Chiefs Babb: Time for Chiefs to show The Patriot Way the way out - Page 2

**Tribal Warfare** · 09-22-2012, 01:03 AM

Time for Chiefs to show The Patriot Way the way out
By KENT BABB
The Kansas City Star
The evidence has mounted, and the verdict is in: The Patriot Way is outdated, unreliable and unsuccessful. Oh, sure, it works in Foxborough, Mass., and it’s still useful with coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady, the best value draft pick of all time and one of the best passers in history, too.

But in Kansas City? It’s a failure, same as it was in Cleveland, South Bend, New York and Denver.

The Chiefs are 0-2, and barring a surprise, they’ll be 0-3 by dinnertime Sunday. They have been to the playoffs once in the previous three seasons, and a big reason for the disappointment is because Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli’s security blanket is leaning on all the lessons he learned from Belichick. Every time things go sideways with the Chiefs, Pioli pulls it closer, inhaling its comfort and feeling its familiarity.

It’s past time for Pioli to grow out of it, but the more time passes, it’s clear that team chairman Clark Hunt will have to forcibly wean his GM off this comfortable, but ineffective, habit. If the losses keep mounting, Hunt has all the proof he needs — an assistant GM, two offensive coordinators, a defensive coordinator, a starting quarterback, a head coach, too many former Patriots players to list, and losses in nearly 60 percent of the Chiefs’ games since 2009 — to insist that it’s time for his GM to finally pack away his blanket for good.

Here’s why it doesn’t work outside New England: Belichick isn’t just a marvelous coach with three Super Bowl titles; he’s also a master at putting his protégés in positions that hide their weaknesses. Former defensive coordinator Eric Mangini was a football prodigy, but he had no idea how to connect with people. So Belichick buried him in football work, shielding him from much social interaction, and it wasn’t until Mangini left the Patriots to become the New York Jets’ head coach in 2006 that his flaw was revealed. It cost him again in Cleveland in 2010.

Josh McDaniels, a former Belichick offensive coordinator, was best at adjusting to difficult circumstances. Give him Brady and a whiteboard, and McDaniels could somehow make it work. He could adapt to most anything — except having his immaturity exposed when Denver made him a head coach too early, at age 33. McDaniels again thought he could make something out of anything, even first-round quarterback Tim Tebow. He had no one to overrule him, to mask his arrogance, and McDaniels was fired before his second season was finished.

Belichick wouldn’t let anyone see that Romeo Crennel struggled at game management, and he didn’t tell anyone that it was never former player personnel director Pioli with the final say on draft picks and signings; it was Belichick himself. The coach made them all look like geniuses, and in the fuzzy glow of championships, who was going to believe otherwise?

The Patriots became a temp agency, sending their recruits on to high-profile jobs throughout the NFL. Time passed, and fans and administrators realized that Charlie Weis could coach offense in the NFL and recruit at Notre Dame but couldn’t identify in-game problems quickly enough as a head coach. Crennel couldn’t manage the clock or adjust during games as the Browns’ head coach. Time and again, the former Patriots masterminds were fired, and a question arose: Why wouldn’t it work anywhere else?

Finally, there was a reckoning. Hope emerged in Atlanta when the former Patriots scouting director became the Falcons’ GM.

Thomas Dimitroff’s team is 45-21 since 2008, and he’s the only Belichick student to make it big outside Foxborough. Only Dimitroff has done it by mostly abandoning the Patriot Way. Secrecy is of no concern to the Falcons. He hired a head coach with no connection to Belichick or the Patriots. Dimitroff, the son of a former coach and scout, drafted a quarterback at No. 3 overall in 2008, thumbing his nose at the deep-rooted New England phobia of top-five picks, and especially top-five quarterbacks.

Dimitroff did what Pioli has been unable or unwilling to do. He built the Falcons in his own image, leaning on his own philosophies and experiences, rather than trying to copy what Belichick would’ve done. Pioli’s best draft pick in Kansas City is safety Eric Berry, drafted No. 5 overall in 2010, and it was Dimitroff who talked his friend and former colleague into pulling the trigger.

It’s natural, especially in challenging times, to use a system that has worked and is familiar. Pioli hired an outsider, Todd Haley, as his first head coach but then surrounded Haley with Patriots retreads. Quarterback Matt Cassel, linebacker Mike Vrabel, coordinators Weis and Crennel and as many former New England players — 14 of Pioli’s 39 acquisitions in 2009, including six of his first seven, had played for the Patriots — as he could scour the earth for. Pioli’s assistant GM is Joel Collier, a former New England assistant coach. And when Pioli and Haley had the falling out heard ’round the NFL in 2011, Pioli promoted Crennel as Haley’s replacement, renewed his commitment to Cassel, and signed off on offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, a former Patriots position coach.

When Hunt hired Pioli nearly four years ago, he told Chiefs fans that he wanted to model the Chiefs after the Pittsburgh Steelers. That team’s way had worked too, to the tune of six Super Bowl titles since 1974, but that directive has been lost under a gathering of Pioli’s old football buddies and an inability to distance himself from a methodology that clearly works only under Belichick and with Brady.

The time has come for Hunt to re-assert himself and veto anyone else brought in only because they once worked or played in New England. It’s time, finally, for Pioli to do things his own way — and establish the Chiefs Way. Successful leaders take what they’ve learned, put their own spin on it, and establish themselves as individuals.

Hunt is unlikely to show Pioli the door, even if this season continues its disappointing direction. Hunt’s admiration of the Steelers is in part because longevity is a Pittsburgh hallmark. Fair enough. But it’s time to hand the Patriot Way its pink slip.

Editor's note This is Kent Babb’s final column for The Star. The recipient of numerous awards during his five years in Kansas City, he has accepted an enterprise reporting position for The Washington Post.

Deberg_1990 · 09-22-2012, 08:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hog Farmer

That right. I'd really like to see what the Pat's do without a Tom Brady.

We already saw it. The 90s Browns with Bellichek. Had 1 or 2 average seasons, but mostly blah.
Posted via Mobile Device

chiefzilla1501 · 09-22-2012, 08:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rausch

I don't have a problem with the "patriot way."

I have a problem with the guy implementing it...

I was going to say the same thing.

And then I realized... Babb is right that the Patriot Way also includes the ridiculous secrecy. The extreme loyalty to any player or coach who came from the system.

As I've said before, when Pioli has looked outside the tree, he's done a good job building this team. But the extreme loyalty has led to the ridiculous loyalty to Romeo, Daboll, and Cassel. And those are the 3 horsemen who have put Pioli into a bad situation that will be difficult to weasel himself out of.

chiefzilla1501 · 09-22-2012, 08:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hog Farmer

That right. I'd really like to see what the Pat's do without a Tom Brady.

Actually, the Pats went 10-6 behind shitty Matt Cassel.

I think it's ridiculous for people to undermine the Pats as if they couldn't win without Brady. The original Pats team had a suffocating defense and an extremely well-run, efficient offense that didn't ask Brady to do very much. The new Pats team has a roster of some pretty phenomenal offensive talent. There was about a 5 year period where the Pats made some horrendous personnel decisions. But based on the past few years, I'd say the Patriots are on the track of getting back to a really good team with or without Brady.

displacedinMN · 09-22-2012, 09:11 AM

I know the Chiefs have been bad with Pioli-but someone must have PO'd Babb,

I have never seen more articles from one person that is more scathing.
and I live in Minneapolis and have to listen to Sid Hartman and Pat Reusse.

Hammock Parties · 09-22-2012, 09:18 AM

I bet they yanked his press pass or something and now he's going hard as a mother****er scorched earth on these one who sucks the peniss.

He's truly a badass and I'll never forget it.

Gonna make a Babb video with explosions and his best stabbity-stabbity-murder-the-Patriot-Way lines flying out.

boogblaster · 09-22-2012, 09:33 AM

is there a change in the air .. prolly not .. it's a progress .....

**bevischief** · 09-22-2012, 09:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by displacedinMN

I know the Chiefs have been bad with Pioli-but someone must have PO'd Babb,

I have never seen more articles from one person that is more scathing.
and I live in Minneapolis and have to listen to Sid Hartman and Pat Reusse.

CP has been saying this for at least the last 2 years. KC media just recently picked up on the truth.

chiefzilla1501 · 09-22-2012, 09:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bevischief

CP has been saying this for at least the last 2 years. KC media just recently picked up on the truth.

I don't think the KC media just picked it up. It sounds like they've been pissed for a while. At first, they didn't want to be bullied, so they played nice. Now they're not going to take it anymore. My sense is that Arrowhead Anxiety wasn't an accident. The KC Star knew they were pissed, but they wanted to build a case against it before starting an assault.

**bevischief** · 09-22-2012, 09:41 AM

I want to see the Chiefs way with a franchise QB, a real defense and a super bowl. I am sick of this crap. Glad I have Sunday Ticket so I can watch a real game on Sunday.

**bevischief** · 09-22-2012, 09:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

I don't think the KC media just picked it up. It sounds like they've been pissed for a while. At first, they didn't want to be bullied, so they played nice. Now they're not going to take it anymore. My sense is that Arrowhead Anxiety wasn't an accident. The KC Star knew they were pissed, but they wanted to build a case against it before starting an assault.

They didn't show it till candy wrapper gate.

Hammock Parties · 09-22-2012, 09:46 AM

Watching the rest of the league on red zone is a blessing.

It really shows you much the Chefs suck in comparison.

**Bowser** · 09-22-2012, 09:49 AM

That's one hell of a last article. Probably been wanting to write that for some time.

Babb on the way out of town....

chiefzilla1501 · 09-22-2012, 09:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bevischief

They didn't show it till candy wrapper gate.

Well, let's not forget that candy wrapper gate had been brewing for a long time. Remember that the story included parts where Todd Haley was trying to tell Babb there was a huge problem. That story was brewing well before Haley was ever fired. And let's not forget that even in year 1, Whitlock was starting to paint a picture of a Chiefs' organization that was actively trying to shut up critics through bullying.

I back KC Star on this one. Their job is to sell papers and that's not easy for them to do that when the team restricts your access. Look at how unbelievably careful Arrowhead Anxiety was. The KC Star went through painstaking detail to make sure they had all their bases covered. I think that says to me that the KC Star said they're not going to put up with this shit anymore, but if we're going into battle, we're going to present a bulletproof case and not just some opinion column from a controversial columnist like Whitlock.

**bevischief** · 09-22-2012, 09:52 AM

It's about time.

**bevischief** · 09-22-2012, 09:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

Well, let's not forget that candy wrapper gate had been brewing for a long time. Remember that the story included parts where Todd Haley was trying to tell Babb there was a huge problem. That story was brewing well before Haley was ever fired. And let's not forget that even in year 1, Whitlock was starting to paint a picture of a Chiefs' organization that was actively trying to shut up critics through bullying.

I back KC Star on this one. Their job is to sell papers and that's not easy for them to do that when the team restricts your access. Look at how unbelievably careful Arrowhead Anxiety was. The KC Star went through painstaking detail to make sure they had all their bases covered. I think that says to me that the KC Star said they're not going to put up with this shit anymore, but if we're going into battle, we're going to present a bulletproof case and not just some opinion column from a controversial columnist like Whitlock.

Now it's game time. Let's run these clowns out of town.

09-22-2012, 01:03 AM
Tribal Warfare Man of Culture Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Far Beyond Comprehension Casino cash: $-2947187	Babb: Time for Chiefs to show The Patriot Way the way out Time for Chiefs to show The Patriot Way the way out By KENT BABB The Kansas City Star The evidence has mounted, and the verdict is in: The Patriot Way is outdated, unreliable and unsuccessful. Oh, sure, it works in Foxborough, Mass., and it’s still useful with coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady, the best value draft pick of all time and one of the best passers in history, too. But in Kansas City? It’s a failure, same as it was in Cleveland, South Bend, New York and Denver. The Chiefs are 0-2, and barring a surprise, they’ll be 0-3 by dinnertime Sunday. They have been to the playoffs once in the previous three seasons, and a big reason for the disappointment is because Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli’s security blanket is leaning on all the lessons he learned from Belichick. Every time things go sideways with the Chiefs, Pioli pulls it closer, inhaling its comfort and feeling its familiarity. It’s past time for Pioli to grow out of it, but the more time passes, it’s clear that team chairman Clark Hunt will have to forcibly wean his GM off this comfortable, but ineffective, habit. If the losses keep mounting, Hunt has all the proof he needs — an assistant GM, two offensive coordinators, a defensive coordinator, a starting quarterback, a head coach, too many former Patriots players to list, and losses in nearly 60 percent of the Chiefs’ games since 2009 — to insist that it’s time for his GM to finally pack away his blanket for good. Here’s why it doesn’t work outside New England: Belichick isn’t just a marvelous coach with three Super Bowl titles; he’s also a master at putting his protégés in positions that hide their weaknesses. Former defensive coordinator Eric Mangini was a football prodigy, but he had no idea how to connect with people. So Belichick buried him in football work, shielding him from much social interaction, and it wasn’t until Mangini left the Patriots to become the New York Jets’ head coach in 2006 that his flaw was revealed. It cost him again in Cleveland in 2010. Josh McDaniels, a former Belichick offensive coordinator, was best at adjusting to difficult circumstances. Give him Brady and a whiteboard, and McDaniels could somehow make it work. He could adapt to most anything — except having his immaturity exposed when Denver made him a head coach too early, at age 33. McDaniels again thought he could make something out of anything, even first-round quarterback Tim Tebow. He had no one to overrule him, to mask his arrogance, and McDaniels was fired before his second season was finished. Belichick wouldn’t let anyone see that Romeo Crennel struggled at game management, and he didn’t tell anyone that it was never former player personnel director Pioli with the final say on draft picks and signings; it was Belichick himself. The coach made them all look like geniuses, and in the fuzzy glow of championships, who was going to believe otherwise? The Patriots became a temp agency, sending their recruits on to high-profile jobs throughout the NFL. Time passed, and fans and administrators realized that Charlie Weis could coach offense in the NFL and recruit at Notre Dame but couldn’t identify in-game problems quickly enough as a head coach. Crennel couldn’t manage the clock or adjust during games as the Browns’ head coach. Time and again, the former Patriots masterminds were fired, and a question arose: Why wouldn’t it work anywhere else? Finally, there was a reckoning. Hope emerged in Atlanta when the former Patriots scouting director became the Falcons’ GM. Thomas Dimitroff’s team is 45-21 since 2008, and he’s the only Belichick student to make it big outside Foxborough. Only Dimitroff has done it by mostly abandoning the Patriot Way. Secrecy is of no concern to the Falcons. He hired a head coach with no connection to Belichick or the Patriots. Dimitroff, the son of a former coach and scout, drafted a quarterback at No. 3 overall in 2008, thumbing his nose at the deep-rooted New England phobia of top-five picks, and especially top-five quarterbacks. Dimitroff did what Pioli has been unable or unwilling to do. He built the Falcons in his own image, leaning on his own philosophies and experiences, rather than trying to copy what Belichick would’ve done. Pioli’s best draft pick in Kansas City is safety Eric Berry, drafted No. 5 overall in 2010, and it was Dimitroff who talked his friend and former colleague into pulling the trigger. It’s natural, especially in challenging times, to use a system that has worked and is familiar. Pioli hired an outsider, Todd Haley, as his first head coach but then surrounded Haley with Patriots retreads. Quarterback Matt Cassel, linebacker Mike Vrabel, coordinators Weis and Crennel and as many former New England players — 14 of Pioli’s 39 acquisitions in 2009, including six of his first seven, had played for the Patriots — as he could scour the earth for. Pioli’s assistant GM is Joel Collier, a former New England assistant coach. And when Pioli and Haley had the falling out heard ’round the NFL in 2011, Pioli promoted Crennel as Haley’s replacement, renewed his commitment to Cassel, and signed off on offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, a former Patriots position coach. When Hunt hired Pioli nearly four years ago, he told Chiefs fans that he wanted to model the Chiefs after the Pittsburgh Steelers. That team’s way had worked too, to the tune of six Super Bowl titles since 1974, but that directive has been lost under a gathering of Pioli’s old football buddies and an inability to distance himself from a methodology that clearly works only under Belichick and with Brady. The time has come for Hunt to re-assert himself and veto anyone else brought in only because they once worked or played in New England. It’s time, finally, for Pioli to do things his own way — and establish the Chiefs Way. Successful leaders take what they’ve learned, put their own spin on it, and establish themselves as individuals. Hunt is unlikely to show Pioli the door, even if this season continues its disappointing direction. Hunt’s admiration of the Steelers is in part because longevity is a Pittsburgh hallmark. Fair enough. But it’s time to hand the Patriot Way its pink slip. Editor's note This is Kent Babb’s final column for The Star. The recipient of numerous awards during his five years in Kansas City, he has accepted an enterprise reporting position for The Washington Post.
Posts: 43,447

09-22-2012, 09:11 AM	#19
displacedinMN In Search of a Life Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Correcting papers Casino cash: $-760000	I know the Chiefs have been bad with Pioli-but someone must have PO'd Babb, I have never seen more articles from one person that is more scathing. and I live in Minneapolis and have to listen to Sid Hartman and Pat Reusse.
Posts: 40,967

09-22-2012, 09:18 AM	#20
Hammock Parties I'll be back. Join Date: Nov 2002 Casino cash: $850478	I bet they yanked his press pass or something and now he's going hard as a mother****er scorched earth on these one who sucks the peniss. He's truly a badass and I'll never forget it. Gonna make a Babb video with explosions and his best stabbity-stabbity-murder-the-Patriot-Way lines flying out. __________________ Chiefs game films
Posts: 297,261

09-22-2012, 09:33 AM	#21
boogblaster MVP Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Verdigris Valley Campsite Casino cash: $10004900	is there a change in the air .. prolly not .. it's a progress ..... __________________ WR or S please
Posts: 10,305

09-22-2012, 09:41 AM	#24
bevischief .... Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Somewhere Kansas Casino cash: $7739352 VARSITY	I want to see the Chiefs way with a franchise QB, a real defense and a super bowl. I am sick of this crap. Glad I have Sunday Ticket so I can watch a real game on Sunday.
Posts: 27,771

09-22-2012, 09:46 AM	#26
Hammock Parties I'll be back. Join Date: Nov 2002 Casino cash: $850478	Watching the rest of the league on red zone is a blessing. It really shows you much the Chefs suck in comparison. __________________ Chiefs game films
Posts: 297,261

09-22-2012, 09:49 AM	#27
Bowser sorta mod-ish Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: KC North Casino cash: $-158384	That's one hell of a last article. Probably been wanting to write that for some time. Babb on the way out of town....
Posts: 106,767

09-22-2012, 09:52 AM	#29
bevischief .... Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Somewhere Kansas Casino cash: $7739352 VARSITY	It's about time.
Posts: 27,771