DeezNutz
01-06-2007, 09:23 AM
King Carl needs win to return to throne
By JASON WHITLOCK
The Kansas City Star
Previous columns
INDIANAPOLIS | Qualifying for the playoffs was good for first-year Chiefs coach Herman Edwards.
Winning today would be good for 18-year Chiefs general manager Carl Peterson.
An upset of the Indianapolis Colts in this afternoon’s AFC first-round playoff game would relieve a teeny bit of the pressure on KC’s welcome-worn general manager. A playoff triumph for the first time since 1993 would allow Peterson to hold his head high on The Plaza and sell the notion that the Chiefs are making progress under his direction.
Bottom line: A victory over the Colts would shut up Jack Harry and open the door for Peterson to raise ticket prices for the first time in a decade without Harry melting down on air.
Making the playoffs doesn’t do that. Peterson’s critics will claim the Chiefs were lucky and didn’t earn their way in.
Nope. Getting into the tournament doesn’t cut it for Carl, and it shouldn’t. We’ve seen the Chiefs advance to the playoffs and quickly bow out once the competition elevated.
So far, only Edwards’ resume has benefited from the Broncos’ collapse, the Bengals’ fade and Tennessee’s return to reality.
Peterson has more work to do. If the Chiefs lose today — especially if quarterback Trent Green plays poorly — Peterson will suffer the wrath of Chiefs fans. He’ll be blamed for Green playing ahead of popular backup Damon Huard and whatever else may go wrong.
A playoff victory would reinvigorate Peterson’s franchise and give him back a piece of the credibility he’s watched evaporate since Marty Schottenheimer bolted town after the ’98 season.
Peterson’s Kansas City credibility hit rock bottom this season. His prized tight end, Tony Gonzalez, acknowledged that he wouldn’t mind chasing a Super Bowl in another city. Chiefs fans are so frustrated with Peterson’s leadership that they’ve turned on Green, a symbol of Peterson’s inability to draft and develop a quarterback.
On the day that Lamar Hunt died, I wrote a sarcastic column mocking Peterson and myself for our inability to lead this franchise to the Super Bowl. I announced I was stepping down as assistant general manager and basically called for Peterson to follow my lead. When Hunt passed during the evening, my editors (thankfully) pulled the column because it would have been in poor taste on such a sad day in our sports world.
After the Cleveland and Baltimore losses, Peterson’s KC rulership was like Tony Soprano at the beginning of season six of “The Sopranos.” His career was in a coma, occasionally floating in and out of consciousness.
If Larry Johnson rips through Indy’s soft run defense and the Chiefs pull off the upset that everyone is predicting, Peterson will be the biggest winner. His Chiefs will be exciting again. Arrowhead Stadium is going to undergo a major renovation.
And, next week, Peterson’s Chiefs will get to take on the hardest-luck-playoff coach in the history of the league.
Think about it. A victory today means Peterson is a Marty Schottenheimer choke job away from the AFC championship.
Oh. My. God. Do you remember the Carl Peterson of the mid-1990s? If the Chiefs win two playoff games, King Carl will be back wearing kilts, parking in handicap parking spots and wearing black leather in July. It would be like the remake of “Shaft.”
It’s almost enough to make you root for the Colts today.
But no way. I want the King back. I liked Carl when he had a swagger and thought he was doing everyone in Kansas City a favor by sharing his airspace. It’s no fun making fun of Peterson when he’s crying on the inside.
It’s not as if Clark Hunt is going to fire Peterson, so we might as well all hail the King.
By JASON WHITLOCK
The Kansas City Star
Previous columns
INDIANAPOLIS | Qualifying for the playoffs was good for first-year Chiefs coach Herman Edwards.
Winning today would be good for 18-year Chiefs general manager Carl Peterson.
An upset of the Indianapolis Colts in this afternoon’s AFC first-round playoff game would relieve a teeny bit of the pressure on KC’s welcome-worn general manager. A playoff triumph for the first time since 1993 would allow Peterson to hold his head high on The Plaza and sell the notion that the Chiefs are making progress under his direction.
Bottom line: A victory over the Colts would shut up Jack Harry and open the door for Peterson to raise ticket prices for the first time in a decade without Harry melting down on air.
Making the playoffs doesn’t do that. Peterson’s critics will claim the Chiefs were lucky and didn’t earn their way in.
Nope. Getting into the tournament doesn’t cut it for Carl, and it shouldn’t. We’ve seen the Chiefs advance to the playoffs and quickly bow out once the competition elevated.
So far, only Edwards’ resume has benefited from the Broncos’ collapse, the Bengals’ fade and Tennessee’s return to reality.
Peterson has more work to do. If the Chiefs lose today — especially if quarterback Trent Green plays poorly — Peterson will suffer the wrath of Chiefs fans. He’ll be blamed for Green playing ahead of popular backup Damon Huard and whatever else may go wrong.
A playoff victory would reinvigorate Peterson’s franchise and give him back a piece of the credibility he’s watched evaporate since Marty Schottenheimer bolted town after the ’98 season.
Peterson’s Kansas City credibility hit rock bottom this season. His prized tight end, Tony Gonzalez, acknowledged that he wouldn’t mind chasing a Super Bowl in another city. Chiefs fans are so frustrated with Peterson’s leadership that they’ve turned on Green, a symbol of Peterson’s inability to draft and develop a quarterback.
On the day that Lamar Hunt died, I wrote a sarcastic column mocking Peterson and myself for our inability to lead this franchise to the Super Bowl. I announced I was stepping down as assistant general manager and basically called for Peterson to follow my lead. When Hunt passed during the evening, my editors (thankfully) pulled the column because it would have been in poor taste on such a sad day in our sports world.
After the Cleveland and Baltimore losses, Peterson’s KC rulership was like Tony Soprano at the beginning of season six of “The Sopranos.” His career was in a coma, occasionally floating in and out of consciousness.
If Larry Johnson rips through Indy’s soft run defense and the Chiefs pull off the upset that everyone is predicting, Peterson will be the biggest winner. His Chiefs will be exciting again. Arrowhead Stadium is going to undergo a major renovation.
And, next week, Peterson’s Chiefs will get to take on the hardest-luck-playoff coach in the history of the league.
Think about it. A victory today means Peterson is a Marty Schottenheimer choke job away from the AFC championship.
Oh. My. God. Do you remember the Carl Peterson of the mid-1990s? If the Chiefs win two playoff games, King Carl will be back wearing kilts, parking in handicap parking spots and wearing black leather in July. It would be like the remake of “Shaft.”
It’s almost enough to make you root for the Colts today.
But no way. I want the King back. I liked Carl when he had a swagger and thought he was doing everyone in Kansas City a favor by sharing his airspace. It’s no fun making fun of Peterson when he’s crying on the inside.
It’s not as if Clark Hunt is going to fire Peterson, so we might as well all hail the King.