A Reaction To Whitlock

I stopped taking Jason Whitlock seriously when he kept calling for the Chiefs to sign Jeff George. He's completely crazy and probably still pissed he was fired from the kcstar. He makes a few good points but honestly, anyone that's watched the Chiefs even a little this year could have made the same points without a much problem. Whitlock will have a good article about 10% of the time. With the rest he just goes completely overboard to get clicks and comments. That's really all that matters on a website anyway.

"I don’t often get to hear the audio of these games, but if the announcers at the end of the season were indeed mentioning Haley’s tutelage of Cassel, that is a HUGE red flag. These announcers say what they’re told to say. If they were being told to hint that Haley was predominantly responsible for Cassel’s turnaround…..wow." The only "wow" here is how Whitlock lost all credibility with this point. Trent Dilfer has been talking about Haley and Cassel ALL SEASON LONG on ESPN. You're probably saying what does Trent Dilfer know about it? Dilfer broadcast the MNF opener with Brad Nessler, and since Dilfer isn't a regular broadcaster, he spent time around the team to get prepared. Just to give one example, Dilfer talked MONTHS ago about how Haley was working with Cassel on his footwork and had tapes made up of Drew Brees for Matt to study. Haley, not Weis. And how did Dilfer know that? From talking with Cassel. And there have been several other similar examples discussed over the course of the season. Whitlock's suggestion that, late in the year, an insecure Haley started feeding "Weis isn't the one helping Cassel" stories is complete and utter crap. A Super Bowl winning quarterback in Dilfer has been telling those exact same stories since September, well before Cassel was even showing improvement.

Great post and thread, except no one jumped on the "Herm's legacy is this team" bandwagon. I say if Haley gets a playoff win, he's the man until next September, then he has to prove himself again.

What does this douche bag Whitlock know, he's still pissed he got shut out of the coaches meeting rooms. Maybe he should have another 10 hr press conference and cry some more! Many argue about the Jones / Charles situation. How many years does a GREAT back have in recent years? Tomlinson, Peterson, C Johnson, Jackson, LJ? One back, good running teams assure the back of a 4-5 year span. What if Haley realizes that the Chiefs could be REAL contenders in 2-3 years and you have a small back banged up from too many carries when you need him most...obviously this years 1-2 punch is working. Basically, there is so much we don't know about what goes on in those coaches meetings. Could they have played the Oakland game like a preseason game? We're in the playoffs, we have a home game no matter, let's play "plain vanilla" so we don't show too much.

Whitlock may have somoe views but his perspective is from his head being wedged up his ass. Charles can't possibly carry the load that Thomas Jones does and that has led to both backs being somewhat healthy this time of year. As far as the politics between the GM, Haley, Weis. I think it's an all out assult on the character of owner Clark Hunt. There sure may be some friction between Haley and Weis but Whitlock went way too far.

This is what I have been saying all year and what has been getting me kicked out of your live chats. Don't get it twisted Thomas Jones is more of a hamstring for this team than a help. There is no argument that Charles needs a spell every once and a while, but the Chiefs thinks Jones is a good running back, not just a spell guy, which is a terrible lapse in judgement. Thomas Jones is a disaster look at his last 10 games, look at scoring drives, look at big plays, Thomas Jones is nowehere to be found, hes a bum, I see him gain one yard and first 10 and see countless drives wasted when we all know Charles would probably come close to his 7.2 ypc avg on first down. Cant wait for the bullshit excuses after the game as to why we had to establish Thomas JOnes in the first quarter and immediately go down 10-0.

Saw your piece from Whitlock's twitter. Good read. Wasn't one of the main points of the article that Haley's personality cost the Chiefs a good offensive coordinator in Weis? What's your take on that? I think Weis made a big difference this year in terms of playcalling and player development (e.g. Cassell). Charles and Johnson were buried last year... now at least they're getting some PT. I think Haley and Pioli have to go with results at some point.

Whitlock bundles his thoughts well, yet his thoughts are fraught with junk, mere opinions, and often times - hate. Nobody is nominating Haley for saint-hood in professional football coaching. Many things have coalesced for the Chiefs to be at 10-6. His undressing of Haley is unwarranted and over the top. Whitlock thinks he is doing people a great service of lifting a supposed veil from the eyes of the fans, when in fact, his analysis reveals nothing. A successful NFL team means that 56 players and a platoon of coaches are doing a good job. It matters little if Haley is the best coach in the history of the world if his players don't execute and the rest of his coaching staff fails at their jobs. At the end of the season, the story will not be about the Magnificent Haley and the no-name Chiefs, the story will be about the Magnificent CHIEFS. Whitlock misses the mark and achieves little but create controversy where none had existed before. The fans aren't nearly as infatuated with Haley as much as Whitlock seemingly is. That says a lot when he is supposed to the journalist and we are the supposed clueless sheep (according to Whitlock).

Love reading all the discussion and I could go on about this article, but I will stay out this round. Matt, I still haven't solved the Charles-Jones mystery but I keep telling myself wait till the playoffs because then they will abuse Charles. I might be way off but I am really hoping that is the case. I also don't Charles really minds his workload because he did just sign a contract extension with the team. I don't think he does that if he is upset about his touches. I honestly think a bunch of NFL RBs are ok with less touches because they are realizing they have the shortest shelf-life. Just ask guys like Edge, LJ, Eddie George, and the list can go on and on. Lets hope I am right and we see Charles get 22-25+ touches this Sunday!

Does Whitlock have some writing talent? Yes. Does Whitlock have some good points? Yes. Does Whitlock lose credibility with me because he clearly has a grudge against Haley and Pioli? Yes. Does Whitlock lose credibility with me because because he deliberately says extreme things just to get people worked up? Yes. Is Jason Whitlock's ego his biggest liability? Yes. Did anybody else think that Whitlock was actually trying to take credit for Nick Wright's success at the end of that radio interview? He seemed to basically be saying "You got popular only after I left and because you're trying to be the new me." You could tell Wright was pissed and having to hold back and that's saying something for Nick.

I'm sorry Pat, I really tried reading it and I just couldn't. I got halfway through and decided to press the back button before I punched a hole in my computer.

"Haley has at least half a brain which meant he saw what happened to LJ the year after he set the NFL record for carries in a single season. The NFL has become a 2 back system and that is exactly what Haley employed here. " If Haley did in fact learn that lesson, then why wasn't Jamaal getting more carries last year to "keep LJ fresh"? I honestly think that Haley got lucky with Jamaal. He tried not to use him last year when we had Larry and even brought in Thomas Jones to start this year. I don't think he has learned his lesson. For those of you waiting for Haley to "unleash Charles in the playoffs", I hope you are right. However, I am pretty sure we'll see the 50/50 split with TJ getting the carries to start the game.

All Whitlock does is write his articles for reactions. His outlandish "insights" are pretty well document by now, no? The worst argument he, and anybody else who believes he is right, had was about Thomas Jones starting over Jamaal Charles. He was right on with this decision. It has been well documented that Charles is a little fragile and gets nicked up easily. That was the knock on him coming out of college and it's still true today. By having Thomas Jones come in early and take the worst of beating he freed Charles up to be effective later in the games when the defense is tired and not as strong. He kept Charles fresh. Haley has at least half a brain which meant he saw what happened to LJ the year after he set the NFL record for carries in a single season. The NFL has become a 2 back system and that is exactly what Haley employed here. Am I saying this one decision makes him a good coach? Of course not, but it's just become tiresome to see people talk about how Charles wasn't used enough. How many games did Charles have to come out for a few plays because of a stinger, or falling on his should or his leg awkwardly? He can't carry the load by himself and Thomas Jones is a stronger back who is a perfect compliment for Charles. Their carries were distributed correctly throughout the season. I, for one, am happy that Whitlock has moved on from the Star so I don't have to read his articles on a regular basis whose only premise is to "question authority" which is just a fancy way of writing craziness on paper so people will get upset enough to make comments and sell more papers. Plain and simple. The bottom line is that Haley has won. Whether is was because he used his Coordinators to do the work for him, which is what they're there for anyway, or whether game planning or scheming was all him the results are what they are. The "he was playing with house money" argument is bogus as well. Look at John Fox in Carolina. He had a running game with 2 of the best backs in the NFL. Everybody said you could just throw in any QB who can hand the ball off and they'll win at least 8 games. I mean they did it in 2008 with Jake Delhomme and Matt Moore. So, even if you have all the pieces in place for you there's no guarantee you'll be successful with them. Why wouldn't you want to imitate Bill Belichick? He's one of the top Head Coaches in the NFL over the past decade. Love him or hate him he gets results. That is what Haley has done this year. Finally, let's face facts; if the Chiefs had beaten the Raiders Week 16 everybody, except Whitlock of course, would be talking about how good the Chiefs have looked this year and how we have a good chance in the playoffs.

Big Matt, Com'on Man! Whitlock is so over dramatic, and a hater! He probably still thinks Jeff George should be our starting QB. First off, all coaches should try to mold themselves from a legend, a philosophy that has a proven track record. There is totally no problem with Haley studying and trying to mimic Parcells. After all, Bellicheck learned under Parcells also. And for saying that Pioli is a Bellicheck impersonator is silly. Tons of people gave Pioli credit for player personel that Bellicheck got to coach. I'm sure there is nobody more grateful than Bellicheck with Pioli helping him get his 3 World Championships. Just because he carries the same philosophy, and scouting tatic in K.C. doesn't make him an impersonator. By far not an impersonator. Also, giving the Coordinators credit, and Haley the scraps is a joke. Look at the second half of last season under Hailey as a head coach and coordinator. Nobody ran for more yards than the Chiefs the last half of the season. And that was without Charlie Weis as the offensive coordinator.

Two things. First, why did Whitlock feel compelled to keep mentioning that he was saying this without "malice or pleasure." So, after reporting on the Chiefs for that many years he is completely indifferent? Second, where has Whitlock ever supported his claims that he likes Todd Haley, and does not like Pioli? Is he trying to show that, unlike how he describes Haley, he is being a true Jedi here and is not reacting based on emotion? Knows neither love nor hate? No. I believe he throws these things out because he thinks is will make him appear more credible in his claims, which there are a lot to me that seem without merit. I agree with the Charles/Jones mix, and I also agree that there is some spin being put out about the Weis separation, which should be expected. I do not agree that Haley is doing a Parcell's impersonation, because Parcell's was hot headed in press conferences a lot. I have never seen that from Haley. Weird that he studied the tape. Wonder if Pioli assigned that. A far as Pioli doing the "Hoodie" impesonation, who knows which came first there, the chicken or the egg? I will agree that Whitlock is a talented writer, it is unfortunate that he took the Howard Stern approach to sports.

First time poster here on Arrowhead Addict, look forward to many more. I usually try to stay away from Whitlock discussions because he obviously likes to make outlandish statements in his writings to generate page hits. What I dislike about Whitlock's articles during the Pioli era is he seemed to immediately become defensive about what Pioli and Haley were bringing to the Chiefs. It was like he was projecting the same anger for Peterson's regime towards a Pioli led regime that hadn't even had a full year of football. This team needed some solid direction and even though last year was rough neither Pioli or Haley wavered in what they thought the plan should be. I believe Whitlock more than once used Pioli's unwavering determination to portray him as "ego-maniacal". Now about this current article, right off the bat I'll say yes the Chiefs are the beneficiaries of a weak schedule but for the most part so was everybody else in the AFC West. The Chiefs went 4-0 against a terrible NFC West and our division rivals didn't. Good teams take advantage of weaker teams. And right now Haley will not use the words "good" to describe the Chiefs. I think he knows better than anybody that the Chiefs are still young and developing. But I think, like the team, Haley is still young and developing. Right away Whitlock seems intent on tearing Haley down as a person, even though "Away from a football complex" he likes him, and wanting to discredit anything he's brought to the Chiefs. He's still intent on attacking Pioli by calling him a "low-character, self-absorbed egomaniac in love with the sound of his voice" all of this "Based on the feedback I’ve received from NFL people" yet who are these people with the feedback? Both Haley and Pioli have former staff and players on record supporting them and praising their character yet all of Whitlock's supposed sources never seem to surface. Is Haley a good coach? I think that remains to be seen. Yes there was talk of Coach of the Year but no one's saying that makes him Lombardi or even Belichick. All it's saying is that this year the team he coached had 10 wins as opposed to just 4 last year. Does that mean he's solely responsible? I think anyone with general knowledge of how football works will tell you that it takes a whole coaching staff and the right players to do that. Are some of Whitlock's speculations true? Maybe, but pick any one of his character accusations against Haley and it could be applied to any of the other 31 coaches in the NFL. What I don't like is his notion that Haley deserves no part of the teams successful turnaround this season. To call him a fraud is a pretty big accusation. The last three years have been abysmal for this team and the fans. Weak schedule, better players, better coaching call it what you want this team has more wins than the past three years COMBINED! At the beginning of this year weren't many of us fans predicting only 6 to 8 wins? And weren't these predictions based off of the same easy schedule? Whether it's because Haley is a good coach in the making or not he's continued to preach his and Pioli's vision of what the team needs to be and so far the team has bought in and the results have been a winning season along with a playoff appearance.

Maybe, just maybe, Pioli & Haley are smarter than we think they are. Perhaps they realize that, although we have made the playoffs, we may not yet be ready to win the big game. RBs' lifespans in the NFL are delicate and can be very short-lived if they are overused. Perhaps some of Charles' talent should be preserved for 2011 or 2012, while we use Jones to build up our confidence and ticket sales and continue to develop our outstanding young talent...

Some thoughts on the JW article: -Funny that JW would call Haley " insecure, mean-spirited, emotional and irrational". Isn't that a perfect description of himself? -I also like how he will blast somebody and then add "but I really like them" as though that somehow legitimizes his malice. -The other problem with JW is that he makes claims that people either love or hate but he never has to back them up with real reporting. He is a glorified horoscope writer who sometimes gets lucky and is right. His comment about Scott Pioli having no character are not only not supported by himself, but I have seen nothing to suggest it anywhere else. To insinuate Scott tells network brodcasters what to say is absurd and gives Scott way too much credit.

Tgoli- When Whitlock was here in K.C. he would ruin anyones week after they would of read what he wrote in the K.C.star following a Chiefs game. He did it week in and week out. This above article wasn't as critical as it could of been. I found it sort of complimentary. About the words he used to describe T.Haley- maybe one applies to him, maybe. Anybody who will wear the same ball cap all year long tells me he's a hard worker and doesn't care what you say about him. About Weis- I'd be tickled to death if someone called me to be an OC in the NFL. Put yourself in Weis's place- just get the offense rolling and try not to be predictable. I believe predictability is a reason he failed at ND. It may be why Haley is supposedly interfering with the play calling recently. The less predictable our team can be, the longer it will take the opposition to figure. The pressure is on Todd more than Charlie. If Weis has a heated booth and has not been told by the Chiefs that we don't need him anymore, he should do his very best work this Sunday. It'll will go a long ways for him in the future. Now that I think about it, the one person who should get the most credit for Cassel's success is Cassel himself. The more you do it, the better you'll be. GO CHIEFS

Yes he made some insightful comments. However I didn't see any new revelations in his piece. Yes he can illuminate and I have never doubted his intellect. Jason has always earned his living doing spin journalism. He offers no more than a cynical view from his specialized lens of observations. It's a shame really because the guy is talented, what I find most troubling is his penchant for painting most everyone in the Chief's front office and coaching staff as immature, incompetent, and suffering from delusions of grandeur. The NFL is also a business and what goes on inside the organization pretty much resembles most of the corporate world. Deception, power plays, inflated egos, and subterfuge happen daily, (see Dilbert). So why make a major case of it, nothing is happening here in Chief's nation that doesn't happen elsewhere.