Chiefs Kent Babb dismantles Fat Scott - Page 8

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.

**The Franchise** · 09-16-2012, 07:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by milkman

I said this before today's game.

I would love to see this defense 1 gap with Powe in the middle and Poe at RDE.

****ing this. And move Berry to FS.

aturnis · 09-16-2012, 07:37 PM

It'd be great if we could get a page in close proximity to the Chiefs write up in the sports page, forcing fans to notice them.

chiefzilla1501 · 09-16-2012, 07:38 PM

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.

ILChief · 09-16-2012, 07:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tuckdaddy

I still say that his biggest problem is Matt.

and it's not even close. Look at the Giants today. Their D sucked even worse than ours, but they won. Why? because they have a great QB that can win without everything being perfect around him.

**jAZ** · 09-16-2012, 07:39 PM

I have a long leash with my coaches, quarterbacks and GM's. But this season is the end of the leash for me. Turn it around or blow it up and try again.

**gblowfish** · 09-16-2012, 07:39 PM

Babb can write this kind of stuff now that he's on his way to the Washington Post. He's burning his local bridges. Wonder how the KC Star feels about that?

stonedstooge · 09-16-2012, 07:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Guru

Whoa, the Royals called up Odorizzi?

Dayton must not want any of the focus on Fat Scotty coming across the parking lot

**DaneMcCloud** · 09-16-2012, 07:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

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

2009 draft. Arenas. Cassel. Goff. Lilja. Succop over Barth. On and on and on.

Chiefs Pantalones · 09-16-2012, 07:41 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.

What exactly has Pioli "built?" Who are his players? Berry is one I think will be great, but that's one. Who else?

Marcellus · 09-16-2012, 07:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gblowfish

Babb can write this kind of stuff now that he's on his way to the Washington Post. He's burning his local bridges. Wonder how the KC Star feels about that?

I doubt the Star cares. Controversy sells papers. Whitlock got rich and famous off of it.

KCrockaholic · 09-16-2012, 07:44 PM

KC needs Whitlock right now.

GloryDayz · 09-16-2012, 07:45 PM

I'm going to print all these articles... I could be fapping to them all next week in Dallas!

TEX · 09-16-2012, 07:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnnyHammersticks

It could be laziness, or it could be that word has gotten around the NFL what an insecure little bald headed prick Pioli is and no coach with any other options available wants anything to do with the asshole control-freak.

Or one Peyton Manning...

Hammock Parties · 09-16-2012, 07:46 PM

HEY DANE! LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT PLAYOFF WIN.

InChiefsHeaven · 09-16-2012, 07:46 PM

Cassell is not making this defense suck. Or the Special teams. He's responsible for his own epic suckage. Pioli is responsible for putting all the eggs in that ****stick's basket...

The only constant through all these years of futility is the Hunts. I fear as long as Clark is running shit, we're screwed. The whole organization is goddam awful and has been through the CP years and all the goddam coaches we've had. The 90s were fun but ultimately a waste. That starts with ownership.

09-16-2012, 05:36 PM
FloridaMan88 Mahomes: We Are All Witnesses Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Miami, FL Casino cash: $-687094	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: 50,126

09-16-2012, 07:37 PM	#107
aturnis MVP Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Iowa Casino cash: $9975811	It'd be great if we could get a page in close proximity to the Chiefs write up in the sports page, forcing fans to notice them.
Posts: 13,873

09-16-2012, 07:38 PM	#108
chiefzilla1501 In Search of a Life Join Date: Aug 2008 Casino cash: $-1705503	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.
Posts: 51,632

09-16-2012, 07:39 PM	#110
jAZ Supporter Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Tucson, AZ Casino cash: $9817493	I have a long leash with my coaches, quarterbacks and GM's. But this season is the end of the leash for me. Turn it around or blow it up and try again.
Posts: 24,800

09-16-2012, 07:39 PM	#111
gblowfish Be Kind To Your Pets Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Glorious Independence, MO Casino cash: $16886178 VARSITY	Babb can write this kind of stuff now that he's on his way to the Washington Post. He's burning his local bridges. Wonder how the KC Star feels about that?
Posts: 41,016

09-16-2012, 07:44 PM	#116
KCrockaholic Sarcasm Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Olathe Casino cash: $3362900	KC needs Whitlock right now.
Posts: 21,179

09-16-2012, 07:45 PM	#117
GloryDayz (Sir/Yes Sir/Aye Aye Sir) Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Diving Casino cash: $785380	I'm going to print all these articles... I could be fapping to them all next week in Dallas! __________________ . #Like 45, 47 Is Going To Be AWESOME! #I still don't have COVID #I'mImmuneToVirtueSignaling
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09-16-2012, 07:46 PM	#119
Hammock Parties I'll be back. Join Date: Nov 2002 Casino cash: $860478	HEY DANE! LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT PLAYOFF WIN. __________________ Chiefs game films
Posts: 297,236

09-16-2012, 07:46 PM	#120
InChiefsHeaven Rockin' yer FACE OFF! Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Omaha, Nebraska Casino cash: $645437	Cassell is not making this defense suck. Or the Special teams. He's responsible for his own epic suckage. Pioli is responsible for putting all the eggs in that ****stick's basket... The only constant through all these years of futility is the Hunts. I fear as long as Clark is running shit, we're screwed. The whole organization is goddam awful and has been through the CP years and all the goddam coaches we've had. The 90s were fun but ultimately a waste. That starts with ownership. __________________ We have a million reasons for failure, but not one excuse... Die Donks, DIE!! Holy Crap fellas!!! We did it!!! THREE TIMES!!!
Posts: 27,248