Chiefs Kent Babb dismantles Fat Scott - Page 9

FloridaMan88 · 09-16-2012, 05:36 PM

http://www.kansascity.com/2012/09/16...-big-with.html

Chiefs will never win big with Pioli in charge

By KENT BABB

The Kansas City Star

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Scott Pioli pushed his way through a doorway, into the Ralph Wilson Stadium tunnel and then, alone, disappeared into the Chiefs’ locker room.

As the team he built was enduring the final minutes of death-by-Ryan Fitzpatrick, an embarrassing 35-17 loss to the Buffalo Bills, the Chiefs’ general manager walked toward a few minutes of solitude. Days like this are lonely when you’re the king, and maybe he embraced what is obvious to so many others who saw Sunday’s loss: that another team he constructed looks lost and unprepared. No injuries and no excuses, no former head coach to blame, and no safety net below the Chiefs’ most powerful football man.

The Chiefs’ problems are with their coaches and players, but the bigger issue is about the man who brought in those coaches and players. Yes, this game and this season are on Pioli, and there’s no denying that anymore. And there’s no more denying another truth, whether you’re ready to read it or not: The Chiefs will never win big while Pioli is this team’s boss. His priorities are too misguided, his insecurities and denial too immense to allow Kansas City’s favorite team to win the Super Bowl that he was brought here to claim.

Pioli is now in his fourth year of trying to justify the hype that earned him accolades in New England, respect within the NFL, and a multi-million-dollar job as a GM. Expectations were unreachable, maybe, but Pioli has done himself no favors by obsessing over trivial details, spending too much time trying to feed his addition to his own reputation, and engineering a team using the “discount football” philosophy that has made the Hunt family richer but has gotten the Chiefs only marginally closer to a Super Bowl.

Days like Sunday should be behind the Chiefs. This roster is so much better than the one Pioli inherited in January 2009. He’s responsible for that, too. But how much better could it be if Pioli weren’t so consumed by off-the-field nonsense? He arrived nearly five years ago and promised to curb a culture of losing. Instead, Pioli now oversees an organization shadowed in a culture of misplaced priorities and anxiety — and, yes, more losing.

Now in his fourth season as GM, Pioli has spent too much time trying to justify his decisions, rather than trying to improve them.

He whines to outsiders that the Chiefs’ salary-cap shortcomings are misunderstood? Well, spend more money, as team chairman Clark Hunt has said Pioli is authorized to do. Pioli excuses himself for his biggest mistakes, such as saying he just didn’t do his homework before hiring former coach Todd Haley? Well, why not? And he says privately that drafting a quarterback in the early rounds isn’t the point; it’s about drafting the right one. Well, Scott, then draft the right one. These things are big parts of Pioli’s job, but instead of acknowledging that, he chooses to tell himself — and, through back channels, you — that things are just fine.

In Scott We Trust? Not anymore.

Pioli cares more than you can imagine about what others think; about how his gilded reputation still shines nearly five years after it landed him this job.

He calls opinion-makers in Kansas City to plead with them to share his side of the story in exchange for a nibble of access, and he spends his own time compiling ultimately meaningless statistics in an attempt to spin unpopular draft choices and questionable spending habits into a more favorable light. He hints to anyone who’ll listen — in exchange for agreeing that you didn’t hear it from him — that the Chiefs’ playoff run in 2010 and a brief winning streak last season weren’t a result of Haley’s coaching. Those, he is convinced, were results of the magic of former offensive coordinator Charlie Weis two seasons ago and, last year, the motivating skills of Romeo Crennel. He obsesses over public relations, attempting to manipulate the message large and small. Pioli is as responsible as anyone for the misconception that Haley ruined the Chiefs and that, by firing him last December, Pioli helped to save it. How does that narrative look after the Chiefs’ second consecutive blowout loss?

Pioli craves credit and validation on good days, and he wants to hide and blame others after days like Sunday.

He worries so much about trivial matters that it’s impossible to think that such an emphasis hasn’t been an obstacle to the Chiefs’ success. He was concerned enough about what cornerback Brandon Flowers might’ve thought if Pioli had signed Brandon Carr to a richer contract that this factored into his decision to let Carr leave Kansas City and sign with the Dallas Cowboys.

Win, and nobody cares about how many dollars the Chiefs are under the salary cap, or which coach was responsible for past success, or why a free agent was allowed to walk. Lose, and all anyone wants to talk about is going to war with your first head coach, a new and considerably less shiny reputation built on micromanagement and insecurity, and stubbornly sticking with quarterback Matt Cassel just because you drafted him in New England, traded for him in Kansas City, and signed him to an extension.

Pioli has, for years now, learned from far too many mistakes. Haley. Sticking with Cassel. Thinking he can control every ounce of information. A growing number of unimpressive draft classes. The way front-office employees are treated and how bizarrely secretive everyone is expected to be. Pioli wasn’t brought to Kansas City to learn from trial and error; he was hired because he was advertised as being smart enough to avoid learning things the hard way.

Crennel is now the Chiefs’ head coach, and few people inside or outside the organization after last season would’ve suggested that elevating Crennel would be a mistake. But after an 0-2 start in which the Chiefs’ defense — Crennel’s baby — has allowed 68 points and has no idea why, that hire now looks like another blunder.

Fair or not, Pioli’s job is to anticipate days like this, put aside emotion and past allegiance in New England and with the New York Giants, and hire a coach who can take on one of the NFL’s most talented rosters and avoid this kind of start. This is the tradeoff of cashing those big paychecks, of sitting in that sprawling office, and taking on the role of one of sports’ most powerful men.

Pioli is a very bright man. He has made the Hunts a mountain of money and built the Chiefs into a team that should begin each season as a trendy playoff choice, and those things are enough to keep him employed for the foreseeable future. He has a cushion of otherwise undeserved job security because of this and because the Chiefs believe you’ll keep filling Arrowhead Stadium, keep tuning in to disasters like the one broadcast in Kansas City on Sunday, and keep believing that better days are ahead.

Maybe they are, but assembling a team at a discount and prioritizing things that don’t really matter only builds a team with a limited ceiling. As long as Pioli is in that office, your expectations should have a low ceiling, too.

TEX · 09-16-2012, 07:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

I don't think Babb is accurate that Pioli has built a poor team or drafted poorly.

As I've said before, Pioli has built a pretty solid team that is undermined big time by his own arrogance. And the worst part is, if he would ever just admit or fix those 3 mistakes, we'd be very good.

Man I used to think that too but all the good teams have better talent. Bottom line - this team should be better in y.ear 4. John Elway has done a better job in Denver in half the time.

chiefzilla1501 · 09-16-2012, 07:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chiefs Pantalones

What exactly has Pioli "built?" Who are his players?

Don't believe that this team is bad just because we have Captain Softie coaching our players. Let's not forget that this is the same exact team that beat the Packers, hustled the crap out of the Steelers, and almost salvaged a playoff berth despite major quarterback issues.

And that team could only have gotten better by adding back Berry, Charles, Moeaki, and adding Boss and Winston.

As I've said before, you put a real QB on this team and a real head coach, and this team is very good. If this team kept Orton and Haley, and added back those 5 players, this team would be unstoppable.

Like I said, it's arrogance that's keeping the team from that. And sadly, it got so out of control that the QB problem and head coach problem are unfixable for the immediate future.

But let's not forget that this is a team that played extremely well with much fewer pieces. Don't confuse lack of talent with horrendous coaching.

KCDC · 09-16-2012, 07:51 PM

Haley went down, in part, by his belief in Palko. Pioli might go down for his belief in Cassel.

Yet, the complete team collapse cannot be left at the doorstep of Cassel alone. That is with the coaches.

**DaneMcCloud** · 09-16-2012, 07:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cassel's Reckoning

HEY DANE! LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT PLAYOFF WIN.

Clay, I think that we're all entitled to a little optimism every once in a while.

So, the Chiefs suck ass again. Nothing new to see here.

Marcellus · 09-16-2012, 07:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

Don't believe that this team is bad just because we have Captain Softie coaching our players. Let's not forget that this is the same exact team that beat the Packers, hustled the crap out of the Steelers, and almost salvaged a playoff berth despite major quarterback issues.

And that team could only have gotten better by adding back Berry, Charles, Moeaki, and adding Boss and Winston.

As I've said before, you put a real QB on this team and a real head coach, and this team is very good. If this team kept Orton and Haley, and added back those 5 players, this team would be unstoppable.

Like I said, it's arrogance that's keeping the team from that. And sadly, it got so out of control that the QB problem and head coach problem are unfixable for the immediate future.

But let's not forget that this is a team that played extremely well with much fewer pieces. Don't confuse lack of talent with horrendous coaching.

A large part of the national media believe KC is very talented as well.

Something is off.

chiefzilla1501 · 09-16-2012, 07:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TEX

Man I used to think that too but all the good teams have better talent. This team should be better in year 4.

I disagree. Last year, when I watched the Pittsburgh and Green Bay game, my first thought was that we are a QB away from being a legitimately difficult out in the playoffs. We not only added a QB, but made tremendous improvements to our running game, offensive line, added 2 significant improvements at tight end, and added a significant improvement at safety.

I don't know that I've ever seen a Chiefs team all 53 down play softer, with less heart, and with less focus than what I've seen the past 2 games.

Hammock Parties · 09-16-2012, 07:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KCrockaholic

KC needs Whitlock right now.

He had these today. Miss you, Big Sexy.

KCrockaholic · 09-16-2012, 07:54 PM

Since Clark Hunt has taken over the Chiefs have been the worst team in the league. Disgusting.

**DaneMcCloud** · 09-16-2012, 07:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marcellus

A large part of the national media believe KC is very talented as well.

Something is off.

It's all on the QB. All of it. This team lacks confidence.

Also, JC has not fully recovered. They should use him sparingly this year, IMO.

Ace Gunner · 09-16-2012, 07:54 PM

Spiller made this team look foolish. That is talent and outside Jamaal, Bowe & Tamba, ain't no talent like that on this team.

**DaneMcCloud** · 09-16-2012, 07:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lou_Zare

Spiller made this team look foolish. That is talent and outside Jamaal & Tamba, ain't no talent like that on this team.

Bullshit.

This team has already given up.

**petegz28** · 09-16-2012, 07:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

It's all on the QB. All of it. This team lacks confidence.

Also, JC has not fully recovered. They should use him sparingly this year, IMO.

It's not ALL on the QB but he is defnitiely a problem. Really the last 2 games have shown DJ is the Cassel of the defense. This guy has really been out of touch.

**petegz28** · 09-16-2012, 07:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lou_Zare

Spiller made this team look foolish. That is talent and outside Jamaal, Bowe & Tamba, ain't no talent like that on this team.

Dude this team has a lot of talent. We just don't have a talented QB and the coaches obviously don't know how to utilize the rest of the talent.

Ace Gunner · 09-16-2012, 08:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

Bullshit.

This team has already given up.

No man. This team is lost without a leader. They got DJ acting a fool on defense and Cassel acting a fool on offense.

And the new ST coach is a ****ing idiot. ST is now officially bad. ****ing horrible.

You don't field 99% of the same team that won the AFCW title and then look like this garbage without leadership. Bad leadership.

chiefzilla1501 · 09-16-2012, 08:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lou_Zare

No man. This team is lost without a leader. They got DJ acting a fool on defense and Cassel acting a fool on offense.

And the new ST coach is a ****ing idiot. ST is now officially bad. ****ing horrible.

You don't field 99% of the same team that won the AFCW title and then look like this garbage without leadership. Bad leadership.

I'm not convinced that ST isn't a problem because our players play with no heart.

Special Teams should be about wanting to knock heads off. I don't see any of that in our players.

09-16-2012, 05:36 PM
FloridaMan88 Mahomes: We Are All Witnesses Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Miami, FL Casino cash: $-697094	Kent Babb dismantles Fat Scott http://www.kansascity.com/2012/09/16...-big-with.html Chiefs will never win big with Pioli in charge By KENT BABB The Kansas City Star ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Scott Pioli pushed his way through a doorway, into the Ralph Wilson Stadium tunnel and then, alone, disappeared into the Chiefs’ locker room. As the team he built was enduring the final minutes of death-by-Ryan Fitzpatrick, an embarrassing 35-17 loss to the Buffalo Bills, the Chiefs’ general manager walked toward a few minutes of solitude. Days like this are lonely when you’re the king, and maybe he embraced what is obvious to so many others who saw Sunday’s loss: that another team he constructed looks lost and unprepared. No injuries and no excuses, no former head coach to blame, and no safety net below the Chiefs’ most powerful football man. The Chiefs’ problems are with their coaches and players, but the bigger issue is about the man who brought in those coaches and players. Yes, this game and this season are on Pioli, and there’s no denying that anymore. And there’s no more denying another truth, whether you’re ready to read it or not: The Chiefs will never win big while Pioli is this team’s boss. His priorities are too misguided, his insecurities and denial too immense to allow Kansas City’s favorite team to win the Super Bowl that he was brought here to claim. Pioli is now in his fourth year of trying to justify the hype that earned him accolades in New England, respect within the NFL, and a multi-million-dollar job as a GM. Expectations were unreachable, maybe, but Pioli has done himself no favors by obsessing over trivial details, spending too much time trying to feed his addition to his own reputation, and engineering a team using the “discount football” philosophy that has made the Hunt family richer but has gotten the Chiefs only marginally closer to a Super Bowl. Days like Sunday should be behind the Chiefs. This roster is so much better than the one Pioli inherited in January 2009. He’s responsible for that, too. But how much better could it be if Pioli weren’t so consumed by off-the-field nonsense? He arrived nearly five years ago and promised to curb a culture of losing. Instead, Pioli now oversees an organization shadowed in a culture of misplaced priorities and anxiety — and, yes, more losing. Now in his fourth season as GM, Pioli has spent too much time trying to justify his decisions, rather than trying to improve them. He whines to outsiders that the Chiefs’ salary-cap shortcomings are misunderstood? Well, spend more money, as team chairman Clark Hunt has said Pioli is authorized to do. Pioli excuses himself for his biggest mistakes, such as saying he just didn’t do his homework before hiring former coach Todd Haley? Well, why not? And he says privately that drafting a quarterback in the early rounds isn’t the point; it’s about drafting the right one. Well, Scott, then draft the right one. These things are big parts of Pioli’s job, but instead of acknowledging that, he chooses to tell himself — and, through back channels, you — that things are just fine. In Scott We Trust? Not anymore. Pioli cares more than you can imagine about what others think; about how his gilded reputation still shines nearly five years after it landed him this job. He calls opinion-makers in Kansas City to plead with them to share his side of the story in exchange for a nibble of access, and he spends his own time compiling ultimately meaningless statistics in an attempt to spin unpopular draft choices and questionable spending habits into a more favorable light. He hints to anyone who’ll listen — in exchange for agreeing that you didn’t hear it from him — that the Chiefs’ playoff run in 2010 and a brief winning streak last season weren’t a result of Haley’s coaching. Those, he is convinced, were results of the magic of former offensive coordinator Charlie Weis two seasons ago and, last year, the motivating skills of Romeo Crennel. He obsesses over public relations, attempting to manipulate the message large and small. Pioli is as responsible as anyone for the misconception that Haley ruined the Chiefs and that, by firing him last December, Pioli helped to save it. How does that narrative look after the Chiefs’ second consecutive blowout loss? Pioli craves credit and validation on good days, and he wants to hide and blame others after days like Sunday. He worries so much about trivial matters that it’s impossible to think that such an emphasis hasn’t been an obstacle to the Chiefs’ success. He was concerned enough about what cornerback Brandon Flowers might’ve thought if Pioli had signed Brandon Carr to a richer contract that this factored into his decision to let Carr leave Kansas City and sign with the Dallas Cowboys. Win, and nobody cares about how many dollars the Chiefs are under the salary cap, or which coach was responsible for past success, or why a free agent was allowed to walk. Lose, and all anyone wants to talk about is going to war with your first head coach, a new and considerably less shiny reputation built on micromanagement and insecurity, and stubbornly sticking with quarterback Matt Cassel just because you drafted him in New England, traded for him in Kansas City, and signed him to an extension. Pioli has, for years now, learned from far too many mistakes. Haley. Sticking with Cassel. Thinking he can control every ounce of information. A growing number of unimpressive draft classes. The way front-office employees are treated and how bizarrely secretive everyone is expected to be. Pioli wasn’t brought to Kansas City to learn from trial and error; he was hired because he was advertised as being smart enough to avoid learning things the hard way. Crennel is now the Chiefs’ head coach, and few people inside or outside the organization after last season would’ve suggested that elevating Crennel would be a mistake. But after an 0-2 start in which the Chiefs’ defense — Crennel’s baby — has allowed 68 points and has no idea why, that hire now looks like another blunder. Fair or not, Pioli’s job is to anticipate days like this, put aside emotion and past allegiance in New England and with the New York Giants, and hire a coach who can take on one of the NFL’s most talented rosters and avoid this kind of start. This is the tradeoff of cashing those big paychecks, of sitting in that sprawling office, and taking on the role of one of sports’ most powerful men. Pioli is a very bright man. He has made the Hunts a mountain of money and built the Chiefs into a team that should begin each season as a trendy playoff choice, and those things are enough to keep him employed for the foreseeable future. He has a cushion of otherwise undeserved job security because of this and because the Chiefs believe you’ll keep filling Arrowhead Stadium, keep tuning in to disasters like the one broadcast in Kansas City on Sunday, and keep believing that better days are ahead. Maybe they are, but assembling a team at a discount and prioritizing things that don’t really matter only builds a team with a limited ceiling. As long as Pioli is in that office, your expectations should have a low ceiling, too.
Posts: 50,134

09-16-2012, 07:51 PM	#123
KCDC Starter Join Date: Mar 2009 Casino cash: $9616110	Haley went down, in part, by his belief in Palko. Pioli might go down for his belief in Cassel. Yet, the complete team collapse cannot be left at the doorstep of Cassel alone. That is with the coaches.
Posts: 886

09-16-2012, 07:54 PM	#128
KCrockaholic Sarcasm Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Olathe Casino cash: $3362900	Since Clark Hunt has taken over the Chiefs have been the worst team in the league. Disgusting.
Posts: 21,179

09-16-2012, 07:54 PM	#130
Ace Gunner First Overall Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: kcmo Casino cash: $10007271	Spiller made this team look foolish. That is talent and outside Jamaal, Bowe & Tamba, ain't no talent like that on this team. __________________ The Greatest
Posts: 10,580