Tribal Warfare
12-22-2008, 10:07 PM
Edwards still feels youth movement was way to go for Chiefs (http://www.kansascity.com/sports/chiefs/story/949045.html)
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star
Herm Edwards might pay for it with the loss of his job, but he remains convinced the massive youth movement he embraced for the Chiefs was the proper way to go.
Even knowing how the season turned out — the Chiefs are 2-13, giving them the most losses in club history — Edwards said Monday that he would be willing to go this route again.
“This was the right thing to do for the organization,” Edwards said. “I said that from the beginning. When you do something like this, you’re doing it for the right reasons. That’s something I thought about and we all thought about, but it was the correct thing to do. This is going to be a good football team. There’s no doubt about that.
“If you go back and look at how we’ve played, (starting) from the Jet game we’ve played pretty consistent. That’s what you want to see from a young football team. The disappointing part is that you play all of those games and you’ve got a chance to win some of those games and you don’t quite get it done. That’s the thing that leaves you a little disappointed. You’re so close and you could have some more wins than you have right now.
“The experience this team has gained will help them next year. These games we let slip away will be ones that you win.”
They may not be games Edwards wins. The Chiefs finish their season with Sunday’s game at 3-11-1 Cincinnati.
Soon after, chairman Clark Hunt will hire a general manager, and the two will then decide whether Edwards will be allowed to return for the final year of his contract.
Youth movement or not, it will be difficult for them to ignore Edwards’ record. The Chiefs have lost 22 of their last 24 games going back to last season.
Edwards said he was satisfied he’s done all he could under the circumstances.
“I believe (the Chiefs are) well-coached,” he said. “It’s a young team. It’s gained a lot of experience.
“We’ve done a good job in dealing with all of the adversity that happened around this team. Think about all of the things that have happened to this football team, whether it be on the field, off the field, the changes we had to make on both sides of the ball due to some injuries, for the most part we’ve handled it the best way we knew how as a football staff.”
Between Larry Johnson’s benching and suspension, Tony Gonzalez’s request for a trade and last week’s announcement that Carl Peterson would be out as president and general manager, the Chiefs have had more than a season’s worth of distractions.
Judging from the results on Sundays, they didn’t seem to have much effect on the Chiefs, who if nothing else showed a keen ability to keep their heads down.
“They continued to play with tremendous effort,” Edwards said. “They don’t always do everything right, but the effort has been there for the most part, and that’s what you hope for as a coach.
“They’ve dealt with every situation that’s come up. They’ve handled it in a great manner, professionally. They’ve done a great job of focusing on the task at hand, and that’s win a game.”
The Chiefs improved dramatically on offense once Tyler Thigpen stabilized their quarterback play. The undoing of the 2008 Chiefs, and perhaps Edwards and his staff, was the inability to make significant gains on defense.
Edwards said he and his defensive coaches, led by coordinator Gunther Cunningham, tried everything they could think of, from lineup moves to strategical changes.
Nothing worked.
“You can only do what your players can do,” Edwards said. “There a lot of things we know these guys are capable of doing. There are some things they’re not capable of doing, and we’ve got to stay away from them.”
Many Chiefs players recently began lining up in support of Edwards. None was as eloquent as Pro Bowl guard Brian Waters.
“Herm is without a shadow of a doubt the most resilient person in this locker room or in this organization.” Waters said. “He’s had great resolve throughout all of it. If anybody’s led by example, it’s him. He’s come to work with the same attitude and the same energy, and he’s not let this situation or even this season affect him in one way or another.
“I don’t know too many head coaches that would be able to hold it together going through the things we’ve had to go through. I have a great amount of respect for him because of that. A lot of coaches in a situation like this would be looking for the door. They’d be looking for the way out. Herm’s right there in front ready to take on all comers.”
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star
Herm Edwards might pay for it with the loss of his job, but he remains convinced the massive youth movement he embraced for the Chiefs was the proper way to go.
Even knowing how the season turned out — the Chiefs are 2-13, giving them the most losses in club history — Edwards said Monday that he would be willing to go this route again.
“This was the right thing to do for the organization,” Edwards said. “I said that from the beginning. When you do something like this, you’re doing it for the right reasons. That’s something I thought about and we all thought about, but it was the correct thing to do. This is going to be a good football team. There’s no doubt about that.
“If you go back and look at how we’ve played, (starting) from the Jet game we’ve played pretty consistent. That’s what you want to see from a young football team. The disappointing part is that you play all of those games and you’ve got a chance to win some of those games and you don’t quite get it done. That’s the thing that leaves you a little disappointed. You’re so close and you could have some more wins than you have right now.
“The experience this team has gained will help them next year. These games we let slip away will be ones that you win.”
They may not be games Edwards wins. The Chiefs finish their season with Sunday’s game at 3-11-1 Cincinnati.
Soon after, chairman Clark Hunt will hire a general manager, and the two will then decide whether Edwards will be allowed to return for the final year of his contract.
Youth movement or not, it will be difficult for them to ignore Edwards’ record. The Chiefs have lost 22 of their last 24 games going back to last season.
Edwards said he was satisfied he’s done all he could under the circumstances.
“I believe (the Chiefs are) well-coached,” he said. “It’s a young team. It’s gained a lot of experience.
“We’ve done a good job in dealing with all of the adversity that happened around this team. Think about all of the things that have happened to this football team, whether it be on the field, off the field, the changes we had to make on both sides of the ball due to some injuries, for the most part we’ve handled it the best way we knew how as a football staff.”
Between Larry Johnson’s benching and suspension, Tony Gonzalez’s request for a trade and last week’s announcement that Carl Peterson would be out as president and general manager, the Chiefs have had more than a season’s worth of distractions.
Judging from the results on Sundays, they didn’t seem to have much effect on the Chiefs, who if nothing else showed a keen ability to keep their heads down.
“They continued to play with tremendous effort,” Edwards said. “They don’t always do everything right, but the effort has been there for the most part, and that’s what you hope for as a coach.
“They’ve dealt with every situation that’s come up. They’ve handled it in a great manner, professionally. They’ve done a great job of focusing on the task at hand, and that’s win a game.”
The Chiefs improved dramatically on offense once Tyler Thigpen stabilized their quarterback play. The undoing of the 2008 Chiefs, and perhaps Edwards and his staff, was the inability to make significant gains on defense.
Edwards said he and his defensive coaches, led by coordinator Gunther Cunningham, tried everything they could think of, from lineup moves to strategical changes.
Nothing worked.
“You can only do what your players can do,” Edwards said. “There a lot of things we know these guys are capable of doing. There are some things they’re not capable of doing, and we’ve got to stay away from them.”
Many Chiefs players recently began lining up in support of Edwards. None was as eloquent as Pro Bowl guard Brian Waters.
“Herm is without a shadow of a doubt the most resilient person in this locker room or in this organization.” Waters said. “He’s had great resolve throughout all of it. If anybody’s led by example, it’s him. He’s come to work with the same attitude and the same energy, and he’s not let this situation or even this season affect him in one way or another.
“I don’t know too many head coaches that would be able to hold it together going through the things we’ve had to go through. I have a great amount of respect for him because of that. A lot of coaches in a situation like this would be looking for the door. They’d be looking for the way out. Herm’s right there in front ready to take on all comers.”