Yes, there is no doubt that the conditioning is playing a large role in the improved performance, and IIRC there were quite a few people here ripping on Haley for making these players lose weight ,and holding them out for not meeting his conditioning demands. He's still not getting the kind of praise that should be coming his way from a lot of planeteers even though he has had as large a role as any in backhanding this organization back to respectability.

It is certainly encouraging to have a coach who's willing to do what needs to be done to assemble a quality staff, and who is willing to take risks in the persuit of victory.

Good lord, some folks in this thread have said things about Haley that go beyond a Jim Mora scolding.

Let's win the division first, hotpants.

i have often imagined it in my dreams. the feeling at arrowhead, when we look at the person next to us and realize at the same time: we're going to the super bowl. ya, i can imagine. i can imagine how cold the beer will be, how great the chili will taste at whatever super bowl party i end up at. i can feel the sting on my palms from the infinite high fives i will receive. its what being a fan is about. the upwelling of pride. the sense of relief that all these years of misery, the sunday meltdowns, the endless bitching on the radio and the internet... that was all worth it.

If you are talking about me...Im not talking about this year AT ALL.

I couldnt care less if we win this division this year or not, to me that has nothing to do with my post. The fact that we have beaten the teams we have beaten, in the manor we have defeated them, and how we played Indy...all without ANY QUALITY PLAY from the quarterback position is what Im talking about.

Its astounding.

The pass defense has been phenomenal, with a group of players that are still in their NFL infancy. The secondary has NO WEAK LINKS as evidenced by the games against PM and PR...leaders of the two top passing offenses in the NFL.

Our rush defense has played well above its pay level. We have guys that have been career underachievers (Shaun Smith, DJ, Hali, Edwards) playing extremely well and our highly touted defenders (Dorsey, Flowers, Carr) are young and have an arrow pointed straight up next to their names. They are looking like elite players in the NFL RIGHT NOW.

We have a rookie class that is totally OWNING. From the top to the bottom, every pick (sans Sheffield) is making an impact on this team and in the league. Through 5 weeks of play (one of which we had a bye week) we have had a rookie named rookie of the week twice.

Berry - team hasnt given up the big play all year, something we have missed for a very long time now. Not anymore, that helps every other defender.
DMC - is a threat every time he touches the ball, to score. If we had a quarterback, this is a player that would be a pure matchup nightmare.
Arenas - has been as good as any rookie corner in the league and is a true game changing return man.
Asamoah - Hasnt broken the starting lineup, only because our guards are vets and are playing extremely well at this point...when he does I think he will be a probowler and possibly an all pro...he was great in college and has shown signs of that greatness in limited time in the pros so far.
Moeaki - so far, has been our most impressive draft pick IMO, but of course I have been high on the player since well before we drafted him. Im just glad we got him.
Lewis - hasn't been fooled by usual "rookie tricks" and has shown to be a damn smart player that doesn't seem slow on the field...I still see a player that plays like Sammy Knight. With two rookie safeties playing so much and our team giving up a minuscule amount of plays over 20 yards, you have to give some credit to this guy.

IMO, nobody deserves more credit than Haley in all of this for his clear level of expectation and high standards that everyone (except Cassel) is being held to, and once the quarterback position is fixed...the sky is the limit with this team.

Again IMO.

P.S. sorry if repost.

Are asst. coaches eligible for the Coach of the Year award?

Serious question, because if so, then Romeo Crennel should be right up at the top of that chart. The things he has done to this defense are nothing short of amazing.

And to think that most of the starters on defense were with this team last year. Only new starters to the team are Shaun Smith, Berry (rookie) and Lewis (rookie). That is amazing. Shit, Shaun Smith isn't even the regular starter.

Technically Derrick Johnson and Jovan Belcher are new starters as well

EDIT: Uhp, botch

.

Oh how we AGREE as of late!

Like "Cassel is a better deal than a rookie, especially for a 2nd round pick".

Or, "Cassel is just repeating Trent Green's first year, and will be just like Trent in 2010; probably even BETTER".