that we will see a major string of victories, or anything of the sort this season. They need time to continue to grow and develop as players, and that does not happen overnight of course. They will struggle at time and play well in others. The Chiefs now have to go on the road to play a very good Carolina Panthers team, that has a very capable offense and defense, and has shown already that they are a force to be reckoned with this year.
But that being said, the Chiefs gave us all a reason to believe that the future will be bright last Sunday against Denver. The long road to respectability has finally begun.
Chris Kolb is the owner and lead writer for KC Chiefs Fanatic.
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This is off-topic, but I’ve been pondering next year’s draft situation, and how Carl is always looking for more draft picks, quantity, over quality, right Carl? Ugh. Anyway, look no farther than Pittsburgh to find a team in serious need of a running back. Willie Parker dinged up. Mendenhall out for the season. You can just stop right there, as those are their big name guys.
Kolby Smith has been all but non-existent in our offense thus far, after having a decent showing last year. It’s clear that the staff likes JamChar much more, at this time, as he has blazing speed, good hands, and can also block well. Right now, I bet we could get a 3rd, maybe a 4th, for Kolby, from the Steelers. Considering Kolby was what, a 5th round choice? That’s good news. With a plethora of RB’s (LJ, JamChar, Kolby, Battle, Savage,) we can afford to let one go, and snatch up a pick that could definetly pay dividends for a young team. The Steelers would have a nice RB to fill in while Parker is hurt, and to compliment him once Parker is back, and we thin the RB crop out a bit, and have better potential for another excellent draft next year. Win/win, imo. Just thought I’d throw that out there.
Kolby was actually a 3rd round choice. We should try to get at least a 4th if we’re going to trade him.
Uhm… no?
Originally entered the NFL as the club’s first of two picks in the fifth round (148th overall) of the 2007 NFL Draft.
Hmm… could have sworn he was a 3rd round pick. That’s what happens when you’ve done about 50,000 mock drafts in the past 2 years. Things like that get blurred.
I for one really enjoyed reading your article Chris. I thought you summed up pretty well what most of us are feeling about our beloved team. We all know that it was just one win, but to step up against the Broncos was huge for us. Even the Tank was fired up and was playing on the other side of the line. We caught a glimpse of what these young men can bring to the table and hopefully they enjoyed it even more than we did! Great article and we will all be watching for the Chiefs to travel a little farther down that road each week.
Go Chiefs!
So Herm is your man after one win? Herm immediately is the right man for the team after one win? I really don’t mean to be negative and I thought sunday was a well coached game, but I think some of us forget quite easily how many games we lost at home and some of those we’re complete blow outs..In the past, the chiefs just didn’t lose at home, and if they did it was very close. I’ll give Herm the rest of the season but I personally just hate to see him as our coach..
I’d love to see Al Saunders get a chance to coach this team, cowher, Marty..Herm made a huge mistake in believing Tyler Thigpen could play and slowed the development of our young and un-confident offense..Huard should have never been pulled from the Oakland game, and he was pulled..Their was no injury..When Huard was asked about being pulled, he said he wouldn’t debate it, meaning the whole injury thing was complete bs.
Yes and now we are pondering what picks Carl will make next year. Ill be honest as far as Herm and Carl Im very confused as to what their future should be. I think Carl definitly OUT. A side note I complained to the organization and got a free Chiefs tote bag!
I disagree on a number of different things, sir…
First of all, this is far too early to be vindicating Herm…I have not been one necessarily calling for his head UNLESS we don’t see improvement throughout the season (which it seems we may be.) BUT, this is too early for him to be removed from the proverbial “hot seat.”
Second, leave Gunther and his sweet amber shades alone. If there is one thing we can observe it is that the defensive gameplan is there. Even against Atlanta we stopped the run early…Which means that they have been coached how to stop the other teams and the failure later in the game lies on the players. You cannot blame Gunther for not adjusting to the offense…because….THEY AREN’T CHANGING ANYTHING! You can criticize that he hasn’t sent enough crazy blitzes but you cannot say that it has been his fault.
Lastly, I DO think McIntosh played well. More than just him, I think the line is doing as Herm said, it is becoming a more cohesive unit. It seems to me that the weak link in the last game was Rudy oddly enough. On those couple of screen plays that were blown up for a loss it was Rudy that had missed the blocks. In the interior, even among Denver’s undersized line, he was getting pushed back and losing ground.
I think you contradicted yourself in your article, in fact. Saying that “McSack” has not been improving and then later praising the line for making a hole the “size of Missouri.” I think we should go back to that play and look…The pitch was to the left, McIntosh obviously plays Right Tackle, his job would just be to occupy his guy and not allow him to make a play. It did not work out that way and Larry cut back right and thanks to McIntosh’s EXCELLENT blocking on that play Larry was sprung for a HUGE gain…So I DEFINITELY think he is improving and more importantly THEY are improving as a unit…
that is all…
Saying McIntosh was improved is like saying Thigpen would be our starter and throw 50% completion percentage. It’s nice, and it makes you feel better, but at the end of the day, he still F’d it up. The only reason LJ scored on his second touchdown, on the run to the left, is because D-Mac had NO push whatsoever on the right side. LJ clearly ran into D-Mac’s back; said F this, and took off to the left, where lineman actually RUN-BLOCKED. He may have done better, but it’s just not up to par with what we need. And that’s not an endorsement for Barry Richardson… Yet. D-Mac just needs to play better. And hopefully LJ having a big day will allow us to utilize better playcalling, aka PA-passes, and be more efficient overall. That’ll help D-Mac out as well.
This:
“They rely on us just as much as we rely on them, and when a crescendo of negativity rears it ugly head like it has in weeks past, the players feel compelled to take action to smash it as quickly as possible, to prevent a complete loss of respect.”
Followed by this:
“I myself played a part in promoting that culture of negativity last week . . .”
So we should be thanking you for the win, Chris?
Kolby Smith for Dixon Dennis. Period.
The defense, especially the dangerously thin LB corps, played hella good. Trying to take down Gun right now just makes you look petty and foolish.
First off, thanks for all the comments. Positive or negative, I enjoy them all the same.
I think there is a misconception of me switching my feelings towards Herm remaining with the Chiefs after this year. I was not in any way trying to vindicate him or his performance as a head coach, but I do try to give credit where it is due, and I think Herm did an outstanding job of coaching last week. Will it buy him an extra year? Maybe – it depends on how well this team performs down the stretch. But at the very least, it gave us a glimpse of what this team is capable of becoming if we regain some semblance of patience and allow things to play out.
As for Gun, I stand firm in my belief that he is no longer an effective D Coordinator. The defense played well, but much of that had to do with the Broncos offense forcing the ball into double coverage, or running stupid plays like the Brandon Marshall direct snap. We made the plays we needed to win, but if the Broncos offense executes the way they did in their 1st 3 games, we’re talking about an 0-4 start right now. Our players were still playing out of position because of poor playcalling by Gun, and I am tired of seeing that happen. We have the talent, but Gun doesn’t use it correctly IMO.
I won’t even dignify McSack by defending my thoughts on him. He’s worth about as much to me as a bag of rocks right now, and while he blocked ok last week, I think he’s going to get exposed big time again this week against Carolina when he goes up against a real D-line. How many of you will still be fans of his when that happens?
Thanks again for all your comments. Keep them coming.
I have been watching and rooting for the Chief’s since 1963, and I am a 52 year old woman. Oh how I remember those days, I even babysat Len Dawson’s children.
I do not think Herm Edwards needs to be telling the Chief’s fans to be patient, gosh, that ticked me off. I have seen him gruffly, on tv interviews, do that twice, and I don’t like it, man have we been patient for years. and aren’t we paying his pay check? I live in Springfiled Missouri now, but aren’t you tax payers paying boocoo bucks for redoing the stadium. Who is running the team anyway, I think Herm Edwards should go on tv, in prime time sports and apologize to us all, including the players. Have something positive to say, and make sure it’s true. Thank you, Kimmie