On Sunday the Kansas City Chiefs lost…..again. The Chiefs gave what can only be described as a lackluster effort…..again. The offense was a complete and total failure and bordered on complete incompetence …..again.
The popular definition of insanity is as follows:
"Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."
By that definition the 2015 Kansas City Chiefs are clearly insane. The Chiefs continue to make the same mistakes over and over and not only are they not changing anything they don’t even seem to think they should. That may be the most frustrating part of this entire train wreck of a season. Chiefs fans have no hope for the future because the things that so clearly need to be addressed in order for the team to move forward are simply being ignored by the organization. The Chiefs seem to want us all to believe that its just bad luck that a team that was believed to be a playoff caliber team has started 1-5. They want us to believe that if they just keep doing what they’re doing eventually things will come around.
Again, isn’t that the definition of insanity?
Look, I get it. A team has to present a united front. They can’t just start throwing people under the bus when they lose a few games. There is value in organizational stability and protecting people from criticism. The problem is at some point that stability and protection eventually turns into a lack of accountability. Andy Reid would have you believe that he is the king of accountability. After every loss he stands up there at the podium and says something to the effect of “It’s my fault, I need to do a better job.” Then he goes out the next week and does everything the exact same all over again.
Somebody has to hold this team accountable. Not just say the words, but back it up with action. I have personally come to the conclusion that the Chiefs suffer from a toxic combination of having a head coach, defensive coordinator, and quarterback that are all too “even keel”. Again, you need stability in an organization in order to maintain success over a long period. However, football is such a physical game that you also need to be able to harness your emotions to rise above certain situations. If you need one yard on fourth and short SOMEBODY needs to be pushing those guys to their limit to ensure they get that yard. If it’s the end of the game and the other team is marching down the field trying to win the game SOMEBODY has to be all over those defensive players until somebody steps up and makes the stop they need to make sure that lead holds.
The Chiefs may have those kind of guys on their roster. They may even have those kind of coaches on their staff, but not at the three most important spots on the team. Andy Reid, the head coach and offensive play caller rarely gets after his players. Bob Sutton, the defensive coordinator NEVER does anything to rally the troops. Alex Smith, the quarterback and de facto leader on the field is the same. His go to response when things are not going well is to frown up at the jumbotron and shake his head.
Somebody has to…you know…LEAD THIS TEAM!!!!
Designing a game plan, calling plays, telling the players in the huddle what play has been called are all things that leaders of a football team do, but they don’t in and of themselves make a person a leader. When I watch other coaches and quarterbacks on GOOD football teams they are constantly talking (or yelling should it be warranted) to those around them in an effort to get the most they have out of them. The Chiefs on the other hand seem almost sedated at these times.
So what should KC do about this?
Well, I see three things that could all happen right away……
Next: What About Bob?