A message of Positivity, from Mr. Jason Whitlock

[chiefzilla1501]

http://www.kansascity.com/sports/chi...y/1587222.html
The victory was just icing. The progress could be seen long before Matt Cassel shook off a critical fumble and began the process of rehabilitating his image.

The progress started with Kansas City’s rookie head coach, Todd Haley, who may have finally figured out what to do with his game-day emotions.

Rather than castigate his players, F-bomb his assistants and bicker with the refs, Haley spent his most productive Sunday as an NFL head coach fueling his players with positive energy. They responded with their most promising performance in two years.

Kansas City 27, Pittsburgh 24 in OT!

Yes, the Kansas City Chiefs, winners of five of their last 30 games, knocked off the defending Super Bowl champions at Arrowhead Stadium.

It wasn’t a fluke. The Steelers tried to win the game. They didn’t stumble into Arrowhead hung over from a night of being denied entrance into P&L nightclubs. The Chiefs played a good football game and took advantage of the Steelers’ errors.

Jamaal Charles returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown. Tamba Hali led a Kansas City pass rush that harassed Big Ben Roethlisberger and eventually sidelined him with a knee to the head. Brandon Flowers manufactured the first of four Pittsburgh turnovers, poking the ball out of the arm of receiver Mike Wallace. KC safeties Mike Brown and Jon McGraw accepted the challenge of being physical against Pittsburgh’s running game. Linebacker Andy Studebaker intercepted Big Ben twice, returning one 94 yards, setting up a Kansas City field goal.

And, most important, the Chiefs’ $63 million acquisition, Cassel, showed some real courage down the stretch. I thought he was going to fold after his inexcusable 360-spin, I’m-afraid-of-a-pass-rush fumble that basically handed the Steelers a 24-17 advantage in the fourth quarter.

Cassel had been dreadful to that point, completing eight of 18 passes for 95 yards through a little more than three quarters of play.

“He was really down when he turned the ball over, but he bounced back and made some great plays,” Haley said of his quarterback.

Cassel may have saved his Kansas City career. He certainly bought himself some time.

On KC’s next possession, facing third and 9 from the Chiefs’ 10, Cassel laced a strike down the middle of the Pittsburgh defense to Lance Long for 30 yards. Cassel followed it up with a 47-yard bomb to Chris Chambers. Cassel drove the Chiefs 91 yards in eight plays, hitting Charles with a 2-yard TD pass.

In overtime, Cassel set up the Chiefs’ game-winning field goal with a 61-yard, third-and-5 connection to Chambers.

If you would like, you can crawl into the statistics — which were dominated by the Steelers — and craft an argument that the Chiefs got lucky.

Nope. This was Kansas City-created good fortune. No doubt the Steelers are the better team and would likely beat the Chiefs eight out of 10 games. But Haley’s Chiefs followed a proven blueprint on how to beat a superior football team: 1. win the turnover battle; 2. score on special teams; 3. get after the opposing quarterback; 4. make big plays that dramatically change field position.

Did Haley mismanage the clock at the end of both halves? Yes, he was too conservative before halftime. But that’s nitpicking.

Haley coached an excellent football game. He concentrated on play-calling and encouraging his players. He left the refs alone. He didn’t overreact to the mistakes made by his players.

Had the Chiefs lost the game, I would be writing the exact same thing. Haley is learning how to be a head coach. His players are noticing and appreciative of his change in demeanor.

“I’m a rookie head coach and am passionate about what I do,” Haley said. “I live and die every day on how it goes with this team — not just game day. When you care about something, there is going to be some emotion. It’s easy to be positive when good things are happening.”

Good things happen when you expect positive results, when you put your mind in a positive place, when you treat the people fighting with you like they have as much invested in the outcome as you do.

Haley’s transformation from coaching mad man to competent leader has been going on for several weeks. Sunday, he finally struck the right balance. His team reflected his new spirit. The players wanted to shock the Steelers as much as their coach, whose father played and worked for the Steelers.

Are things perfect between Haley and his players? No. But there’s been a lot of progress.

To reach Jason Whitlock, call 816-234-4869 or send e-mail to jwhitlock@kcstar.com. For previous columns, go to KansasCity.com.

[jwhit]

Originally Posted by dirk digler

Agreed. jwhit since you sit up in the press box and can see the whole field are the WR's getting open? I am curious if that is one of the reasons why Cassel hangs on the ball for so long.

To me, Cassel takes notice of the pass rush too often. Pocket presence is a gift. Not sure it can be taught or learned. Big Ben has it. Coming into Sunday's game Big Ben had been sacked 27 times, Cassel 29 times. If you noticed, Big Ben is great at avoiding the rush. You could argue that Big Ben has been under more heat than Cassel this year.

[stevieray]

Originally Posted by Iowanian

Good analogy FDE....

I know as a fan, watching this season has been a lot like watching a child learn to walk. They've crapped their pants the first half of the season and they're often teetering near the corner of the coffee table, waiting for them to fall and break their head open.



I'd wager part of the issue with Cassel is that he's been told NO turnovers, and he's too cautious to prevent INTs.

if you go out and buy a Porsche 911, are you going to trash it the first year, or are you going take care of it so it lasts?

[PunkinDrublic]

Rookie head coaches aren't that much different from first year players IMO. Haley was going to make his share of rookie mistakes and if he had to do it all again he would do some things differently. Every coach has an ego that's part of what got them where they are. Can you really blame a guy like Haley for coming in and trying to do everything his way? Guys like Haley have been chomping at the bit their whole lives to get this opportunity.

I never doubted a second that Haley was capable of learning, adjusting and becoming a better coach. I think yesterday a big light bulb went off and now the players may be buying in.

[dirk digler]

Originally Posted by jwhit

To me, Cassel takes notice of the pass rush too often. Pocket presence is a gift. Not sure it can be taught or learned. Big Ben has it. Coming into Sunday's game Big Ben had been sacked 27 times, Cassel 29 times. If you noticed, Big Ben is great at avoiding the rush. You could argue that Big Ben has been under more heat than Cassel this year.

I don't have a problem with that but I think Cassel is just like the other QB's we have had since our O-Line has went to shit where they look at the rush instead of downfield. I just hope he doesn't end up like David Carr.

[Brock]

Originally Posted by jwhit

To me, Cassel takes notice of the pass rush too often. Pocket presence is a gift. Not sure it can be taught or learned. Big Ben has it. Coming into Sunday's game Big Ben had been sacked 27 times, Cassel 29 times. If you noticed, Big Ben is great at avoiding the rush. You could argue that Big Ben has been under more heat than Cassel this year.

If Big Ben has great pocket presence and is great at avoiding the rush, then why has he been sacked 27 times? His big advantage is that he's a giant that you have to bring down with 3 people.

[SAUTO]

Originally Posted by L.A.Chieffan

I enjoy the temper tantrums and F-Bombs as much as any red-blooded American, but if Haley can keep it under control then I think this team will respond. Good article J, and btw dont even bother arguing with jasonauto, the dude is like one step from licking windows...

ok how can you take anything this guy writes seriously? i mean he said in THIS article that this game might have saved cassel's CAREER IN KC. does anyone actually think this year means anything when it comes to his career here?

[Iowanian]

Originally Posted by jwhit

To me, Cassel takes notice of the pass rush too often. Pocket presence is a gift. Not sure it can be taught or learned. Big Ben has it. Coming into Sunday's game Big Ben had been sacked 27 times, Cassel 29 times. If you noticed, Big Ben is great at avoiding the rush. You could argue that Big Ben has been under more heat than Cassel this year.

On the flip side, one could argue that Benlisburger has 3 solid RBs, a good TE and 2 excellent WRs that he's had a few years to work with and develop timing and trust.


Cassel has been throwing to 22 guys off the street.

[Fish]

Originally Posted by JASONSAUTO

ok how can you take anything this guy writes seriously? i mean he said in THIS article that this game might have saved cassel's CAREER IN KC. does anyone actually think this year means anything when it comes to his career here?

Why wouldn't it? Unless you think that signing a large contract grants a 1 year free pass.

Did you think that since Cassel signed a long expensive contract, they had no expectations for him for the first year of that contract?

There isn't a lot of patience in the pros these days. Contracts rarely make it into the later years. If Cassel doesn't show improvement over the first year, that contract is gonna be flushed down the toilet. I'd argue that he's under more pressure to perform than just about anybody else on the team.

[Titty Meat]

Originally Posted by jwhit

haley's problems in oakland (not kicking the field goal, f-bombing carthon) led to his new approach on sunday. he's been trying to control himself all year. the raiders game was a wake-up call. i'd bet either pioli or carthon or dick haley had an intervention with haley last week.

Are you fatter than Mangino?

[RedThat]

Originally Posted by Iowanian

I'm not a Cassel pimp, and a couple of weeks ago, I was ready to see.....Croyle.....put into the game because I was tired of seeing inaccurate throws.

In fairness, he spent a fair amount of time in the first half digging turf out of his face mask and belt loops. He holds the ball too long and misses too many open WRs, however given the usual blocking I can understand why he's a little unsettled.

He did rebound well after that fumble and made some decent throws....not awesome, decent.

This is one of the things I really like about him. His ability to respond to adversity. It shows good character on his part.

[Titty Meat]

It's also been stated Cassel is money in the 4th Qtr. Some also say its garbage time.

[PunkinDrublic]

Originally Posted by dirk digler

I don't have a problem with that but I think Cassel is just like the other QB's we have had since our O-Line has went to shit where they look at the rush instead of downfield. I just hope he doesn't end up like David Carr.

I think the WR carousel, dropped passes and sacks were starting to rattle Cassels confidence. I think he's slowly starting to get it back with the emergence of Chambers. Roethlesberger is an elite QB and one tough SOB with a presence in the pocket few can match. On top of his pocket presence Big Ben has dependable wide recievers he is in synch with most of the time.

[SAUTO]

Originally Posted by KC Fish

Why wouldn't it? Unless you think that signing a large contract grants a 1 year free pass.

Did you think that since Cassel signed a long expensive contract, they had no expectations for him for the first year of that contract?

There isn't a lot of patience in the pros these days. Contracts rarely make it into the later years. If Cassel doesn't show improvement over the first year, that contract is gonna be flushed down the toilet. I'd argue that he's under more pressure to perform than just about anybody else on the team.

IMO they wanted to use this year to get him used to the system. NEXT year will be the make or break year.

[Jilly]

Originally Posted by PunkinDrublic

I think the WR carousel, dropped passes and sacks were starting to rattle Cassels confidence. I think he's slowly starting to get it back with the emergence of Chambers. Roethlesberger is an elite QB and one tough SOB with a presence in the pocket few can match. On top of his pocket presence Big Ben has dependable wide recievers he is in synch with most of the time.

Don't know why it didn't dawn on me, but I watched Cassel yesterday and kept wondering why he played so decently for NE. I was reminded of whom he was throwing to in NE. Makes a lot of difference.

[Fish]

Originally Posted by JASONSAUTO

IMO they wanted to use this year to get him used to the system. NEXT year will be the make or break year.

It doesn't work like that in the NFL. Nobody gets a throw away year with no consequences. Cassel is not being told that what he does won't matter until next season. That's illogical and absurd. Think about what you're saying.