My Chief Concerns: Preseason Smeeseason

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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?

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[...] Winning is important to the Chiefs’ preseason. [...]

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Robert Beames

Nice statment of your feelings on the subject. I missed your article before I posted mine today. Guess it's clear I disagree with you. I almost used the classic quote from Herm - glad I didn't. Herm had good quotes, but he couldn't coach his way out of a paper bag. I don't think his quote was about a preseason game. I think it was a game he should have played to win. Another point, most team websites don't even keep their historical preseason records. Couldn't find it on NFL.com, either. They aren't that easy to find. Maybe because they don't count. Glad we can disagree as Chiefs fans! Go Chiefs!

Randy5k-Arrowhead Adventurer

Merlin, I trust your opinions, and that one sucks.

Ehud

The main thing I want to see out of our 1st string is for them to score a TD. They haven't done that yet and I think they need to for morale because, everyone knows it is easier to get someplace if you've been there before.

I cant agree with you on this at all buddy. The Colts rarely win their preseason games, the Lions usually do. Both teams are utilizing the preseason correctly. The Lions play 100% to boost morale with a win. The Colts are seeing what hidden talents they might have by letting everyone have a chance to prove themselves. At the half, the Chiefs were tied with the Falcons. Thats when I learned what I needed to know about the 2010 Chiefs. Second half I was looking at the rest of the rosters performance. Come on DD thats nuts. Our first string should beat there first string for sure. Beyond that, its about evaluating talent. The NFL has no JV squads.

merlin

When you are a losing team, you like for your first string to play well and put up some TD's on offense against the other first string. Our first string performance was not one to love, even considering Atlanta is a good team.

Double D

Jeremy, I completely agree with you (a rarity I know!) Our 1st string should beat their 1st string. Our 2nd string should beat their 2nd string. Our 3rd string should beat their 3rd string. If you play vanilla and execute, you should win. If you play mistake-free football, and exploit opportunities, you win. If you manage the game clock and personnel properly, you avoid beating yourself. All these things tend to exemplify a teams quality, depth, and attitude. These things are not meaningless, they are the keys to success.

jeremyriversideca

Unreal DD I will never forget this day! Ever!

Jason Brannan

I agree completely, any win is a good win. And even preseason wins boost morale. Haley knows this, and he is trying i would imagine, but there are certain rules of preseason that still ned to be followed, more or less. You still have to evaluate which guys to keep and cut. And you do this based on the basic plays in the playbook.

cclary

How far do you go to win a preseason game? Do you leave the starters in against there second team? What if our first team is up on the Bucs first team by 10 points and our second and third team lose the game? The final score will be a loss but our first team got a win.

Patrick Allen

I think it is more important that the Chiefs open up the playbook and play well than they win the game. Obviously winning is always important but what I want to see is a sharper polished football. Since the Bucs are on a similar level to the Chiefs, it is a good chance to test themselves and see where they are at.

Really Good Point. I wish I had a good answer. Ideally I would keep the starters out there until they prove something. They need to get their mojo, even with vanilla offenses and defenses. Point is the Chiefs need a win, and need to do what ever it takes to change the team's losing mentality.

Jeremy,

I completely agree with you (a rarity I know!)

Our 1st string should beat their 1st string.
Our 2nd string should beat their 2nd string.
Our 3rd string should beat their 3rd string.
If you play vanilla and execute, you should win.
If you play mistake-free football, and exploit opportunities, you win.
If you manage the game clock and personnel properly, you avoid beating yourself.

All these things tend to exemplify a teams quality, depth, and attitude. These things are not meaningless, they are the keys to success.

Unreal DD

I will never forget this day! Ever!

I think it is more important that the Chiefs open up the playbook and play well than they win the game.

Obviously winning is always important but what I want to see is a sharper polished football. Since the Bucs are on a similar level to the Chiefs, it is a good chance to test themselves and see where they are at.

Really Good Point. I wish I had a good answer. Ideally I would keep the starters out there until they prove something. They need to get their mojo, even with vanilla offenses and defenses.

Point is the Chiefs need a win, and need to do what ever it takes to change the team's losing mentality.