Jason Whitlock has posted his reaction to today's debacle at the Linc.
I completely agree with every paragraph, every sentence, every word, every letter in his post.
And after three weeks, I am ready to do the unthinkable. The impossible.
I am giving you my permission to check out on this team, this franchise, until our coach and GM grow a pair. Or get shown the door. I'm good with it either way.
Oh, I'll still show up for every game. Its how I roll. But for me, this head coach is finished. Todd Haley is NOT an NFL caliber head coach. Punting on 4th and 1 when you trail by 20 tells me everything I need to know about you as a man, as a coach, as a tactician. It tells me you have guts, no self confidence. You have no passion to win, and you're either in over your head, or you have so little faith in the roster you helped construct, that you refuse to put them in a position to win. Rather, you try to put them in a position to not fail.
I thought that change in the head coaching position was supposed to do away with that mentality? As I type this, I'm watching the Cardinals, trailing 21-3, showing more fight and innovative play calling than we've seen all year out of the Chiefs. They're (gasp) trying to score before the half! Trying to make a game of it headed to the locker room!
Anyone care to guess what Matt Cassel's longest pass attempt today was? Not completion, attempt. Here's a hint: it would not have gained a first down if it was called on first down. 8 yards. Matt Cassel's longest throw today, was 8 yards.
Is this Pop Warner league? Is Tom Osborne our play caller now? Actually that's an insult to Dr. Tom, he ALWAYS had a deep ball or two in the playbook.
I'd actually like to see what the Chiefs playbook looks like. I'm guessing its a bunch of crayon markings on a couple of napkins that have bourbon stains on them. This team is a f*cking joke. And it starts at the top.
Todd Haley is NOT a NFL caliber head coach. I'm sorry, he's not. I have no problem with passion and excitement on the sideline. Honestly, I find it funny that what we loved about Vermeil is now criticized in Haley. Its ridiculous. That's not my fault with Haley. I actually was kind of upset he reigned it in today.
My fault with him is simple: he doesn't care about winning. Any coach with an ounce of competitiveness does NOT punt on 4th and 1 when you're down by 20. You line up with two tackles eligible and pound the damned football down the defenses throat. Or you roll Cassel out with a scramble option if the TE is covered. But you at least TRY TO GET THE FIRST DOWN! Its what denver did today on goal to go. Its what Philly did to us on 4th and 1. On ANY 4th and 1, its what you should do! (Yes, I said ANY fourth and one. Eventually, coaches in this league are going to grasp that going for a play that converts, on average, 83% of the time, makes MORE sense than giving the ball up voluntarily).
Mano y mano, may the better team win. Its the essense of football. Sadly, our coach has so little guts, so little confidence in his team, that he won't even try.
That alone is a fireable offense in my book. To fail is human. We all fail. God knows I've got more than my share of failure in life. But to not even try is chicken sh*t. Todd Haley, by that definition, by MY definition, is a chicken sh*t head coach.
And yes, I'd tell that to him to his face if I ever got the chance. I've called Ed Hearn far worse to his face. Ditto "deadbeat former roommate", who is still the most pathetic excuse for a human being I've ever been "fortunate" enough to meet.
Today was amongst the most frustrating games I've ever watched. Because we never showed up trying to win. We showed up trying not to get embarrassed. When you play with that type of mentality, you will ALWAYS be embarrassed. And you will ALWAYS lose. Because you won't have the balls to take the risks you have to take to win.
Today, I was embarrassed to be a Chiefs fan. As opposed to the other team I root for, the J! E! T! S! Jets Jets Jets! That's what you want in a team. A head coach who gets it. A QB who isn't handicapped by his GM. An owner who demands excellence and sh*t cans you if you don't deliver. Jesus Christ, the New York effing Jets are a model franchise, and us, the Kansas City Chiefs, are the laughing stock of the league.
Go Jets Go. The Jets of 2009 are what we, the Chiefs, used to be. Brash, self-confident, willing to do ANYTHING to win the damned game. The 2009 Chiefs, are what the Jets I've known and loved have always been. Timid. Scared of success. Unwilling to take the risks you have to take to be a winner in this league.
Embarrassed. That's the only word I can come up with. I'm just f*cking embarrassed. My team is coached by a guy who thinks 4th and 1, trailing by 20, is a punting situation. And is run by a GM that defends the decision. I'm just ... embarrassed.
No Chiefs team in my lifetime has opened 0-4. Sunday, it will happen. Not might happen. Not should happen. It WILL happen. I have never been more confident of a Chiefs loss entering a week than I am right now. There is no doubt in my mind we will be humiliated on the sacred turf of Arrowhead on Sunday, to lose our 12th consecutive game counting preseason. There is no doubt in my mind. I don't care what the line is, I'm taking the Giants and I'm laying the points.
Not because we should lose. No, the Chiefs are not the best team in the league or the division. This team is good enough to win, at home, if we deliver a solid effort. But because we won't. Because Pioli, Haley, and the "brainfarts" at One Arrowhead Drive value having the number one pick in every round in 2010 more than they value playing with integrity and a focus on winning.
That just about sums it up. Securing a draft position matters more to our "brainfarts" than giving the paying public what they pay for. I'm fine with building for the future. But you do NOT tank games until the second half of the season. You NEVER throw in the towel until you're 0-5 (because no NFL team has ever recovered from worse than 0-4 to reach the playoffs, although Marty's Redskins in 2000 and Fisher's Titans in 2006 came damned close). Until you're into the second quarter of the season, you don't give up.
Sunday, the Chiefs gave up on 2009. We threw in the towel. We officially kicked off Tankapalooza 2009.
Sadly on Sunday, we also learned all we needed to know about Brian Waters' alleged leadership skills. About Mike Vrabel's alleged veteran presence. Because no self respecting veteran would have let Todd Haley leave that locker room under his own power after the game he called. Todd Haley quit. Any veteran worth a damn would have called him on it and "dealt with it internally". Which, had it been a team of true veterans, would have involved a stretcher, an ambulance, and an interim head coach come Sunday against the Giants due to an "undisclosed medical condition" for our current head coach.
The fact that we don't have a single player on this roster willing to state the obvious, and demand this team give a sh*t about winning now, says all I need to know about this season.
I just hope some Chiefs season ticket holder(s) file a class action lawsuit for fraud against the Kansas City Chiefs organization. We were promised a NFL team to show up and support in 2009. We were promised a collection of "professionals" to root on. There's nothing PROFESSIONAL about quitting in week 3.
There's nothing professional about this team. How sad. How truly sad. We're the biggest joke in the league. Say what you want about Carl, but Carl would have at least tried to win in 2009. Pioli and Haley clearly value draft position over any semblance of pride. How pathetic.
No comments:
Post a Comment