Chiefs Doug Tucker: Chiefs see slow, painful progress being made - Page 2

**Tribal Warfare** · 10-13-2009, 03:05 AM

Chiefs see slow, painful progress being made

By DOUG TUCKER

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP)—A team that’s lost 28 of 30 games takes encouragement from every little nook, cranny and crawlspace where anything positive might be found.

The Kansas City Chiefs, once the sting went away, saw a few things to like about their 26-20 overtime loss to Dallas the previous day.

They made plays in the kicking game, recovering a muffed punt and kicking two field goals. They recovered a fumble. They made some defensive stands, although not enough.

And most of all, an offense with a wounded line and a history of futility found a way to drive 74 yards in 10 plays and get the game tied in the final seconds on Matt Cassel’s(notes) 16-yard pass to Dwayne Bowe(notes) on fourth down.

In fact, that final drive that tied it 20-all may turn out to be a watershed event as Todd Haley and his coaching staff work to forge a personality and an identify for the 0-5 Chiefs.

It was easily the snappiest drive of the entire miserable year for the Chiefs, even more remarkable because left tackle Brandon Albert had gone to the sideline with an apparent ankle injury.

Early in the drive the Cowboys sacked Cassel for a 4-yard loss. But working quickly out of the shotgun, he found Bobby Wade(notes) for 25 yards on third-and-14, connected with Bowe for 17 yards on first down, then got the TD and let Ryan Succop(notes) kick the extra point to send it into overtime.

“They pulled together, overcame adversity and overcame some injuries in key spots to give us a chance to play a little longer and win the game,” Haley said Monday. “That’s something we definitely as a team have to build on. I think it’s critical that we recognize some of those positives. There were a lot of guys playing real hard for the whole game.”

The Chiefs may use more of the no-huddle, hurry-up approach when they travel to Washington this week hoping to avoid being the first team in franchise history to start a season 0-6.

“Like I said, we’ve got to build on that situation in a lot of different ways,” Haley said. “That was a tough deal, a tough situation to be put in.”

In a a locker room that was not entirely downbeat on Monday, players knew a few good things had happened.

“I think in all three phases there were some positive things to take away from it,” safety Jon McGraw(notes) said. “You don’t always have the luxury of looking at that when you lose. You always have to focus on the negative. But at the end of the day guys realized there was some good football played out there.”

Dallas fans looking for reasons to fire coach Wade Phillips may be pointing to a rash of mistakes the Cowboys made, seemingly trying to hand the game to the Chiefs with a fumble, a muffed punt, a whopping 13 penalties for 90 yards, a missed field goal and several receivers who dropped throws or watched them sail over their outstretched hands.

Haley was criticized for not trying to win in the second half of a blowout loss to Philadelphia on Sept. 27. But no one was questioning the heart of the coach or the motivation of the players in what turned out to be their eighth straight loss at home.

“Some things that we’ve been struggling with, it seemed like we were able to get them done,” said McGraw.

Haley said Albert had his ankle taped and was sore on Monday and his status for this week was not known.

beach tribe · 10-13-2009, 01:30 PM

I know everybody is like" the Cowboys barely beat us is overtime" Completely forgetting that the Boys muffed a punt had more penalties than a hungover Raiders squad, and dropped two TD passes. This game could have easily been a blowout.
I'll reserve the rainbows for whern we actually win, and deserve to win.

**OnTheWarpath15** · 10-13-2009, 01:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beach tribe

I know everybody is like" the Cowboys barely beat us is overtime" Completely forgetting that the Boys muffed a punt had more penalties than a hungover Raiders squad, and dropped two TD passes. This game could have easily been a blowout.
I'll reserve the rainbows for whern we actually win, and deserve to win.

This.

beach tribe · 10-13-2009, 01:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

When Clark threw out an additional $75 million for stadium renovations back in December 2008, it was a sign that the Chiefs would not be very active in free agency.

I just didn't realize to what degree.

But, would it not more than make up the difference if we were a decent team, and we actually sold out the games? Or are we still selling a lot of tickets?
It can't be that many. Does a shit load of people really go watch a team that has won 2 of the last 30 games? I'm asking because I don't really know.

**OnTheWarpath15** · 10-13-2009, 02:30 PM

I'd love to know what progress Tucker is seeing, specifically on defense.

There are 4 new starters handpicked by Haley/Pioli, and the numbers are almost identical to last year.

2008:

27.5 PPG

393 Yards Allowed

6.0 Yards Allowed Per Play

2009:

27.6 PPG

402 Yards Allowed

6.1 Yards Allowed Per Play

**SAUTO** · 10-13-2009, 02:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OnTheWarpath58

I'd love to know what progress Tucker is seeing, specifically on defense.

There are 4 new starters handpicked by Haley/Pioli, and the numbers are almost identical to last year.

2008:

27.5 PPG

393 Yards Allowed

6.0 Yards Allowed Per Play

2009:

27.6 PPG

402 Yards Allowed

6.1 Yards Allowed Per Play

WELL it could be that we have played better teams so far this year

**OnTheWarpath15** · 10-13-2009, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JASONSAUTO

WELL it could be that we have played better teams so far this year

Or, it could just be that Pioli and Haley can't evaluate talent.

Or made a poor choice when hiring a DC.

FWIW, those 2008 numbers are for the entire season, not just the first 5 games, and the 2009 numbers are severely skewed by the Oakland game - allowing only 166 yards in that game.

We allowed Baltimore to gain 120 yards more than their average.

We allowed Philly to gain 50 yards more than their average - with a backup QB and RB.

We allowed the Giants 12 yards more than their average, with Manning sitting a good chunk of the 2nd half.

We allowed the Cowboys 80 yards more than they average, with their WR1 not making the trip.

There's absolutely no defense (no pun intended) for the play of the defense, especially when Pioli/Haley forced their way into a 3-4, and handpicked 4 of the current starters.

**DaneMcCloud** · 10-13-2009, 03:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JASONSAUTO

WELL it could be that we have played better teams so far this year

If had told me that the Chiefs would lose by 20 to Philly's backup QB and without some of their best players, I'd think you were nuts.

If you had told me the Chiefs would lose by 11 points to the Giants with Eli Manning on the sidelines and with their second string defense on the field for most of the second half, I'd think you were crazy.

If you had told me that Miles Austin would put up 250 yards receiving while Roy Williams sat along with Felix Jones, I'd tell you to get the **** out.

This team is BAD, Jason.

There are no two ways to paint it.

**SAUTO** · 10-13-2009, 03:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

If had told me that the Chiefs would lose by 20 to Philly's backup QB and without some of their best players, I'd think you were nuts.

If you had told me the Chiefs would lose by 11 points to the Giants with Eli Manning on the sidelines and with their second string defense on the field for most of the second half, I'd think you were crazy.

If you had told me that Miles Austin would put up 250 yards receiving while Roy Williams sat along with Felix Jones, I'd tell you to get the **** out.

This team is BAD, Jason.

There are no two ways to paint it.

i understand that dane, baltimore, nyg, and philly are SB caliber teams. did you happen to see what kolb did in the other game he started? about the same as against us IIRC. maybe those teams are just deeper than us.

**SAUTO** · 10-13-2009, 03:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OnTheWarpath58

FWIW, those 2008 numbers are for the entire season, not just the first 5 games, and the 2009 numbers are severely skewed by the Oakland game - allowing only 166 yards in that game.

.

why are the numbers "skewed" by the raiders game? did we not actually play them? i dont get that. our defense held them to 166 yards right? or was that another teams d that played that game? oh and i'm sure philly's avg counts the other game kolb started right?

**DaneMcCloud** · 10-13-2009, 03:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JASONSAUTO

i understand that dane, baltimore, nyg, and philly are SB caliber teams. did you happen to see what kolb did in the other game he started? about the same as against us IIRC. maybe those teams are just deeper than us.

Baltimore is now 3-2. Philly played without their starting running back and starting quarterback. The Giants sat their franchise QB and most of their defense.

The Chiefs lost to both teams. The Chiefs gave up 500 yards to both teams.

Both teams weren't even close to being at their full potential yet the Chiefs lost big time.

It's a bad football team, Jason.

kcxiv · 10-13-2009, 04:45 PM

This team is ****ing horrible. We may not win a game this year. We got nothing on offense and nothing on defense.

You know its bad when the best part of your team is the punter and the kicker. We nailed them draft picks. hah

10-13-2009, 03:05 AM
Tribal Warfare Man of Culture Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Far Beyond Comprehension Casino cash: $-2957187	Doug Tucker: Chiefs see slow, painful progress being made Chiefs see slow, painful progress being made By DOUG TUCKER KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP)—A team that’s lost 28 of 30 games takes encouragement from every little nook, cranny and crawlspace where anything positive might be found. The Kansas City Chiefs, once the sting went away, saw a few things to like about their 26-20 overtime loss to Dallas the previous day. They made plays in the kicking game, recovering a muffed punt and kicking two field goals. They recovered a fumble. They made some defensive stands, although not enough. And most of all, an offense with a wounded line and a history of futility found a way to drive 74 yards in 10 plays and get the game tied in the final seconds on Matt Cassel’s(notes) 16-yard pass to Dwayne Bowe(notes) on fourth down. In fact, that final drive that tied it 20-all may turn out to be a watershed event as Todd Haley and his coaching staff work to forge a personality and an identify for the 0-5 Chiefs. It was easily the snappiest drive of the entire miserable year for the Chiefs, even more remarkable because left tackle Brandon Albert had gone to the sideline with an apparent ankle injury. Early in the drive the Cowboys sacked Cassel for a 4-yard loss. But working quickly out of the shotgun, he found Bobby Wade(notes) for 25 yards on third-and-14, connected with Bowe for 17 yards on first down, then got the TD and let Ryan Succop(notes) kick the extra point to send it into overtime. “They pulled together, overcame adversity and overcame some injuries in key spots to give us a chance to play a little longer and win the game,” Haley said Monday. “That’s something we definitely as a team have to build on. I think it’s critical that we recognize some of those positives. There were a lot of guys playing real hard for the whole game.” The Chiefs may use more of the no-huddle, hurry-up approach when they travel to Washington this week hoping to avoid being the first team in franchise history to start a season 0-6. “Like I said, we’ve got to build on that situation in a lot of different ways,” Haley said. “That was a tough deal, a tough situation to be put in.” In a a locker room that was not entirely downbeat on Monday, players knew a few good things had happened. “I think in all three phases there were some positive things to take away from it,” safety Jon McGraw(notes) said. “You don’t always have the luxury of looking at that when you lose. You always have to focus on the negative. But at the end of the day guys realized there was some good football played out there.” Dallas fans looking for reasons to fire coach Wade Phillips may be pointing to a rash of mistakes the Cowboys made, seemingly trying to hand the game to the Chiefs with a fumble, a muffed punt, a whopping 13 penalties for 90 yards, a missed field goal and several receivers who dropped throws or watched them sail over their outstretched hands. Haley was criticized for not trying to win in the second half of a blowout loss to Philadelphia on Sept. 27. But no one was questioning the heart of the coach or the motivation of the players in what turned out to be their eighth straight loss at home. “Some things that we’ve been struggling with, it seemed like we were able to get them done,” said McGraw. Haley said Albert had his ankle taped and was sore on Monday and his status for this week was not known.
Posts: 43,451

10-13-2009, 01:30 PM	#16
beach tribe Keep doubting J MFing Houston Join Date: May 2007 Location: ft.lauderdale Casino cash: $3908036	I know everybody is like" the Cowboys barely beat us is overtime" Completely forgetting that the Boys muffed a punt had more penalties than a hungover Raiders squad, and dropped two TD passes. This game could have easily been a blowout. I'll reserve the rainbows for whern we actually win, and deserve to win.
Posts: 21,429

10-13-2009, 02:30 PM	#19
OnTheWarpath15 MVP Join Date: Sep 2005 Casino cash: $2061115	I'd love to know what progress Tucker is seeing, specifically on defense. There are 4 new starters handpicked by Haley/Pioli, and the numbers are almost identical to last year. 2008: 27.5 PPG 393 Yards Allowed 6.0 Yards Allowed Per Play 2009: 27.6 PPG 402 Yards Allowed 6.1 Yards Allowed Per Play
Posts: 60,758

10-13-2009, 04:45 PM	#26
kcxiv In Search of a Life Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Central Valley, Cali Casino cash: $8697996	This team is ****ing horrible. We may not win a game this year. We got nothing on offense and nothing on defense. You know its bad when the best part of your team is the punter and the kicker. We nailed them draft picks. hah
Posts: 29,111