Haley 12/30 presser

[Baby Lee]

TODD HALEY: “Started our preparations today for Denver, a division opponent that’s a very good team. Hasn’t been too long ago that they took it to us pretty good. So, it’s a chance to kind of correct some of the things that went on in that game. It’s a great opportunity on the road to take another step as a team.

“Offensively, they have two backs, one that’s close to a 1,000 (yards) and who is a rookie (Knowshon Moreno) and looks like he’s going to be real good back and (Correll) Buckhalter who has over 600 (yards), so two guys who can really run the football. They’ve got a bunch of talented receivers starting with (Brandon) Marshall and (Eddie) Royal, (Brandon) Stokely. They’ve got a tight end who hurt us in the last game. They’ve got a very good offensive line that the last time we played them clearly won the line of scrimmage.

“Defensively, they’re a well-coached group that creates a bunch of problems with multiple looks, multiple fronts and not strictly a three-four (alignment). They play some even fronts, over, under, bunch of different pressures from both sides, very good corners. It’s going to take our best to compete with these guys.

“Special teams: another opportunity for us to get clicking a game in all three phases and beat a division opponent on the road.”

Q: How important is this game for Matt Cassel and his development? The last time these two teams played it was one of his worst games.

HALEY: “I’ll reiterate again, that as far as quarterbacks go this is still a guy who is getting close to getting two years under his belt. Every game is an opportunity for him to grow and this just happens to be a very good defense and a very difficult atmosphere. It is an opportunity but each week Matt is excited and works hard. He’s into it and is super competitive. I feel like we’ve made some progress here of late and it’s another chance for us to take another step for us as an offense and for him to take a step as our quarterback.”

Q: What area or player this year has made the greatest progress?

HALEY: “I think one of them is pretty obvious: Jamaal [Charles] has really made big steps. When you talk about that since November only one guy has had more rushing yards than him and that’s Chris Johnson that’s pretty good. Now, we can’t put him in Canton yet. It’s only been a handful of games. Part of being a good player in this league is doing it consistently over a period of time. That’s just where Jamaal is at.

“That said, there are a bunch of guys without going into detail that I feel like have made big strides. But if you pin me down I’d say Jamaal is the more obvious.”

Q: What is the one phase that hasn’t progressed the way you had hoped it would?

HALEY: “I think there’s been progress in all areas. But the next step for us as a team – and a team never stays the same adding and subtracting players here before too long – is we’ve got to start playing complete games in all three phases before too long. When we do that we’ll be in more games and the more games we’re in the more we’ll win because we’re going to continue to work on being a smart team and one that makes good decisions. That would be my main point: getting all three phases working together.”

Q: Has there been one game this year that all three phases worked together?

HALEY: “I think the Steelers game. I think we played real well together as a team. It wasn’t perfect and there were things we could have done better or more efficiently. I would say that in that game we played at a pretty high level in all areas.”



Q: How has your defensive line progressed or has it not progressed as much as you would have liked?

HALEY: “It has been up and down and that’s what we have to eliminate. We need to get a group there that can hang in there week-in and week-out and when they’re a little off then have some guys that make up for them. We’ve had some games where they’ve really played solid, even last game [vs. Cincinnati] where the front seven did a really good job throughout the game. They had only two or three plays they’d like to have back. The smaller that number gets the better. That’s really where we’re at as a whole.”

Q: Should it be further along than it is?

HALEY: “There again we need to be further along in general. That’s what we’re working at. We have another game to take a step and see where we’re at and then we’re quickly going to be into the off-season and working at it again and trying to do all the things you need to do to be a good team.

“Like I said, the team won’t stay the same. We’ll have some additions and subtractions and we just have to keep adding to the competition. All the same things we said a year ago are really going to have to be said. To be further along at this point would be the idea.”

Q: Would you see adding to the defensive line as a next step?

HALEY: “No different for all spots. If we’ve got a chance to improve or improve competition we’re going to do it. I know Scott [Pioli] is going to do it. I think that’s when you’re a good team, when nobody feels satisfied or comfortable and right now we’re 15 games through that process. I’d like to be sitting here with more wins because I definitely think there are some games there – seven games [that were lost] of seven points or less – that could have been… They’re not 20 plays, they’re two or three plays in each phase that if we do execute something a little cleaner we may get wins. But we’re still not happy. We wouldn’t be happy sitting here with six wins. I’d feel the same exact way that I feel right now because the idea of that is to have the chance to play in the Super Bowl and right now we don’t.”

Q: Have you figured out why the inability to score in the first quarter?

HALEY: “I think this has been a difficult task again, and I’m not making excuses for these guys because they don’t want any excuses made for them. But we made major changes; we’ve done a lot of things. What I think is important now is we’re making progress. Even these last few games we’ve started more positive than we did earlier. Is it good enough? No, clearly not. But I don’t have any regrets about the things we’ve done. I think it’s all happened for a reason. As I said, it’s going to get better and we’re going to be a good team. But you’re got to take your lumps sometimes. The [teams] that haven’t taken their lumps are few and far between that I know of. The teams that have started with everything’s golden and everybody’s happy I don’t know when you’re starting from ground zero. I know there have been growing pains for a lot of different teams and a lot of different staffs, a lot of organizations in general. We’re in that process right now. They’re going to be character builders for us and be what makes us a great team.”

Q: One of your goals was to establish a new mindset or attitude for this organization. Do you feel that’s been done?

HALEY: “Again, it comes down to wins and losses. I know it’s gets old when you say we’re making progress, but I’m the one out there and I’m the one that sees them. We just lined up today in the 16th week of the season and ran gassers and they’re running hard and they practiced hard today, they’re communicating, they’re here on time regardless of the weather conditions and working together to do the things necessary to be a good team. That’s progress from the inside.”

[OnTheWarpath15]

Originally Posted by Just Passin' By

Sure, I'll be happy to.

Better play from the LT, and the RT
Better running game
Better work at wideout when they are all together
Better play from the DEs
Better play from some of the linebackers

With the exception of Dorsey, every single thing you posted is bullshit.

Albert has regressed, O'Callaghan is no better than McIntosh.

The running game is not better, as shown in the stats. We're averaging 6 fewer yards.

Bowe has regressed severely, and Wade is no upgrade. Chambers, as I've said, is.

Dorsey seems to be growing into his new role, but Jackson looks abysmal, and the yards allowed numbers show the weakness of this team is the front 7.

Which leads to the LB's, who have been ****ing pathetic. Hali has shown he can rush the passer standing upright, but is still a huge liability against the run, just like the other 3.

But please, keep sucking off the Executive of the Decade.

[DeezNutz]

Originally Posted by HemiEd

Well, it is not an easy slam dunk, for sure.

But from memory, Herm took the team from 2nd in the NFL on offense to 16 his first year, then made it all the way to 32nd before getting fired.

His defense actually got worse, and nobody expected that.

If you want facts on one guy, you have to look at them the same way on the other guy.

Lets see what happens now with a full off season.

I completely agree. Both have to be evaluated the same way.

The offense declined due to age and severe lack of foresight on the part of CP. This does NOT absolve Herm of all blame.

The defensive failings, however, are primarily at his feet, and they're reason #1 for why he's not here now. And this is a good thing.

[Just Passin' By]

Originally Posted by Tribal Warfare

It's an indictment of Pioli's and his talent evaluating abilities, though he sure loves to place accountability every else except QB.

No, it's not. Again, this is where you complainers go off the rails. You've been blaming things on Cassel that aren't Cassel's issue. Frankly, while it's been somewhat amusing to watch the absurdities fly, it's been a pathetic display on the part of those making it.

Cassel isn't the running back corps that couldn't run the ball worth a damn for much of the season. He's not the wide receiver corps dropping record numbers of passes. He's not the offensive line that couldn't hold a block for more than 2 seconds for a fair part of the season. He's not the one who got suspended for 4 games, and it's not his fault that the TE position couldn't catch a cold in a room full of rhinoviruses.

Whether you and the rest of the complainers care to admit it, those things have an enormous impact upon how successful the QB can be, in immediate play issues, in follow up play issues, and in long term developments. A dropped pass on 2nd down means a longer pass needed for 3rd down, which decreases the success rate, a failed drive then means more pressure the next time, and so on down the road.

Cassel certainly hasn't been stellar, and he's not without blame when evaluating the struggles of the team, but some of you people have been morons on the QB issue since even before the season began.

[Just Passin' By]

Originally Posted by OnTheWarpath58

With the exception of Dorsey, every single thing you posted is bullshit.

Albert has regressed, O'Callaghan is no better than McIntosh.

The running game is not better, as shown in the stats. We're averaging 6 fewer yards.

Bowe has regressed severely, and Wade is no upgrade. Chambers, as I've said, is.

Dorsey seems to be growing into his new role, but Jackson looks abysmal, and the yards allowed numbers show the weakness of this team is the front 7.

Which leads to the LB's, who have been ****ing pathetic. Hali has shown he can rush the passer standing upright, but is still a huge liability against the run, just like the other 3.

But please, keep sucking off the Executive of the Decade.

Was Johnson running better than his replacement?
Are you claiming Albert is playing worse now that at the beginning of the year?
You're seriously claiming that McIntosh was playing as well as O'Callaghan?
Is the receiving corps as currently constituted a lesser group than what began the year?
You concede Dorsey and then make that idiotic statement about yards allowed as if it means something?
You think that Hali hasn't improved over the course of the season?


Thanks for showing just how much of an idiot you are.

[HemiEd]

Originally Posted by OnTheWarpath58

With the exception of Dorsey, every single thing you posted is bullshit.

Albert has regressed, is no better than McIntosh.

The running game is not better, as shown in the stats. We're averaging 6 fewer yards.

Bowe has regressed severely, and Wade is no upgrade. Chambers, as I've said, is.

Dorsey seems to be growing into his new role, but Jackson looks abysmal, and the yards allowed numbers show the weakness of this team is the front 7.

Which leads to the LB's, who have been ****ing pathetic. Hali has shown he can rush the passer standing upright, but is still a huge liability against the run, just like the other 3.

But please, keep sucking off the Executive of the Decade.

Albert and O'Callaghan are improving, and on the upswing. You know Albert has had to change in order to improve, and he is doing it. The whole offensive line has improved dramatically.


The running game is dramatically on the upswing, surely you see that. I don't give a **** what any numbers may say for the whole year, **** that.


Bowe missed four games from breaking the rules, sorry, it is what it is. I am thinking he will be a TE hybrid slot guy next year. Too bad he doesn't have
Tony to take the heat off of him anymore.

[Tribal Warfare]

Originally Posted by Just Passin' By

No, it's not. Again, this is where you complainers go off the rails. You've been blaming things on Cassel that aren't Cassel's issue.

Poor decision making which is due to his indecisiveness, that's my biggest gripe and his greatest flaw. The guy is 27 years old, a 5 year NFL vet this shouldn't be an issue.

[HemiEd]

Originally Posted by Tribal Warfare

Poor decision making which is due to his indecisiveness, that's my biggest gripe and his greatest flaw. The guy is 27 years old, a 5 year NFL vet this shouldn't be an issue.

Yep, and the locking on to his receivers part. Just once I would like to see him hint at looking off a defender, just once.

[Just Passin' By]

Originally Posted by Tribal Warfare

Poor decision making which is due to his indecisiveness, that's my biggest gripe and his greatest flaw. The guy is 27 years old, a 5 year NFL vet this shouldn't be an issue.

JFC.... he's got insufficient time to make a full read of the field because of the O-line. He can't throw to his tight ends, because they can't catch a ****ing thing. He can't throw to his wideouts without wondering if:

a.) They'll drop the ****ing thing

b.) They'll bother to make the effort if the throw's not perfect

c.) The receivers that have spent most of the season being unable to find separation will actually give him a window to throw into

and you bitch about indecisiveness? For ****'s sake, if you'd bother to actually look at the team from a reasonable perspective instead of just looking to bitch, you'd see where the issues are, how they impact in the long and short term, and where they'd lead to fallout that can't be dealt with until the offseason.

Shit, I'm not even a Chiefs fan and I can see progress on this currently awful team, but you clowns can't see a damned thing because you're too busy pissing and moaning about every little thing you can find, and it's largely because the team took an approach you didn't like, regardless of its likely long term success or failure.

You had to know the team would be bad this season. Why the **** would you watch week after week and just turn around and bitch about every ****ing thing? What the **** good does that do anyone? Looking at the negatives is fine when you're analyzing from an unbiased position and also looking at the positives, but you clearly aren't doing that.

[Tribal Warfare]

Originally Posted by Just Passin' By

JFC.... he's got insufficient time to make a full read of the field because of the O-line.

Bullshit, the line has greatly improvwed and he has had ample time to make a correct read, he's indecisive which has lead to sacks and INTs.

[DeezNutz]

Originally Posted by HemiEd

The running game is dramatically on the upswing, surely you see that. I don't give a **** what any numbers may say for the whole year, **** that.
.

It's absolutely improving. So why did we waste so much time with Mr. 2.7 YPC?

Many on this board were saying that it was clear that LJ was NOT the best back in the pre-season. For example, milkman said this multiple times--so did OTW and myself, but, alas...

I don't want to hear about fumbles, since they're still a concern with Charles. What we're seeing is that what he brings to the game far outweighs his negatives.

Too bad Haley wasn't able to see this sooner.

milkman for HC.

[Just Passin' By]

Originally Posted by Tribal Warfare

Bullshit, the line has greatly improvwed and he has had ample time to make a correct read, he's indecisive which has lead to sacks and INTs.

You continue to prove my comments about you correct.

[Mecca]

Originally Posted by Just Passin' By

JFC.... he's got insufficient time to make a full read of the field because of the O-line. He can't throw to his tight ends, because they can't catch a ****ing thing. He can't throw to his wideouts without wondering if:

a.) They'll drop the ****ing thing

b.) They'll bother to make the effort if the throw's not perfect

c.) The receivers that have spent most of the season being unable to find separation will actually give him a window to throw into

and you bitch about indecisiveness? For ****'s sake, if you'd bother to actually look at the team from a reasonable perspective instead of just looking to bitch, you'd see where the issues are, how they impact in the long and short term, and where they'd lead to fallout that can't be dealt with until the offseason.

Shit, I'm not even a Chiefs fan and I can see progress on this currently awful team, but you clowns can't see a damned thing because you're too busy pissing and moaning about every little thing you can find, and it's largely because the team took an approach you didn't like, regardless of its likely long term success or failure.

You had to know the team would be bad this season. Why the **** would you watch week after week and just turn around and bitch about every ****ing thing? What the **** good does that do anyone? Looking at the negatives is fine when you're analyzing from an unbiased position and also looking at the positives, but you clearly aren't doing that.

Ladies and gentlemen, Todd Haley posts here.

[Tribal Warfare]

Originally Posted by Just Passin' By

You continue to prove my comments about you correct.

What are those exactly? Please regale me

[Mecca]

Anyone and I mean anyone that is going to pimp the improvement of the running game, quickly answer why Jamaal Charles couldn't get on the field till Larry Johnson essentially did whatever he had to do to get off the team?

That situation right there should surely make everyone feel comfortable that the Chiefs are putting the best players on the field...

[DeezNutz]

Originally Posted by Mecca

Anyone and I mean anyone that is going to pimp the improvement of the running game, quickly answer why Jamaal Charles couldn't get on the field till Larry Johnson essentially did whatever he had to do to get off the team?

That situation right there should surely make everyone feel comfortable that the Chiefs are putting the best players on the field...

I have not seen anyone give a decent answer to this question.

Fumbles.

That's the company line. Never mind that this is still an issue. Close your eyes and pretend it's fixed because otherwise it becomes increasingly difficult to believe that the people in charge know what the **** they're doing.