Youth Must Lead Chiefs

[Hammock Parties]

http://kan.scout.com/2/799989.html

There isn’t anything more soothing during a bye week to know that you can take some time off to catch up on some things and ponder the future of your favorite football team. This Sunday there is no game for the Kansas City Chiefs but that doesn’t mean Arrowhead will be silent.

As the season enters phase two, with quarterback Brodie Croyle back on the field, management and coaches must determine who will be part of the future. One player, tight end Tony Gonzalez, may not be, but he’s likely not the last player who will end up being shipped off. Ever since Gonzalez failed to break Shannon Sharpe’s record at Arrowhead Stadium two weeks ago against the Denver Broncos, you could see this coming. After some conversations between Gonzalez, his head coach and his general manager, the conclusion was that the tight end was headed out of Kansas City. He wants out and has asked for a trade from the only team he’s known in his professional NFL career. Gonzalez is arguably the greatest tight end in the history of the game, but all he has to show for it is records, with zero playoff wins. Is that what Gonzalez really wants? Some will argue he’s only about the records, and that way of thinking was framed into his mind during the Dick Vermeil era. At that point, the Chiefs had the greatest show on grass and records were important to Vermeil and offensive coordinator Al Saunders. If that regime was still in tact, Gonzalez would have likely set the record in front of the home crowd. The problem is that regime is no longer anywhere to be found in Kansas City, and this new era of Chiefs football isn’t about personal accomplishments or records. That’s why it’s probable that either before Tuesday, or in the offseason, that the Chiefs will trade their All-Pro tight end. If not to the New York Giants, then another team. That’s because it’s time for the next generation of Chiefs to take root. This team is young, but has not yet learned how to win. Gonzalez is a hard worker, who never takes time off and is always in shape, but he’s not what’s best for this football team right now. If you look at all of the ascending young teams in the NFL - the Tennessee Titans, Jacksonville Jaguars and the New York Giants - they all have a lot in common. All of those teams made the tough personnel decisions. They were not reluctant to let go of high-priced veterans. That’s what is at hand for the Chiefs today. They may not publicly admit it, but players such as Gonzalez, Larry Johnson, Patrick Surtain, Damon Huard, Ron Edwards, Napoleon Harris, Damion McIntosh and Donnie Edwards are likely playing their final 11 games as members of the Chiefs. Most of those names are either great players or good guys, but collectively they’re not helping their team win football games. And that’s the ultimate measuring stick. This is part of the evolution of a franchise in transition, and as fans we must accept the fact some of our longtime heroes are not a part of the future. Head Coach Herm Edwards has said all along that this football team had a lot of bad habits to break. One of them is losing, which becomes a habit. Players like Gonzalez should stop those bad habits from forming. Other than veteran guard Brian Waters, the veterans on this team are not leading the youth. Thus, we may have reached the proverbial fork in the road for this entire franchise. There are changes coming now and in the offseason those changes will impact the way this franchise does business in the coming years. Many fans believe this team is far away from contending. I dare say they’re not, but in order to take the next step some difficult and unpopular decisions will have to be made -not in the offseason, but now, perhaps this very week. From this point on it won’t be the veterans who lead this team out of the doldrums, it’ll be the youth. The entire organization from top to bottom needs to embrace that inevitable fact and nurture it. If not, we could see more of the same in the last 11 games as we saw in the first five.

[el borracho]

Team success is dependent on individual achievement and Tony's success as an individual has contributed greatly to the team success and to the success of the franchise. Who has contributed more to the success of the Chiefs in recent memory than Tony Gonzalez?

[cdcox]

Originally Posted by el borracho

Team success is dependent on individual achievement and Tony's success as an individual has contributed greatly to the team success and to the success of the franchise. Who has contributed more to the success of the Chiefs in recent memory than Tony Gonzalez?

Herm Edwards.
Carl Peterson.

These are the individuals who have had the most to do with the Chiefs recent success.

[ChiefsCountry]

So I see WPI ripped their headline off the Chiefs marketing staff's preseason video.

[Big Chief Homer]

Un****ingbelievable


Thats all i can say, Im at a loss


People really pay for this garbage?!?!?!?!? REALLY?!?!?

[Hammock Parties]

Originally Posted by Big Chief Homer

Un****ingbelievable


Thats all i can say, Im at a loss


People really pay for this garbage?!?!?!?!? REALLY?!?!?

No, of course not. No one paid for that.

[Hammock Parties]

Originally Posted by ChiefsCountry

So I see WPI ripped their headline off the Chiefs marketing staff's preseason video.

Yep, that's it. Sue us.

[Boris The Great]

Originally Posted by Buehler445

Rediculous. Can you imagine the profound impact that Arrowhead exploding when TG breaks the donko bitchs record against the Donks in a big win? That place would have shattered windows, but no. That would have lit a fire under those young guys more than anything I can think of.

How about the profound impact if Huard had dropped back to pass, a 125 pound water boy with down syndrome pancaked McIntosh, and Huard fumbled before he could fall to the turf in the fetal position?

Did you see the Colts and Texans game last week? And the Texans were farther ahead late in that game than the Chiefs were against Denver. When you have not won a game in nearly an entire year, you win the game. PERIOD.

And hey, you know what else could have lit a fire under the young guys? A future HOF player like Tony Gonzalez joining them and maybe even saying a few words as they whooped it up and celebrated in the locker room. But I guess he had better things to do, like taking his ball and going home.

[Reerun_KC]

How about the gutless wonder Herm lead this team....

eh, nevermind.. He is to busy looking for someone to blame for this years failure...

[milkman]

Guys like Harris, McGinaTosh, Donnie and Ron Edwards are doing nothing to help this team at this point, but the premise of this article is really ****ing stupid.

Tony could still be a big part of this team's development over the next couple of years.

The fact that he's asked to be traded reflects on the bullshit coaching staff and management of this team.

[PhillyChiefFan]

I am sad and pissed that he is leaving, not at him, but at Carl and Herm who let it get to this point.

Though its been coming for a long time I'm sure, the final nail in the coffin was probably not getting the record at Arrowhead, which I believe he fully deserved. Instead, he got it on the road all the while getting dismantled at Carolina.

He deserves better than this team. And that's hard for me to say.

[PhillyChiefFan]

Originally Posted by milkman

The fact that he's asked to be traded reflects on the bullshit coaching staff and management of this team.

So true.

I hope whatever team he goes to, he gets his ring. God knows he deserves it.

[TEX]

If you look at all of the ascending young teams in the NFL - the Tennessee Titans, Jacksonville Jaguars and the New York Giants - they all have a lot in common.

Yeah - they ALL have good coaching...

[TEX]

Originally Posted by Boris The Great

How about the profound impact if Huard had dropped back to pass, a 125 pound water boy with down syndrome pancaked McIntosh, and Huard fumbled before he could fall to the turf in the fetal position?

Did you see the Colts and Texans game last week? And the Texans were farther ahead late in that game than the Chiefs were against Denver. When you have not won a game in nearly an entire year, you win the game. PERIOD.

And hey, you know what else could have lit a fire under the young guys? A future HOF player like Tony Gonzalez joining them and maybe even saying a few words as they whooped it up and celebrated in the locker room. But I guess he had better things to do, like taking his ball and going home.

Dumb. Some things are WORTH trying. Getting Tony the record at HOME against the Cheating Donx was one of them. BFD - so we lose trying. Chances are we still would have won.