Chiefs Vs. Eagles: Revenge Would Be Nice

“Play Kansas City and we’ll make you a star!”

That could very well have been the motto of the 2009 Kansas City Chiefs.

Todd Haley’s 2009 squad was so bad on defense they often allowed guys no one had ever heard of have such staggeringly successful days that they became fantasy superstars int he course of the afternoon.

Admit it, before the 2009 season, had you ever heard of Jerome Harrison or Miles Austin?

Had you heard of Kevin Kolb?

After hanging tough with both the Ravens and the Raiders the Chiefs were slaughtered by the Philadelphia Eagles. There weren’t many Chiefs fans who were thinking their team was very good at that point but the fact that they had been in the game in the 4th quarter of the previous two contests was encouraging.

Kevin Kolb and the Eagles brought a hard dose of reality to Chiefs Nation that day and when the carnage was over, every knew the Chiefs were in for a long season.

The Eagles went off on the Chiefs. Kolb passed for 327 yards and 2 touchdowns. Matt Cassel completed 14 of 18 passes for, wait for it, 90 yards. Good for a QB rating of 124.5 but a yards per pass average of 5.0.

Speaking of averages, Larry Johnson had 19 carries for 38 yards (2.0 ypc) while Jamaal Charles was given 6 carries for 36 yards and 3 receptions for 34 yards.

Way to evaluate that talent coach Haley.

Haley’s failure to see what was happening before his very eyes aside, the Chiefs were simply not even close to being in Philly’s league last year. It was one of the ugliest Chiefs games of the season, perhaps surpassed only by the debacle in Buffalo which may have been the worst football game every played.

This Chiefs team is drastically different. Gone are Bobby Wade and Mark Bradley. They have been replaced by Chris Chamers and and Dexter McCluster. Larry Johnson is about to be cut by the Redskins and in his place are Thomas Jones and Jamaal Charles. It is a new day.

But will it be a new result?

The starters for both squads are likely to play through the 3rd quarter. If the Chiefs struggle, especially on offense, expect Haley to keep his starters on the field in to the 4th.

The Eagles are a much deeper team than the Chiefs. They have been playing together, in the same system for a very long time. They also have a very stout defense.

The Chiefs may not yet be able to topple a team like the Eagles but this game will be an excellent test for an offense that showed some life against the Buccaneers.

Even if they don’t win, a respectable performance would go a long way toward erasing some of the painful memories of 2009.

And yes, some revenge would be nice.