40 Daze And 40 Knights: No Chiefs Football
By Laddie Morse
Alright, it’s clear that while the Chiefs players are off in Joplin doing their chivalrous, knightly, deeds that rest of Chiefs nation will be in a funk… for let’s say… the next 40 days! Until training camp begins.
So, while we’re all in a daze over the lack of Chiefs activity, let’s take stock of 40 excellent… somethings… about the 2012 version of the Chiefs.
40. Don’t you think Dontari Poe is freakishly… cute. Come on now, you know men are usually either called handsome or cute if they’re good looking at all. Now, for a guy as athletic and strong and mountainous as Poe… he sure is adorable! I wouldn’t be surprised to see him fronting baby products sometime soon.
39. Has there ever been a more headline worthy group of Chiefs names: Chiefs “Boss” of the Raiders, “JC” Saves the Chiefs, K.C. “Berry’s” the Bills, “Winston” Smokes the Brownies (my personal fav), “Flowers” Powers Chiefs Past Bucs or K.C. “Routts” Oakland.
38. I do hereby dub the Chief with the most spirit… the one who is the unquestioned heart of the Chiefs… The Fire Chief. This year’s Fire Chief is… Tamba Hali. As Tamba goes… so goes the Chiefs.
37. The Jason Babin effect? Don’t you wonder which ex-Chief will have the most success in coming years. I know that most of you will say Brandon Carr but, it could be Wallace Gilberry.
36. Does anyone else think Peyton Manning looks almost anemic?
35. It’s really interesting how everyone used to complain about how Marty Schottenheimer’s offense was too predictable and now that we have Brian Daboll’s offense which is so unpredictable, everyone is like, yeah, but, it just doesn’t have an identity.
34. Before the Chiefs drafted Jon Baldwin I thought he had the same skill level as the rest of the best WRs in last year’s draft class. He’s going to be so good this season people will poop their pants. What I’m really loving right now is his attitude: here’s a Friday morning (June 15) tweet of his, “I’m gonna keep grinding my ass off all the rest of this off season to be the best i can be for the KC Chiefs!”
33. I have a serious question for all of you: since we’ve lost Brody Croyle’s wife because of him leaving and now Casey Weigmann’s wife… so, which Chief’s wife is going to hold the beauty banner high? To quote Andrew Sheppard from “The American President”, “We’ve got serious problems, and we need serious people…” so please take this question seriously.
32. When reasoning with Bronco-nuts (I know… it’s not possible) remind them that the Chiefs lead the series 56-47. Say to them, “With Tebow out of town, you don’t hold much hope of narrowing that gap in the next decade.” Then smile. They love that.
31. During the 40Ds&40Ks I like to go buy red crap. Anything red will do. Try it. You may find that it satisfies your soul.
30. If you haven’t already done so, set yourself up an account at http://www.kcchiefsgames.com/ and you can watch a few old Chiefs games before we make our next SB run.
29. One of my favorite things Lamar ever said was in reference to Al Davis, “I’m a friend in the context that we helped fight a battle together for survival of the American Football League. But I don’t consider myself close to Al in recent years. You just don’t continually sue your business partners like he has.”
28. I’m really pulling for Cyrus Gray to have an impact with the Chiefs. Besides the idea of having a Texas A&M and UT backfield combo, I also love his nickname- Cy-Fi.
27. If you’re looking for a few tailgating recipes, go to About.com for some K.C Chiefs Tailgating Recipes.
26. Did you know that Carson Palmer has only had two seasons in which he threw more than twice as many TDs as INTs? And, those were his second and third seasons. Since that time he’s thrown 89 TDs and 73 INTs. Last season? 13 TDs and 16 INTs.
25. In the same time period that Palmer was throwing amuck, Matt Cassel was slinging 76 TDs and only 45 INTs.
24. Maybe Pete Carroll got it wrong, while they were all at USC.
23. Perhaps we should all be following Anthony Toribio’s example: spending some time watching the world’s most popular sport… the real “futbol”… soccer! He tweets, “Good ball..great strike..greater save! France finally sinks one! Good goal.”
22. If you created a Chiefs time capsule to be opened in 20 years… what would you say about the organization at this very moment? “Chiefs Forever! Great Hopes! Go Chiefs!
21. If you’re old enough to recall… what do you think you would have said in a Chiefs time capsule from 20 years ago?
20. I saw pics of the Chiefs in Joplin building homes. Saw Pioli in a hard hat. Seems right. Did not work for Clark Hunt. However, the gift of time from over 100 members of the Chiefs organization is life altering for the five homeowners who had their houses built in a day.
19. This might be a good time to catch up with the Chiefs parking lot partners, the Royals. Guess who is 4th in the league in Saves? That’s right, Jonathan Broxton. He has 15.
18. It could be a good time to re-read the Joe Delaney story. Here’s one I read recently by Rick Reilly called, “No Ordinary Joe.”
17. Nicholas Alan Clayton of AA wrote an intriguing piece recently called, “Four Ways To Use New Players In Sub Packages.” I say intriguing because it’s gotten me to thinking more and more about the different things we could see the Chiefs doing this year. So… here’s a possibility: Cassel lines up over center with both Kevin Boss and Tony Moeaki tight in a two TE set. Dwayne Bowe is lined up wide left and Jon Baldwin is wide right. Behind Cassel is Jamaal Charles and Cyrus Gray in an I-formation. With Boss lined up on the left side both Charles and Boss led a sweep to the left and Bowe cracks down on any DB attempting to flash into the backfield. Cassel hands the ball off to Gray and then fakes a bootleg to the right side of the field. Reading the hand-off, the LDE probably follows the ball as does the LLB. Baldwin runs a 12 yard hook then turns to wait for the ball. Since Baldwin is likely covered by a second tier and shorter CB, Baldwin has the advantage. Both Safeties have bitten hard on the running play so Baldwin is one-on-one. If the LLB doesn’t follow Cassel then when Cyrus Gray turns to throw the ball back across the field he has two choices. If he throws the ball to Cassel, Cassel has the choice to run or throw it again… to Baldwin who is really running a stop and go. If Cassel is covered then Gray can pass the ball to Baldwin who wins his battle with the shorter CB. If the CB is the only one left on that side of the field Gray can hit Cassel and force the CB to make a choice between covering Baldwin or tackling Cassel. Cyrus Gray was Honorable Mention 5A All-State quarterback with honors from both The Associated Press and the Sports Writers Association for the state of Texas. That’s when he was a Junior. Gray also won awards as a kick returner. The Chiefs should pick up between 12-15 yards or… score a TD.
16. Scott Pioli has truly demolished the Chiefs depth concerns this off season. I get the idea he’s ready for the Chiefs to compete for titles. Thank you Mr. P.
15. If you haven’t had the opportunity already, take some time to visit Kansas City Chiefs artist Chris Sembower’s web site. He does a great job. Chris Sembower.com
14. Philip Rivers has fumbled the ball 17 times in the past 6 years since becoming the full time starter. Prior to 2011 River’s Passer Rating was over 100 three years in a row but, dropped more than 13 points, to 88.7 last season.
13. Let talk Eric. Barry. No, not Eric Berry. I’m talking about Eric Winston for Barry Richardson. I’m still literally in shock about the Chiefs exchanging one the league’s best RTs for probably the worst RT in the history of the Chiefs history. ;o ProFootball Focus said at the time:
"One of the best right tackles in the league over the past three seasons, Winston has excelled in the Texans’ zone-blocking scheme… In a league that is truly low on quality tackles, Winston was that rare breed that could be relied upon week-in, week-out… I mean, how often is it that an offensive tackle trends worldwide on Twitter because of the respect he’s commanded among players and watchers of the game. The Texans cut Eric Winston. To quote Vonta Leach, “Are you kidding me?”"
12. If you’re a Chiefs fan and an NBA fan, have you heard the cheering for Kansas City every time they play in Oklahoma City? They chant: “Oh, K.C…. Oh K.C…. Oh K.C…. Oh, K.C…. Oh K.C…. Oh K.C…..”
11. If you haven’t seen this in awhile take a peak. It’s called Derrick Johnson is The Next Generation.
10. Maybe I’ll learn a new language during the 40Ds&40Ks. Maybe not. Here’s a tweet from Kendrick Lewis. Would someone please tell me what this is saying cause I don’t speak this language!
@meGOTgameADAMS already son keep grindin la Brotha. It’ll be here before we kno it!
9. Converted TE Steve Maneri looked good in practice? Really? Really?! That’s what the K.C. Star claims.
8. Who’s going to look better in preseason: Ricky Stanzi or Brady Quinn? I’m sure pulling for Ricky.
7. Check out some current K.C. Chiefs foundations:
Eric Berry Foundation
Matt Cassel’s foundation- Shadow Buddies.org
Jamaal Charles- Youth Matters Football Camp
Dwayne Bowe Foundation- DBowe82.com
6. Last summer, during the NFL lockout, Steve Breaston (aka Stevie Phantom) published a poem called “A League Deferred.” If you missed it, take a look see.
5. Please remember… if you go for spiritual stuff… that the original 40 day trials, often referred to in holy texts, was usually followed by… a miracle.
4. A favorite quote of mine from “The War Room” is a statement by Clark Hunt about Scott Pioli. From pages 320-321,
"He is like a fish in water in the draft room. That’s his element. And not that he’s better at calling other teams and making trades than anybody else, but he’s very thoughtful and very analytical about how he’s doing that. He has the whole thing in his head, and therefore, when we’re talking about X, Y, Z player in the fourth round, it’s not some isolated, ‘Okay, this is the best available player and we’re just going to have to do this.’ There’s a master plan that’s associated with that player and where he’ll fit in the team. You actually look out over the next four or five years. So, I think he’s the best at that."
3. Also from last summer, the summer with no football, came the list from our own Patrick Allen called, 100 Things Scarier Than No Football. Check it out and you’ll not only be highly entertained but, you’ll begin to appreciate that we only have 40Ds&40Ks until the Chiefs season’s sunrise.
2. The most welcome words I’ve heard this off season were spoken by Jamaal Charles, “I could play in a game today.” I can’t wait to see that.
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Alrighty then Addicts, el numero uno is reserved for you! What will you be doing or thinking about for 40Ds&40Ks?