ChiefsPlanet - Chiefs Ten Things About Today's DIVISION CLENCHING Game

Ten Things About Today's Game

10. Today is truly a day for all Chiefs fans to celebrate. What a wonderful, beautifully wrapped Christmas present, the greatest one-year turnaround in Chiefs history! Too bad it came in front of the smallest crowd of the year -official announced attendance was 65,606. Major props to Scott Pioli and Company. I was thinking today how refreshing it has been that we never hear or see Pioli. He is the Un-Carl. Just think in theory, if King Carl was out in front of this season (hey, I said IN THEORY) how often he'd be positioning himself in front of the media the last few weeks? He'd be black leather clad and strutting around like Mussolini on Columbus Day. Pioli is just content to do his job, and be great at it, which is exactly what he asks all the players to concentrate on. It's very refreshing to have such a low profile GM, indeed.

9. This morning I had early breakfast with some of my tailgate buddies at a little diner in Independence. We thought it would be too cold to eat outdoors, and it sure was. My car said 16 degrees as I drove to the diner at 9am. Had blueberry pancakes, link sausage and fresh OJ. We all were talking about not letting Chris Johnson run wild. He didn't. Defense only gave him 58 yards, and no bongo solos in the east end zone like last time. No drums for you, Chris.

8. I wanted to say a few words about four players today: Tucker, Berry, Jones and Cassel. Let's start with Verran Tucker. This guy is turning into a very good flyer on special teams. We were watching him from up high in St. Louis last week, and he seems to be making every other tackle on kicks. He's fast, a sure tackler, and has been playing pretty well in spots on offense, although the last two weeks it looks like Weis is trying to work Chambers back into the offensive mix. Having exceptional players on special teams can make all the difference in the field position battle. Kudos to Tucker. He's one of the new guys who has been earning his paycheck every week and making a substantial contribution.

7. I don't think Eric Berry is getting the love he deserves. He has played great as a first round pick, and has shown improvement as each week goes by. Yeah, he's gotten torched a couple times this year. Today he made a first round choice, big time game changing pick six, that really flipped the game and broke the Titan's back. Not only that, but EB is unbelievably good in run support. Every week he seems to be in the top two or three in team tackles. The last guy to close down running plays like Berry was Deron Cherry. If he stays healthy, he will have a wonderful career as a leader on our defense. He's my favorite #29 since Albert Lewis.

6. December games were made for Thomas Jones. This guy was just what the doctor ordered today when it came time to pound the ball. He did have a fourth quarter fumble -barely as the ball popped out and just sat right next to the sideline- but that was his first fumble in 862 attempts. After the fumble, in the last five minutes, he really took it to Tennessee and ran like the Titans stole his lunch money. He's exactly what you need in a cold weather back. Don't you think the Jets wished they had him in their backfield right about now?

5. I too, owe major props to Matt Cassel. Playing last week after surgery proved that he may be a lot of things, but a puss is not one of them. He richly deserved all the criticism he received earlier in the year. But we would all be remiss to not give him mad respect for the way he's played in the second half of the year, turning his game around and leading this team into December. He was nearly flawless in the first half today. The opening drive was a thing of beauty. Finished with more than 300 yards, three TDs, and no picks. He completed passes to eight different guys today -or as Mitch suggestively said on the game broadcast, eight different guys "touched it" today. Conversely, Brokie was one for two for negative two yards and a pick. WTF was that all about, anyway? I hope his wife gives him sympathy sex tonight. No matter what happens the rest of the year, Cassel has done his job to improve this team, and bring us a home playoff game. That's pretty strong stuff, and he deserves our admiration for making it happen.

4. Some general flotsam: Chiefs were 50% on third down today, and we didn't have to go at all on fourth down. That's a major improvement from earlier in the season where third down conversion was around 20% or worse. Chiefs had twice the time of possession, which meant the Titan defense was gassed by the fourth quarter. Charles averaged almost six yards per carry, but both of his TDs were receiving. He just seems to glide for YAC. He is starting to blossom as an all purpose back, and I think Weis is feeling more comfortable using him as a receiver. Moeaki has done a great job easing the pain of letting TG go to Atlanta. Guy has sure hands, can take a hit, and is a great downfield blocker.

3. At halftime we had the little kid who imitates Michael Jackson again. He made a big splash last year, so they brought him back this year. And just like last year, he repeatedly grabbed his junk just like Jacko. Right afterwards, they played one of the "just say rah" PR messages on the scoreboard, where the cheerleaders lecture us not to use bad words, have bad thoughts, fight with visiting fans, or "make crude or obscene gestures." But if you're eight years old, feel free to grab your nut sack in front of 65,000 people. Shawn Smith totally approves of this message.

2. What a great day, winning over Christmas weekend, and then seeing Manning croak the Raiders in the Black Hole, and the Bolts freeze their nuts and lose to the dysfunctional, crappy Cincy Bengals. As long as Norv is the coach in SD, the Bolts will never win the big one. Norv has done a choke job down the stretch that would make Marty blush. Speaking of Marty, next week in the home finale, in come the Raiders, and in comes one of the biggest Raider Haters of them all, as they put Marty into the Chiefs Ring of Honor. Quite frankly, I predict a gleam, men. A gleam!

1. To quote Dieter from Sprokets, tonight I'm "as happy as a little girl." If we were to dream, how kooky would it be to make it to the AFC Championship game, and have Pioli take his Chiefs out to face down the Godfather, The Hoodie Himself, in Foxborough? How Luke Skywalker vs. Darth Vader would that be? Sick....just sick. And it really is in the realm of possibility. But for the mean time, let's all go out and buy a new hat that says "2010 Division Champs" on it, and enjoy what is left of this magical football year. I live for seasons like this, and today I'm glad to be alive.

One last bonus thing: Please pray for Tony DiPardo. He's doing a bit better, but he's still hospitalized in serious condition, suffering a brain aneurysm back on December 15th. He was the Chiefs "Mr. Music" for more than 40 years, and he's 98 years old now. He had a fractured pelvis back in July, and now this latest issue. Tony was one of my customers for many years, and he's a one of a kind KC treasure, like Buck O'Neil. His wife and daughter are lovely people. Please remember him in your thoughts this holiday season. Nobody deserves to see a Chiefs playoff win more than Tony.