After three years of suffering through bad coaching and poor game decisions, I finally thought in January we were rid of Herm Edwards. I soon realized that he again landed on his feet with his dialect and coach speech, this time bagging a job at ESPN. Nevertheless, I felt he would be far away on the East Coast — out of sight, out of mind. Wrong!
Last week, I was on vacation in New York. On the way to the airport, guess who made an appearance on ESPN Radio? Yes, the Hermster. Next, while waiting at the airport I was watching the TV and but again who appeared – the Hermster. Later that week, I was walking in Times Square and was just outside of the ESPN Zone, and guess who appears — the Hermster.
Our situation with Herm Edwards reminds me of the movie What About Bob. You have one party who is dying to get rid of somebody. In the movie it is a psychiatrist trying to dump Bob Wiley (Bill Murray). In real life it was the Jets trying to pawn off Herm. Both were successful. The shrink catered to noted psychiatrist Dr. Leo Marvin’s (Richard Dreyfuss) ego and convinced him that only he was good enough for this “special” client. Meanwhile, the Jets somehow duped the Chiefs into thinking that we were better than they were, that they too were “special.” That Herm Edwards could do in K.C. what he couldn’t do in New York — take his team to a Super Bowl.
Now, even during our Chiefs summer vacation, we are stuck with the lingering effects of Herm. Herm’s poor decisions and draft input still haunt us. It’s like he’s down the hall, jumping up and down on the bed, acting like he has Tourette’s. Herm still drives Chiefs fans up the wall, but I have a feeling the rest of our NFL family, save Jets fans, get a kick out of him.
Our first example of where Herm lead us down the wrong path is the 2006 draft. In that draft, Herm selected a good college player in Tamba Hali, but a player who did not have the measurables of a first-round pick. Now, the Chiefs are in a quandary on how to handle Tamba; he’s too small to be a DE in the 3-4, and he is probably too slow to be an outside linebacker in the scheme as well. I predict he will not be with the Chiefs next year.
The second pick in that draft, Bernard Pollard, was another example of Herm’s placing the emphasis on being a good college player while ignoring the measurables. Mr. Pollard is a good player and a great special teams player, but probably not worth a second-round pick.
The third pick in that draft was the most glaring of Herm’s mistakes — Brodie Croyle. Croyle was a talented quarterback at Alabama, but had an injury-riddled career. Even back in high school, he always had difficulty staying on the field. Yes, Mr. Edwards, history does repeat itself!
The following year he reached on the picks of defensive lineman Tank Tyler and Turk McBride in the third and second rounds, respectively. Add those two ingredients to Hali and Herm’s beloved Glenn Dorsey, and you get the worst defensive line in NFL HISTORY (fewest sacks).
Just like my vacation, the Hermster’s presence is everywhere. Unfortunately, it will take years to cleanse and purge his presence from this franchise. Perhaps Dorsey will pan out, although I feel he is undersized for the 3-4 and is another example of Herm picking good college players who have already peaked. Herm took the safe road in the NFL Draft, and it resulted in ending his Chiefs coaching career and possibly his NFL one as well. Now, just like in the movie What About Bob, the Chiefs will have to take “baby steps” to distance themselves from the Herm Era.
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great post Old Chief. I do wonder if anyone will be stupid enough to allow Herm back on the sidelines.
Herm drafted defensive players for a 4-3 defense and Pioli changes to a 3-4 defense. So, several defensive players don’t have a spot. This is Herm’s fault? Oh please! As long as you are bashing Herm for drafting defensive players, How did Flowers and Carr look last year? Herm was the driving force for us drafting Carr. You bashed Pollard, not sure why. Funny you didn’t mention Page.
OH MAN your right Merlin I want Herm back!
Herm’s 2008 draft was almost universally rated as an A+, and that universality certainly included prominent bloggers & posters of this site. Isn’t it rather amusing how the collective (selective?) memory and perception can swing so wildly over such a short period of time? At a certain level, it also seems a bit disingenuous.
Yeah but it didnt work out DD so now we can blame him.
Pollard is a very good player, but otherwise this article is spot on and funny. Pollard is the better player than Page. No question.
Besides, just because it was an A+ then doesn’t mean that it is even a C+ now. Nature of speculation.
And, yes, Herm could obviously draft defensive backs, but what else? Our front seven was the worst in NFL history and two of his three first-round picks played up front.
Double D and Merlin, you guys need to lighten up, have some fun and stop defending Harm. That idiot is indefensible. He went 15-33 in three years after inheriting a 10-6 team, and his teams got progressively worse as he drafted his own classes.
Whatever. You can’t call Dorsey a bust after 1 season. His stats last year were respectable for a first round rookie. As a DT in a 4-3 with no LB support, one can hardly claim that rushing the passer should have been his primary focus/role. Forget Herm, blaming and beating up on young players within a patchwork unit has its limits. For me anyway. Given time, along with the proper coaching and supporting cast, I believe most of these guys still have it within them to individually and collectively develop into great players on a great defense at some point.
I think the head coach and gm of a team should have to sign papers that say “I understand that as team leaders I will be blamed for a teams poor performance, and the longer I am in charge the more blame Ill get from the fans”. That way they wouldnt be so shocked when the team tanks and the fans blame em.
In fairness to Herm, that 10-6 team he inherited was on the decline. I think that had something to do with DV’s retirement. He saw a long re-build ahead, and didn’t have the stomach for it. Two perennial pro bowlers on o-line retiring, and no cap room to fix it right away, and no developing talent to speak of. They reached for a championship and fell short.
Having said that, KC was unable to acquire or retain the very rare sorts of DEs that they needed to run the 4-3 they wanted to run (before AND after switch to Tampa-2 – the Tampa-2 only accentuated this inability). This lack goes back several years, to when their BEST option at DE was Derrick Thomas.
I think Tank Tyler was probably a good pick. I like McBride, too. Recent reports about Tamba Hali are just that much smoke. We’ve known for months that the switch to OLB is his only chance for staying a Chief. All the talk in recent weeks about his being on the bubble is old news dressed-up as new news.
IMO, the ROLB position will be relatively simplified. Struggles in OTAs are the same as struggles reported from Green Bay from THEIR converted DEs. They threw the whole book at the conversion players, and will probably only use about half the book in regulation. Personally, I think that LB will be seen as a strength of this ballclub in ‘09, because I think the team is being built and coached to play to their strengths.
As for herm, he was given the keys to the organization by carl and hunt. He blew it. Carl was in love with him from his playing days and it clouded his vision. It will take up to 3 years to clean up the mess they left the Chiefs in. To bad for us, we get to sit thru new rebuild.
As for herm’s draftees, they did not fit herms plans so there is no reason to believe they will be any good for Pioli/Haley. That is really to easy to say, most fail in the NFL anyway. One fault of Haley is to convert to a 3-4 without enough players who can fit. It will cost many games. It also mean most of most of the current players will be gone within a year, terrible waste. But again we get to live thru this as it seems Hunt gave the keys to Pioli/Haley.
Is it me or would it be better if we had a owner who actually paid attention to what was going on. The Hunt family have always stood back and let the GN/HC be the spear catchers for the organization. Perhaps that is why since winning one superbowl and a couple of one year runs at the playoffs, this team is a bottomfeeder in the NFL.
“Personally, I think that LB will be seen as a strength of this ballclub in ‘09, because I think the team is being built and coached to play to their strengths.”
Talk about deja vu.
I remember hearing almost the exact same prediction being popularly expressed prior to the start of ‘08 season. What’s different this go round? Transition to the 3-4 and a couple of new faces. Just like last year, we’re expecting leadership and playmaking out of players whose best years are behind them (Vrabel, Thomas) who we desparately hope can stay healthy. Just like last year, we’re expecting younger players (Hali, McBride) to step in, step up and progress to the next level. Just like last year, we’re thinking DJ will finally emerge into the force we all thought he would be. Just like last year, we lack depth at LB.
It’s going to take the right coach, the right personnel and frankly more time to get our backers right. Anybody who believes otherwise is delusional.
get real: There IS reason to think they’ll fit the new defense better than the old one, because the scheme fits the kinds of people they had and could acquire. The shape of the defense now suits the shape of the NFL talent pool, IMO.
DD: The reason I make my prediction about the LBs is because I see the scheme using the d-line to occupy blockers and hold the middle, instead of being expected to finish plays in space. The d-line’s job is to set up the LBs (and Ss) so THEY can finish plays in space, instead of being expected to plug all the holes left behind by an overpursuing d-line AND play pass defense like oversized safeties.
For the first time in a long time, the Chiefs are letting their d-linemen be linemen and letting their LBs be LBs. To MY mind, the biggest question is whether the secondary is going to be as successful in the new scheme, which I don’t think will give them as much LB help in coverage.
You might be right about LB depth. Personally, I think the system will be such that they can rotate players more easily without trashing the whole scheme. I think the way the players’ roles are being defined will be much less confusing, and whomever the 8 or 9 guys we end up going with will, in contrast to the last couple years, actually understand their jobs and be able to contribute.
Your “delusional” remark is argumentative and unworthy. We can disagree without empty name-calling. OK. _I_ can disagree without name-calling.
DD says Isn’t it rather amusing how the collective (selective?) memory and perception can swing so wildly over such a short period of time? At a certain level, it also seems a bit disingenuous.
I know homers like me ALWAYS see the silver lining LONG before seeing the black cloud, especially in the offseason, when every training camp catch is OBVIOUSLY the first step on the path to a HOF career and every fumble is just one stupid fumble, for Pete’s sake!
I don’t quite see it as disingenuous. Maybe “self-delusional.” Heh.
Anyhoo, I wasn’t one talking LAST year about how great the LBs would be in ‘08. So don’t lump me into that group. My points are based on the players I see and what I hear about how they intend to use ‘em.
And I DO think Dorsey was drafted largely in hope that he could bring a little Warren Sapp to the Tampa-2 for the Chiefs, so they could send 4 pass rushers all day, and keep 7 guys back in coverage all day.
I like what I see Pioli doing with personnel. I don’t see the Chiefs breaking the bank for the sake of man-love for a particular player. What I’m seeing is solid team-building and good no-nonsense coaching.
The proof will be in the pudding. I hope and expect you’ll still be here in November admitting you were off-base a few times, or, like everyone you accuse, will you conveniently forget your sour-puss attitude?