Have Chiefs fans ever had it better than right now? You can argue the Super Bowl year in 1969-70 was the best. You could even make a case for the 1966-67 squad who were the AFL inaugural representatives in what was to became the first NFL-AFL Championship game, i.e. the Super Bowl.
Those were tremendous years with great teams that gave birth to multiple NFL Hall of Fame players. Can’t argue there.
However, the longer I write for Arrowhead Addict, the more I realize the bulk of faithful fans who come here… at least those making comments… don’t even have a memory of the Chiefs Super Bowl daze because so many current Chiefs fans weren’t even a zygote zigzagging up the matriarchal fallopian field dreaming of gridiron grandeur… yet.
While our fans from the Silent Generation (1925-1945) and the Baby Boomer (1946-1964) eras may take offense with that notion… the waiting and long-suffering, the hoping and dreaming, the misery of one draft day blunder followed by another since those days are the very circumstances under which I can declare… Chiefs fans have never had it so good.
So if you’re too young to remember that far back… this is obviously the best of times, and if you can recall those old days with Lamar, Hank, Lenny and the boys… this is worth a hundred million just to still be a “breather” and a “witness.”
You think the Joe Montana days were better than this?
Don’t forget that Mr. Montana played exactly 25 games for the Chiefs. Joe was traded from San Francisco to K.C. in April of 1993 and 19 months later, on December 31, 1994, it all ended in a loss to the Dolphins in Miami, 27-17. And, that was the last of Joe.
Montana’s 17-8 run with the Chiefs was memorable and I recall going to games with great anticipation those two years. It was glorious to have what I have long considered the best QB in the history of the NFL playing for our Kansas City Chiefs.
However, the buzz about this year’s team… is a different animal altogether. For years I’d scoffed at the notion that “defense wins championships.” Then again, I never thought the Chiefs had a defense as good as this one is either.
This week I heard Andy Reid call Kendrick Lewis a “stud.” That was unexpected and perhaps of all the defensive members on the Chiefs he’s the one I’d least expect Reid would single out like that. However, it goes to show just how stacked and stocked the defense is. Husain Abdullah and Quintin Demps have made critical interceptions yet, Lewis is the one Reid builds up and gives props to.
The teams that fielded Trent Green, Priest Holmes, Tony Gonzales, Willie Roaf and Will Shields with Dick Vermeil coaching was a favorite. However, the absence of any defense whatsoever is the pin in that memory balloon.
I recall plays running in my head over and over again from that team… with Priest gliding into the end zone like he was coasting in a presidential motorcade being shuttled methodically through a parade. The eternal glitch in those memories is that the offense was good yes… but that they were eventually placed in “must-perform” situations too, too many times and like all humans… proved to be human.
This year’s team may end up going nowhere. However… even writing that last sentence doesn’t feel right. There are 1,000 eventualities that could lead to a negative outcome but, it doesn’t seem like that will be the fate of this year’s Chiefs.
Fearing some kind of negative future doesn’t even fit with this year’s team… people are just too caught up in enjoying what’s going down.
There are too many reasons to feel amazingly positive this year:
+ Tamba Hali tipping a thousand dollars for a dinner bill, right?
+ Mitch Holthus said on Tuesday that the Chiefs are at 50% on red zone scoring (17th in the league) which is way up from past years.
+ Alex Smith has fumbled the ball a total of zero times with 4 INTs in 7 games this season (in his first 7 games in 2012, Matt Cassel had 8 fumbles and 10 INTs). Herm Edwards said this week on 810 radio, that, “More quarterbacks lose games, than they win.” Looks like he’s describing Alex Smith.
+ Tamba Hali said this week,
"Our league is composed of a lot of good players and the difference is coaches. I really, truly believe that. So, our team, we’ve had good players. We’ve had players who could change games. But, what these guys have done is come in and not just come in and said these are our guys who are “players,” these are our guys who can “make plays” but made it in a way that we can do this. Across the line…. from corners to…. So it’s really the coaches and our ability does help but our coaches putting us in that position to do it. That’s been the biggest change here."
+ Instead of fans howling “Save Our Chiefs” this year they’re just howling. 137.5 decibels of record breaking madness.
+ The offensive protection index which takes into account how many times a QB is hit, hurried or harassed says the Chiefs are next to last in the league (which is the end of the scale you want your team to be on).
There’s really so much information out there that can be quoted or talked about that’s positive about the Chiefs that it’s getting really difficult to disbelieve anymore.
It’s even fun to think about Scott Pioli being off somewhere in some basement talking on the phone with his grandma and bragging about how these Chiefs are achieving what they’re achieving because of his drafting and his influence. It’s even more fun to think about the “fact” that only 25% of all players still on any Chiefs roster can be tied back to him. That’s 16 players out of 64. Of course we don’t want to sneeze on Dontari Poe, Jon Asamoah, or Eric Berry but why is it somehow more pleasing to know that a greater number of Chiefs stars came from Herm Edwards (and Carl Peterson) than Scott Pioli?
In fact… do you know how well the Chiefs are doing? I’ll tell you how well the Chiefs are doing! The Chiefs are doing so well that… I’m even thankful for Scott Pioli.
For Chiefs fans, you can see how the entrance of Andy Reid & Co. and the winning streak are like having two straight months of 75 degree days with no humidity… after 4 years of stormy skies followed by four more years (the Pioli years) of ice storms. I’m fairly sure that people outside of Kansas City don’t understand how this truly feels.
This year, plays that haven’t worked… now work. I had to watch this play over and over again as Alex Smith, down near the goal line, turns to his left to hand the ball off to Jamaal Charles, who is running to his own right. Smith freezes for a moment, realizes no one is coming for the ball, then eases into the end zone unscathed (see below).
It’s such a magical season that…
… our best CB goes down (Flowers) and a rookie steps in and makes big plays!
… our biggest rival has already been beaten and looks ever so beatable again.
… the beard! the beard! the beard! the beard!
… the Chiefs are deeper than they’ve been in eons.
… Arrowhead has never been more fan-friendly… see the new Horizon level.
… injuries haven’t devastated the team’s overall performance (knock on Charles “Wood”son)
… our Chiefs are a young team that looks to stay together for years to comes.
… now, trash in the stairwell… is just that… trash in the stairwell. Nothing more.
… our QB can mistakenly hand-off to a ghost RB near the goal line… and he still scores anyway! We’ll chalk that one up to Halloween which is just around the corner.
Recently, Nicholas Allen Clayton wrote an article here at AA called, “The Chiefs Are Not The Best Team In Football.” Is he right? Of course he is. Can you say with certainty which team was the best team in football last year? Just because the Ravens won the Super Bowl, does that make them the best team in all of football? How can you be sure that it does? We all know that the team who gets on a hot streak in the playoffs is the team that usually wins it all. Does that mean they’re always the best team? Not necessarily.
So, what does that question have to do with this post topic? Nothing really. The fact is, if you start counting your Chiefs-fan blessings like I have been doing, you may come to realize there are more things to be thankful for about this Chiefs teams than perhaps any Chiefs team ever.
When it’s all said and done, this team may have the all-time leading WR in Chiefs history: Dwayne Bowe. I believe the Chiefs have their best punter ever right now: Dustin Colquitt. I’ve heard comparisons of Houston and Hali to Neil Smith and Derrick Thomas. They may not be better than Neil and DT but they’re certainly the best in the league at the moment. Last week I mentioned that I thought this trio of CBs, B. Flowers, S. Smith and M. Cooper should be considered among the best trio of CBs the Chiefs have ever had. The emergence of Dontari Poe is a huge plus and having Eric Berry playing his best Pro Bowl caliber ball doesn’t hurt this fan’s feelings at all.
The perception of the Kansas City Chiefs… is changing nationally as well. No, the Chiefs aren’t being treated like East coast royalty yet but they’re getting more positive attention than ever.
As many of you may be aware, I live in the Dallas, Fort Worth area. One year ago I walked into a local popular mall and went to every sports clothing store in that mall and none of them carried any Chiefs merchandise. On Friday after work, I went to the same mall and the first store I walked into, I not only found but, proudly put down big bucks on, a Jamaal Charles jersey. I was already wearing a Chiefs jersey when I entered the mall and I was verbally taunted by a group of Broncos fans as I entered from the parking lot, “You know you guys aren’t going to be undefeated after you meet the Broncos in Denver.” I stopped and smiled. They all laughed at my recognition. Then I replied, “You hope.” Silence.
Isn’t silence great sometimes!
It’s a great feeling knowing that other teams in the AFC West must spend their days… hoping. I’m just happy to know, what fans from other team’s now know, Chiefs fans have got it good.
It may be because the owner has made new decisions, or that the stadium has never been better, or that the fans themselves are bringing a better attitude, or that the GM, HC and the coaches are all tops, or simply that the players are better than ever as a whole, or that the Chiefs sit atop the Power Rankings… but when you put it all together… you can have but one resolve.
It’s just one man’s opinion. And I know there’s a whole lot more to look forward to in the very near future. However, I really believe that as of this very moment, Kansas City Chiefs fans have never had it so good.
Perhaps I’ve been drinking too much of Andy Reid’s raspberry cool-aid lately but, why not? The Chiefs are 7-Omg, and, there’s no getting around that!
Hey Addict fans, can you recall a time when Chiefs fans have had it… “gooder?”