Chiefs A message of Positivity, from Mr. Jason Whitlock - Page 9

chiefzilla1501 · 11-22-2009, 11:22 PM

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.

Hammock Parties · 11-23-2009, 12:10 PM

Whitlock is knee deep in a Gates platter right now.

Reerun_KC · 11-23-2009, 12:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoChiefs

Whitlock is knee deep in a Gates platter right now.

Or balls deep on Herm getting his nose tickled by the short and curlies...

ChiefsCountry · 11-23-2009, 12:34 PM

Quote:

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.

But he had the same problem in New England.

Sweet Daddy Hate · 11-23-2009, 03:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dirk digler

Double this. He never once gave Haley any kind of credit until they won yesterday.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Bad Guy

You are such a joke.

Rewind the tape a week and you were all over both Pioli and Haley.

With all due respect:

"Not For Long". "What can you do for me TODAY"?

This IS the NFL, and that IS how it works.

Quote:

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.

And Fish drives it home FTW.

**SAUTO** · 11-23-2009, 03:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KC Fish

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.

i'm not saying that they have TOLD him that, never have. but IMO there was NEVER NEVER NEVER ANY CHANCE HE WOULD BE GONE AFTER THIS YEAR, never any chance. his contract is set up where we could go in another direction after NEXT SEASON. if there was a chance for him to go after this year they wouldnt have given him the contract. they would have played him on the franchise and decide AFTER the season. He'll get two years NO MATTER WHAT IMO

kaplin42 · 11-23-2009, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KnowMo2724

When it mattered most he wasn't on the field.

The Steelers beat themselves, KC didn't win.

Bullshit!

The redskins beat themselves, the raiders beat themselves, hell the cowboys tried to but we just wouldn't have it. The steelers tried to win, they were putting it to the chiefs big time, just look at the stats and you can see that. The chiefs won this one proper, and not only that they won a game against a real team, not another team full of fail.

Just cause your team is being showed for the what it actually is (Kyle Orton a great QB, ****ing please) doen't mean you have to shit on a legitamate win by our team.

Fish · 11-23-2009, 04:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JASONSAUTO

i'm not saying that they have TOLD him that, never have. but IMO there was NEVER NEVER NEVER ANY CHANCE HE WOULD BE GONE AFTER THIS YEAR, never any chance. his contract is set up where we could go in another direction after NEXT SEASON. if there was a chance for him to go after this year they wouldnt have given him the contract. they would have played him on the franchise and decide AFTER the season. He'll get two years NO MATTER WHAT IMO

Umm.... WTF are you talking about regarding his contract? "Set up where we could go in another direction after next season."? What does that even mean? I get the feeling you are completely talking out your ass here. Cassel's contract pays the most over the first 3 years.

What are you talking about? Please tell me how his contract was set up to favor the second year? I'm quite curious to hear this. Please explain the inner workings of Cassel's contract for me...

And if the Chiefs would have franchised him, they would have had to pay him even more than they did this year with the contract he signed.

**Rausch** · 11-23-2009, 04:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brock

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.

His line is also not good this year.

And yes, he is holding onto the ball too long...

**SAUTO** · 11-23-2009, 05:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KC Fish

Umm.... WTF are you talking about regarding his contract? "Set up where we could go in another direction after next season."? What does that even mean? I get the feeling you are completely talking out your ass here. Cassel's contract pays the most over the first 3 years.

What are you talking about? Please tell me how his contract was set up to favor the second year? I'm quite curious to hear this. Please explain the inner workings of Cassel's contract for me...

And if the Chiefs would have franchised him, they would have had to pay him even more than they did this year with the contract he signed.

give me a couple of minutes

**SAUTO** · 11-23-2009, 05:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KC Fish

Umm.... WTF are you talking about regarding his contract? "Set up where we could go in another direction after next season."? What does that even mean? I get the feeling you are completely talking out your ass here. Cassel's contract pays the most over the first 3 years.

What are you talking about? Please tell me how his contract was set up to favor the second year? I'm quite curious to hear this. Please explain the inner workings of Cassel's contract for me...

And if the Chiefs would have franchised him, they would have had to pay him even more than they did this year with the contract he signed.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigRock

How so?

If LaConfora is right and Cassel's making $15M this year, we can take the $5M base salary AP says he's making and add $10M in bonus money to it.

AP says he's making $11.25M in bonuses his first two years, so that leaves $1.25M leftover in bonuses for 2010. And they say he's making $11.75M in base next year. That's $13M in total.

$15M in year one and $13M in year two is $28M.

The only thing I can see that doesn't add up is that LaCanfora says Cassel would make $40.5M in the first three years, which would be $12.5M in year three. AP's figures say he's making a base salary of $4.75M, which would mean a bonus of $7.75M. But they only list his year-three bonus as $7.5M, which ends up being 250K short. That could just be a typo or something, though.

That's fine, but whether or not they cut him, we should at least acknowledge that his contract does indeed appear to be structured where he CAN be cut after two years. In fact, it's slightly cheaper having him under this deal than it would have been to keep him on a yearly basis for two years.

As I've said since the deal was announced, unless someone actually thinks they would have traded a 2nd round pick and gotten rid of Cassel after one season, I don't know how anyone can complain about the contract they signed him to.

here you go, i had this exact same argument with OTWP and bigrock said it better than i could

swayy07 · 11-23-2009, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoChiefs

Whitlock is knee deep in a Gates platter right now.

awsome

Fish · 11-23-2009, 05:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JASONSAUTO

here you go, i had this exact same argument with OTWP and bigrock said it better than i could

And?

That's just a bunch of conjecture. If this... if that....

That doesn't answer a thing. And still doesn't prove that the contract was setup with a freebie first year.

How about something better than "If this report is right.................." ?

**SAUTO** · 11-23-2009, 05:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KC Fish

And?

That's just a bunch of conjecture. If this... if that....

That doesn't answer a thing. And still doesn't prove that the contract was setup with a freebie first year.

How about something better than "If this report is right.................." ?

wow what else would you want? that came from arrowhead pride AND jason la canfora BOTH. like i said IMO the contract was set up so that if it didnt work out we can go in a different direction after NEXT year. isnt that what you took offense to? i said that next year is his make or break year. whitlock said that yesterday saved his career here. you act like he could be gone after this season. that not right. also his 3rd year is mostly bonuses. we pay most of the guarantees in the forst 2 years.

Quesadilla Joe · 11-23-2009, 05:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kaplin42

Bullshit!

The redskins beat themselves, the raiders beat themselves, hell the cowboys tried to but we just wouldn't have it. The steelers tried to win, they were putting it to the chiefs big time, just look at the stats and you can see that. The chiefs won this one proper, and not only that they won a game against a real team, not another team full of fail.

Just cause your team is being showed for the what it actually is (Kyle "Pro Bowl" Orton a great QB, ****ing please) doen't mean you have to shit on a legitamate win by our team.

The Steelers made mistakes that were do to mental errors more than anything KC did. Mike Wallace's fumble, the kick return TD, Roethlisburger throwing INT's right to your team. Those are mistakes the Steelers don't make. The Chiefs played horrible and had to get lucky to win. End of story.

**The Bad Guy** · 11-23-2009, 05:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KnowMo2724

The Steelers made mistakes that were do to mental errors more than anything KC did. Mike Wallace's fumble, the kick return TD, Roethlisburger throwing INT's right to your team. Those are mistakes the Steelers don't make. The Chiefs played horrible and had to get lucky to win. End of story.

You had a ****ing batted ball pop right into Stokley's hands.

You got 2 lucky returns from Eddie Royal to beat the Chargers.

The Broncos have benefitted from luck more than ANY team in the NFL this year.

Mike Wallace's fumble was CAUSED BY THE ****ING DEFENSIVE PLAYER HITTING THE BALL OUT. That is a FORCED error by the Chiefs.

You are such a ****ing loser. Shocker that you had a college scholarship and you turned it down.

**** you, and your sinking Denver ship. Please come back here when McKid gets clowned by Todd Haley.

11-22-2009, 11:22 PM
chiefzilla1501 In Search of a Life Join Date: Aug 2008 Casino cash: $-1705503	A message of Positivity, from Mr. Jason Whitlock 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.
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11-23-2009, 12:10 PM	#121
Hammock Parties I'll be back. Join Date: Nov 2002 Casino cash: $860478	Whitlock is knee deep in a Gates platter right now. __________________ Chiefs game films
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