Chiefs Whitlock brings us all back down to earth

Hammock Parties · 08-02-2009, 12:22 AM

Joy.

http://www.kansascity.com/sports/col...y/1359400.html

Most of us are no different from Larry Johnson.

We have an extreme aversion to admitting when we’re wrong, which causes us to repeat the same mistakes over and over again.

Yeah, I know, you think if Lamar Hunt wrote you a check for millions of dollars, you’d be the ultimate team player, happy and content regardless of your role. You think you’d be the kind of leader Marcus Allen was when he played for the Chiefs.

I doubt it. Fame and money magnify our flaws, and we all have flaws, the majority of them we’re reluctant to admit.

Larry Johnson’s major flaw is just like yours and mine. He can’t sincerely admit when he’s dead wrong. We can’t either.

Oh, we might utter a half-hearted “I’m sorry,” but we’ll expend the majority of our energy rationalizing or lying about our inappropriate behavior. We want our errors to vanish and memories of them to disappear just as quickly. We rarely muster the courage to address our failings head-on.

Later today, I’ll arrive in River Falls, Wis., site of Chiefs training camp. I’m excited — if not optimistic — to see how the Chiefs deal with their two most important failures.

Larry Johnson and Brian Waters, in my opinion, are Kansas City’s most talented players. To some degree, they can dictate the ease of Todd Haley’s transition from hot-headed offensive coordinator to respected NFL head coach. If Haley can inspire Johnson and Waters to play up to their potential, it will be considerably easier for the Chiefs to rebound from last season’s 2-14 disaster.

Inspiring Johnson and Waters for an entire 16-game schedule is likely to come down to whether Johnson wants to confront and acknowledge the errors of his previous ways and whether Haley and general manager Scott Pioli are willing to acknowledge the disrespectful manner in which they welcomed Waters to the new Chiefs organization.

If the involved, offending parties are anything like the rest of us, this won’t go very well. Johnson won’t change his brooding, selfish behavior, and the bad blood between Waters and the new men in charge of the Chiefs is likely to linger.

Problems don’t magically go away. And yes, I read the mature and positive words Johnson spoke about his relationship with Haley and Pioli. Larry, as he’s prone to do when he’s looking to enhance his contract leverage, sounds focused and content.

The problem is he doesn’t sound reflective. He doesn’t sound like someone who is aware of how he contributed to and drove the problems he’s experienced.

Larry might argue that he’s simply following the advice of his new head coach. Haley offered every player on the roster a clean slate. Haley claims he doesn’t care about what transpired before he got here. He’s going to judge players solely on the behavior they exhibit while he’s head coach.

Sounds great on paper. But we’re a product of the lessons we’ve learned from our previous experiences. Learning lessons takes time. Most people don’t like to study, especially themselves.

We prefer to start over. We prefer to file bankruptcy. We prefer to repeat the same behavior until we pay the ultimate price — death, divorce, termination, etc.

It’s my contention that Haley and Pioli made a fatal mistake in their initial handling of Waters, Kansas City’s Pro Bowl left guard. In their zeal to establish law and order inside the Arrowhead Stadium practice facility, Haley and Pioli alienated the player who should be their strongest locker-room leader.

Now, a friend with deep knowledge of NFL culture argues that Pioli and Haley had to knock out the baddest player on the block in order to get the attention of Larry Johnson and everyone else on the roster. My friend argues the knockout punch unloaded on Waters was calculated and necessary.

I respectfully disagree. I see the move as foolish and arrogant with short-term benefits.

Haley wants to be a reincarnation of Bill Parcells, a noble and worthy aspiration. The risk Haley runs is being the second coming of Tom Coughlin, who nearly lost his job before the Giants rode a hot streak to the Super Bowl in Coughlin’s fourth season in New York. And by Coughlin’s fourth season, he’d already reinvented himself as a kinder, gentler coach.

Coughlin privately and publicly acknowledged his errors. He did what most of us refuse to do. He examined himself and truly changed.

08-02-2009, 12:22 AM	Topic Starter
Hammock Parties I'll be back. Join Date: Nov 2002 Casino cash: $4690478	Whitlock brings us all back down to earth Joy. http://www.kansascity.com/sports/col...y/1359400.html Most of us are no different from Larry Johnson. We have an extreme aversion to admitting when we’re wrong, which causes us to repeat the same mistakes over and over again. Yeah, I know, you think if Lamar Hunt wrote you a check for millions of dollars, you’d be the ultimate team player, happy and content regardless of your role. You think you’d be the kind of leader Marcus Allen was when he played for the Chiefs. I doubt it. Fame and money magnify our flaws, and we all have flaws, the majority of them we’re reluctant to admit. Larry Johnson’s major flaw is just like yours and mine. He can’t sincerely admit when he’s dead wrong. We can’t either. Oh, we might utter a half-hearted “I’m sorry,” but we’ll expend the majority of our energy rationalizing or lying about our inappropriate behavior. We want our errors to vanish and memories of them to disappear just as quickly. We rarely muster the courage to address our failings head-on. Later today, I’ll arrive in River Falls, Wis., site of Chiefs training camp. I’m excited — if not optimistic — to see how the Chiefs deal with their two most important failures. Larry Johnson and Brian Waters, in my opinion, are Kansas City’s most talented players. To some degree, they can dictate the ease of Todd Haley’s transition from hot-headed offensive coordinator to respected NFL head coach. If Haley can inspire Johnson and Waters to play up to their potential, it will be considerably easier for the Chiefs to rebound from last season’s 2-14 disaster. Inspiring Johnson and Waters for an entire 16-game schedule is likely to come down to whether Johnson wants to confront and acknowledge the errors of his previous ways and whether Haley and general manager Scott Pioli are willing to acknowledge the disrespectful manner in which they welcomed Waters to the new Chiefs organization. If the involved, offending parties are anything like the rest of us, this won’t go very well. Johnson won’t change his brooding, selfish behavior, and the bad blood between Waters and the new men in charge of the Chiefs is likely to linger. Problems don’t magically go away. And yes, I read the mature and positive words Johnson spoke about his relationship with Haley and Pioli. Larry, as he’s prone to do when he’s looking to enhance his contract leverage, sounds focused and content. The problem is he doesn’t sound reflective. He doesn’t sound like someone who is aware of how he contributed to and drove the problems he’s experienced. Larry might argue that he’s simply following the advice of his new head coach. Haley offered every player on the roster a clean slate. Haley claims he doesn’t care about what transpired before he got here. He’s going to judge players solely on the behavior they exhibit while he’s head coach. Sounds great on paper. But we’re a product of the lessons we’ve learned from our previous experiences. Learning lessons takes time. Most people don’t like to study, especially themselves. We prefer to start over. We prefer to file bankruptcy. We prefer to repeat the same behavior until we pay the ultimate price — death, divorce, termination, etc. It’s my contention that Haley and Pioli made a fatal mistake in their initial handling of Waters, Kansas City’s Pro Bowl left guard. In their zeal to establish law and order inside the Arrowhead Stadium practice facility, Haley and Pioli alienated the player who should be their strongest locker-room leader. Now, a friend with deep knowledge of NFL culture argues that Pioli and Haley had to knock out the baddest player on the block in order to get the attention of Larry Johnson and everyone else on the roster. My friend argues the knockout punch unloaded on Waters was calculated and necessary. I respectfully disagree. I see the move as foolish and arrogant with short-term benefits. Haley wants to be a reincarnation of Bill Parcells, a noble and worthy aspiration. The risk Haley runs is being the second coming of Tom Coughlin, who nearly lost his job before the Giants rode a hot streak to the Super Bowl in Coughlin’s fourth season in New York. And by Coughlin’s fourth season, he’d already reinvented himself as a kinder, gentler coach. Coughlin privately and publicly acknowledged his errors. He did what most of us refuse to do. He examined himself and truly changed.
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