Chiefs Babb: Chiefs realize West could have been won - Page 2

**Tribal Warfare** · 12-26-2008, 12:02 AM

Chiefs realize West could have been won
By KENT BABB
The Kansas City Star

Damion McIntosh will be paying attention Sunday night. That’s when two teams he thinks the Chiefs should have — and, more important, could have — beaten will play for the AFC West title.

He’ll be rooting for Denver over San Diego. McIntosh said he doesn’t like the Chargers’ style.

“It’s cockiness,” said McIntosh, the Chiefs’ right tackle. “Like they deserve to be there.”

Whether San Diego deserves the division title or not, it will have a chance the Chiefs might have been a few victories, and maybe a few players, from contending for. If the Chargers beat the Broncos on Sunday night, they’ll win the division with an 8-8 record.

The Chiefs, 2-13, enter this weekend with five fewer victories than San Diego, but seven of Kansas City’s 13 losses have been by seven points or less. And at the end of a season in which the AFC West is stumbling through its most winnable year ever, that leaves a particularly bitter taste in the Chiefs locker room.

“If we could have won just six of those games,” veteran cornerback Patrick Surtain said. “Yeah, you think that way, especially when you see a team that’s 8-8 going to win our division. I don’t think any amount of veterans would have helped us; we’ve just been snake-bit for some reason. It’s been that kind of year. It kind of hurts.”

What hurt the Chiefs most was their head-to-head contests against those teams atop the division. Kansas City beat the Broncos at Arrowhead Stadium in week four. But three weeks ago, the Chiefs blew a halftime lead to Denver a week before blowing another halftime lead to San Diego, the Chiefs’ second one-point loss to the Chargers this season.

Those kinds of games left players in bad moods for many reasons. Now that it’s clear a few more victories might have included the Chiefs in the division-title conversation, some players don’t even want to talk about it.

“That’s wishing,” backup defensive tackle Ron Edwards said. “I don’t wish. I don’t hope. Hope is for next year.”

The Chiefs have been playing for next year almost as soon as this year began. They underwent a massive rebuilding movement that coach Herm Edwards estimated this week is nearly complete. He said another offseason that includes signing the right free agents and being smart on NFL draft weekend might put the Chiefs in next year’s playoff chase, a year earlier than Edwards predicted before this season.

Edwards lobbied last offseason for the Chiefs to abstain from signing major free agents, instead preferring to shift playing time to the team’s many youngsters. Edwards has said the Chiefs will be better for it in the long run. Then again, that was before a team with a losing record was one win from winning its division.

Edwards said this week he will not be haunted by speculation that the Chiefs could have contended with a few more experienced players and some better luck. He said he would have liked to win more games this season, but that’s all but over now.

One of Kansas City’s few veterans, left guard Brian Waters, said the parity in the AFC West is a good sign for next year’s Chiefs. He said after the Denver loss that he thought Kansas City was as good as any of its division opponents.

He was asked about that statement this week, and Waters said he still thinks the Chiefs weren’t far this season from being competitive.

“We’re not as bad as our record may look,” he said. “You look at the way we played against Denver, you look at the way we played against San Diego, and you tell me that we’re that much worse than either one of those two. I mean, seriously.

“One or two players, one or two plays — where they come from, where those plays come from, that’s essentially what this football team has got to learn.”

Maybe it was San Diego’s preseason pick as a Super Bowl favorite that stuck in McIntosh’s mind. Maybe it was that, even when the Chargers were all but eliminated from playoff discussions, they kept coming back.

Maybe McIntosh isn’t over the fact that the Chargers twice beat the Chiefs this season, the last time with quarterback Philip Rivers throwing a go-ahead touchdown pass and running up the field at Arrowhead with his hand raised.

Or maybe it’s that the Chiefs just couldn’t win when they most needed to, and now they’ll be watching a pair of mediocre teams playing Sunday night for a division title the Chiefs were never close to.

“It’s boiled down to this now,” McIntosh said. “It really doesn’t matter because they’re both our foes. It’s wide open. We could’ve had that opportunity if we were able to pull out some of those games. But it leaves a bright spot for next year. We can win this division. We’re getting there.”

**Bugeater** · 12-26-2008, 01:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dylan

http://boards.chicagobears.com/forum...d.aspx#1381362

Quote:

I think that Herm Edwards will be available once the year is doen. If he is, I would love to have him as our DC. He wouldn't be a Lovie yes man, he knows defense, and he would command respect of the players. He also can flat out coach, he knows the job, and would instantly be a major upgrade to our coaching staff.

**RealSNR** · 12-26-2008, 01:58 AM

If the Chiefs won 6 of their "close losses" they could have won the division.

And guess what?

If I had three wheels, I'd be a tricycle.

**cdcox** · 12-26-2008, 02:02 AM

If you ever want more proof that Herm needs to go, just consider that our team seems to think that winning the AFC West would have some kind of accomplishment or marker for success.

sportsman1 · 12-26-2008, 03:19 AM

I love how now that they are 2-13 they say they could have won the AFC West. If only they believed that before the season... they could have won 4 games instead of 2.

**CrazyPhuD** · 12-26-2008, 03:43 AM

6-10 will win the division next year!

KCJohnny · 12-26-2008, 06:21 AM

Oh please. If Herm won the AFCWorst with 8-8 the Hamases and DeBerg1990s and the other Chiefs HermanHaters would never stop.

Its better this way, trust me. No matter who wins the AFCW this year, its a first round blowout humiliation and thanks for playing, NEXT?

I see the Chiefs between 5-11 and 11-5 next year if Herm stays and Tyler is the QB. If the new GM fires Herm and starts all over again, I see 3-13 or 5-11 at tops.

The good news is the Bolts are in decline and the Raiders are the Raiders. That means all we have to do is sweep the donx in '09 and winning the division might not be all that tough.

Chief Pote · 12-26-2008, 06:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CrazyPhuD

6-10 will win the division next year!

That's the only chance that this team would win the division.....6-10 AFTER a great 2009 draft.

CoMoChief · 12-26-2008, 08:12 AM

THIS IS WHY WE NEED MORE HERM. HERM FOR 5 MORE YEARS. WE NEED MORE EXCUSES!!!!!

BigChiefFan · 12-26-2008, 08:25 AM

A TOTAL of TWO WINS and these assclowns act like the we're just inches short of making the playoffs-The entire organization needs an enema.

**jjchieffan** · 12-26-2008, 08:31 AM

Wow! I can't believe the hating on the players in this thread. Personally, I think they are right. There is enough talent that they could have won the division this year. But not with Edwards as coach. A good coach could have won 8-9 games this year. The biggest problem this team had was the coaching and you all know that. I know alot of you hate on Shottenheimer, but, just to use him for an example, You know he would won the division this year. KC probably would have won 5 games in the division, they would have pulled out the NE game, and 2-3 others along the way.

Sure-Oz · 12-26-2008, 08:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Claythan

I'm glad he wrote it.

He exposed the locker room for being the delusional sons of bitches they are.

It's disgusting.

Someone needs to come in, new coach, gm and tell them they are a long ways from competing esp in the playoffs.

idiots

RippedmyFlesh · 12-26-2008, 08:47 AM

"Edwards lobbied last offseason for the Chiefs to abstain from signing major free agents, instead preferring to shift playing time to the team’s many youngsters."

Fine but to expose your qb by not signing at least 1 if not 2 fa's for the oline with all that cap room was just plain stupid.
Play young guys fine just don't let your qb get herm'ed..i mean harmed

R&GHomer · 12-26-2008, 08:58 AM

He’ll be rooting for Denver over San Diego. McIntosh said he doesn’t like the Chargers’ style.

Now I know I hate that SOB. I would root for a team full of Pedophiles and rapists, before I ever would the FN donky’s.

**dirk digler** · 12-26-2008, 09:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mecca

When you're 2-13 mulling over how you "could have been there" is frankly laughable.

Yep. Embarrassingly laughable.

whoman69 · 12-26-2008, 10:03 AM

[QUOTE=Rigodan;5327821]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Claythan

These guys are ****ing brainwashed and delusional as hell.QUOTE]

Frankly that is a good thing. They think they can win and should win every game they go into. What Herm has done attitude with these guys is pretty impressive. They go out and play hard every single week even though they are 2-13. You can blame a lot of stuff on Herm but not how he has handled his players mentally and emotionally this year.

Yeah they played tremendously hard when they got blown out by Oakland, Atlanta and even came back from a bye week against Carolina and played their worst game of the season. Yeah they were real close. Coulda, shoulda, woulda...If things woulda happened right we shoulda been voting for Tom Tancredo vs Chris Dodd in the last election.

12-26-2008, 12:02 AM
Tribal Warfare Man of Culture Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Far Beyond Comprehension Casino cash: $-2977187	Babb: Chiefs realize West could have been won Chiefs realize West could have been won By KENT BABB The Kansas City Star Damion McIntosh will be paying attention Sunday night. That’s when two teams he thinks the Chiefs should have — and, more important, could have — beaten will play for the AFC West title. He’ll be rooting for Denver over San Diego. McIntosh said he doesn’t like the Chargers’ style. “It’s cockiness,” said McIntosh, the Chiefs’ right tackle. “Like they deserve to be there.” Whether San Diego deserves the division title or not, it will have a chance the Chiefs might have been a few victories, and maybe a few players, from contending for. If the Chargers beat the Broncos on Sunday night, they’ll win the division with an 8-8 record. The Chiefs, 2-13, enter this weekend with five fewer victories than San Diego, but seven of Kansas City’s 13 losses have been by seven points or less. And at the end of a season in which the AFC West is stumbling through its most winnable year ever, that leaves a particularly bitter taste in the Chiefs locker room. “If we could have won just six of those games,” veteran cornerback Patrick Surtain said. “Yeah, you think that way, especially when you see a team that’s 8-8 going to win our division. I don’t think any amount of veterans would have helped us; we’ve just been snake-bit for some reason. It’s been that kind of year. It kind of hurts.” What hurt the Chiefs most was their head-to-head contests against those teams atop the division. Kansas City beat the Broncos at Arrowhead Stadium in week four. But three weeks ago, the Chiefs blew a halftime lead to Denver a week before blowing another halftime lead to San Diego, the Chiefs’ second one-point loss to the Chargers this season. Those kinds of games left players in bad moods for many reasons. Now that it’s clear a few more victories might have included the Chiefs in the division-title conversation, some players don’t even want to talk about it. “That’s wishing,” backup defensive tackle Ron Edwards said. “I don’t wish. I don’t hope. Hope is for next year.” The Chiefs have been playing for next year almost as soon as this year began. They underwent a massive rebuilding movement that coach Herm Edwards estimated this week is nearly complete. He said another offseason that includes signing the right free agents and being smart on NFL draft weekend might put the Chiefs in next year’s playoff chase, a year earlier than Edwards predicted before this season. Edwards lobbied last offseason for the Chiefs to abstain from signing major free agents, instead preferring to shift playing time to the team’s many youngsters. Edwards has said the Chiefs will be better for it in the long run. Then again, that was before a team with a losing record was one win from winning its division. Edwards said this week he will not be haunted by speculation that the Chiefs could have contended with a few more experienced players and some better luck. He said he would have liked to win more games this season, but that’s all but over now. One of Kansas City’s few veterans, left guard Brian Waters, said the parity in the AFC West is a good sign for next year’s Chiefs. He said after the Denver loss that he thought Kansas City was as good as any of its division opponents. He was asked about that statement this week, and Waters said he still thinks the Chiefs weren’t far this season from being competitive. “We’re not as bad as our record may look,” he said. “You look at the way we played against Denver, you look at the way we played against San Diego, and you tell me that we’re that much worse than either one of those two. I mean, seriously. “One or two players, one or two plays — where they come from, where those plays come from, that’s essentially what this football team has got to learn.” Maybe it was San Diego’s preseason pick as a Super Bowl favorite that stuck in McIntosh’s mind. Maybe it was that, even when the Chargers were all but eliminated from playoff discussions, they kept coming back. Maybe McIntosh isn’t over the fact that the Chargers twice beat the Chiefs this season, the last time with quarterback Philip Rivers throwing a go-ahead touchdown pass and running up the field at Arrowhead with his hand raised. Or maybe it’s that the Chiefs just couldn’t win when they most needed to, and now they’ll be watching a pair of mediocre teams playing Sunday night for a division title the Chiefs were never close to. “It’s boiled down to this now,” McIntosh said. “It really doesn’t matter because they’re both our foes. It’s wide open. We could’ve had that opportunity if we were able to pull out some of those games. But it leaves a bright spot for next year. We can win this division. We’re getting there.”
Posts: 43,452

12-26-2008, 01:58 AM	#17
RealSNR Special Teams ACE!!! Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Where the hell is SNR Casino cash: $-1514792	If the Chiefs won 6 of their "close losses" they could have won the division. And guess what? If I had three wheels, I'd be a tricycle.
Posts: 93,423

12-26-2008, 02:02 AM	#18
cdcox www.nfl-forecast.com Join Date: Sep 2000 Casino cash: $-568231	If you ever want more proof that Herm needs to go, just consider that our team seems to think that winning the AFC West would have some kind of accomplishment or marker for success.
Posts: 46,032

12-26-2008, 03:19 AM	#19
sportsman1 Nomadical Transient in Chief Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Fort Worth, TX Casino cash: $10005215	I love how now that they are 2-13 they say they could have won the AFC West. If only they believed that before the season... they could have won 4 games instead of 2.
Posts: 1,456

12-26-2008, 03:43 AM	#20
CrazyPhuD Meow Join Date: Jun 2005 Casino cash: $10005050	6-10 will win the division next year! __________________ "Political correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical minority, and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t*rd by the clean end"
Posts: 8,523

12-26-2008, 06:21 AM	#21
KCJohnny Blind, deceived homer Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: Maryland, USA Casino cash: $10004900	Oh please. If Herm won the AFCWorst with 8-8 the Hamases and DeBerg1990s and the other Chiefs HermanHaters would never stop. Its better this way, trust me. No matter who wins the AFCW this year, its a first round blowout humiliation and thanks for playing, NEXT? I see the Chiefs between 5-11 and 11-5 next year if Herm stays and Tyler is the QB. If the new GM fires Herm and starts all over again, I see 3-13 or 5-11 at tops. The good news is the Bolts are in decline and the Raiders are the Raiders. That means all we have to do is sweep the donx in '09 and winning the division might not be all that tough. __________________
Posts: 6,347

12-26-2008, 08:12 AM	#23
CoMoChief Mahomes Dynasty Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Parts Unknown Casino cash: $7672254	THIS IS WHY WE NEED MORE HERM. HERM FOR 5 MORE YEARS. WE NEED MORE EXCUSES!!!!! __________________
Posts: 39,245

12-26-2008, 08:25 AM	#24
BigChiefFan MVP Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: In the Top 10 Casino cash: $9924205	A TOTAL of TWO WINS and these assclowns act like the we're just inches short of making the playoffs-The entire organization needs an enema. __________________ A 35 year drought can make you thirsty. Last edited by BigChiefFan; 12-26-2008 at 08:33 AM..
Posts: 15,777

12-26-2008, 08:31 AM	#25
jjchieffan Supporter Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Highlandville, MO Casino cash: $-87752	Wow! I can't believe the hating on the players in this thread. Personally, I think they are right. There is enough talent that they could have won the division this year. But not with Edwards as coach. A good coach could have won 8-9 games this year. The biggest problem this team had was the coaching and you all know that. I know alot of you hate on Shottenheimer, but, just to use him for an example, You know he would won the division this year. KC probably would have won 5 games in the division, they would have pulled out the NE game, and 2-3 others along the way. __________________ Genesis 1:1 In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth. Following the historical accounts and the genealogy from that point on, the age of the Earth is approximately 6000-7000 years old. The Big Bullshit Theory is a lie. It and the evolution theory go against real science. Satan has used our public school system to brainwash everyone into believing these lies. Be not decieved.
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12-26-2008, 08:47 AM	#27
RippedmyFlesh Veteran Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: New York Casino cash: $10005817	"Edwards lobbied last offseason for the Chiefs to abstain from signing major free agents, instead preferring to shift playing time to the team’s many youngsters." Fine but to expose your qb by not signing at least 1 if not 2 fa's for the oline with all that cap room was just plain stupid. Play young guys fine just don't let your qb get herm'ed..i mean harmed
Posts: 4,848

12-26-2008, 08:58 AM	#28
R&GHomer Veteran Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Olathe Casino cash: $10004900	He’ll be rooting for *Denver over San Diego*. McIntosh said he doesn’t like the Chargers’ style. Now I know I hate that SOB. I would root for a team full of Pedophiles and rapists, before I ever would the FN donky’s. __________________ Tod Haley: "I just want to coach well, have our team play well and make this city proud of us again."
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