Sunday, September 27, 2009

chiefs! eagles! live blog ...

Week 3 is always my favorite overall week in the NFL season. Its moving week.

0-2 teams margin for error has been reduced to this week and this week only. Only one NFL team has rallied from worse than 0-3 to make the playoffs. And only a handful of teams have rallied from 0-3 to make it. Desperation sets in for the winless.

Conversely, if you're 2-0, you can really start to get some separation with a win this week. Teams that start 3-0 usually make the playoffs, at a nearly 83% rate.

No D Bowe, no DJ today for the Chiefs. Thankfully, no McNabb or Westbrook for Philly. And its apparently monsoon-like conditions at the Linc. The uglier the game, the more it favors the underdog.

10 minutes to kickoff. Better go get a cocktail and settle in for what I hope is the Chiefs first victory since last December.

Harlan and Wilcots on the call today. Solid duo.

As always, I'm logged into Yahoo! IM as teamtito15 if you want to commentate along.

Thank you sh*tty Time Warner cable, for running the Red Zone channel ads and NFL Network ads, when you're the ONLY legitimate cable or satellite provider in the nation that offers neither.

I like the CBS intro ... but NBC's is by far and away the best. Although they never should have booted Pink for Faith Hill. Pink's version of "Waitin All Week for Sunday Night" was much cooler and better.

Too bad we aren't playing at home today. You can't beat the weather. Pushing 80, not a cloud in the sky. Good stuff.

Chiefs haven't beaten Philly since the last Sunday in September, 1998.

Chiefs kick off. Hobbs returns it to the 27. 1st and 10 Philly.

Kevin Kolb "knows the system" according to Solomon Wilcots. Oy.

Gain of 8 to the tight end.

Enter Mike Vick. In motion. Fake end around. McCoy up the middle loses one. 3rd and 3.

HUGE play by Brandon Flowers! Chiefs hold!

Rocca in to punt. Wade returns it to the 23. Punt went 54 yards, solid effort.

Quick wide receiver screen to Bradley. Gain of 5.

LJ gets one up the middle. 3rd and 4 upcoming from the 29.

Looks like Philly jumped. John Parry our ref.

First and 10 Chiefs on the offsides penalty.

Another wideout screen to Wade. Gain of 2, but a penalty on the play. Offensive pass interference on Bradley. Now 1st and 20.

Uuh, that's a questionable call at best.

LJ gets nothing. Probably lost a yard. The OL looks horrendous so far.

Delay of game penalty. Now 2nd and 26.

I'd run a draw here, then air it out on 3rd down, since an INT 40 yards downfield is no worse than a punt.

LJ on the draw. Maybe two. 3rd and half a mile.

Jesus, our offensive line is horrendous. Cassel sacked for a loss of 10. We have to leave Cox in to block, or keep Ryan in to block. The five up front aren't working against this D.

40 yard punt. Eagles ball at the Chiefs 47.

Kolb in the gun on 1st down. Nice timed blitz by Leggett to bat the pass down.

Maclin for 5. Immediately tackled by Mays. 3rd and a long 5 / short 6.

Blitz bombs. Maclin gets the first, gain of 10. Fumbles! But out of bounds.

Enter Mike Vick. Under center. Huge roar from Philly fan.

Rushes offtackle for 6.

Direct snap to McCoy, first down. 1st and 10 at the Chiefs 20.

Nice pull block by the right guard on that play.

McCoy offtackle to the 5. 1st and goal. Nice recognition on that play by McCoy.

Timeout Philly.

Full house backfield. Sweet. Vick to throw and he is drilled by Dorsey. Incomplete. Correction, Tyson Jackson drilled him, Dorsey applied the pressure.

McCoy, touchdown. Piss poor tackling. Piss poor. He should have been stopped for no gain. 6-0 Eagles.

Make that 7-0. Hopefully Haley got on the offensive line and told them to start blocking like their jobs depend on it.

Savage gets the kick at the 3. Really good return, to the 33.

The Alex Karras gambling suspension. I think the man suffered enough by starring in "Webster".

Cassel scrambles for a gain of maybe one. The OL again is unable to contain the Eagles DL so far. I did like the playcall though, rolling Cassel out to buy time.

Cassel pressured again. Incomplete, intended for Wade. 3rd and 9.

Wilcots and I agree on playcalling.

I HATE that play. I absolutely HATE it. Cassel to Bradley on a quick slant, gain of 7. Its 3rd and 10. Why are you not throwing it to the yardsticks? Why? What the f*ck does a 7 yard gain do there?

Fair catch at the 27. 35 yards on the punt. Not one of Dusty C's best efforts.

Kolb to Jackson. First down or 2nd and inches.

First down.

Yardage right now: 65-1 Philly.

Oh sh*t. Kolb to Jackson, someone fell in coverage. Looks like Williams blew that assignment. Inside the 20.

McCoy for 11. 1st and goal at the 8. This is rapidly getting out of hand.

Kolb to Celek to the 2. Solid tackle by Williams.

McCoy is close. Just short.

Chiefs are perfect in Red Zone defense: 6 opponent possessions, 6 touchdowns allowed. Oy.

3rd and goal at the inch line.

Kolb is in. Not sure why that took 15 seconds to call, anyone with eyes could see he crossed the line. 13-0 on the way to 14-0 momentarily.

Good point -- the last time the Chiefs and Eagles played, we had them blown out of Arrowhead after one quarter, up 17-0, and pushed the lead to 23-7 midway through the second. And then promptly gave up 30 unanswered points to lose.

Savage returns the kick to the 21. Looks like the refs missed a blatant block in the back. Hooray.

LJ for one.

LJ loses five. HORRENDOUS play call. HORRENDOUS. You don't call a pitch on 2nd and 9 when your line has proven all day long that it can't block.

3rd and 13. Cassel in the gun.

Short gain to the safety valve. The offensive line is killing us right now. Even in the shotgun, Cassel has NO time to throw. Punt upcoming.

End of the quarter. Unquestionably the worst quarter the Chiefs have played this year.

Jackson had a nice return but its coming back. Multiple flags. Illegal block in the back. Not sure where this sets them up at. Another commercial.

Yikes, they're at their own 30. That's a 40 yard penalty in essence.

Gain of one on first down. Solid coverage by Mays on Celek that time.

McCoy delayed handoff for a yard. Big 3rd down here, we need to get the defense off the field.

Sell out blitz. It backfires. First down Eagles. Someone blew a coverage there.

Carr with nice coverage on first down. The Eagles have looked to Celek on every throw this drive.

DOH! Carr nearly had the pick. Hit the ground apparently.

God bless it. Carr HAS to make that pick. That's inexcusable.

3rd and 10.

4th and 1 at the Chiefs 44. I'd go for it.

Eagles are going for it. Statement down here for the Chiefs defense.

And they hold! Vrabel bats down the pass! That was ... yikes, that was a TURRIBLE play call by Mornhinweg. We haven't been able to stop McCoy yet, why wouldn't you run up the middle with LeSean there?

That was the first play Cassel had time. 11 yard gain to Cottam. 1st and 10 at the Eagles 45.

Charles with a gain of 15, but its coming back, holding on Albert. 1st and 20 now.

LJ for three offtackle. 2nd and 17.

Trickery Dickery Dock! Cassel a lateral to Bradley, who hits Charles across field for a gain of 27! Nice play!

Maybe. Fat Andy Reid is challenging the catch? Timeout Philly, I assume this is a challenge.

Rewinding that, I think its a catch. Looks like he cradled it as he hit the turf. But I'm also biased.

Nope, no challenge, just a TO. STUPID decision by Fat Andy Reid, if you're gonna burn a TO there, at least challenge a questionable catch.

Gain of 11 to the man rapidly becoming my favorite Chief, Sean Ryan. Chiefs in the red zone.

LJ for 2, maybe 3. 2nd and a long 7 / short 8 at the 12.

TOUCHDOWN! Mark Bradley! WHAT A CATCH! AND THROW!

WOW!

Wow. Just, wow. AWESOME catch. Eagles CB had perfect coverage on that play. You can't defend that any better. Just a perfect throw, perfect catch.

14-7 Iggles.

Good point from Drew -- that was the first series the Eagles didn't level Cassel. He had time to throw, and he nailed every one of them. The only time the Eagles got pressure was on the Bradley pass.

Huge series upcoming. The 4th and 1 stand swung momentum. The TD gives you confidence. Now if the defense can get a 3 and out or a turnover and keep this up, its a whole new ballgame.

Good God. Offsides on KC on the kickoff. 1st and 10 at about the Philly 37, 38 I believe.

De Fense! De Fense! De Fense!

Touchdown, DeSean Jackson. Carr gambled for the pick and didn't get it. No safety help to speak of.

OK offense, gotta go to work again.

Harlan just said its about to start pouring again.

Savage to about the 30.

Gotta love CBS being too cheap to spring for replays in HD. Then again, this is the network that prior to this season didn't broadcast all games in HD.

1st and 10 at our 27? Shady spot.

Gain of 2 to Ryan. 2nd and 8.

I can't believe I'm agreeing with everything Solomon Wilcots is saying.

False start on Waters. Make that 2nd and 13.

Delayed handoff to Charles. Gain of 6. 3rd and 7. Good play call.

Tackled by Macho Harris. That's one sweet ass name.

I can smell the neighbors, uuh, smoke, drifting in through the screen door.

Incomplete, but a flag on the play. Holding on KC. Punting again.

Haley looks pissed. Here's a thought Todd: call plays that maximize the few advantages we have! 7 step drops when you can't pass block are DUMB PLAY CALLS!

Flag on the punt. Maclin at his 15, out to the 24. Offsides on Philly perhaps? Flag went up before the punt was boomed.

It appears to be on Philly. Offsides on Philly. KC opts to repunt. So now its 4th and 1. Do you even think about faking this?

Not a good effort by Dusty C. Eagles have the ball right where they were before the penalty. 1st and 10 Philly at their own 24.

McCoy gets one at most. Good defense.

Enter Mike Vick.

Hali did NOT buy the Vick fake. Good job. Vick throws incomplete. 3rd and 9.

More piss poor coverage by Corey Mays. Why are we putting him on tight ends? Heap abused him. Miller was the only raider to look competent last week. And Celek is using him like a urinal. First down Eagles.

Gain of 4 to Reggie Brown. 2nd and 6 near midfield.

McCoy gets 2. 3rd and 4 at the 46, 47 yard line.

Kolb sacked! But a flag in the secondary. God f*cking dammit, you know its defensive holding or illegal contact.

Worse. Personal foul face mask on Washington. What the hell is he thinking?

Vrabel is hacked. Good. Take that emotion and LAY INTO THIS TEAM AT HALFTIME!

Maclin end around, loss of one. Good defense there. Belcher's having a solid day at linebacker. Maybe we should put him on Celek, he can't cover the guy worse than Corey Mays has.

More piss poor linebacker coverage on Celek. Gain of 9. 3rd and a long one at the Chiefs 31.

First down McCoy. He needed one, he got one.

2 minute warning.

Jimmy Edwards doing PS2 ads? (Yes, I watch "One Tree Hill". Wait. Did I just admit that in writing?)

McCoy gets 5. Need to hold them to 3, then have Vrabel, Waters, and the other veterans of this team rip a collective new asshole on these guys. Chiefs do get the ball at the half.

Blitz fails. They usually do. Gain of 9 to the fullback safety valve, and he gets out of bounds to stop the clock.

Nice camera work CBS. We totally missed the play. I think Philly got 4 on a screen pass, but the camera was focused on the turf. Literally.

There we go, wide angle again.

HORRID pass by Kolb. Lucky that wasn't picked. Maclin the intended receiver. 3rd and 6.

And Maclin is shook up. Solid smack by Mike Brown.

Incomplete on 3rd down. Good coverage by the LBs for once.

Scratch that -- another poor throw by Kolb, it was behind Jackson.

Akers from 29. Its good. With :31 left in the half, unless we get a rock solid return, I'd take a knee and end it down 17 with the ball to open the half.

Savage to the 26. Take a knee. Don't risk a turnover.

Draw to Charles for 9. And the Chiefs take a timeout. Huh? Unless this is a 30 yard bomb to Wade or Bradley, this is a STUPID decision.

Screen pass batted down. That wasn't a bad call, Charles had room to run if the pass had been there.

Cassel swallowed up. Eagles take timeout to force the punt. I swear to God, if this is blocked, the offensive coordinator should be fired. And I am fully aware we're currently on our 2nd offensive coordinator in a month.

This was RETARDED play calling. RETARDED.

Dusty C gets it off. Maclin at his 20. Knocked out at the 17. End of half. Still doesn't change the RETARDED play calling that led to that punt though.

I'll be back in 15. Hopefully team tito version 1.0 isn't getting demolished yet by the Occiffers.

Savage returns the kick to the 28, 29 yard line. 1st and 10 Chiefs.

Make that the 26 yard line. And LJ runs for no gain on first down.

LJ offtackle for one. 3rd and 9.

NICE play call! Never mind. Holding on the play. 3rd and 19.

That's a dubious holding call at best.

Yeah, that's creative. We run the same damned play we just ran. Waving the white flag of surrender on 3rd and 19. Punt time.

Are we trying to win? I hate to ask, but when you call a draw on 3rd and 19 and you're down 17, the question has to be asked.

Good punt, nearly 50 yards. Eagles ball at their own 30.

Kolb to DeSean Jackson. Gain of 17.

The option! Vick to McCoy, gain of 4.

Kolb, all day to throw. Maclin for 11. First and ten Eagles at our 37.

Maclin for 11. 1st and 10 at our 26.

McCoy for 3, maybe 4.

McCoy for 2. Should have lost 3, poor tackling. 3rd and 4 at our 20.

Kolb overshot Jackson. Field goal try upcoming.

I continue to express shock that Solomon Wilcots is a voice of reason.

Its good. 27-7. 9:15 left in the 3rd. Our margin for error is now just about zero.

Touchback. Helluva kick, nearly drove Savage out of the back of the end zone.

LJ for one.

LJ for eleven! First down. That was the first play today LJ has had blockers in front of him. I like that we haven't abandoned the run. Although I have always felt a screen pass, swing pass, or shovel pass are just as effective. And might relieve the pressure on Cassel a little.

LJ for five, maybe six offtackle left.

Dump off to Ryan. Gain of four. 3rd and 1 at the 40.

HORRIBLE play call. A QB scramble from the shotgun? What the fuck was that? And WHY ARE YOU PUNTING! You're down 20! WHY ARE YOU PUNTING?!?!

This is chicken shit football. Chicken shit.

And its a fake! I take that back! Jon McGraw converts!

Well designed fake.

LJ loses 2.

The Chiefs have yet to attempt a pass more than 16 yards downfield.

LJ fumbles. Eagles recover. Ballgame.

Let me go back to my previous sentence though. If a team is blitzing you all day long, and you NEVER take a deep shot, how are you going to keep them from blitzing? If they have no reason to fear you going deep, they can tee off on you. This is what has happened for the last 2 hours. You would think an accomplished playcaller like Todd Haley is supposed to be, would realize this.

The lack of a vertical passing game is just ridiculous. If you have this little confidence in your QB and your WRs to make a play 20 yards downfield, why are they on the roster? Haley himself said he could drag in any 22 guys off the street and win 2 games. Can you drag in a couple guys off the street capable of running a go route?

If the Eagles score on this drive, I'm pulling the plug on the blog. Especially since Mickelson is within one.

We have a challenge.

That's a fumble.

Its not a bad challenge, but that's a fumble.

Chiefs lose the challenge. Again, its not a bad challenge because you had nothing to lose, you're down 20 and that's pretty much the final nail in the coffin. But correctly upheld.

McCoy for 3.

McCoy for 4.

Haley looks madder than the kooky birthers getting riled up about Obama.

Incomplete. 3 and out. Punt upcoming I assume.

Fair catch at the 15. Last gasp upcoming.

If Haley truly bases QB play on results, we should see Brodie Croyle here. Cassel has done nothing to move this team.

Bradley late to the huddle. Its still Cassel.

LJ, nice gain of 14. Glad to see Haley went right back to him.

End around to Bradley, nice gain. 24 yards to the Eagles 48.

LJ tough gain of 3. Bad spot, I thought he got another yard to just past the 45.

WR screen to Wade, gain of 4. Flag on the play. If this is another holding call on 60, I might toss the keyboard at the TV.

Offensive pass interference. On Sean Ryan. Are you shitting me.

Uuh ... that is just about the weakest PI call ever. That was horseshit.

Even Solomon Wilcots thinks it was a "bad call".

Ryan gets 4. 3rd and 13ish at the 48.

This had damned well better be 4 down territory.

Jamaal Charles for 4. Useless play call unless you're going for it.

End of the quarter. 4th and 10 when we start the 4th.

Holy shit! Mickelson nearly holed out from the fairway! It was in then bounced out! He'll have six inches to tie for the lead.

And we're punting. Gutless football. Gutless. You're down 20. Its the 4th quarter. Again, do you want to win? Why in the fuck am I continually having to ask if the team I root for, the team I give literally thousands of dollars to every year, why am I questioning whether or not they give a shit about winning?

If the D doesn't force a turnover or three and out, this one's over thanks to Gutless Wonder on the playcalling. Yes, I am fully aware 4th and 10, you'll convert maybe 20% of the time at best. But at least you're taking a chance, you're trying to win. Punting in that spot is gutless football. Its waving the whtie flag of surrender. And I am damned sick and tired of my team being the one to continually play like woosies when down 20.

Incomplete on first down. Not sure why Philly is throwing on first down, the clock is their friend at this point and far more important than yardage.

Gain of five to the fullback, another pass. 3rd and 5.

Do or die time.

Die. First down Jackson. Carr covered him as well as you could, but to no benefit. Bleed another two minutes off the clock if the Eagles execute this right.

McCoy for three. THAT'S the smart play call.

J! E! T! S! Jets Jets Jets! retake the lead!

Check to Jackson for six. 3rd and 1. Another safe, sensible play call. Wildcat upcoming as Vick takes the field.

McCoy and he did NOT get it! Great stack by Demorrio Williams.

11:10 approximately left when the Chiefs get it back. Needing 3 touchdowns. And if we punt at ANY point remaining in this game, someone should be fired.

Wade, solid return to the 38, but a flag down, you know its on us. Illegal block in the back on Carr. We should be at approximiately our own 22, 23 if I did the math right.

Make that our 16. Yikes.

Wade for 3. No sense of urgency whatsoever. Guys? YOU'RE DOWN 20! Get going!

And Bradley ONCE AGAIN fails to lunge for the first down marker. 3rd and 1. Still no sense of urgency. This is pathetic. We're huddling down 20 with 10 minutes to go.

Incomplete, intended for Wade. 4th and 1 ... and we're punting.

That's it, I'm done. Todd Haley is in so far over his head right now that there's no reason to continue this. If you don't have the balls to go for it down 20 in the 4th quarter on a 4th and f*cking foot, you have no business running a team. None. Haley the offensive coordinator is destroying Haley the head coach at this point.

Season on the line next Sunday. The margin for error is now officially zero. We have to win Sunday to have any shot to salvage anything out of this season. Right now, I'll be honest, I have ZERO faith and confidence in this coaching staff to rally the team. They clearly have no faith in the players on the roster, as evidenced by punting on 4th and 1 down 20. They'd rather keep it close than gamble to win. Todd, do us a favor and read Tuesday Morning Quarterback this week, where Gregg Easterbrook will 110% correctly rip you a new asshole for having no guts this week. You're better than this Todd. Either you coach to win, or quit. Some of us in this town are sick and tired of gutless football.

Whatever I may have thought of Dick Vermeil, Vermeil doesn't punt on 4th and 1 down 20. Vermeil tries to win. Haley punts. Winners go for it. Losers punt.

I'm just really too angry right now to continue. Blog over.

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