Mr. Posnanski, Mr. Whitlock, This Is Your Wake-Up Call
“Chiefs heading in the right direction.”
“Chiefs are making strides under Edwards.”
Thanks to the two bumbling blobs over at The Kansas City Star, we now have this…
Jason Whitlock, stick to what earns you your paycheck — blaming Carl Peterson for global warming, the economy’s collapse, the latest season of Entourage starting off slowly and all the world’s other problems.
Jos Posnanski, stick to baseball — you don’t know what the hell you’re talking about when it comes to the gridiron.
Just because you can write well — and credit where credit is due, you both can do just that — doesn’t mean you can write well about the Chiefs.
Here’s the biggest thing; if Herm Edwards had of made some decent adjustments and not tightened up down the stretch like a nun’s holiest of holies, then the Chiefs would have never even been put in that position in the first place. Yet they were. Harm’s three consecutive three-and-outs gave the game away. For the third time in as many weeks, Harm snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. Either this guy is tanking it or he is criminally mishandling leads. There’s no way he’s tanking games either, so you do the math.
Another thing I hated about Harm going for two is that he basically put Tyler Thigpen in a position where he lost the game for the Chiefs, or at least I’m pretty damn sure that’s how he felt after he threw that near pick to end the game. Why not take it into overtime, where you can give Thiggy Smalls more pressure-situation experience and a better chance at being a hero. We all know that most young quarterbacks really struggle inside the redzone, especially inside the 10-yard line. Tony Gonzalez‘s second touchdown was tipped by two Chargers, and it took every bit of Tony’s Hall of Fame skills to make that snag, so don’t give Tyler too much credit there. If we won the toss, there is no way the Chargers would have stopped our offense, as long as Herm allowed Chan Gailey to play call aggressively, which never seems to be the case late in tight contests. In that scenario, Thigpen leads us down the field, we kick a short field goal and Thiggy is the talk of the league. Now that would have been terrible for his confidence. Just terrible, I tell you!
If we lost the toss and, as a result, the game, we could have just blamed the loss on the defense being depleted by injuries. That way Thigpen’s psyche doesn’t get damaged. After all, developing a quarterback is the most crucial part of this rebuilding process. This year, it’s even more important than the final score.
I’m just sick and tired of fans and high-profile journalists alike patting Herm Edwards on the back. I expect that from “yes man” Bob Gretz, but the rest of you are better than that.
You know what happens if you go 1-18 in anything else? You get fired, replaced and laughed at as you drag your loser ass out the door. Would you still come to this site if only one out of every 18 posts was worth a damn? Would your boss still keep you around if you only actually did your job every 19th work day? Or say you’re a teacher, would you pass a student who only turns in one out of every 18 assignments? No, no, no. So, why is this situation any different? Because Clark Hunt wants to maintain the illusion that the Chiefs are on the right track so he can dupe people like the two of you?
I realize winning isn’t really the objective this season, but one win in your last 18 games? Even Art Shell would have won two by now, probably three or four, people. What is up with everybody and their mother becoming a Harm apologist? The guy is simply not head coach material. Not on Sundays at least.
I mean, just read this excerpt from Posnanski and try not to punch your screen…
"And so, if you are one of those who want Herm Edwards fired, you probably should do yourself a favor and stop reading this column now. Enjoy your Monday. Get a doughnut or swim a few laps or do whatever you like to do. Because the rest of this will probably aggravate your ulcer. Or give you one.Still reading? OK, you have been warned. I think Herm Edwards is doing a good job this year."
Other than having donuts on the brain, what else is kicking around in that head of yours? I think the other Joe Pa might be more with it at this point. But wait, there’s more…
"The reason is that Herm Edwards is a good football coach."
Really? What proof do you have? That he’s taken both the Chiefs and the Jets franchises from playoff mode to commode? He gets them to play hard? Does that earn him frackin’ extra credit or something? Isn’t that a coach’s job? Matt Foley could waddle in and tell the Chiefs players that they’re going to end up living in “a van down by the river” and accomplish that. You’re right — Herm Edwards is no Gary Kasparov. Unfortunately, football is like chess — it’s a game of strategy. It takes a great mind to win, not a great mouth.
As far as him being a player’s coach and all that, it’s very overrated. When I was at Kansas State, I knew about 50 players who thought Bill Snyder was a prick. Can we hire that guy? Instead of falling asleep watching just 15 minutes of film, he was sleeping at the complex — if he slept at all. Instead of blowing off the details, Snyder was OCD about the littlest of things. Snyder worried about strategizing and winning, and let his assistants motivate. If something needed to be said then he said it, but he didn’t waste his time being a glorified cheerleader. I’d rather have Tony Sparano than this cheap Tony Robbins ripoff. Bill Belichick was also on that list with Edwards, by the way, and it wasn’t because he’s a nice guy.
I didn’t forget about you either, Big Sexy. I just don’t even know where to start with you. First off, you lost all credibility when you suggested that we should spend potentially the No. 1 overall pick on a quarterback from his alma mater who isn’t even listed in Scout Inc.’s top 32, or anyone’s for that matter. Oh, I get it — Nate Davis is the new Jeff George. After that I should have just crumpled up your article and used it as toilet paper, but I didn’t. Why? So I could do this…
"We all need to take a step back and re-evaluate Edwards’ performance. He is not perfect. But he’s been hamstrung by a set of problems not his own making. He’s beginning to dig out from those problems."
Excuse me, Jabba, but did someone hold a gun to Harm’s dome and make him go into the season with Damon Huard backing up Brodie Croyle? Did someone make him play a style that didn’t really fit his offensive personnel for the first six games? And who is to blame when the Chiefs have suffered more injuries than any other team in the league? I’m not around the Chiefs enough to guarantee this — nobody in the media is, except maybe Adam Teicher and Gretz, and who in the hell listens to either of them? — but part of that is likely due to improper conditioning. That and us just not having enough talent, especially on the lines, causing us to get our noses caved into our skulls
You know what I really think is going on here? I think Jason is pumping up Harm so that his favorite whipping boy, Peterson, will continue to be public enemy No. 1. Riddle me this, Jason; if you blast King Carl pretty much every column for not winning in the playoffs, why don’t you blast Harm for not winning? Hell, three playoff wins in nearly 20 years is still better than one win in nearly 20 games.
The problem, Jason and Joe, is that you fellas are letting your personal affection for Herm Edwards — not to mention your disdain for Carl Peterson — cloud your thinking. The guy is a good man, a colorful character, and he’s obviously fun to cover (well, other than that losing part), but what is it with Chiefs Nation (and this nation, for that matter) that we want a leader we can have a beer with, someone who’s no smarter than we are. When it comes to the Chiefs’ head coach, excuse me, but I want somebody so intelligent that a chat with them about football over coffee would have me so intimidated that I soiled my boxers.
Thanks again, you two, for likely being the driving force behind us receiving another year with Bozo the Coach. Much appreciated!