Ten Things About Today's Game
 

Ten Things About Today's Game

10.If you ever needed a textbook definition of the term "Trap Game," today would be it. The whole rhythm of the day seemed off. Maybe it was the hangover from Monday Night Football. Maybe it was the time change. Maybe it was knowing the team coming in to Arrowhead was a big donut hole for seven on the season. In any event, the Chiefs looked like the winless team today, and Miami looked like they had everything to play for. The Fish hustled, hit big plays, didn't make a lot of stupid mistakes, played well in all phases; in short, they deserved to win. Congrats to them on a game well played and for getting off the donut.

9. If you look at the game stats without seeing the score, you'd think it was a closer contest. KC won several key stats: Chiefs had more first downs; Chiefs were better on third down conversions; Chiefs ran more plays (78 to 47); Chiefs had more yards rushing and passing, and won time of possession 35 minutes to 25 minutes. Stats that tell the true story: KC's average pass play: 5.2 yards (the Duke of Dink strikes again). Miami's average pass play: 10.6 yards. Forced turnovers: zero for both teams. The biggest stats, Sacks: Miami had five, Chiefs zero. Penalties: Chiefs 8 for 70, Fish 7 for 49. TDs: Chiefs zip, Fish four. KC actually had the lead in this game 3-0 early. Whoda thunk that would be all the points Cassel could generate against a winless team? I know, 90% of you....

8. I was debating in my mind tonight who played worse, offense or defense? That's a hard call, because I can make a case both ways.
Let's start with offense. Three points at home against a winless team? The offense looked every bit as bad today as they did against Detroit in week two. I'd have to go back and look at the tape, but how many times were the Chiefs in 2nd and 10 (or longer) today? Seems like Cassel could never get any kind of positive yards on first down, save for the first drive of the game. Which also begs a question, what happened to the game plan? The first drive was a good drive. It ate lots of clock, had good balance between run and pass, ball was spread around to several guys. It seemed like once the Fish got up 14-3,the offense lost all its composure and went into panic mode. I'd like to say this team isn't a come from behind bunch, but as the Fish stretched their lead I kept thinking about the Colts game. I was hoping they'd come out on fire in the second half. Instead, we got the version of Chiefs from the Bills and Lions games. Nada. Nothing. Goose Egg. Disaster. At least they should have gone into hurry up mode around the time it was 21-3. No dice.

7. Thomas Jones is cooked. He's done. They should release him and pick up the best back off somebody's practice squad. Today's line? Three carries for five yards. And he gained those five yards on one of the three carries. He's gassed, and he's not helping this team win. You would think if he had anything at all left in the tank, he would have gotten ten or more carries today. Instead Battle got fourteen touches for 40 yards, and the second leading rusher was Cassel running for his life, nine carries for 38 yards. You know it's a bad day for your O-line when a QB like Cassel has nine carries.

6. Was the defense the worst of the two? I can make a case for that too. What happened to Tamba Hali? I'll tell you what happened, Jake Long happened. Dude showed why he was the very first pick in the 2008 NFL draft. He stoned Hali. Just stoned him. The times Hali did manage to clear Long's block, the Fish had a back in protection to double team him. So, I'm thinking to myself around the middle of the third quarter, why doesn't Romeo start to bring Houston, or a corner on a blitz? Why Not is because our safety and nickel situation sucks. We're already weak with Berry out. Arenas and McGraw were both out from injuries suffered in the Monday night game. Lewis was dinged up and ended up coming out of the game for good in fourth quarter. What's left? The unholy foursome of Brown (a clueless rookie), Washington (a poor cover guy), Daniels (another poor cover guy) and Slappy Pisctachio, who is perhaps the worst player on any 53 man NFL roster. How can you blitz either Flowers or Carr with these boneheads in the secondary? On the flip side, Miami blitzed all day long. Cassel was confused and threw short of the sticks on third and long time and time again.

5. The Fish were bombs away right from the get-go. You had to admire their approach to the game. They came out saying "Screw you, we're going to throw the ball until you stop us." We stopped them a few times, but not often enough. Once the defense started to wear down in the second half, Miami started running the ball, and Reggie Bush ended up just shy of 100 yards. He averaged over seven yards per carry. Their special teams did a good job as well. Dexter "McNuthin" hasn't broke a single kick this year. I thought the punt that pinned the Chiefs inside the five was a big turning point. Miami flipped the field quickly, and the great field position helped set them up for the go-ahead TD. Chiefs seemed to be playing catch up ball all day after that point. The actual punting battle was fairly even, both teams punted five times for around a 45 yard average.

4, In the third quarter, another big turning point when Gafford one-hopped the snap on a 52-yard field goal attempt. 52 yards is on the outside limits of Succop's range, but certainly do-able. Instead, the Chiefs muff the spot (I admit, I like saying "muff the spot") and the Fish drove for their third TD, with Marshall beating Carr and Lewis to the corner. I also think Cassel missing Bowe on the 4th and one play to start the fourth quarter pretty much put the nail in the coffin for the day. All the offensive stats after that were nothing but garbage time, and made Cassel's daily stats look better than how he actually played. When it counted today, he was woeful.

3. In honor of Andy Rooney (doing my best Andy Rooney impression): "You know what really bothers me? I'll tell you what bothers me. The Chiefs have two first round draft choices on the defensive line: Glenn Dorsey, who was the fifth overall pick in the 2008 NFL draft; and Tyson Jackson, who was the third overall pick in the 2009 NFL draft. Those are high picks. The kind of picks most teams use on running backs, or quarterbacks; guys that are called "franchise players." You would think two defensive line picks, selected that high in each round, would be stalwarts on the defense. You would think they would never come off the field unless injured. Wouldn't you think that? I would think that. But truth is, on third down passing situations, not just one, but both of these expensive, high draft picks are pulled off the field by Chiefs Defensive Coordinator Romeo Crennel and replaced with guys like Wallace Gilberry and Amon Gordon. Who? And more importantly, why? Here's why. Because neither Dorsey or Jackson is any good at rushing a quarterback. That seems like a pretty important quality to have for a first round defensive pick. And the Chiefs made that kind of pick not just once, but twice in a row. You would think they'd have buyer's remorse. Or at least, never draft another defensive lineman from LSU ever again."

2. After the game, in the Haley presser, the soon to be clean-shaven Toddster kept delivering the same old same old coach-speak that he usually serves up. The infamous "we're a work in progress" and " we're getting ready to start a new quarter," etc. His team sucked in all aspects today. They were out played, out hustled, out coached in their home stadium, with the AFC West lead on the table. He didn't criticize his team at all. He basically said "Oh well, it was a short week, we'll play better, time to get ready for Denver." Look, realistically, this team should be 3-5 instead of 4-4. It's pretty obvious this is a very flawed team in a very weak division. Whoever wins the AFC West will get their clock cleaned in the first round of the playoffs. Today's effort was a mail in, just a paycheck, and that's a shame. I had hoped these guys were beyond that now, but apparently not.

1. Despite how maddening and frustrating this day was, all is not lost. The Faiders and Bolts both lost, and since Denver won today, maybe they'll not be as focused for KC next week. Hopefully the team will get it's collective act together and have a little "Come to Jesus" meeting in store for Tim Tebow. Things will not get easier with the Pack, Bears, Jets and Steelers looming on the horizon, so we have to make hay while we can. One last thing. It was Veterans Appreciation Day at Arrowhead. At halftime they had a beautiful surprise family reunion for an Iraq vet. It was very touching. They also showed a tribute in pictures to many of the men and women from Missouri and Kansas that have died in Iraq and Afghanistan. The dead came from everywhere we come from: KC, Columbia, St. Joe, Topeka, Manhattan, Wichita, on and on and on. There were dozens of them. After watching that, it made the second half of the game seem pretty meaningless, or at least it put into perspective what truly is a life and death matter. War is a life and death matter, football is not.

Thank you to all the veterans, past and current, for having our backs.

Speaking of hangovers...

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net...79257214_n.jpg

No idea of the validity of this, but sure is interesting. Looks like it was tweeted around 10:30 this morning.

well done

Wow. If that's real, Haley should kick some ass and hard.

I hope that's not true.

FAX

Very well said. You always manage to put things into perspective.

I don't know which thread this is, but the Ravens' o-line makes actual block things. It's wild.

FAX

BRAVO

I don't think Mac is one to lie about that kinda' thing. He's a straightforward, down-to-earth guy.

Then Beardmaster, we have a problem.

Colquitt said in post game interview that the intended play was a Succop pooch punt that only he knew about due to miscommunication.

Big time.

I would like to know which players committed this unpardonable sin.

FAX

This game sure did have the same vibe as the Pittsburgh Sex Toy Convention Game.

Would explain why he was waving his arms around pissed off.

I was thinking he thought a fake was on and someone missed the call.

In that case they "screwed the pooch."

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Same here. There's only 16 gamedays a year and they go out and party it up before one of them?

very very good rooney rant

Sounds like Todd really changed the culture here.

Don't worry, last night was the time change. They had an extra hour to sleep it off.

Hopefully it was some practice squad player or something touting how he was a Chiefs player. I'm pretty sure the players have a curfew the night before and actually stay in a hotel the night before, even at home games.

[Gruden] You know what I love about this team? They know how to party. They aren't going to let the hype affect their game preparation.

No ****ing shit.

We've had our asses completely handed to us three times this year.

That's Herm 2008 garbage.

But even Herm didn't get sandblasted as much as Haley has been in 2.5 years as Chiefs HC.

/removesunglasses
YYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAHHH

According to the guy who sits behind us now that we've moved our seats, non of the refs in the league like us, they're out to get us, and the game was decided on some call during our first drive.

The guy who sits next to him is the "coach". "What the hell was that?" "I can see that from the stands, and I'm not even a coach." "Who the hell is calling the plays?" I so badly wanted to turn around and say, "I don't know, but why don't you go ahead and go over there and apply for the HC position?" If I'd been drinking, I might have.

These two are also the type who yell at people and tell them they must not care and asking what kind of fans we are whenever the people around them aren't yelling at every possible moment.

I asked dad if he'd ever consider another relocation.

Uh, beards. Cornhole. Jizz stained hats.

It's a process.

Sounds like a typical Sunday on ChiefsPlanet to me.

LMAO

I actually said that to dad. "Listening to these guys is like watching the game while posting on the Planet." He laughed.

I hope... For the sake of all of us that Matt Cassel has been getting shitfaced for the past 3 years and now for the first time ever will play his first sober game this Sunday.

ROFL

Drama Queen

He's absolutely right.

Shit like this doesn't happened to well-coached, prepared teams.

It keeps happening to this team under Haley.

It does make you start to think about that. I understand today more than the others after the MNF game. The home opener still beffuddles me.

People are so impatient. Jesus it is only year 3 and we are still a work in process what do you expect?

Well, if the partying thing is true, that doesn't and shouldn't happen. The last couple years in the crapfest that is the NFL, days like today do happen though. The Saints went out and laid an egg against the Rams last week. The Ravens have gone out and laid horrible eggs twice, and really laid one against the Cardinals last week too. The Packers laid a 7-3 egg to the 2-10 Lions last year then won the Super Bowl. The Patriots got destroyed by the Browns last year. These are all very well coached teams. Sometimes people get in way too much of a vacuum where the Chiefs do everything wrong and the rest of the league is awesome.

This.

7-3 is not remotely comparable to:

31-3
48-3
41-7

That's THREE games out of eight.

That's a problem for Haley this year, and every year he's been here. He has a penchant for getting his ass handed to him.

Wonderful
A retread POS HC who will jetison players good & bad that don't fit his scheme

I agree with you on this one. I think its a product of a young team and a young inexperienced hc.

IMHO losing 31-3 at home to a 0-7 team...well let's just say if I was the owner I would be posting some Now Hiring signs around the locker room.

Chiefs Vs. Bills
LOSS: 41 - 7

Chiefs Vs. Lions
LOSS: 48 - 3

Chiefs Vs. Dolphins
LOSS: 31 - 3

That isn't normal...

To have the team show up ready to do their ****ing job 16 goddamn days a year?

I haven't seen anything to comment on specifically, but I do want to pop in and say that this "Ten Things" is well done, as always.

I'm not really in the mood to defend the guy, but he made a decision about the preseason that turned out to be wrong which cost him in the first two and losing the three players we lost.

Today I am hoping was just a young team coming off a big win on the national stage against a division opponent and just cming out flat. I hope.

But in the end, Haley is accountable for al of this. Like it or not, he's the head coach. Just like Cassel is the qb and gets blame for alot of stuff as he should.

You will find any angle to bitch about, in order, to bring attention to yourself.

Coach Haley's record as head coach is 18-22.
Not counting zero for one in playoff games.

Yeah, I shouldn't bitch about the team embarrassing the entire fanbase time and time again.

So, he's only three wins behind Marty.

your sarcasm meter is malfunctioning

For sake of comparison, Coach Vermeil was 27-21 in at the end of his first three years, with a zero for one record in playoff games.

we are a work in progress

Hasnt helped before. Maybe cry a little louder? lol.. be the voice of reason. you will make a difference. Nobody needs you to point a damn thing out about this team. We all know about it.

It's hard to tell, there's a lot of people around here defending Haley tooth and nail.

Different era.
Different game.

Indeed. FFS, where was Stram at this point?

I kind of like Haley but I think it is insulting to fans in year 3 of you being the head coach to continue to say you are a work in progress.

Pinning for the DV _efense is making me projectile vomit all over those 10 things

Until we get a different qb were will be a work in progress.

Winning a title.


If that's a rhetorical question though, never mind and carry on.

the previous 40 games in KC were 10-30

Thats not terribly against Haley. Almost twice the wins.

If you take out 2009 (just for the sake of conversation) Haley is 14-10 so that 18-22 is a bit of "just a number"

Truth is, this is a very young team coming off an emotional rollercoaster of a year and more importantly previous MNF rivalry game.

Agree 100% about Dorsey and Jackson. They are basically both "just another guy". We could get the same production from a couple of sixth rounders. Sad.

How many blowout losses AT HOME does it take to convince you that this guy is not all that?

He's not a bad coach, he just doesn't bring much to the table.

His shit is getting tired. If Herm was getting his ass waxed like this you and everyone else would be all over him.

Here's three reasons why I think Haley will still be employed by the Chiefs for awhile: Marvin Lewis, Jack Del Rio and, Gary Kubiak.

Not on his timeline no more sooooooooooooooooooo

Someone on the radio today brought up a good point; the Chiefs played the Bills in 91 in that huge Monday night game and won by 20 and then turned around that Sunday and demolished the Dolphins by 35 pts. That was a young team too.

No excuses for losing by 30 freaking points to an 0-7 team especially at home

It's still there.

http://twitter.com/#!/maclethal666

Debates over Cowher vs Gruden is enough to make a person eat a bullet

There's no excuses, period, yet people keep making them. After the fact, of course.

Before the game, people were thinking we'd curbstomp them.

Now, people are breaking out every excuse they can think of, from "young team" to "short week" to "emotional letdown" to "trap game".

Did I miss any?

I'm not gonna defend the game TODAY.

We got beat decisively by an inferior team in our house.

Im gonna defend Haleys body of work.

He was given a soft, young, undisciplined and talentless team and has them in the division lead at the halfway point of the year...while being handcuffed to a crappy and very limited quarterback and missing 4 of its best players for half the year...and three of them for the remainder.

Im not gonna overreact over this loss, no matter how much it hurts.

well duh...we are a work in progress :p

Oh I forgot one more, apparently Jon McGraw is the smart one in the secondary so since he was out it all went to hell

No way shape or form am I going to defend today's performance. No doubt about that.

But I don't have a problem waiting to see how the season plays out before delivering a verdict on Haley. The possibility still exists that this team could win the division two of his first three years.

Of course, there's the possibility this team could go down the tube like we did the year under Herm where we came off the playoff berth, started 4-3, got beat down two weeks in a row at home and lost out.

You cannot honestly claim that this team was completely untalented when the majority of the impact players on this team were here before the current regime got here.

If you can't see the shit storm on the horizon, I feel sorry for you.

I have a bad feeling the next month is gonna be the worst part of Haley's tenure.

I also heard on the radio coming back from the game that they benched Piscitelli because he sucks.

Which makes me wonder if he sucks so bad why the **** is he still on this team? Can you answer that Scotty Potty?

So the talent has been coached up? They are better than they were before?

Is who makes them better more important than if they get better?

Sounds like they thought Miami was going to be a gimme.

Going out and getting plastered the night before a game is pretty stupid. After a night of getting hammered, I need at least 24-48 hours to recoup before Im good to go.


Sounds like Todd needs to get a grip on his team if thats the case.