Chiefs Whitlock:Haley shows some courage - Page 31

**Tribal Warfare** · 09-22-2009, 10:05 PM

Haley shows some courage
JASON WHITLOCK COMMENTARY

Rookie head coach Todd Haley has a big pair.

You could see that Tuesday afternoon when he opened his news conference with a brief apology to the media for a postgame inconvenience orchestrated by Chiefs general manager Scott Egoli.

“Apologize for after the game, being out there late,” Haley said. “Rookie head coach here, rookie mistake. Unaware of the time limit and how that makes it harder for you guys to do your job after the game.”

And you could really see Haley’s courage when he talked about the play of his quarterbacks, The Sixty Million Dollar Man and Brokie Croyle.

Despite Matt Cassel’s hefty price tag and the stake Egoli has in Cassel’s success, Haley appears quite determined to make Cassel earn untouchable-franchise-QB status.

“You gotta ultimately do what you think gives your team the best chance to win,” Haley responded to a question about his QB philosophy. “If that means another quarterback being in there other than Matt Cassel, then sign me up.”

That was the money quote. Haley set it up by reminding reporters that as an NFL assistant in New York, Dallas and Arizona, he participated in the process of Glenn Foley, Drew Bledsoe and Matt Leinart getting demoted in favor of Vinny Testaverde, Tony Romo and Kurt Warner.

Haley’s Tuesday news conference was absolutely fascinating. It was Bill Parcells-esque, not Bill Belichick-esque.

You understand the difference? In dealing with the media, Parcells is real, honest, straightforward. Belichick is intentionally bland, mysterious and worthless. Haley was groomed by Parcells. Egoli was groomed by Belichick.

Parcells has been successful everywhere he’s coached. Belichick built a dynasty in New England after flopping in Cleveland.

We’re two weeks into the Haley-Egoli regular-season marriage, and I believe we’ve just seen our first public sign these guys might be unequally yoked. There are definite signals they disagree about Egoli’s Sixty Million Dollar Man.

Monday afternoon, I was mesmerized listening to 610 Sports as former Chiefs player and NFL broadcaster Bill Maas explained his opinion that Haley wanted to start Brodie Croyle against the Raiders and that Egoli objected.

I thought Maas was crazy, but he sounded very convincing.

Tuesday, as I listened to Haley discuss his QBs, I had to admit Billy Bob knew something.

Haley was asked if he could envision Cassel not being the starting quarterback this season.

“I wouldn’t speculate on that,” Haley said. “There were a lot of positives in Matt’s performance.”

Haley then added that in a typical football game, there are seven critical plays a quarterback can make that will be the difference between winning and losing.

“There were clearly seven in (the Raiders) game where we’d probably like to do something different,” Haley said.

In case you missed the connection, dude just said Cassel went zero for seven on game-deciding plays. That pretty much answers how Haley feels about the end-of-half debacle, the sack Cassel took on third and 1 at the end of the game and an assortment of other offensive calamities.

As for Croyle, Herm Edwards’ quarterback of the future, Haley had nothing but good things to say about Kansas City’s opening-day starter.

“I’m excited about Brodie’s progress,” Haley said. “I think Brodie getting to play in the first game, got his feet under him a little bit, started to gain some confidence, and I think that was clear in last week’s practices.”

Haley later relived Kansas City’s close loss at Baltimore: “I thought Brodie Croyle went into a very difficult situation, hostile environment, against a very good defense, and he looked like an NFL quarterback. He gave us a legitimate chance to win. He executed the game plan the way he was asked to execute it.”

So what do I think?

Croyle’s too injury-prone to be my starter. And Cassel was way too unproven to be anybody’s Sixty Million Dollar Man. Haley is in a tough position. I’m impressed with the way he’s handling it. He’s attempting to be true to the message he’s delivered to his players — every position is open to competition.

I haven’t made up my mind about Haley. I’ve had only one opportunity to really talk with him, and that sitdown was ruined by Egoli. He talked over the top of Haley the whole night (a three-hour dinner). Seriously, questions were asked directly to Haley, and Egoli drowned out the rookie head coach with fury, arrogance and rants about championship teams being built by playing secrecy games with the local media.

I was embarrassed for Haley and in awe of Pioli’s ego. I’ve covered professional sports for 16 years, wrestled with King Carl Peterson, stood toe to toe with drunken, delusional, hostile millionaire athletes, battled Mike Lupica and irritated billionaire owners.

None of them can touch Scott Egoli.

I like the fact Kansas City has a football coach with a pair big enough to try.

milkman · 09-23-2009, 07:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

Of course and I would never defend such actions.

But it's difficult for me to take the leap from controversial to liar.

But how about embellishing the truth?

As I said earlier, I believe that Pioli probably did talk over the top of Haley, but not the the extent that it's being portrayed by Whitlock.

keg in kc · 09-23-2009, 07:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

He would automatically lose ALL journalistic integrity.

Because those are the first words that come to mind when discussing Jason Whitlock, he who's made an entire career out of calling the GM's of professional sports teams derisive names. Journalistic integrity.

**morphius** · 09-23-2009, 07:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

Of course and I would never defend such actions.

But it's difficult for me to take the leap from controversial to liar.

How is this, instead of asking if he is a liar, ask if people think he is honest...

**morphius** · 09-23-2009, 07:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by keg in kc

Because those are the first words that come to mind when discussing Jason Whitlock, he who's made an entire career out of calling the GM's of professional sports teams derisive names. Journalistic integrity.

And being proud of coming up with the names.

**SAUTO** · 09-23-2009, 07:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

Well, while I agree with your main supposition, I've never felt the need to automatically discount a newspaper columnist's writing because I didn't like the implications.

thats not why i discount his writing, READING his writing for a couple of years is the reason i discount it.

**DaneMcCloud** · 09-23-2009, 07:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by keg in kc

Because those are the first words that come to mind when discussing Jason Whitlock, he who's made an entire career out of calling the GM's of professional sports teams derisive names. Journalistic integrity.

So in your opinion, his columns have no more truth than those printed in Star Magazine and the like?

He's just a tabloid reporter?

**SAUTO** · 09-23-2009, 07:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

So in your opinion, his columns have no more truth than those printed in Star Magazine and the like?

He's just a tabloid reporter?

i'll answer this.... YES, he writes a column NOT actual news articles. he is also a whiny bitch. always has been.

Honest question do you read the star much? his columns especially or do you just see the ones posted here?

Misplaced_Chiefs_Fan · 09-23-2009, 07:36 PM

If people on this board never posted his articles again, it wouldn't bother me in the least bit.

Jason is the next-to-LAST person I would turn to for Chiefs information.

I almost put Nick A above him.

Almost

**SAUTO** · 09-23-2009, 07:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Misplaced_Chiefs_Fan

If people on this board never posted his articles again, it wouldn't bother me in the least bit.

Jason is the next-to-LAST person I would turn to for Chiefs information.

I almost put Nick A above him.

Almost

i think the two are brothers from other mothers IMO

keg in kc · 09-23-2009, 08:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

So in your opinion, his columns have no more truth than those printed in Star Magazine and the like?

He's just a tabloid reporter?

What "truth" are you talking about? He's not a reporter, he's a columnist, and his job is to create controversy, not pass on any real information. Has he ever broken a story on the Chiefs? I'm not sure why you or anybody else would treat anything he has to say in any of his opinion pieces as gospel.

I don't know about Star Magazine, but I think he's about as relevant as anybody who works at WPI at this point.

brophog · 09-23-2009, 08:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by keg in kc

I don't know about Star Magazine, but I think he's about as relevant as anybody who works at WPI at this point.

Only Whitlock's crap is clever enough to have become relevant. Can't get that from drinking beers and eating Cheetos while sitting on the couch.

Marcellus · 09-23-2009, 08:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

So in your opinion, his columns have no more truth than those printed in Star Magazine and the like?

He's just a tabloid reporter?

Well, 99% of his columns are basically opinion articles with little "fact" and he has shown a propensity to drive his agenda in his articles. Tons and tons of speculation.

There is a big difference between reporting the news and trying to create and become part of it to further your agenda.

You can't say he doesn't use his column to promote his agenda and a good many of his agendas have been ridiculous.

**SAUTO** · 09-23-2009, 08:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marcellus

Well, 99% of his columns are basically opinion articles with little "fact" and he has shown a propensity to drive his agenda in his articles. Tons and tons of speculation.

There is a big difference between reporting the news and trying to create and become part of it to further your agenda.

You can't say he doesn't use his column to promote his agenda and a good many of his agendas have been ridiculous.

here's a guy who's read him

chiefzilla1501 · 09-23-2009, 08:21 PM

People may hate Whitlock.

But he's the only writer in KC that doesn't kiss ass.

Informed or uninformed, he was the only one to dare say a negative thing about Carl Peterson. Don't we need someone like that? I'd rather read his crap than the kiss-ass crap from other KC Star writers.

Hammock Parties · 09-23-2009, 08:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

People may hate Whitlock.

But he's the only writer in KC that doesn't kiss ass.

He kissed Herm's ass endlessly.

That's why he looks like a fool right now.

And he loves Brian Waters like a brother.

Brian "I also love Herm" Waters.

Brian "I am a bitch who rarely participates in OTAs" Waters.

09-22-2009, 10:05 PM
Tribal Warfare Man of Culture Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Far Beyond Comprehension Casino cash: $-2797187	Whitlock:Haley shows some courage Haley shows some courage JASON WHITLOCK COMMENTARY Rookie head coach Todd Haley has a big pair. You could see that Tuesday afternoon when he opened his news conference with a brief apology to the media for a postgame inconvenience orchestrated by Chiefs general manager Scott Egoli. “Apologize for after the game, being out there late,” Haley said. “Rookie head coach here, rookie mistake. Unaware of the time limit and how that makes it harder for you guys to do your job after the game.” And you could really see Haley’s courage when he talked about the play of his quarterbacks, The Sixty Million Dollar Man and Brokie Croyle. Despite Matt Cassel’s hefty price tag and the stake Egoli has in Cassel’s success, Haley appears quite determined to make Cassel earn untouchable-franchise-QB status. “You gotta ultimately do what you think gives your team the best chance to win,” Haley responded to a question about his QB philosophy. “If that means another quarterback being in there other than Matt Cassel, then sign me up.” That was the money quote. Haley set it up by reminding reporters that as an NFL assistant in New York, Dallas and Arizona, he participated in the process of Glenn Foley, Drew Bledsoe and Matt Leinart getting demoted in favor of Vinny Testaverde, Tony Romo and Kurt Warner. Haley’s Tuesday news conference was absolutely fascinating. It was Bill Parcells-esque, not Bill Belichick-esque. You understand the difference? In dealing with the media, Parcells is real, honest, straightforward. Belichick is intentionally bland, mysterious and worthless. Haley was groomed by Parcells. Egoli was groomed by Belichick. Parcells has been successful everywhere he’s coached. Belichick built a dynasty in New England after flopping in Cleveland. We’re two weeks into the Haley-Egoli regular-season marriage, and I believe we’ve just seen our first public sign these guys might be unequally yoked. There are definite signals they disagree about Egoli’s Sixty Million Dollar Man. Monday afternoon, I was mesmerized listening to 610 Sports as former Chiefs player and NFL broadcaster Bill Maas explained his opinion that Haley wanted to start Brodie Croyle against the Raiders and that Egoli objected. I thought Maas was crazy, but he sounded very convincing. Tuesday, as I listened to Haley discuss his QBs, I had to admit Billy Bob knew something. Haley was asked if he could envision Cassel not being the starting quarterback this season. “I wouldn’t speculate on that,” Haley said. “There were a lot of positives in Matt’s performance.” Haley then added that in a typical football game, there are seven critical plays a quarterback can make that will be the difference between winning and losing. “There were clearly seven in (the Raiders) game where we’d probably like to do something different,” Haley said. In case you missed the connection, dude just said Cassel went zero for seven on game-deciding plays. That pretty much answers how Haley feels about the end-of-half debacle, the sack Cassel took on third and 1 at the end of the game and an assortment of other offensive calamities. As for Croyle, Herm Edwards’ quarterback of the future, Haley had nothing but good things to say about Kansas City’s opening-day starter. “I’m excited about Brodie’s progress,” Haley said. “I think Brodie getting to play in the first game, got his feet under him a little bit, started to gain some confidence, and I think that was clear in last week’s practices.” Haley later relived Kansas City’s close loss at Baltimore: “I thought Brodie Croyle went into a very difficult situation, hostile environment, against a very good defense, and he looked like an NFL quarterback. He gave us a legitimate chance to win. He executed the game plan the way he was asked to execute it.” So what do I think? Croyle’s too injury-prone to be my starter. And Cassel was way too unproven to be anybody’s Sixty Million Dollar Man. Haley is in a tough position. I’m impressed with the way he’s handling it. He’s attempting to be true to the message he’s delivered to his players — every position is open to competition. I haven’t made up my mind about Haley. I’ve had only one opportunity to really talk with him, and that sitdown was ruined by Egoli. He talked over the top of Haley the whole night (a three-hour dinner). Seriously, questions were asked directly to Haley, and Egoli drowned out the rookie head coach with fury, arrogance and rants about championship teams being built by playing secrecy games with the local media. I was embarrassed for Haley and in awe of Pioli’s ego. I’ve covered professional sports for 16 years, wrestled with King Carl Peterson, stood toe to toe with drunken, delusional, hostile millionaire athletes, battled Mike Lupica and irritated billionaire owners. None of them can touch Scott Egoli. I like the fact Kansas City has a football coach with a pair big enough to try.
Posts: 43,427

09-23-2009, 07:36 PM	#458
Misplaced_Chiefs_Fan I am Number Six Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Columbia, MD, USA Casino cash: $-1350000	If people on this board never posted his articles again, it wouldn't bother me in the least bit. Jason is the next-to-LAST person I would turn to for Chiefs information. I almost put Nick A above him. Almost __________________ One of the lowest PPD of any of the original members of the Planet . . . and proud of it. My web site My writer's page
Posts: 6,716

09-23-2009, 08:21 PM	#464
chiefzilla1501 In Search of a Life Join Date: Aug 2008 Casino cash: $-1565503	People may hate Whitlock. But he's the only writer in KC that doesn't kiss ass. Informed or uninformed, he was the only one to dare say a negative thing about Carl Peterson. Don't we need someone like that? I'd rather read his crap than the kiss-ass crap from other KC Star writers.
Posts: 51,560