Rejoicing In Mediocrity
By author
The Kansas City Chiefs are not a good football team. If you have any delusions that the Chiefs are the best team in the NFL right now, just stop it. They aren’t and if you think they are then I’m a Nigerian prince who needs your help to get access to my fortune. However, while the Chiefs are not a good football team, they are no longer a bad football team.
As a school teacher, there is a term that we learn called a Gain Score. The Gain Score represents the amount of progress that a student makes. Some might say, “Well, why don’t you just use grades?” Grades aren’t used because they aren’t an accurate measure of progress. They tell you how a student performed but not the amount they improved. That’s why an F student becoming a C student is more celebrated than a C student becoming an A student. Even though the A student is the better student, the C student made more progress. Ladies and gentlemen, the Chiefs are that C student.
In the previous three years, Kansas City averaged about 3 wins per season. This season, with six wins, we have already improved our win total by 100% over those previous seasons (50% from just last season) and this season isn’t over yet. We’ve gone from being the 25th ranked offense in 2009 to being the 10th ranked this year. Our defense has gone from being ranked 30th in 2009 to being ranked 21st. While these statistics aren’t everything, they are indicators that the Chiefs are making progress in the right direction.
That being said, the Chiefs still have problems. Our wide receiver corps is poor. Without outside linebacker Tamba Hali I’m not sure we would have a pass rush. Our pass coverage seems sketchy. Our offensive line has trouble getting the hard short yardage. I could go on. Even with all these problems, I’m still pleased with the Chiefs because the problems are less than the year before.
One of the biggest tells that the Chiefs are becoming a better football team is when the discussion turns to the NFL Draft. Last year we had so many holes on our team it was a little overwhelming in figuring out who the Chiefs should draft. This year there are words that are entering the conversation that didn’t last year. One example is the word depth. Last year all of our picks were seen as possible starters because the Chiefs were so terrible. This year we’re actually discussing the addressing of back-up positions in the draft.
Perhaps the thought that puts the biggest smile on my face is the youth of the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs are one of the youngest teams in the NFL. It’s nice that we’re young but it puts a smile on my face because of the potential that exists in that youth. If we’re a mediocre team now when the team is young, how good are we going to be when this team is tempered by experience? I think the Chiefs are going to end up pretty good.
In preparation for the beginning of this season I had to take a moment and figure out what I felt the Chiefs had to do to show me that they were progressing in the right direction. I had to figure out what had to occur for me to maintain hope in the Kansas City Chiefs. For me there were two big results I wanted. The first was to win at least six games. I figured a 50% win total increase shows enough progress. The other was for the Chiefs to have a winning record at Arrowhead Stadium. Here we are with six games left in the regular season and both of those requirements have been met. The Chiefs are only a mediocre team but that’s okay because they are, more importantly, a better team. So rejoice in their mediocrity.