Chiefs Babb:Chiefs’ changes must start with Crennel’s actions and attitude - Page 6

**Tribal Warfare** · 09-18-2012, 10:26 PM

Chiefs’ changes must start with Crennel’s actions and attitude
By KENT BABB
The Kansas City Star
Romeo Crennel finally indicated this week that he has his defense figured out. His own defense, that is.

The Chiefs coach’s plan didn’t seem to have anything to do with what will happen Sunday in New Orleans or in any of the winless Chiefs’ remaining 14 games. No, Crennel began defending himself this week and deflecting blame for his team’s two embarrassing, blowout losses — and intimating that the fault lies not on coaches’ shoulders, but with the players.

“If they do their job the way they’re supposed to do it,” Crennel said, “then we’ll be able to make plays.”

Maybe that’s not what he meant. Maybe the words just got twisted, or came out wrong, or maybe we’re reading into them too deeply.

Crennel is 65 years old and has been an NFL coach since 1981. You don’t hang around that long or move up without being a good coach, and this isn’t meant to kick mud onto that fact. But being a head coach isn’t for everyone, and it tests all who dare by amplifying their words and shining a spotlight onto everything they say. No one knows yet if Crennel can prove, in his second stint as a head coach, that he can handle this job. But now that he’s in crisis mode, his words suggest he’s in over his head.

There’s time to change, but it starts with Crennel admitting that things actually need to change — starting with a more energetic and focused showing from himself. He doesn’t have the personality to consistently get in players’ faces, and he apparently has lost the public-speaking chops to adequately explain what needs to be done to curb this horrible start.

“I really thought that we would be better, and we’re not,” Crennel said after Buffalo’s 35-17 win on Sunday. “We’ve got to try to really figure out why that is.”

He also doesn’t seem to have the self-awareness necessary to identify an obvious weakness in the defense — and strip himself of coordinator duties and focus only on being the head coach. Coaches make this mistake all the time, and it almost always costs them.

“I’ve done both jobs before,” he said Monday before quickly clarifying. “I haven’t done both of them at the same time before. I’ve been a defensive line coach and a defensive coordinator before, so I’ve done dual roles in the past. I kind of understand what it takes.”

Crennel, who lost and was fired as Cleveland’s head coach even with a coordinator, had to have misspoken there. Surely he knows better than anyone that being a position coach is nothing like being a coordinator, and neither of those jobs is anything like being a head coach. So what if he worked with linemen on the same days he designed a defensive game plan? He never would’ve been asked in those jobs to also sit in on offensive and special-teams meetings, have daily news conferences, and appear in marketing material as the team’s face.

His job means he is asked, almost continually, to use his words to inspire players, win over reporters, articulate his needs to the personnel department and his vision to assistant coaches, and keep a community of battered fans from staying home on the seven remaining Sundays that Arrowhead Stadium is supposed to be full.

Instead, he says things like this about the upcoming contest against the 0-2 Saints:

“I know we will try to look at it as a must-win because we want to win it,” he said, “but we’re not going to fall off the earth if we lose it.”

Nothing is quite as stirring as a coach whose words suggest he’s OK with the idea of losing his first three games of 2012.

The issue is that Crennel will have to use his voice, now more than ever, to rally so many people who have turned to him for guidance, comfort and confidence. Losing is certainly no fun, particularly when there are so many problems that Crennel is being asked to fix. It’ll change your outlook and your attitude. But nothing encourages hope or leads to change when he sulks through a news conference or looks downtrodden on the sideline — in the first two or three weeks of the season.

Difficult as it might be, he has to fight this with all he’s got. With three games remaining in the 2011 season, Crennel took over a 5-8 team after Todd Haley was fired. In his first news conference as interim coach, he stated in clear terms that quarterback Tyler Palko was out, Kyle Orton was in, and the days of misdirection from Haley were finished. Crennel on that day was the leader the Chiefs needed. No more confusion, no more nonsense.

“We’re changing some things,” he said on Dec. 14.

Crennel took charge of a team in shambles and won two of the Chiefs’ final three games, the first one against the previously unbeaten Green Bay Packers. They dumped Gatorade on Crennel after that game, and the future seemed in good hands.

Crennel was comfortable in his skin back then, and even since training camp ended, that seems to have changed. Haley spent an offseason studying old news conferences of Bill Parcells, trying to pattern his answers and behavior after the master. He learned too late to be himself, but at least he learned it. Crennel seems to be going in reverse; once unafraid of how his words might sound to Big Brother watching in the general manager’s office, now he hesitates when Star beat writer Adam Teicher asks him things like whether his team was going for it on a fourth down in Buffalo.

“You saw the play,” the coach said flatly.

Regardless of the reasons, a Crennel who sounds defeated, or resigned, is bad for the Chiefs and bad for a wounded Kansas City. If it appears he has stopped believing, or if he has so little energy or confidence that he can’t explain what he expects and wants, then who would trust that he can say the right things to motivate players to pull out of this funk anytime soon?

So often, a team takes on the personality of its head coach. This team has, for two games, seemed to do that. Crennel lacks liveliness and answers, and so do the Chiefs.

Luckily for the coach and everyone who plays for or follows this team, there’s plenty of time left for Crennel to rediscover himself — and what made the Chiefs so good for two of three weeks last December.

KCUnited · 09-19-2012, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pestilence

Boss was hurt during the game. Wiley, Brown, Lewis and Toribio were previously hurt. The only new ones would be Lilja, McCluster and Breaston. Lilja should be benched. McCluster took a shot....but that will happen with him because he's tiny and I have no clue about Breaston.

I was battling lunch traffic as I was listening, but I believe he said Breaston was limited with a jammed finger.

Sorter · 09-19-2012, 11:35 AM

Boss-concussion I believe. Think they are just calling it a "head injury" though.

gold_and_red · 09-19-2012, 11:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaWolf

I don't think it makes an ounce of difference whether he does both jobs or not. This defense is just not as good as people were hyping it up to be. No pass rush does that for you.

If you look at last year, the defense had by my count 5 really good games against legit opposition (17 PPG against teams who had a good starting QB, most of which were played at Arrowhead), 5 good games against QB's who are backup level or out of the league currently (8 PPG), and 6 bad games where we gave up an average of 36 PPG.

That's not a top defense. That is a Jekyll and Hyde defense that can fare well when the matchups play in our favor, and who will struggle badly when the matchups don't. You can't win consistently like that in this league...

In the modern NFL with all the passing rules, it is very difficult to field a truly dominant D that blows out every O that it faces. It is OK for a team to have a defensive mindset and build around it but the O must absolutely help the D. Look at SFO for example, the O always seems to do enough to complement the D.
In our case last year, even when the D gave up fewer than average points, Cassel kept leading the O to 3-n-outs. How do you expect to win consistently?

htismaqe · 09-19-2012, 11:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KCUnited

I was battling lunch traffic as I was listening, but I believe he said Breaston was limited with a jammed finger.

That's gonna make it hard to catch the ball.

htismaqe · 09-19-2012, 11:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gold_and_red

In the modern NFL with all the passing rules, it is very difficult to field a truly dominant D that blows out every O that it faces. It is OK for a team to have a defensive mindset and build around it but the O must absolutely help the D.

This.

And I believe you meant "facet".

DaWolf · 09-19-2012, 11:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gold_and_red

In the modern NFL with all the passing rules, it is very difficult to field a truly dominant D that blows out every O that it faces. It is OK for a team to have a defensive mindset and build around it but the O must absolutely help the D. Look at SFO for example, the O always seems to do enough to complement the D.
In our case last year, even when the D gave up fewer than average points, Cassel kept leading the O to 3-n-outs. How do you expect to win consistently?

True, but the SF defense is a physical defense that gets after the QB and forces turnovers and three and outs on their own as well. Our style of defense is more well suited for a team that has a Brady as the QB who can move the ball and put points on the board, so that the D is at least playing on an even level or ahead most of the game.

I think for this team to be successful, you need to have that physical, imposing defense, not the reactionary, cerebral defense, because as you indicate, our O is limited with Cassel. The only way we could be consistently successful with this offense is if the D could hold the opposition down for three quarters and give our offense time to establish the running game and play action passing...

**HemiEd** · 09-19-2012, 12:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KCUnited

Did anyone hear today's injury list? There's 10 guys being held out or limited in practice. Get blown out, watch film on Monday, Tuesday off, sit out Wednesday...This team is soft.

But they all love them some RAC!

**Easy 6** · 09-19-2012, 12:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sorter

Boss-concussion I believe. Think they are just calling it a "head injury" though.

Based on his history, this guy is out for a good, long while.

Hate to say it, but we should've went after Winslow.

Sorter · 09-19-2012, 01:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scott free

Based on his history, this guy is out for a good, long while.

Hate to say it, but we should've went after Winslow.

Well, at least we'll get to see Maneri with the 1s. Time for him to show whether he belongs on this team or not.

CoMoChief · 09-19-2012, 01:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by htismaqe

Matt Cassel's gonna make it hard to catch the ball.

fyp

**Easy 6** · 09-19-2012, 01:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sorter

Well, at least we'll get to see Maneri with the 1s. Time for him to show whether he belongs on this team or not.

Fair point, it is about time we see what this guy has, but as an offensive threat i'm really not expecting much.

Sorter · 09-19-2012, 01:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scott free

Fair point, it is about time we see what this guy has, but as an offensive threat i'm really not expecting much.

TBF, he is faster and probably can stretch the seam better than Boss. However, I don't think he is as good of a blocker at this point and the lack of experience isn't going to help him.

Oh, and Matt Cassel is his QB.

**Easy 6** · 09-19-2012, 01:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sorter

TBF, he is faster and probably can stretch the seam better than Boss. However, I don't think he is as good of a blocker at this point and the lack of experience isn't going to help him.

Oh, and Matt Cassel is his QB.

He's faster than Boss? but not as good of a blocker at his size, considering he was an O lineman? sorry to doubt you, but are you sure about that?

Not trying to be a dick, i hope you're right... we could really use a hidden gem at this point.

Sorter · 09-19-2012, 01:47 PM

I know he is a former O-lineman and I think his ceiling as a blocking TE (actually, just a TE. I like Maneri) is probably higher than most. However, from what I can remember from the pre-season (haven't looked at that tape in more than a month, so I'm probably wrong) was that he seemed like he was getting back in the feel of blocking as a TE as opposed to a OT. Boss has had experience blocking as a TE in the NFL for his entire career as opposed to Maneri. However, Maneri will be the best blocking TE we have by far before the season is over.

As for the being faster than Boss, they both ran similar 40 times coming out, around a 4.78 for both. However, Boss has not gotten faster with age IMO and Maneri seems to be faster on the field. I don't think there is a huge difference in terms of straight line speed, but Maneri seems to be more explosive and gets down the field faster.

I'm probably wrong and haven't really watched either player very much. Honestly,feel free to educate me if I'm completely wrong.

**Easy 6** · 09-19-2012, 02:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sorter

I know he is a former O-lineman and I think his ceiling as a blocking TE (actually, just a TE. I like Maneri) is probably higher than most. However, from what I can remember from the pre-season (haven't looked at that tape in more than a month, so I'm probably wrong) was that he seemed like he was getting back in the feel of blocking as a TE as opposed to a OT. Boss has had experience blocking as a TE in the NFL for his entire career as opposed to Maneri. However, Maneri will be the best blocking TE we have by far before the season is over.

As for the being faster than Boss, they both ran similar 40 times coming out, around a 4.78 for both. However, Boss has not gotten faster with age IMO and Maneri seems to be faster on the field. I don't think there is a huge difference in terms of straight line speed, but Maneri seems to be more explosive and gets down the field faster.

I'm probably wrong and haven't really watched either player very much. Honestly,feel free to educate me if I'm completely wrong.

I totally agree that youth + size + previous experience = best blocking TE, by years end at the least.

But its just hard to imagine Maneri being as fast, and more importantly, as fluid, of a runner at his current size, as Boss, i was really impressed with that guy last week, one of the few guys producing, his athleticism/route running was highlighted on the catch he was hurt on, smooth running... but lets just hope Maneri can grab this chances neck & strangle it.

09-18-2012, 10:26 PM
Tribal Warfare Man of Culture Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Far Beyond Comprehension Casino cash: $-2807187	Babb:Chiefs’ changes must start with Crennel’s actions and attitude Chiefs’ changes must start with Crennel’s actions and attitude By KENT BABB The Kansas City Star Romeo Crennel finally indicated this week that he has his defense figured out. His own defense, that is. The Chiefs coach’s plan didn’t seem to have anything to do with what will happen Sunday in New Orleans or in any of the winless Chiefs’ remaining 14 games. No, Crennel began defending himself this week and deflecting blame for his team’s two embarrassing, blowout losses — and intimating that the fault lies not on coaches’ shoulders, but with the players. “If they do their job the way they’re supposed to do it,” Crennel said, “then we’ll be able to make plays.” Maybe that’s not what he meant. Maybe the words just got twisted, or came out wrong, or maybe we’re reading into them too deeply. Crennel is 65 years old and has been an NFL coach since 1981. You don’t hang around that long or move up without being a good coach, and this isn’t meant to kick mud onto that fact. But being a head coach isn’t for everyone, and it tests all who dare by amplifying their words and shining a spotlight onto everything they say. No one knows yet if Crennel can prove, in his second stint as a head coach, that he can handle this job. But now that he’s in crisis mode, his words suggest he’s in over his head. There’s time to change, but it starts with Crennel admitting that things actually need to change — starting with a more energetic and focused showing from himself. He doesn’t have the personality to consistently get in players’ faces, and he apparently has lost the public-speaking chops to adequately explain what needs to be done to curb this horrible start. “I really thought that we would be better, and we’re not,” Crennel said after Buffalo’s 35-17 win on Sunday. “We’ve got to try to really figure out why that is.” He also doesn’t seem to have the self-awareness necessary to identify an obvious weakness in the defense — and strip himself of coordinator duties and focus only on being the head coach. Coaches make this mistake all the time, and it almost always costs them. “I’ve done both jobs before,” he said Monday before quickly clarifying. “I haven’t done both of them at the same time before. I’ve been a defensive line coach and a defensive coordinator before, so I’ve done dual roles in the past. I kind of understand what it takes.” Crennel, who lost and was fired as Cleveland’s head coach even with a coordinator, had to have misspoken there. Surely he knows better than anyone that being a position coach is nothing like being a coordinator, and neither of those jobs is anything like being a head coach. So what if he worked with linemen on the same days he designed a defensive game plan? He never would’ve been asked in those jobs to also sit in on offensive and special-teams meetings, have daily news conferences, and appear in marketing material as the team’s face. His job means he is asked, almost continually, to use his words to inspire players, win over reporters, articulate his needs to the personnel department and his vision to assistant coaches, and keep a community of battered fans from staying home on the seven remaining Sundays that Arrowhead Stadium is supposed to be full. Instead, he says things like this about the upcoming contest against the 0-2 Saints: “I know we will try to look at it as a must-win because we want to win it,” he said, “but we’re not going to fall off the earth if we lose it.” Nothing is quite as stirring as a coach whose words suggest he’s OK with the idea of losing his first three games of 2012. The issue is that Crennel will have to use his voice, now more than ever, to rally so many people who have turned to him for guidance, comfort and confidence. Losing is certainly no fun, particularly when there are so many problems that Crennel is being asked to fix. It’ll change your outlook and your attitude. But nothing encourages hope or leads to change when he sulks through a news conference or looks downtrodden on the sideline — in the first two or three weeks of the season. Difficult as it might be, he has to fight this with all he’s got. With three games remaining in the 2011 season, Crennel took over a 5-8 team after Todd Haley was fired. In his first news conference as interim coach, he stated in clear terms that quarterback Tyler Palko was out, Kyle Orton was in, and the days of misdirection from Haley were finished. Crennel on that day was the leader the Chiefs needed. No more confusion, no more nonsense. “We’re changing some things,” he said on Dec. 14. Crennel took charge of a team in shambles and won two of the Chiefs’ final three games, the first one against the previously unbeaten Green Bay Packers. They dumped Gatorade on Crennel after that game, and the future seemed in good hands. Crennel was comfortable in his skin back then, and even since training camp ended, that seems to have changed. Haley spent an offseason studying old news conferences of Bill Parcells, trying to pattern his answers and behavior after the master. He learned too late to be himself, but at least he learned it. Crennel seems to be going in reverse; once unafraid of how his words might sound to Big Brother watching in the general manager’s office, now he hesitates when Star beat writer Adam Teicher asks him things like whether his team was going for it on a fourth down in Buffalo. “You saw the play,” the coach said flatly. Regardless of the reasons, a Crennel who sounds defeated, or resigned, is bad for the Chiefs and bad for a wounded Kansas City. If it appears he has stopped believing, or if he has so little energy or confidence that he can’t explain what he expects and wants, then who would trust that he can say the right things to motivate players to pull out of this funk anytime soon? So often, a team takes on the personality of its head coach. This team has, for two games, seemed to do that. Crennel lacks liveliness and answers, and so do the Chiefs. Luckily for the coach and everyone who plays for or follows this team, there’s plenty of time left for Crennel to rediscover himself — and what made the Chiefs so good for two of three weeks last December.
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09-19-2012, 11:35 AM	#77
Sorter Caralho Join Date: Sep 2011 Casino cash: $9611474	Boss-concussion I believe. Think they are just calling it a "head injury" though.
Posts: 18,455

09-19-2012, 01:47 PM	#89
Sorter Caralho Join Date: Sep 2011 Casino cash: $9611474	I know he is a former O-lineman and I think his ceiling as a blocking TE (actually, just a TE. I like Maneri) is probably higher than most. However, from what I can remember from the pre-season (haven't looked at that tape in more than a month, so I'm probably wrong) was that he seemed like he was getting back in the feel of blocking as a TE as opposed to a OT. Boss has had experience blocking as a TE in the NFL for his entire career as opposed to Maneri. However, Maneri will be the best blocking TE we have by far before the season is over. As for the being faster than Boss, they both ran similar 40 times coming out, around a 4.78 for both. However, Boss has not gotten faster with age IMO and Maneri seems to be faster on the field. I don't think there is a huge difference in terms of straight line speed, but Maneri seems to be more explosive and gets down the field faster. I'm probably wrong and haven't really watched either player very much. Honestly,feel free to educate me if I'm completely wrong.
Posts: 18,455