The Chiefs are in an enviable position. They are playing with house money. What is house money? House money is a betting term when the money you are betting is money you have already won. In effect, you are playing with your profits. Coming off a four win season, sober Chief fans expected seven or eight wins this year. With four games to go, the Chiefs are 8-4 and leading the division by two games.
I have a friend who I chat football with on a regular basis. He is a jarhead and an all-around good guy. However, he is infected with a disease. He is a Chargers fan. It’s unfortunate and there is no known cure. It doesn’t seem to affect his every day life, but it’s probably a chronic condition. Before the season, we talked about our teams and I told him what my goal was. That was to appear on the Chargers’ radar. That is, I wanted to serve notice that the years of the Chargers taking the division for granted was coming to an end. Fueled by an impressive draft class, it’s fair to say we are more than on they radar, we are in their face and they have a fight on their hands. The Chiefs are having a very good year, so the Kool-Aid is flowing freely. A win at San Diego and another win probably seals the division. Even with a loss to San Diego, if we win the remaining games, we are the division champions.
However, let’s face some cold facts. We are not that good of a team, yet. I know fans don’t want to hear it, but its’ true. The Chiefs have made great strides this year, but there is more work to be done before we are a strong playoff team with legitimate Super Bowl aspirations. We have benefited from a soft schedule. In reality, this is an average team playing in a weak division. Do not fall into the trap of taking the final record and assuming we can improve on it next year. It will take a lot of work to do that. Case in point, examine these yearly records: 6-10, 1-15, 11-5, 7-9. What team is that? That’s the Miami Dolphins, years 2006-2009. Notice the 11-5 year followed by the 7-9 year. That kind of trap is what the Chiefs face next year. The Dolphins were not a legitimate 11 win team in 2008 and the Chiefs are not a legitimate 11 or 12 win team in 2010.
What’s my point? Am I just trying to be a curmudgeon? No, my point is this. We are playing with house money. Enjoy the ride. It doesn’t happen often. Keep in mind, there is still lots of work to do on this team before we are the elite team Addicts want us to be.