My Chief Concerns: Preseason Smeeseason
By author
Smeeseason, is that even a freakin’ word?!? Of course not, I made it up. Just like all of the people who have been conditioned to say the preseason does not count.
Although Pat has hinted at earlier today, I want to hammer this point home. Although preseason does not officially count in the stat book, believe me it counts. It counts to the coaches, the players, the fans, and most importantly for team morale. When you are a losing ball club, (and have been so for a few years i.e. the Chiefs), winning at anything makes you feel better. Losing beats the life out of you. Working hard and preparing day in and day out to lose even a preseason game is demoralizing. Herm Edwards might not have got everything right but he was absolutely right when he so eloquently stated “you play to win the game” (even if it is a meaningless game).
Like a fat boy needs cake, or a dog needs a bone, or Mel Gibson needs to drink and open his big fat mouth, these professional athletes need to win. It is in their blood. It is what they are trained to do.
Most importantly, this team needs to build morale. Nothing will kill morale faster than losing all of the preseason games. Nothing will build momentum and morale faster than winning the preseason games. The last thing the Chiefs need is to limp into Monday Night Football as a team that went 0-4 in the preseason. The Chiefs need to be at least 2-2 or 3-1 to get things rolling. I truly believe that. Don’t think for one second that Todd Haley does not know this and is desperately trying to win these preseason games. If we can’t win meaningless games, then how are we going to win games that count?