This is the Game
 

If you look at the Chiefs disappointing seasons over the last few years, the common thread seems to be a stupid loss on the road versus an inferior (at least in the minds of Chiefs fans) team in the second half of the season. Buffalo, New Orleans, Minnesota, San Francisco... etc.

In my mind, this game is a benchmark test for the Herm era Chiefs. Can we go on the road and take care of business against a team that I believe we are considerably better than? While I'll concede that one game does not equal the season, I do feel that this is the time when good teams are at their best. We need to go down there and take care of business, and we should do it in convincing fashion.

We're under .500 on the road...time to start learning to win on the road consistently if we have any hopes for play-offs and play-off wins.

No doubt, I had this earmarked as a pivotal matchup as well. I am not worried about the offense, it's there D that bothers me.

I thought they were pretty weak against the run.

Time to board the L Train baby......

AND we need to be able to make San Diego sweat, at least, when we visit them in a couple of weeks. Otherwise, regardless of whatever else happens....we are pretenders, not real contenders.

11-5 and a first round playoff loss at NE is, in my mind, nearly the same as a 10-6 record a missing the playoffs. Same result really.

History is not on our side, however...
 

I agree to a point....but even if we win this game, but then we lose at home in December, or stumble at Oakland (God forbid)....the result will be the same.

I'm with Gaz...the Miami game was the road game we should have won and didn't. I don't see us making that mistake again this year.

Yes, We need every AFC win we can get, but I don't see us losing to Oakland, they may be "trying" now but we will not lose there, and we will sweep home field in December - we're there dude!!

If we lose Sunday, we're not out, but we're clearly exposed as pretenders.

I'm not that interested in winning convincingly (although it sure would be nice), because I think Herm plays it too close to the vest for that to happen, unless an opponent just self-destructs. His philosophy cuts down on the number of possessions, so I think every game for us is going to be a 20-13/24-17/17-13 kind of game. So, I'll just take an ugly win and be happy.

I worry about us losing our edge after 10 days off. I worry about Cleveland using last week's meltdown as a rallying point and pulling it together this week. I'll be disappointed if we play fairly well and Cleveland just outplays us.

I will be very, very, very, very unhappy if we show up flat and uninterested, turn the ball over a couple of times, let Frye convert every 3rd-and-8. That will spark all kinds of doubts about what the hell's going on, why we have so much trouble translating even a fraction of our home success on the road.

But, we'll see Sunday which team shows up.

A road win at this point is huge.

But, as we all know, it will be downplayed because it's "only" Cleveland.

Good Thread JSP, it is all true. I have learned not to get overly excited this time of year, the fall is hard.

Downplayed by the media? Surely.

But not by me. We win by 1, we win by 17, I'll be tickled. We've lost too many "winnable" games over the years, I take nothing for granted. Every W is precious to me, regardless of opponent or score.

I agree, but I was talking about the board..if a loss to an "inferior" team carries so much weight, then the win does too, IMO.

If I understand you correctly, then I agree: I will be just as happy winning this game as I would be despondent if we lose it.

me too...this game should show where the team's mindset is.

We'll probably lose to San Diego, and basically can't afford to lose anything other than that. 10-6, in all likelihood = last season, no playoffs but a crappy draft position.

We cannot afford to take Cleveland or Oakland lightly. Especially Oakland, who honestly should have beaten us a couple of weeks ago.

Obviously if the Cheifs lose they have no right and no chance playing a playoff team on the road. On the other hand if they win, IMO, it's no big deal since beating up on Cleveland doesn't mean much. Win in SD and take care of Baltimore at home and then they've proven something. I actually see the road trip to Oakland being a bigger danger and measure of the teams mindset.

I would have thought it would be their D that bothered you. :D

Exactly!

We'll be OK. I heard they outlawed dildo parties in Clevleand.

I don't think we have to beat SD to prove anything. I think winning on the road anywhere in the NFL, unless maybe you're a powerhouse (which we're not), is a big deal. Beating Cleveland is big to me. I think it means a lot given this franchise's history. I want evidence that Herm is different (in a good way).

Oakland does indeed scare me, too. And after watching Baltimore last night, no way do I want to lose at home to those guys. That has to be a W, too.

We go 4-1, I'm ecstatic.

We go 3-2, we're out.

Thanks, dickhead






:p

LMAO

You're welcome.

This weekend scares me a little - just based on some past performances at this time of the year.

And beating Oakland in Oakland may be tougher than we expect.

It is not only a scary time of the year, it is also a very exciting time for Chiefs fans. December and road games have not been our recent strength. Maybe Herm will alter that legacy.

Winning out would be incredible. I might get back to that sky high level of excitement that I haven't really had since right before the Colts playoff game where we couldn't even make them punt.

...May be???

They should have beat Denver as well, they are running out of ways to lose. I hope Randy Moss keeps his shitty attitude a while longer, I am very concerned about the game in Oakland.

Not necessarily. It's rare for 10-6 teams to miss the playoffs.

But why take the chance?

It happens about once every 4 years, so it's not that terribly rare.

I would suspect that any team with a 10-6 record to make the playoffs...except us.

The Chiefs MAKING the Playoffs is what's rare.

And since it happened last year, it's less likely to happen two years in a row. :p

Like I said, why take the chance?

I heard that ......... :doh!:

Yep. This is the kind of game that we lose every year that we miss the playoffs that we end up pointing to all off season. Miami was the first of those. I hurt but was not fatal. This is a game we really need to win, both to keep our grip on the WC race and to make the next step toward continuous improvement.

Yep!




Exactly!

Miami with Huard at QB. Their D is much better than Brownies D....

IF we don't win in Cleveland we are pretenders.

The Oakland game worries me, they likely get W this week at home, at start to get confidence.
If playing SD away Tough last week wasn't enough.

I'm with StcChief too, the Miami D is a much better D than the Browns. If we can sucessfully run the ball, which they should, Chiefs will win. I too have more concerns about the Oakland game than any other.

Frye has been terrible-and their running game sucks ass. We should be able to pound them all day long on both sides of the ball.

KC 45 Brownies 0

IMO, our losses to Denver and Miami were directly attributable to injuries. If Huard had had one more week to get comfortable with the offense, no way would we have lost to the Mules. And the Miami debacle came after the bloodletting in St. Louis when we lost Hali, DJ, Wesley and, most importantly, Waters. In both instances, we lost by a field goal.

We're healthy, so this should this game shouldn't even be close. I just hope they come in with the right attitude.

the philly one was a real back breaker

Good points all.

The only thing I'd caution is expecting it not to be close. We don't seem set up to blow teams out, especially on the road, so don't freak if we win by less than 10 points.

Herm plays ball control. Walk the ball down there, eat up the clock, maintain the lead.

I love pound the rock I formation hat on a hat type of offense, but I would love to see us come out and throw the ball around then go to the run to chew up the clock. We know green can air it out. Lets just jump all over them early so we don't have to worry about the browns hanging around and getting a fluke play and winning

That's the weakness in that strategy -- you're nursing a 4-point lead with a 1:30 left when Ty Law slips and Braylon Edwards hauls in a 64-yard TD pass to beat you.

I woudn't expect Herm to throw the ball around on the road, in iffy weather. We're gonna run, run, run Sunday. I'd like to see 2-3 screen passes and mix in some play-action at opportune times, but it won't be pass first at all, IMO.

Now, next week at home vs. the Ravens, I think we should open it up more, just as Cincy did last night.

we've been waiting years for this happen.

we lose this game, we are stuck in mediocrity till this time next year.

You know something FDE, I really think Herm is different. (banging on wood )

The guy is starting to convince me, it just might be the right time. Why not us?

The other thing I've noticed....

The media is starting to give us some credit. Just today ESPN referenced us as "the surging Chiefs" and one hack said we'd likely be the 5 seed.

Everytime this happens, the Chiefs fall on their faces and make these guys look stupid (more than normal). It's no wonder the media hates us because everytime they start to buy into it they get egg on their face.

For once I'd like to see the team live up to, or even exceed, media hype.

I'm with you its time to win the easy ones and make any other losses close. If not we aren't playing in late Jan anyway who cares...

Dave

I'm not worried about this game too much. Miami was the 2nd half loss to an inferior team, and I don't see it happening again against a terrible Browns team. If we lose to an inferior team on the road, it will be Oakland.

Oh, I'm totally with you...I'm aching for a playoff game and victory...I SO want that monkey off "our" back.

that is so true...

Word.

What I am hoping happens, is what I believe I see happening.

A team in transition, beset by injuries, keeping it together, and then gelling down the stretch to play their best football ever. This week goes a long way toward answering lingering doubts that I have.

Despite the loss in Miami, we had a chance to win that game.

There has only been two eggs this year, Cinci, and Pittsburgh.

ditto.

I've let the same idea infect me.

I can see it happening. But I'm trying not to let it get ahead of itself. Let's just beat the Browns and then gear up for Baltimore.

I totally agree with jspchief.

This is a game we would normally lose, we need to win it.

I would like to see Trent have a big game so people will get off his azz.

I would also like to see Gun be agressive and go after Fry-this guy sucks.

For a 3rd wish, I would like to see Gonzo have a huge day while the Choosen One gets the shit knocked out of him all day.

Really, is that too much to ask?

I would like to see LJ get no more than 26 touches, and they all be quality.

I would like to see us play action pass on the first first down inside the red zone and take a strike at the end zone.

The Miami game was our stupid letup game. I compare this game to the Texans game last year.

This should be a easy win for us..cold weather=run the ball..we can run the ball..Brownies have trouble scoring=our D. should have a good game against them..that said, if we can't beat the Brownies, we don't have a chance in hell to win in the POs...

What would you classify the Steelers game?

That was our ass-whipping for the year.

We lost to the Texans 2 seasons ago at Arrowhead. Last season we beat the shit out of them at their place.

I honestly see a win here, with each passing week Herms style looks to be catching on with the guys.

He wont let another fins game happen, the browneyes are talent bare in all but a few spots and we have momentum & health on our side. The team knows that a L here and its pretty well shot.

Cris Collinsworth was on the Bengals radio pregame show the other night and actually mentioned the Chiefs as a team that's "playing really well right now." Something to that effect.

We win with ball control, TOP, LJ/Bennett eating clock,

Solid D/ ST.

Dante might even get a TD return.

How was the game the other night?

Wet.

To me, any road win in Dec is a sign that the mental makeup fo this team is changing.

The Chiefs, as a team, have been a reflection of the "Woe is me, the schedule is too hard" attitude that Dick brought with him.

lol, no poncho?

An avatar is worth a thousand words.

Don't remind me. I drove 500 miles to watch that piece of shit. :#

I just lost the game.

Your like a prophet my man......

You knew this was going to happen didnt you???

I just lost the game again.

You know, I thought this thread was about overtime.

Why is that when we lose the coin toss, the other team marches right down the field and wins the game?

We win the coin toss, and that doesn't apply to us....

Because the Chefs SUCK!

I had a feeling it would happen.

Same old Chiefs. Until they can actually prove they aren't the same old Chiefs, I'll always have that notion in the back of my head.

It's like fucking Groundhog Day.

my dad called can you believe they blew that game
and i said "yep"