Whitlock: Peterson drowning in river of denial

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http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansas...s/11445941.htm

Peterson drowning in river of denial

JASON WHITLOCK

You don't have to be Mel Kiper Jr. to figure out why the Kansas City Chiefs struggle in the draft.

Carl Peterson is no different from you or me. Denial and a lack of discipline make him prone to repeat the same mistake.

Peterson is no different from the overweight man or woman who hops on the Internet, researches the top fad diets, learns everything he/she needs to know about shedding 20 or 30 pounds and then quickly fails to execute once the menu is passed around at The Peach Tree.

Seriously, when you think of Peterson camped inside the “war room” this Saturday contemplating the 15th pick in the draft, think of your kind, gold-hearted friend who hits the basement of Mi Cocina on a Saturday night only hours after crying about getting used by groupies and playas.

“I just like to dance,” your friend says while passing out a phone number to everyone except the busboy.

Yes, Carl Peterson likes to dance on draft day. It's the Super Bowl for NFL general managers and team presidents. The problem for Chiefs fans is Peterson dances like no one's looking. He's in total denial that the Chiefs have a problem on draft day.

Wednesday afternoon, Peterson and his longtime, primary dance partner Lynn Stiles met with the media and discussed Miami cornerback Patrick Surtain, Saturday's draft and, most interestingly, for a brief moment whether Peterson was aware that Chiefs fans were dissatisfied with the way he and his scouting department perform on Super Bowl Saturday.

“You know something, we have 72,000 season-ticket holders,” Peterson said. “We've renewed 95 percent of those people again this year. I haven't had a letter or a fax or a phone call from any of those people. And I haven't, honest to goodness, I haven't had any letters from outside of that, if you want to say, sphere of what I consider real Kansas City Chiefs fans, because they step up each year and put their money down and say, ‘I'm here to see the Chiefs.'

“So, candidly, the criticism comes from some of the media,” Peterson went on. “I've even got it at this point (after) 16 years, and I don't consider it criticism. I consider it speculation. And that's what they get paid to do, speculate. And I respect that.”

Here's some more media speculation: Peterson is lost in denial. There are boatloads of Kansas City Chiefs fans irate about his inability to perform on draft day, and he's convinced himself that because they still buy tickets they're unaware of his draft failure.

Hey, people read my newspaper column. Therefore, I'm not 5 to 6 pounds overweight. Problem solved. You follow?

It's like your cousin who swears he doesn't have a drug or alcohol problem because he hasn't missed a day of work in five years. Never mind the fact that he has two out-of-wedlock, one-night-stand kids whom he yells at for no reason when he's hung over.

What makes matters so frustrating when it comes to Peterson is he's been through years and years of counseling. He knows what to do on draft day. He spends months traveling the country preparing for his annual Super Bowl. He's been burned so many times — Trezelle Jenkins, Ryan Sims, Junior Siavii, Eddie Freeman, Greg Hill, Sylvester Morris, Harvey Williams, Kawika Mitchell — that he really has no excuse for screwing up.

The Chiefs generally get burned in the first two rounds of the draft when Peterson chooses to go with potential over production. Stiles fell in love with Jenkins' wingspan and 6-foot-8 frame. The Chiefs should forbid Stiles from ever using a measuring tape.

“Personally, I look at production,” Peterson said when asked how he balances a prospect's potential versus his college production. “… Potential can get you into trouble.”

You see? Peterson knows what to do. He gets in the war room and panics. There's a lot of pressure in the war room. It's no different from stepping to the free-throw line with only a few seconds on the clock and the game hanging in the balance.

The college production of Sims, Siavii and Freeman never matched their talent. Should we be surprised that they have experienced or are experiencing the same problems here?

But, again, the Chiefs are in denial. On Wednesday Peterson defended the play of Sims and Siavii, suggesting it's much too early to call either a “bust.” It's not too early to suggest that neither player helped the Chiefs last season. At one point Stiles basically said the only problem with last year's draft was that Kris Wilson got hurt and the coaching staff didn't put Samie Parker on the field early enough.

Stiles could be right. But it doesn't explain why a team with such horrifying defensive talent wasted picks on two offensive players a year ago. See, when you're trapped in denial, even when you do something right, it turns out to be wrong.

Let me show Carl Peterson the way. Hi, my name is Jason Whitlock, and I'm a recovering Gates-aholic. It's been two days since my last presidential platter.