yup....and that's how it should be when you suck for years, eventually all those high picks converge....

Yes Dorsey is playing disciplined football, but so is the rest of the defense. Rarely are they out of posisiton and give up the big play. It's night and day over the last regime we had night and day. Herm came here to fix the wo full D. Now the D is back thanks to Haley bringing in Crennell. **** YEA!!!

Manning couldn't pick us apart like he would have, has, in the past. It was great defense against one of the best QBs ever.

I like the word discipline when talking about our Defense, that's what was lacking for so manny years.

Unless you're the Detroit Lions.


PhilFree:arrow:

Better than Bruce Smith?

Hali is in the scheme that fits him best. Putting him as a 4-3 end again would be a mistake.

That's the main thing I've noticed. (Although DJ was out of position on a few plays during Indy's first drive) Players are breaking down squaring up, and tackling, instead of flying in, and whiffing like they did during Herm's entire tenure. Much more disciplined than we've seen in a long time.

Actually, the kind of discipline this defense is playing with right now has been lacking since the days of Cowher.

The 90s Chiefs didn't lose all their discipline when ****her took over because Marty was still the HC, but you could see the slow erosion of discipline even then.

Good lord, how I hated ****her.

Jim (Logical, rip) and I were about the only ones that weren't happy when Carl brought him back as DC after Spinner "resigned".

You're right, and it's amazing what a huge difference the emphasis on discipline, and holding players accountable for not being disciplined has made. Thank God for Crennel's hire, and Haley's iron fist.

That's part of it ... the discipline, I mean ... perhaps, even, the greatest contributor to the "turnaround". But I think part of the reason the defense has improved so quickly has to do with conditioning, Mr. milkman.

Over time (and certainly during Herm's tenure), this team had grown soft. I now think that part of the reason DJ and several other players I could name never seemed to play to their perceived potential, had to do with the fact they were not in premier "football shape".

Haley's demands that players lose unnecessary weight, take care of themselves during the off-season, and run gassers every time somebody screws up is paying dividends. It's showing up (knock on noggin) in the injury list and it's showing up in the 4th quarter ... that's my take, anyhow.

FAX

Well keep in mind that this defense features four first rounders still on their first contract, two second rounders on their first contract and a mix of veterans, late rounders and a undrafted few free agents. The talent is definitely there but the Chiefs now have their first true defensive coordinator since 1991.

That alone is HUGE.

No question conditioning is a part of it, and that falls into the broader scope of discipline.

Im stepping out on a limb here, I know this, but I think Haley may very well be our best coach of my lifetime (Im 32)...as I was not around for the championship days of yesteryear.

Time will tell, as usual, but the signs and indicators are there that this team is headed toward great places.

The way these kids are playing for these guys is obvious to anyone with eyes...if we can get a damn quarterback, this team WILL win a championship in the next few years.

I'm certainly not discounting Crennel's abilities. I was high on Crennel when he was hired and I remain high. It seems obvious that the team is responding to him and his approach to the game. First off, Crennel has the kind of background that players respect. Second off, he isn't half-bad at putting players in a position to be successful. Once a player gets his mind around that, he realizes that doing what he's told is a win/win for everybody.

One encouraging item, as a matter of fact, has emerged in Crennel's last two press interviews in which he's mentioned that he's "... still learning what the players can do ...". It makes sense that, the more familiar he becomes with the team, the more improvement we'll see in his game plans.

Still, there is such a marked difference between last year and this season, I have to believe that there's more to the story than just "discipline". We have young legs, sure ... but we are also seeing better individual performances from guys who have been marginal since they were drafted. I just think that part of the reason for that is better conditioning.

FAX

I just can't even imagine how good that would feel.

It's going to be interesting. If Haley can take us to the promised land, one would have to rank him just below Hank. Some people might be prepared to do that already.

FAX