chiefs season in review

Here are my final year end thoughts for the 2010 Kansas City Chiefs, along with a few wishful thoughts for 2011.

As always, these are my opinions, and my opinions only. I highly doubt you will agree with all of them. That's what the comments section is for. A couple grades, in particular, I think are going to anger the Chiefs fans that read this. If so, too bad. Open your eyes, and see things like I do. Or blast away at me in the comments, it's all good.

* Best game: Chiefs 34, Titans 14 week 16. The most dominant performance the Chiefs put on all season, scoring on five of their first six possessions en route to a 24 point halftime lead. Honorable mention: Chiefs 10, donkeys 6 week 13. Anytime you beat those asshats, it's a good thing. Anytime you beat them, and they promptly fire their head coach less than 24 hours later? It's a great thing.

* Worst game: Ravens 30, Chiefs 7 wildcard round. No, it wasn't the worst game we played all year, but certainly it was the worst outcome. And the second half was a total disaster. Dishonorable mention: Chargers 31, Chiefs 0 week 14. The worst Chiefs offensive performance of my lifetime. And the defense wasn't much better.

* Favorite play: Chiefs hold on 4th and goal, vs Chargers week 1. Nobody who was there that night will ever forget the ending. And anyone who was there and left early, will be kicking themselves in the ass until the day they die about walking out on an instant classic. As well you should be – you never leave a competitive game early, no matter what the weather is like. Hell, I should be kicking your ass for you if you left early. Honorable mention: the McCluster to Cassel to D Bowe reverse flea flicker for a touchdown, vs 49ers week 3. The coolest play call all season long.

* Least Favorite play: the 4th and 1 pitch, vs Ravens wildcard round. One of the four or five worst play calls in franchise history. Dishonorable mention: D Bowe dropping a gimme touchdown, at Colts week 5. In hindsight, it didn't cost us a thing, but at the time, it certainly cost us a chance to bury the Colts, and all but wrap up the division by mid-October.

* Favorite Ongoing Storyline: Tony Gonzalez losing again in the postseason. Tony G was dead to me after the denver game in 2008, when he put personal stats over winning for the first time in 345 days. I don't get it Chiefs fans. This guy QUIT on us. He demanded out. We weren't good enough for him. I'm thrilled that in the two seasons since the trade, the Chiefs and Falcons have achieved the same end result -- one playoff-less season, one division championship, zero playoff wins. Honorable mention: the real Tony we should be cheering for, Tony Richardson, still alive for a Super Bowl berth.

* Least Favorite Ongoing Storyline: the labor situation. I mean, this isn't the NBA, where at least 10-12 franchise are legitimately hemorrhaging money and would actually make money by not playing a single game. Every NFL team turns a profit, most of them an obscene one. If you can't figure out a way to divide up $9 billion in revenue, you're dumber than Lloyd Christmas. Dishonorable mention: the "sellouts" at Arrowhead. I still wish Clark Hunt and/or Channel 5 hadn't bought up the Titans tickets. Let the die-hards who sat through three years of crap for this season, have their moment, and let everyone else who for whatever reason didn't get tickets re-examine just how die-hard of a fan they are.

* Most Valuable Chief, Offense: Ryan Lilja, RG. Might be the best free agent signing by this franchise since Carl Peterson took a chance on an injured Ravens RB named Priest Holmes ten years ago. Honorable mention: Jamaal Charles, RB. The best season by a Chiefs running back since LJ in 2006.

* Most Valuable Chief, Defense: Tamba Hali, OLB. Became a force as a pass rusher, and remained effective in pass coverage as well. It's a crime he's not Pro Bowl bound. Honorable mention: Brandon Flowers, CB. Along with Brandon Carr, the Chiefs are set at corner for the next six to seven years, barring injury. Flowers became the shut-down corner the Chiefs really haven't had since James Hasty in the late 1990s.

* Least Valuable Chief, Offense: Brodie Croyle, QB. In the words of Rage Against the Machine, "f*ck it, cut the cord!" His performance in San Diego was criminitely bad. Yes, it was so awful that I had to haul out a word from Dustyland to describe it. Dishonorable mention: Chris Chambers, WR. So awful at his job that we signed a white dude off the street for the playoff game (Kevin Curtis), and gave him more playing time in that game than Chris got.

* Least Valuable Chief, Defense: Tyson Jackson, DE. A complete bust along the lines of Ryan Sims and Junior Siavii at this point. Probably has one more training camp to prove himself before the Chiefs cut him and move on. Dishonorable mention: Donald Washington, CB. It's not that he played poorly, it's that he could never stay healthy. Washington is a solid corner when the Chiefs go cover three if he's healthy. In 2010, that wasn't often.

* Most Improved Chief, Offense: Brandon Albert, LT. Went from a decent lineman, to someone to protect the blind side for the next decade. This dude has four or five Pro Bowls in him. Honorable mention: Barry Richardson. Went from radioactive disaster, to mild catastrophe. Chiefs definitely need to upgrade the right tackle position this offseason.

* Most Improved Chief, Defense: Wallace Gilberry, DE. A year ago, I was ripping Todd Haley for allowing this guy to even be active, let alone be on the field. Now? Like a lot of things in 2009, I was too short-sighted to see the payoff. Gilberry has developed into a solid pass rushing end, and his potential is sky high at this point. Honorable mention: Jovan Belcher, LB. Another player with huge potential that took a giant step forward in 2010.

* Least Improved Chief, Offense: Chris Chambers, WR. The worst Chiefs free agent signing at the position since Brett Perriman was attempting (and usually failing) to find the "definition of the sideline" in 1997. Dishonorable mention: Leonard Pope, RB / TE. More a numbers-thing, as he was squeezed for playing time by Castille, and the emergence of Moeaki. But I expected more from Pope than what we saw this year.

* Least Improved Chief, Defense: Tyson Jackson, DE. At this point, it might be in the Chiefs best interest to just give up on him. Especially with Shaun Smith and Gilberry perfectly capable of handling the position. Dishonorable mention: Corey Mays, LB. Didn't hear much from him this season, after a decent 2009 campaign. I'd be shocked if Mays is on the roster in 2011.

Individual Grades, Defense:

* Tyson Jackson, DE: F. Couldn't stay healthy early, and was a waste of space when he was on the field. Arguably the most disappointing Chiefs draft pick since Ryan Sims. His future with the team will be known early on -- if the Chiefs go DE on day one or two, expect Jackson to be cut in August.

* Shaun Smith, DE: B+. Could not have asked more of Smith, up to and including a Fridge Perry-like touchdown run in Seattle. Great free agent pickup by the Chiefs front office. Would be shocked if he is not starting next September at LDE.

* Ron Edwards, DT: A. Quite possibly the most underrated Chiefs player of my lifetime. Every year it seems like the Chiefs try to replace him, and every year Edwards responds with a solid effort, solid stats, and great attitude and work ethic. Hopefully he sticks around for another year or two and earns an ultimate payoff for all his efforts to date.

* Glenn Dorsey, DE: B-. Had his best season as a pro, but it still isn't good enough for a top five draft pick from three years ago. Chiefs have a big decision to make on Dorsey come the end of 2011 -- extend, or let him walk. His play next season should determine the answer to that question.

* Wallace Gilberry, DE: A. What a tremendous season for this guy. Even if 2010 is his ceiling, we've got at worst another Joe Phillips type end. And I'm perfectly fine with that.

* Mike Vrabel, LB: C-. He's definitely at the end of the line. If he does return in 2011, it should be strictly in the veteran backup role he's best suited to play at this point.

* Andy Studebaker, LB: C. Nowhere near as effective in 2010 as he was in 2009 ... but still a solid special teams player, a decent coverage backer when the Chiefs go cover three, and you can do a helluva lot worse at backup LB than this guy.

* Jovan Belcher, LB: B. Had a solid season at middle backer ... but incredibly, stepped up for his biggest game in the wildcard game, posting 11 tackles, and nearly doubling his sack output for the season. Is that a sign of things to come ... or a guy who plays bigger when the moment gets bigger? Either way, it's a good sign, since next year's schedule (more on that to come) offers a ton of big games.

* Corey Mays, LB: F. A complete disaster. Will be stunned to see him back in 2011.

* Derrick Johnson, LB: A-. If he had better hands, he'd have earned an A+, but dropping at least 2 gimme interceptions is a downer in my eyes. Glad to see him fully embrace the team concept the administration is pushing, and he earned his contract extension.

Having said that ... let's flash back to 2005 for a minute. The Chiefs are on the clock, picking 15th. Their most glaring need at the moment is a game-changing linebacker. Derrick Johnson is there for the taking. That is who the "Voice of Reason" strongly backed.

On the other end of the couch, I argued strongly that the time to draft Trent Green's replacement, was now ... because Aaron Rodgers was still on the clock. G and I disagree on a lot of things ... but rarely have we been so heated in disagreement as we were about this pick.

(Meanwhile, on the phone in Raleigh, Brent was desperately hoping I was right, to avoid paying off yet another ridiculous bet he and Gregg made, this one involving buying a player’s jersey depending on who the Chiefs drafted. I believe he had Antrel Rolle or Pacman Jones. I know Gregg had DJ. The lesson? As always, never bet against Gregg when he’s got something riding on the outcome. Unless it’s a pai gow table at the Isle on a Friday night. Then bet on crappy cards, zero fortune bonus payouts, and a long night of steady defeat for all at the table).

In the end, the Chiefs took DJ, and the Packers (using the strategory I was acting under the influence of) grabbed up Aaron Rodgers nine picks later.

So I ask you Chiefs fans: five years later, who was right? Me, for wanting to draft a stud franchise QB, or "The Voice of Reason", for sticking to "draft your biggest need"? Both Rodgers and DJ are going to have solid pro careers. And up until this postseason at least, you could argue this fight was a draw to date. But only one of them can alter the fate of a franchise, as this January is proving. And that one ain't DJ. More on this to come when I get to my Chiefs draft desires ...

* Demarrio Williams, LB: D. Has been a total bust since arriving via free agency three years ago. Should be more than a backup / spot starter given the talent he has, and the amount of money we're paying him. Another player likely to be an ex-Chief in 2011.

* Tamba Hali, LB: A+. Went from solid contributor to defensive anchor in 2010. No Chiefs player developed more this year than Tamba did. I can't wait to see where this kid is at two to three years from now.

* Brandon Flowers, CB: B+. My only criticism is that Flowers takes too many chances trying for the interception, rather than simply defending the pass, or wrapping up the receiver after a short gain. He'll learn to settle eventually, rather than force the issue. He's too talented not to.

* Javier Arenas, CB: C+. Had a couple solid kick returns, but was not as effective in the cover three as he needs to be. Still, for a rookie season, he did a fine job, and figures to only get better.

* Brandon Carr, CB: B+. The underrated Brandon Brother. I like Carr, a lot. Solid fundamentally, always in position to make the play, rarely gets burned deep. The Chiefs are set at corner through at least 2016 at this point, and that's a very good thing.

* Travis Daniels, CB: D. Didn't play much, and didn't do much when he did play. His ceiling is likely a cover three corner.

* Donald Washington, CB: F. This season was a catastrophe for him. Let's hope for better things in 2011, because the talent is there.

* Jon McGraw, S: B+. Has a great knack for being around the ball. Go back and watch his INT of peyton manning that should have set up the Chiefs for the win (the very next play was the Bowe TD drop) -- McGraw totally lulled manning into making a horrendous throw, that he then stepped in and picked. Great fundamentals, rock solid tackler, only concern is the injury bug -- he missed four games due to injury, and one of them (at denver), the Chiefs got killed because of it.

* Eric Berry, S: B-. Didn't quite deliver as great of a rookie year as we could have hoped for, but was certainly in the top 5-6% of rookies in the league in terms of making a positive impact on the field. Will only keep getting better.

* Kendrick Lewis, S: A+. I am friggin in love with this kid. I haven't had a ridiculous man-crush on a Chiefs defender like this since "Brave" Bennie Sapp stormed the donkeys bench and taunted them after the Thanksgiving win four years ago. Like McGraw, Lewis always is in position to make the play. The Chiefs have an embarrassment of riches at safety. That's a very good thing.

* Dusty Colquitt, P: D. Not one of Dusty C's finest years. He gets great hangtime, and when he's allowed to just drill it, he usually does. But he's horrendous when punting between the 40s -- dude couldn't land a punt inside the 10 if he was given 100 chances to do so. The Chiefs can – and must – improve at this position. I wouldn't be shocked if they opted to try to do so with someone not named Dusty C. I kind of hope they don’t though – I still crack myself up with the tired, ridiculous “Dusty C’s punt as high as Dusty J? Nope” joke that never was funny, to anyone other than me.

Individual Grades, Offense:

* Brandon Albert, T: B+. What would you rather have Chiefs fans -- Albert and Jamaal Charles, or Jared Allen? If Carl's last gift to this franchise was the tremendous (so far) 2008 draft, then this trade has to be the bow on top of the package. Albert figures to be a 10-12 year mainstay protecting the blind side. If you've solved the left tackle slot, the rest of the offensive line becomes relatively easy to fix.

* Barry Richardson, T: C. A perfectly league-average backup. You need a couple of those on the line. Was decent when forced into action. I can see him being a Wade Smith / Marcus Spears type player, who lasts for 10-12 years but floats from team to team every couple seasons.

* Brian Waters, G: B. His age is beginning to show, but he's still one of the 4 or 5 best guards in the game, and possibly the best undrafted free agent of the 2000s. Still has 2-3 solid years left in him.

* Jon Asamoah, G: B. Solid rookie season. Didn't get embarrassed in his one forced start. Has a bright future in front of him.

* Casey Weigmann, C: A. I can't recall a single botched snap under center this season. I honestly can't recall a botched snap in the shotgun either. If you don't f*ck up the snap once, and you play center? You're getting an A from Professor Steve. Rock solid season for the veteran, and hopefully he's got another one or two of those in him.

* Ryan Lilja, G: A+. The local kid comes home, and makes a name for himself. The best offensive lineman pickup the Chiefs have made since they traded for Willie Roaf a decade ago.

* Ryan O'Callaghan, T: C. A position the Chiefs must improve, especially given the beefed-up schedule next fall. If you think O'Callaghan is a longer-term answer, you fill this in free agency for the short-term fix. If (like me) you think O'Callaghan is at best a career backup / spot starter, you fill this in day one or two of the draft.

* Terrence Copper, WR: B-. Didn't do anything great, didn't do anything horrendous. The Chiefs desperately need a possession receiver, the dude you look to on 3rd and 6, who always makes the catch. We haven't had that really since Kevin Lockett in the late 90s. (Well, other than Tony Gonzalez. I mean a wide receiver who can fill that role). Copper isn't the answer. But he's a decent third / slot receiver option with decent hands who's worth keeping around for 2011.

* Verran Tucker, WR: B. Has more of a future on special teams than as a wide receiver. Still, had a great touchdown catch in oakland, which gives him a slightly higher grade than Copper.

* Chris Chambers, WR: F. An abject embarrassment to the Red and Gold this season. I haven't been more disappointed in a Chiefs receiver since Brett Perriman. And at least Perriman had an excuse -- it's been fourteen years, and I still can't figure out where the hell the sideline was in that Monday nighter at oakland either.

* Leonard Pope, TE: C. I expected more, but I'm not blaming Pope for his downfall in production. Our third round draft choice was really that good. A solid backup TE / fourth receiving option. Also valuable because he can lead block, and provide the safety valve in a tight formation.

* Tony Moeaki, TE: A+. Should be the Chiefs Rookie of the Year, but I'm guessing he won't get it. Should fill the tight end position competently for quite a while going forward.

* Jake O'Connell, TE: D. Saw little to no playing time on offense, and was mediocre at best on special teams. Plus, I hate guys who tat up their arms with their initials. I mean, really? That's what you opt for when you go get inked up, is a huge Detroit-script J and O? Lame. Very, very lame.

* Dwayne Bowe, WR: B+. The Indianapolis drop cost him an A. Look it, I don't care if he's a prima donna, I don't care if he's an ass to the fans, and I especially don't care to find out what long-lost cousin of his we're bringing into training camp this upcoming season. All I care about is that you catch the ball when it's thrown to you. Bowe did that very well the last 2/3 of the season, including an awesome 3rd and 19 conversion against the Titans that he took 70 yards to the end zone, a play we never seem to make, yet always have dropped on us. Let's hope that's a trend that continues.

* Dexter McCluster, WR: D. Yes, this is harsh. Yes, Dex was highly effective when he was on the field. But, how often was he on the field? He missed over half the season with various injuries. He's a smallish dude who relies on jukes and fakes to make his yardage (along with his speed). I don't like his odds of staying healthy going forward (which is why I think using him on returns, other than at THE critical moment of a game, is a huge mistake -- you're risking injury for no good reason, especially when you have a very solid returner in Arenas that can do the same thing you're asking Dex to do). The jury's out for this kid with me. I pray I'm wrong, but I don't see him having an effective career.

* Thomas Jones, RB: C. For someone who was brought in to be the short-yardage guy, and the pound-the-line guy, he was shockingly ineffective at converting 3rd and 4th and short. How many times this year did we run it on 3rd and 2 or less, and then have to make a 4th down decision? Way too many times. I expect Jones to return, but the Chiefs should be looking to upgrade this roster spot. Still earns a passing grade because he achieved his primary purpose – he saved Charles from wear, tear, and injury by absorbing the bulk of the carries. If only we’d had a TJ back when LJ was hauling the rock, maybe he’d have a better legacy and career in the eyes of Chiefs Nation.

* Jackie Battle, RB: D. Another in a long line of wasted Chiefs draft picks at the position. Battle at best is a garbage time runner.

* Jamaal Charles, RB: A+. I had no complaints with how the Chiefs used Charles. They used him and Jones exactly as I would have. And exactly as they should going forward. Charles can't hold up over 300 plus carries every year. He can't. He can, however, be highly effective over 200-220 carries. He's not Barry Sanders. But he sure as all hell can be another Roger Craig type back who posts sick numbers on limited carries, and posts one huge burst a game. (With TJ or a suitable replacement serving as his Tom Rathman). And I'm perfectly good with that.

* Tony Castille, RB: B. I'd like to see the Chiefs use Leonard Pope more in this spot. I think he'd be a great fullback, especially given his receiving capabilities. But Castille did a tremendous job this season. You don't have the best running game in the league unless you've got some tremendous blocking going on, and it starts at the point of attack, which is Castille.

* Brodie Croyle, QB: F. Now 0-10 as a starter in the league. I'd be shocked if he gets a chance to stretch that much past 12 or 13 by the time his career is over.

* Tyler Palko, QB: F. Horrendous the one time he saw action (vs the raiders). Will be nothing more than a clipboard holder going forward.

* Matt Cassel, QB: D+. I know, I know, I can hear you all screaming now. "You gave him a D! How? What QB did you watch this year Stevo?" To which I respond, I watched a QB who crapped his pants at home against all our divisional rivals, who looked rattled in Indy, posted his two worst games of the season in his last two starts, and really delivered only two rock-solid starts this year (at St. Louis, vs Tennessee). Yes, it is highly probable the oakland and Baltimore abortions were due to lingering affects from the appendicitis.

Having said that, I don't think you can win a championship in this league with a middle of the road QB. Sure, you can win, as in "win 10-11 games, win the division or sneak in as a wildcard, and then get rolled in your first game". My other rooting interest did that for a decade, his name was Chad Pennington. (And I say that as someone who still has a Pennington Jets jersey hanging proudly in his closet. I like Pennington, a lot. But he’s not a championship quarterback. And neither is Cassel).

As a Chiefs fan, just reaching the playoffs? That's not good enough for me anymore. That's been what we've had, for better or for worse, for 20 years and counting. We've had a few solid seasons by QBs since the late 1980s, but never have we started a guy under center who you could confidently say "that guy can win on the road in January".

Say what you want about The Sanchize, and God knows I cringe a little every time he lets it fly … he's 4-1 on the road in the playoffs. He plays his best, when the stakes are the highest. Yes, the Jets D was a huge reason why they won last week ... but who put them in position to get there with a textbook pass to Braylon Edwards in Indy the week before? Who put the Jets ahead for good with a textbook sideline pass to Santonio Holmes last week?

I firmly believe the Chiefs must upgrade the quarterback position if we hope to ever achieve more than what we got this season. Matt Cassel is a great guy. He's a decent quarterback. But can you see Cassel leading this team to a victory in Foxboro in January? To a win at the Ketchup Bottle in the AFC Title Game? Can you see him surviving and overcoming the crowd in Indy in the divisional round? I can't. Which is why, when I get to the Chiefs drafting thoughts, I will once again scream to anyone who will listen "DO NOT REPEAT 2005! DO NOT REPEAT 2005!" if the opportunity comes up.

* Ryan Succup, K: B+. Didn't miss a single kick that cost the Chiefs a game. That's all you can ask out of your place kicker. Only reason this isn't an A is because he shanked the game winner against Buffalo, before finally making it as time expired. Still, he's by far and away the most reliable, consistent kicker we've had since Pete Stoyanovich.

Individual Grades, Coordinator, Head Coach, Front Office and Ownership:

* Romeo Crennel, Defensive Coordinator: B+. Realistically, he took the same defense that played like dogcrap for the last three years, and through schemes and coaching, turned it into a serviceable unit that kept the Chiefs afloat in a ton of games this year. Optimistically, this is the worst talent he's going to have going forward -- the unit will only keep getting better. I love where this team is headed on the defensive side of the ball.

* Chuck Weis, Offensive Coordinator: B-. The playoff game turned on one stupid play call. Other than that, and the debacle in San Diego (which I blame far more on Brodie than Chuck), he didn't have a bad game all season. He somehow made Matt Cassel look like an average NFL QB. He rode the Chiefs rushing attack to exploit the other team's passing weaknesses (seriously, his game at Seattle is a clinic in how to exploit your opponent, it's a masterpiece). I wish him nothing but the best at Florida going forward, and thank him for a tremendous, franchise-re-establishing season.

* Todd Haley, Head Coach: B. Love the riverboat gambler mentality ... because anyone who has ever played Madden knows how retarded it is to consistently punt on 4th and short, or settle for 3 inside the five yard line, especially when you have a running game like the Chiefs had this season. Does not get an A for two reasons: (1) this team was not ready to play in the wildcard game. I know there's a wide variety of reasons why, not the least of which is the flu bug going around the stadium the prior week, but that's on coaching. If your guys come out flat and uninspired in their first playoff game in years, that's on coaching. And (2) I have zero doubt he called the 4th and 1 pitch against the Ravens in that game. That call was so awful, he gets docked for it. What keeps him from falling to a C is the Colts game (a coaching masterpiece in how to spring the upset, if only D Bowe holds onto the pass), and the season opener -- as fired up and prepared for battle as we were to open the season, we were the exact opposite for the playoff game.

Still, considering last year at this time, I was openly calling for his head, and now I'm ok with him returning for year three, he had one helluva season. There aren't too many athletes or coaches who get out of my doghouse. Here’s to hoping he doesn’t find his way back in there in 2011.

* Scott Pioli, GM: A-. Has really only had one spectacular screw-up since arriving in Kansas City last year, and that's the Tyson Jackson pick (which, to be fair, he was pretty much forced into making – nobody was trading up, and nobody else in that slot made sense, but still). Every free agent signing was golden this year, especially Ryan Lilja and Casey Weigmann. He's Pro Football Weekly's Executive of the Year, and I can't disagree with their vote. Has the Chiefs on a similar upward track that his predecessor did after two years on the job -- only he's doing it with a bunch of young players on both sides of the ball, as opposed to Carl's refusal to go young on offense. The sky's the limit!

* Clark Hunt, Owner: A. Give him credit -- he did everything Chiefs fans wanted him to do. He canned Carl. He allowed Herm to be shoved out the door. He allowed Pioli to hire his guys, despite the severance packages it no doubt forced him to pay out. He opened the check book for free agency. He opened the check book for the draft. He also incredibly paid for every cost overrun on the stadium renovation, and threw in an additional $125 million so that the Founders Plaza and the Hall of Fame would truly be special destination places for any Chiefs fan (and they are). I have no idea how we got so lucky to have a truly worthy successor to Lamar Hunt, but thank God we did.

And if you don't think that last sentence is important, look around the rest of the division. The raiders have no succession plan for when al davis finally croaks (and nobody locally outside of Larry Ellison of Oracle with the money to buy the raiders and keep them in Oakland, and Ellison just shelled out $500 million to save the Warriors, I doubt he's got another cool $1.2, $1.3 billion laying around to buy the raiders AND finance a new stadium). denver's owner is sadly suffering from the onset of dementia. (I hate patrick j. bowlen with a passion, but as someone whose grandmother died of Alzheimer's disease, I wouldn't wish dementia on anyone, including bowlen and anyone his franchise has ever employed. It's a horrible way to die). And San Diego, the Spanos family doesn't have the money to make the pass-down-to-the-kid plan work, so when Alex kicks the bucket in a couple years, they'll be in a state of flux.

Simply put, the Chiefs are the most stable franchise in the division, and they're on the surest footing personnel wise at this point as well. The only thing we're missing to keep from jumping to elite, conference championship threats? Glad you asked.

* Chiefs Draft Thoughts:

I know the popular thought is that we go offensive tackle, defensive end, or wide receiver. And most of the time, I’d agree with you. Depending on how day one goes, I might completely agree with you by the time we’re on the clock. But if one of two people is still on the board, the pick is obvious.

It has to be a quarterback.

I see four potential franchise guys in the first round. So let’s examine each one.

First, let's be realistic here. Unless the Chiefs mortgage the future and trade a couple future first rounders, they aren't getting Blaine Gabbert, who isn't falling below 10 to the Redskins at the worst (and probably doesn't slide past the Cardinals at 5). I know it'd be cool if the local kid, the local college stud, came in to lead the franchise to glory, but it ain't gonna happen. (That, and there’s no way I’d invest multiple draft picks to move up and pick a guy who never led his team to a BCS bowl game. Or a division title. Or one single, significant road win in his two years at the helm. Gabbert has “BUST!” flashing all over him).

I'm also not enamored with Jake Locker. If he's the only option at quarterback left at 21, then draft for need, or draft best available, and try again in 2012, because Cassel is decent enough to deliver another 10-6 division championship, exit in the divisional round type season.

That leaves two.

My first choice – Cam Newton. Newton would be a dream come true, because I really think that's where the league is headed -- a stud athlete with a solid arm, who is built like a tank, making him tough to stop on the run as well. (Yes, you can accurately conclude I am a huge believer in tim tebow. Which sickens me. But that kid is going to lead the broncos back to relevance far faster than they have any reason to do so. Well him, and John Fox, the best coaching hire of the offseason so far.

And for anyone who thinks that type of QB can’t succeed in the NFL, I have two words for you. Steve. Young. That dude worked out fairly well, as unfortunately tebow will as well …)

Unfortunately, I see no way Newton gets past Jacksonville at 16. And the only way he lasts that long is if Washington has a collective brain fart at 10, and screws up royally when turning in the draft card.

Which leaves one guy. And I think he’d be a natural in Todd Haley’s offense. Hell, I know he’d be a natural in a Todd Haley-esque offense, because it’s what he ran in college.

That guy … is Ryan Mallett.

I know, a lot of people's immediate impression of Mallett is his final collegiate play, a costly interception while trying to rally his team from down 20 plus (they'd cut it to 5) in the Sugar Bowl. And a lot of the time, I'd agree with you.

Except I really think this kid is going to be something special. He resurrected Arkansas football, going from the disaster of the Houston Nutt / Guz Malzahn / Mitch Mustain crap and a 3-9 disaster, to a 10-3 Sugar Bowl season. He did it without a NFL caliber running back or wide receiver on the roster. He did it with a porous defense he constantly had to find a way to outscore. And he did it playing for a guy NFL types despise (Bobby Petrino). The kid is the real deal.

If Mallett is there at 21, and the Chiefs don't draft him, I'm going to be livid. (Especially angry if Cam Newton is there at 21 and we pass, but I don't think he will be).

Please, Scott Pioli, Chiefs scouting department, upper management – do NOT repeat 2005! When a franchise QB falls into your lap, don't think – just draft! How much better off would this team be with Aaron Rodgers under center? You can always find a Derrick Johnson type player, even if you have to overpay in free agency every couple years to get one. What you don't find in free agency, or in the draft more than once or twice a year for that matter, is a stud franchise QB that can take you from where the Chiefs are (a decent 10-11 win squad), to where they need to be (an elite franchise that is on the short list of Lombardi Trophy threats).

If Mallett (or Newton) is there, pull the trigger. Make the pick. You won't regret it. Even if he has to sit a couple years before you can push the incumbent out the door -- how is that an issue? The Titans sat Steve McNair for a couple years, it didn't hurt him at all. The Pack sat Rodgers for three seasons. Didn't harm his development one bit. I'd much rather use the 21st pick on a quarterback who six years from now has us as a 3 1/2 point favorite in the AFC Title Game as a road team (like Rodgers is on Sunday in the other conference), than on a linebacker who is solid, but whose ceiling is borderline Pro Bowler.

Gamble on greatness. Don't settle for mediocrity. That's my hopes for the 2011 draft.

(And if Mallett / Newton are both gone, which is probable at this point, then draft for need, or try like holy hell to trade back. I think RT is our most glaring hole, with WR a close second. Ron Edwards can more than handle the DT position for another season, and there’s no DT in the 20-25 range that I’d use the pick on).

* The 2011 Schedule, Steve-style:

Now that we know our opponents, here's how I'd want to see them in order of appearance.

Note: the Royals are home Sunday, September 18th. That is the only September date that could affect a Chiefs home game.

Week One: Sunday, September 11th, vs Packers, 3:15pm, FOX (*).
Week Two: Sunday, September 18th, at broncos, 3:15pm, CBS.
Week Three: Sunday, September 25th, vs Dolphins, noon, CBS.
Week Four: Monday, October 3rd, vs Steelers, 7:30pm, ESPN (*).
Week Five: Sunday, October 9th, at Jets, noon, CBS.
Week Six: Sunday, October 16th, vs raiders, noon, CBS.
Week Seven: bye.
Week Eight: Sunday, October 30th, at Patriots, noon, CBS.
Week Nine: Sunday, November 6th, at Vikings, noon, CBS.
Week Ten: Sunday, November 13th, vs Chargers, 7:15pm, NBC (*).
Week Eleven: Sunday, November 20th, at Lions, noon, CBS.
Week Twelve: Thursday, November 24th, vs broncos, 7pm, NFLN (*).
Week Thirteen: Sunday, December 4th: vs Bills, noon, CBS.
Week Fourteen: Sunday, December 11th: at Chargers, 3:15pm, CBS.
Week Fifteen: Sunday, December 18th: at Colts, noon, CBS.
Week Sixteen: Monday, December 26th: vs Bears, 7:30pm, ESPN (*).
Week Seventeen: Sunday, January 1st: at raiders, 3:15pm, CBS.

Reasoning / Analysis: how awesome would it be to open the season against the Packers, with the eyes of the nation on us in the stand-alone FOX afternoon slot? (FOX always has the stand-alone afternoon slot week one due to CBS airing the US Open Men’s final). I think it'd be pretty sweet. You follow that up with a very winnable roadie at denver, before a very winnable home game against the Dolphins. You're set up, just like in 2010, to a potentially huge start and a jump on the division before the calendar hits October. You then close the first quarter with our first prime time game of the year, against the Steelers (that game will be in prime time wherever it appears on the schedule, you can bet the family farm on that).

Then two tough ones to close before the bye, at the Jets and then hosting the raiders, who somehow have won four straight at Arrowhead, most in blowout fashion. The bye comes at just the right time, and gives you two weeks to prepare for the reunion in Foxboro. You close the first half of the schedule with an intriguing roadie at Minnesota, who if they get a decent QB, will be a tough out.

There’s no reason you can’t be 5-3 at worst hitting midseason, and 6-2 if you steal a roadie either in the Meadowlands or the Metrodome.

The third quarter is THE crucial quarter, because you almost have to go 4-0 in this stretch if you have any hopes of playing past my 35th birthday. You open with a huge divisional showdown with the Chargers, then a winnable roadie at Detroit ... followed by a really short week, because Thanksgiving Night should always be played at Arrowhead, and godd*mmit, I'm going to keep scheduling denver at Chiefs for as long as I do this, because that should be an established Thanksgiving night tradition -- even if we swap stadiums every year, just set that game for prime time on Thanksgiving night and be done with it. It's one of the AFC's best rivalries. It's almost always a great game. Make it happen. You then get a long rest before closing the third quarter with the Bills.

Then, quarter four, which is brutally tough, but one of the quarters was going to be, and since ideally you're playing your best football entering December, might as well make the last one the tough one. Back to back roadies at San Diego and Indy, followed by hosting the Bears (in a huge non-con prime time showdown for both teams given what their records are likely to be – think Vikings at Chiefs in mid-December 1999 in prime time for a reference point), and closing in the coliseum with potentially the division on the line.

2011 is going to be tough ... but every other AFC West team has toughies as well, and honestly? I'd rather have Pittsburgh / at Indy like we do, than Baltimore / at Jacksonville like the Chargers, because I think the Ravens and Jags will both be better teams than the Steelers and Colts next year. At worst, it's a coin flip.

The Chargers do have a slight advantage, in that they get New England and the Jets at home ... but they also have the flip of us and have to go to Chicago and Green Bay. Don't underestimate how lucky we are to be visiting the two dome teams, especially if we play them both later in the year. I'd much rather face the Vikings indoors in December, than the Packers or Bears outdoors that same time of year.

All in all, I can see another 10 win season out of this schedule, 11 if everything breaks right. (I really think Indy is going to collapse -- think 1997 Cowboys: fading veteran team, horrible coaching, first sign of adversity it all falls apart).

* Final Thought on 2010:

Again, thank you to the Chiefs for a magical season. It certainly was the best one around here since 2006, if not 2003. I had more fun this season than any since 1999, and I loved the hell out of 2006. I love teams that overachieve. They're easy to root for. And yeah, while the ending was disappointing, don't downplay the experience of simply surviving a pennant race, and playing in January. These guys know how to win now. What they didn't know how to do at Houston, or at oakland, they get it now, as evidenced in the denver and St. Louis games. They know how to close. That's a huge first step towards bringing Lamar's Trophy home.

The next step? Keep building on what you've got. We've got a solid roster in place. Assuming we actually hire an offensive coordinator, and not a glorified coffee fetcher for Coach Haley, we have a pretty good coaching staff in place, a veteran crew that knows how to adapt to what the opposition throws at you. Especially on defense, we won't be overwhelmed, like we were so often in 2009, and at times in 2010 (think denver).

With another solid draft class, and some more savvy free agent signings, there is no reason to think the Chiefs will take a step back in 2011. If anything, I envision them treading water at the 10 win mark, that seems the most likely outcome as it stands right now. And given how rough everyone's schedule in our division is next year, and especially given the huge coaching turnover every other team in the division is experiencing (new coaching staffs altogether in denver and oakland, whole new defensive and special teams staffs in San Diego), and the fact that a looming lockout will limit their abilities to implement the new schemes and formations, the Chiefs have to enter 2011 as a solid favorite to repeat as AFC West champs. For that, I am extremely happy. And cautiously optimistic that 2011 is the next step forward to a championship.

Hope to see each and every one of you who read this out there for the 2011 season. Let’s re-establish Arrowhead as truly THE loudest stadium in the NFL. Let’s re-establish ourselves as THE die-hard fanbase in the league. And let’s aim for a 2pm kickoff on Sunday, January 22nd, 2012, on the sacred turf of One Arrowhead Drive, and circle the date to bring Lamar’s Trophy home!

Until then, there’s only one team to root for. (fireman ed voice) J! E! T! S! Jets Jets Jets! If we can’t bring Lamar’s Trophy to KC this year, then by God, let’s deliver it to One Weeb Eubank Way, to the other team that I live and die with. Come on Jets. Come on …

chiefs! raiders! one of these teams is playoff bound ...

“They say that all good things must end.
Love comes and goes just like the wind.
You’ve got your dreams to follow,
But if I had the chance tomorrow,
You know I’d do it all again!

I wouldn’t have missed it for the world!
I wouldn’t have missed loving you girl!
You make my whole life worthwhile
With your smile.

And I wouldn’t trade one memory!
Cause you mean to much to me.
Even though I lost you girl –
I wouldn’t have missed it for the world …”

-- Ronnie Milsap, “I Wouldn’t Have Missed It (For the World)” …


Let me be open and honest up front: I hate losing to the oakland raiders. I hate losing to that team, to those fans, to that organization. I especially hate losing in embarrassing, blowout, “wow, we just dropped our pants and defecated at midfield” fashion, like the Chiefs did on Sunday.

Having said that … this is probably the least angry I’ve been leaving a Chiefs loss in a long time. I honestly don’t remember the last time I left a Chiefs game after a defeat, and had not one ounce of anger, bitterness, “look out, Steve’s going on a bender!” frustration as a result of said defeat.

Why is that? Simple.

As the scoreboard kept flashing on multiple occasions yesterday … we’re the 2010 AFC Western Division champions.

As I posted on Facebook after the game, that game didn’t mean one damned thing in the grand scheme of things. If anything, I’m kind of relieved that we lost. Partly because the raiders exposed our one glaring weakness (an inability to stop a solid pass rush), and that hopefully forces outgoing OC Chuck Weis to adapt, go to more 3 step drops, more dink-and-dunk passing.

But mostly, I’m ok with the loss, because my Armageddon scenario is avoided.

It won’t be the (fireman ed voice) J! E! T! S! Jets Jets Jets! visiting Arrowhead on Sunday afternoon. It will be the Baltimore Ravens. Tougher opponent? Sure, on paper. But they don’t play games on paper. If they did, the Chiefs would be 6-10 and finished with their season. They play games on the field. And playing at Arrowhead, I like our chances come Sunday afternoon.

For one final time for the regular season … and oh yeah, there’s still at least one more of these to come! … let’s hit the recap:

* I have to start the recap with one of the most amazing, spectacular, “holy hell, how did this EVER happen?!?!” moment of my life, which occurred on Saturday afternoon and early evening. When my alma mater, a football “factory” that went 1-11 my junior year, the 1 coming in our final game via an overtime win over equally inept SMU, when TCU won the freaking Rose Bowl by a 21-19 final count over #5 Wisconsin.

I mean, are you kidding me? TCU is 13-0, Rose Bowl champions, and the poster child for why some people think college football needs a playoff?

Wow. Just … wow.

Two things stood out to me from this program-establishing victory:

1. The sheer joy in the eyes of my fellow Horned Frogs. This Tank Carder dude, holy God, how do we get him in a Chiefs uniform in time for Sunday? His love of the game is obvious. His talent is undeniable. But not just Carder – the joy on that podium as they accepted the trophy was awesome. Absolutely awesome. I actually had a few tears in my eyes. The joy, the sheer emotion, you saw on that podium, you usually only see in college sports in Omaha in June, for the College World Series. The underdog had his day in the sun. Awesome stuff. And …

2. The throw-away line late in the game by Brent Musburger, that TCU is a private institution of 9,000 undergraduate students (slightly larger enrollment than when I went there) … who pay $41k a year for the privilege of calling yourself a Horny Frog. I’m not sure who dialed first, me or my dad, but this was the reaction:

(steve) did you just hear that?
(steve’s dad) 41,000 a year!
(steve) it’s gotten really pricey!
(steve’s dad) yeah, I got off easy at 32,000 a year for you, huh?
(steve) (without a hint of sarcasm) it’s the best 125,000 you’ve ever spent!
(steve’s dad) (pause) uuh, we’ll go with that.

* Sign I should have known it wasn’t going to be our day: I slept in to the alarm at 6am. I never make it to the alarm going off on Gameday Sundays, I almost always am wide awake by 5ish.

* One other “scary” Saturday night moment: I’m talking with the “Voice of Reason” in the aftermath of TCU winning the Rose Bowl, and he notes that he took UConn +17. My response: “I don’t like that bet. This smells like a 48-20 OU win”. Sure as sh*t, your final? OU 48, UConn 20. Even a broken clock is right twice a day …

* Plenty of riders on the two buses Sunday. It might have taken sixteen weeks, but we finally had enough folks again to justify taking both tailgating vehicles! You’d think we were playoff bound or something. Oh. Sweet!

* It wasn’t nearly as cold out there as I feared it would be. Yes, I was literally shaking during tailgating, because any day under 75 degrees is unbearable for me. I seriously have to move somewhere warmer. But it wasn’t nearly as cold as last week. Or as cold as Sunday’s playoff game looks to be at this point.

* Smartest idea of the day: me opting not to do the traditional “take a shot for each year you’ve lived” birthday salute. Once your first digit of your age is a “3”, and especially when the second digit is bigger than the first number … it’s probably best to lay up a little on the shot-taking.

* I headed down at 8:15 to save spots. Since Tyler couldn’t make it, I was the only one headed down. At least our friendly traffic guy Glen was there. I have to think Randy is rolling over in his grave at the fact that one of the parking nazis out there is friendly, agreeable, and an all around good guy. Where the hell was this to open the decade?

* Also making an appearance Sunday? Our good buddy Justin Robinson from Channel 9! Who dropped a couple hilarious one-liners when we were doing apple pie shots with Phil and his crew … and managed to mooch a cheeseburger, a beer, multiple shots, and other assorted goodies from the tailgaters in the back of Lot G. You gotta love it.

* Worst development of the day (other than, you know, the outcome of the game): the Command Center died at the entrance to the gates. Took a solid hour to get that thing fired up and parked. And for that, I blame the Good Times towing folks. They’re always right there to tow any vehicle that dares to ignore the parking directives. But if you actually need their assistance, you’re sh*t out of luck.

* Funniest line of the day: Phil complaining that the “Iowegians” are taking over all of our tailgates. Iowegian. That’s hilarious.

* Second worst development of the day (other than, you know, the outcome of the game): we were counting on the Command Center for the music. So it was a pretty quiet tailgate. Which only encouraged our neighbors across the way to blast their annoying-as-holy-hell horn pretty much non-stop.

* Castro was there when the gates opened! That’s about as stunning of a headline as “Steve quits drinking”. Speaking of which …

* Hell no, I’m not giving up the liquid refreshment. But my good buddy Chris apparently has, after the Christmas Day “holy crap, we plowed through how many bottles and boxes of wine?!?!” celebration. Actually, this is a frightening trend I’m noticing lately, friends giving up drinking as a New Year’s resolution. I mean, really? How can you possibly cope with life without something to escape from it with? (And spare me the “find religion” comeback. That ain’t happening).

* Really good food on Sunday. Smoked ribs, flank steak, smothered pork chops, smoked baked beans. And for the first time this Chiefs season, my summer tailgating staple made an appearance (the Gatorade bottle loaded up with vodka). Maybe that’s why we lost – that’s what I always drink at Royals tailgates, and they suck ass every year. Note to self: do NOT bring that for Sunday, just stick to the screwdrivers.

* Gregg and Jenni showed up about 10. Always good to see them.

* Since it was my birthday weekend, I got to wear the “Kiss Me, It’s My Birthday!” flashing pin. Sadly, no extremely hot, reasonably hot, moderately attractive, or “it’s 2am, we’re at the Eclipse – what the hell, you wanna go home with me” regrettable decision chicks took me up on the offer. Poor Stevo.

* About 10:15, the raiders fans showed up. Four of them. Let’s just say, I was completely unprepared, shocked, and stunned at my reaction to them. Because … they were four of the funnest folks you could ever welcome into your tailgate. (More on them to come). But (sadly?) I’m now up to 6 raiders fans I don’t hate … and one broncos fan I don’t want to immediately beat up with the HHH memorial sledge hammer. I’m softening in my old age.

(kb … soon to be kj, voice after reading that last sentence) aw, I’m the denver fan. Thanks Steve!

(Since I mentioned her, have to recap the funniest moment of my Chrismukkah season. I’m out shopping for gifts for folks, and I see that Sports Nutz has some denver broncos gear. Being the nice guy that I am, I notice that one of the shirts looks pretty neat, and after spending about 25 minutes talking myself into it, grab the shirt off the rack in her size and walk to the counter to buy said t-shirt. I’m standing there, the guy is calculating the discount (apparently it was 15% off NFL stuff that weekend), and he looks up at me as I hand my card over, and …

(store clerk) sir, are you ok?
(steve) (a very unhealthy shade of passed-out white)
(steve) (not responding)
(store clerk) sir? sir?
(steve) huh? what?
(store clerk) are you ok? You don’t look so good.
(steve) yeah, I’m ok, but look at what I’m buying! Would you feel good buying this f*cking sh*t?
(store clerk) (doesn’t have a comeback …)

The lesson? In the words of Homer Simpson, “aw, the denver broncos!?!?”).

* Late walk in. I didn’t get to my seat until the pregame stuff had already begun.

* On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being “worst two minute of my life” bad, and 10 being “threesome with two hot blondes!” awesome, KC Wolf’s sketch was a negative 50. He didn’t even try this week. I mean, it’s one thing to mail it in for the Cardinals or 49ers. But the raiders? Sorry. I expect better than the worn-out “two raiders fans wander in waving their flag / Wolf rides in on strategically places ATV and jumps on their fans” routine. At least make it like the denver sketch was, and put a raiders fan in an al davis jump suit or something.

* Could not tell you who performed the Anthem, some local band … but they got every word right. Thank you Eli Young Band, for moving the acceptability performance of the National Anthem from “Whitney Houston at the Super Bowl” awesome down to “Hey, he didn’t f*ck up the words!” mediocre.

* Gary sighting! First time this year. Turns out he’d had open heart surgery this summer, and this was the first game he was cleared to attend. Godd*mmit, what is it with health issues in 132 this year? Really good to see him back where he belongs.

* Not a whole lot to say about the game. Yes, we stunk up the joint. But as I texted to multiple people, “I’d rather f*ck up this week than next week”. My biggest issue was with the offensive play calling. The raiders front seven was killing Cassel, because every pass was a seven step drop, and our line couldn’t hold. So why not adapt, go to a 3 step drop, short passing game?

Look it, I know some folks aren’t thrilled that Chuck Weis is leaving. I’m not one of you. His game plans frustrate the living hell out of me. He always over-compensates to either the run or the pass. His adjustments are pathetic at best. I thank him for a great season … but let’s be honest. How many games this year can you point to and say “yup, the offense was unstoppable today!” I can think of five (out of 16), and three of the five are only for a half:

* 2nd half vs 49ers.
* entire game at Texans.
* 2nd half at broncos.
* entire game at Seahawks.
* 1st half vs Titans.

If Florida wants him, let them have him. The only thing that kind of scares me about this, though, is that this is the 2nd “competent” offensive coordinator to leave town in two years. I love Chan Gailey. Chuck Weis frustrated me, but he’s a solid offensive mind. At some point, “competent” offensive coordinators are going to look at this job and take a pass if we keep the turnover rate at where it is (2 in 2 years).

* Best play of the game: our sole touchdown. Cassel completely recognized the raiders defense, knew they were blitzing, and audibled to an offtackle left to Charles. Touchdown. Brilliant recognition of the situation.

* Postgame, not much to report. Hung around for a while for the parking lots to clear out. Enjoyed a screwdriver or three. And then, off to the postgame party.

* Which saw the Colts steal the three seed, the tebows fall just short in denver, and … the return of the raiders fans from that morning. After plowing through a couple bottles of wine, it was off to Wild Wings for the Sunday nighter … with said raiders fans.

And I gotta admit, it was fun as hell. For starters, nobody would let me pay for my drinks, since it was my birthday. (Note to self: have birthdays more often!) Secondly, I only know of two people who had Seattle on Sunday night: me … and Rudy, one of the raiders fans. I only had them in a friendly wager with my brother. Rudy had them to the tune of “15:1 odds of winning the NFC West” on a $100 ticket.

* After a healthy number of vodka tonics, and with Seattle salting away the win with the late field goal, it was off for home. Normally, after a day like Sunday, this is where I call in to the boss, start fake-coughing, claim illness, and take the sick day. Thankfully, “Company Steve Works For” designated my birthday as a holiday! I knew I liked these guys. (Actually, we got January 3rd as our New Year’s holiday. But still, having my birthday off! As an accountant, that NEVER happens. I’m always swamped with month / quarter / year end on my birthday. Not this year!)

* The birthday itself was a happy, absolute blow-off Monday. Thanks to everyone for the happy wishes on Facebook, they’re always appreciated. Also, thanks to ESPN Classic, for replaying the greatest bowl game of all time in the 1pm to 3pm slot on Monday: Nebraska 24, Miami 17, 1995 Orange Bowl. I had a great lunch at Arthur Bryant’s, had a nice nap after Dr. Tom’s first national championship game concluded, and then had a great evening out with a couple friends and some family for some drinks and dinner.

* So … are you ready for Sunday? If you aren’t, can I check your pulse? Verify you’re still breathing? Because God knows I’m fired up. If you’re coming Sunday and need a tailgate to enjoy, as always, you are more than welcome to join our crew. But things are gonna be a little bit different, so be warned. Ray, the guy who sits in front of us, is from Wisconsin. And in true Wisconsin fashion, when a big, blessed event comes … you gotta do a fish fry. Which is what we’re doing Sunday. Not sure if we’re tailgating in our usual spot in the back of Lot G, or tailgating down in his usual spot in the front of Lot G … but we’ll be there. Enjoying some deep fried fish, some potato cakes, a healthy helping of adult beverages … and hopefully, the Chiefs first playoff win since I was a junior in high school. (I turned 34 yesterday; you can do the math on that one. It’s been a while). I know a few loyal readers have asked what our plans are for Sunday, so there you go.

I hope to post a “what I’d do to beat the Ravens” breakdown later this week, and the wildcard round picks will be up by Friday. But until then, my final thoughts on the Chiefs season that was, is somewhat perfectly summed up with the opening song to this recap. I wouldn’t have missed this for the world. From that magical Monday nighter, screaming our lungs out in a monsoon … to Championship Sunday last week, when the Chiefs won this division … it was just amazing. And we have the opportunity to take the amazing, to the incredible. Beginning Sunday. We’re in the tournament. Now it’s time to win this damned thing!

tuesday thoughts

There were a few other things I wanted to mention in the celebratory Sunday post, but forgot to. So ...

* I gotta ask: where the hell’s the “pizza” we were promised for the postgame on Sunday? I’m still waiting dammit!

(Inside joke that’s pretty damned funny if you were there).

* A ton, and I mean a ton, of credit for this amazing season has to go to the most overlooked guy in the previous regime. Bill Kuharick, take a bow sir. Because this season has no shot of happening without your presence.

Kuharick arrived in 2000 after being relieved of his duties as the Saints general manager. He was given control of the scouting department after the 2004 season. The results speak for themselves.

Key Picks Still with Chiefs:

2005:
Round 1: Derrick Johnson, LB, Texas.
Round 3: Dustin Colquitt, P, Tennessee.

2006:
Round 1: Tamba Hali, DE / LB, Penn State.
Round 3: Brodie Croyle, QB, Alabama.

2007:
Round 1: Dwayne Bowe, WR, LSU.

2008:
Round 1: Glenn Dorsey, DT, LSU.
Round 1: Brandon Albert, OT, Virginia.
Round 2: Brandon Flowers, DB, Virginia Tech.
Round 3: Jamaal Charles, RB, Texas.
Round 5: Brandon Carr, DB, Grand Valley State.
Round 6: Barry Richardson, OT, Clemson.

That's 8 starters, the punter, a backup QB, and a valuable backup OL picked in four years. Also, I did not include other picks and trades that worked for awhile, or filled a specific need at the time, but who are no longer with the team. A couple examples of these would be trading a 2nd rounder for Patrick Surtain, and drafting Boomer Grigsby in the 5th round. Both were valuable contributors on the 2005 10 win team, and the 2006 wildcard team, but have moved on due to age or injury.

Scott Pioli deserves the credit he's getting for helping get this team from 2-14 to a division championship in two short seasons. But he doesn't get there without Bill Kuharick's contributions, particularly his final draft in 2008.

* There were so many moments that led to where we are today in this season. But there's 10 plays in particular I think fueled the drive to a division championship.

In chronological order:

1. Jamaal Charles' 60 yard touchdown run to tie the Chargers game, week one. Yes, it was the win that made all of this possible, and even I still smile remember 70,000 folks screaming in the elements ... but the Chargers dominated this game up until Charles' run. They were already up 7-0. They were throwing the ball all over the field. Worse yet, the Chiefs could do nothing with the football.

This run changed everything.

2. The goalline stand to win the Chargers game, week one. A young, unproven defense, knocked on its heels, facing Philip Rivers for four straight downs inside the five yard line. And they held, capping off this incredible stand by rattling Rivers on 4th down, forcing a horrible pass that fell incomplete to get the Chiefs above .500 for the first time since Week 9 2007.

3. Brandon Flowers' TaINT in Cleveland, week two. For the second week in a row, the Chiefs started poorly, and were trailing 6-0 in the 2nd quarter. Then Seneca Wallace threw a poor pass, Brandon Flowers stepped in front of it, and ran untouched for the touchdown. Flowers' interception was the Chiefs only touchdown, but it was enough, as Ryan Succup hit all three of his field goal attempts, and Thomas Jones picked up a huge 4th down conversion with 1:30 to play, to get the Chiefs to 2-0.

4. Matt Cassel's reverse touchdown pass to Dwayne Bowe opens the floodgates vs San Francisco, week three. Another game in which the Chiefs got off to a horrendous start. (In hindsight, be honest -- the onside kick to open the Colts game makes more sense, doesn't it? The Chiefs offense was horrendous in the first quarter against our first three opponents. Why not try to jump-start things?)

Leading 10-3, the Chiefs tried some trickery. The direct snap to Thomas Jones, who pitched the ball to Dexter McCluster, who handed the ball off to Matt Cassel ... who threw a perfect 45 yard strike to Dwayne Bowe, who hauled it in despite double coverage by the 49ers. Ballgame.

5. Derrick Johnson's interception and return for a touchdown vs Jaguars, week seven. The Chiefs came home after two crushing road defeats to Indianapolis and Houston. And the Jaguars, playing Todd Bouman at quarterback, were surprisingly competitive. With the Chiefs leading 21-20 midway through the third quarter, Bouman dropped back to pass ... and DJ swept in, picked the pass, and ran untouched to the end zone. A huge momentum-changer that helped the Chiefs get to 3-0 at home, and 4-2 overall.

6. Ryan Succup's "what the hell is he thinking?!?!" kick sails through the uprights to defeat the Bills in overtime, week eight. Admit it, when Succup first kicked the ball, you thought he'd shanked it right. A complete pull job. Only ... Succup had learned from his earlier miss in overtime. He played the wind perfectly. And delivered a hard-fought victory that really was the nail in the coffin to win me over this year. After this one, it was all in for me. I thought we'd lose this game, because let's be honest -- every year in seasons past, no matter how good this team was, they ALWAYS lost one to a league doormat that wound up hurting or severely screwing us come playoff time. This year? They won that game.

7. Dwayne Bowe revives the corpse that was the Chiefs offense, vs Cardinals week eleven. Again, hindsight people. Think back to this moment six weeks ago. The Chiefs are coming off back-to-back divisional defeats, by blowing a game in overtime at oakland, and getting their asses kicked in denver. Now, the lowly Arizona "Super" Cardinals have rolled into Arrowhead, on a five game losing streak, and immediately grab a 3-0 lead. The Chiefs go three and out their first three possessions. However, a poor punt coupled with a solid return sets the Chiefs up on the Cardinals 38 for the final play of the first quarter.

Cassel drops back to pass, and hits a beautiful bomb to Dwayne Bowe, who ultimately is forced out at the one yard line. Bowe would score three plays later. But the play that got the Chiefs to the goalline, is as big of a play as Dwayne Bowe would deliver all season. It stopped the negative momentum of the last month, and helped open the floodgates for a much-needed blowout victory over the Cardinals.

8. Matt Cassel draws up a first down play in the dirt, at Seahawks week twelve. The Chiefs lead 21-17 late in the third quarter. Despite dominating the Seahawks in every statistical category save for return yardage, the Chiefs are only up four in a vital road contest. The Chiefs take over at their own 30, and after a couple solid runs and gaining a first down, now face a 3rd and 6 at their own 45. Cassel improvises when the play call is unclear. He scrambles around, avoids the rush, steps up in the pocket ... and hits Dwayne Bowe, who reaches behind his body to haul in the pass, gain 8 yards, and keep the drive alive. The Chiefs would go on to score to go up 11, and then open the floodgates a few minutes later to push the lead to an insurmountable 18, en route to a 42-24 win.

But what if Cassel doesn't think on his feet, so to speak? What if he panics because there's no discernable play called? What if Bowe doesn't break off his route to give Cassel a receiving option? What if Bowe drops the pass? The way the game was unraveling (Seahawks had scored on their last two possessions to cut the lead from 14 to 4), do you really want to punt the ball back to Seattle at that point? I didn't. A huge underrated play from a very underrated victory in this anything-but-underrated season.

9. Jamaal Charles explodes for 80, at Rams week fifteen. Another game that the Chiefs dominated statistically ... and yet, midway through the 4th quarter, it's a touchdown game, and the Chiefs are starting at their own 20. Again, in years past, this is when we brace for the hammer to fall, for a three and out or a crushing turnover that leads to the tying score.

This year? Charles takes a handoff and runs untouched to the Rams one yard line. Ballgame. The win kept the Chiefs one ahead of San Diego, and kept all the pressure on the Chargers, pressure they eventually couldn't handle.

10. The best opening drive of the season, vs Titans week sixteen. Do you realize the Chiefs have scored on their first possession only three times this season? At Houston, at Seattle ... and this past week against Tennessee. It was as near perfect of a drive as you can have. 7 plays, none for negative yardage, all but one for more than 6 yards, capped with a 14 yard screen to Charles for the touchdown to establish momentum in (arguably) the biggest game Arrowhead had hosted since the 2003 playoff game against the Colts. It set the tone -- the Chiefs scored on their first four possessions, and the Titans never recovered from the early beatdown.

Those are my 10 biggest plays of the season. I'm sure some will disagree, and that's cool. Really, it is. Because for once, we have more than 10 big plays to choose from!

(And at least two more games to add to the list of great moments. Freaking awesome).

* A few other Chiefs thoughts before going off-tangent for a while:

1. I hate to accuse a NFL team of quitting ... but the Titans looked like they quit on Sunday. Granted, the Chiefs came out of the gates firing, and were up 24-0 in the first 20 minutes. But Tennessee never mounted a serious threat at any point in that game.

2. I still have no idea what in the hell Coach Haley was thinking in yanking Matt Cassel for two plays. I also was not surprised in the least that Brodie Croyle's two snaps resulted in a pass for no gain, and an interception. Coach, buddy, you've almost completely won me over -- but do NOT do stupid sh*t like inserting Brodie Croyle into an undecided ballgame, ok?

3. The Star's article focusing on folks who bought playoff tickets yesterday ... ugh. I'll refrain from stating all of my thoughts, for fear of getting lynched by my fellow fans, but here's a brief glimpse into them. Anyone who calls themself a "great Chiefs fan", and notes in the same f*cking sentence that the only reason you're going to a game this year is because it's a playoff game? You are NOT a "great Chiefs fan". You are a fan, but you are not a "great" fan. And there is a difference -- that adjective does make a difference.

* On to other topics! Beginning with the Greinke trade. Of which I had no problems with.

Look it, the guy clearly didn't want to be here anymore. If a player wants out, what good does it do to force them to stick around? You're only going to hack off the player even more than they already are, and create an issue in the locker room. So a trade was the best solution for all involved parties here.

And judging from the reviews of the talent we got back, we did pretty good in this trade. So we've got that going for us.

(And as a side note: I know some Royals fans were concerned because one of these guys has tested positive for weed twice in the minors. Here's the thing -- weed is not covered under the CBA in major league baseball. It is not a prohibited drug. So once the kid hits the majors, he's free to toke away, so to me, that's a non-issue. To say nothing of the fact that weed is not a dangerous drug, is far less damaging to a person's health and to society at large than alcohol is, and should be legalized ASAFP to get the tax revenue desperately needed by our local and state municipalities).

* I used to be a huge baseball fan. I used to live for Opening Day. But as I've noted before, 2004 was just too much. 2004 killed me as a baseball fan. I still try to go to 10 or so games a year, but I'm there for the tailgating, for the sun, for the washers, for the drinking – basically everything other than the game itself. That 2004 season was so soul-crushing, it just destroyed baseball for me. So I am in no way an expert when it comes to the Royals and the talent on the way. I'm not even knowledgable enough to name ten prospects we have.

So I have to take the experts at their word, and believe that 2012 is going to be a breakthrough season, and 2013 is the beginning of something special. And at that point, I'll become a bandwagon fan, and get back on board. Until the Royals prove it on the field though, I honestly don't care.

Which is the difference between me, and the type of Chiefs fans I despise. I admit I'm a knowledge-less tool when it comes to baseball. Again, I'm there for the beer, the sun, and losing for the 1,983,546th time in a row at washers to DJ (approximate; actual figure likely higher). If a good ballgame breaks out, wonderful.

But I have no clue as to what the Royals are building to, or how these prospects fit into that building job. Hence the lack of an opinion on the Greinke trade until now.

* Larry Brown, out as Bobcats head coach. I'll call it now -- Larry Brown will be coaching the Lakers next fall. It's the perfect fit for him -- a veteran team in need of a coach (Phil Jackson has announced this is his last season), that still has a solid 2-3 year window of opportunity to win it all before a rebuild-on-the-fly has to be attempted (which is when LB would step aside). This is a match made in NBA heaven. Assuming there is a 2011-2012 season, of course.

* I see LeBron James thinks the league might be better off with contraction. I don’t share his conviction, but …

There’s really only two “unstable” markets in the NBA right now – New Orleans and Sacramento. (I’m aware Memphis and Charlotte are also at best “shaky situations”, but both those teams have new arenas, somewhat stable ownership, and a core fan base that shows up every night. They’re far better off than the Hornets and Kings).

The Kings problem is simple: they need a new arena, and there’s no public money to build one. The Hornets is a bigger issue: they need an owner, they need an arena, and there just isn’t the fan base anymore in the Crescent City to justify keeping the team there.

If you’re going to contract, these two franchises make the most sense to fold. Only … there’s viable alternatives for each. The Kings easily can move to Vegas. Their owners already live there. You’d have to take Kings games off the sports books I would assume, but that’s a small price to pay for landing a professional team, and the professional athletes who’d hit up your tables and night clubs when out there to face the Kings.

The Hornets? There’s at least three viable moving options for them, if not four or five. Anaheim makes sense. Ditto right here in Kansas City. And of course, Seattle has shown they can more than support a NBA team when it’s not owned by a sleazebag.

So no LeBron, the NBA doesn’t need to contract. It needs to do exactly what ownership is about to do this summer: get its financial house in order, by firming up the salary cap, reducing max contract limits, instituting revenue sharing, and continuing to market the incredible amount of young talent the league is enjoying right now. I mean really, when your two most unstable franchises feature a pretty solid nucleus of young guys who will probably reach the postseason (Memphis), and one of the two or three best guards in the league, with a roster talented enough to at least challenge for the eight seed (New Orleans), you really aren’t in that bad of shape. This isn’t Major League Baseball, where only 3 teams have any short of chance at winning the World Series this upcoming season (Yankees, Red Sox, Phillies).

Some other random thoughts floating around in this merlot-clogged brain of mine:

* Congratulations to the Senate, for voting 65-31 to end institutionalized discrimination in our armed forces, and ditching the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. Whatever your personal feelings about homosexuality, the bottom line is that the only racism embedded into our nation’s founding and governing documents concerns people of color, who were counted as 3/5 of a person for Congressional apportionment, and then later found to be pieces of property to be used however their masters saw fit (Dred Scott decision). I’d like to think that in the 225 some odd years since the Declaration of Independence was authored, that we do hold these truths to be self evident, that ALL are created equal, that ALL are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights. Glad to see at least a few Republicans joined with my side in ensuring any American citizen of legal age who meets the physical requirements can defend this nation’s freedom.

* Not sure how I feel about some of the “Idol” changes coming this year. I don’t mind the judges being shaken up, to be honest. Once Pauler left last year, you quickly realized that she was just as important to that panel as Simon was, so without one, you might as well try it without them both. I also like that there’s some “modernized” changes to the Hollywood and Top 24 rounds (making a music video, for instance). Moving it to Wednesday and Thursday though, ouch. I bowl on Wednesdays. And I usually watch the NBA on Thursdays. Oh well. I’ll start tuning in once they get to Hollywood. I refuse to watch the train-wreck auditions. They’re not funny, they’re not entertaining – they’re pathetic losers seeking 15 minutes they sure as all hell are not entitled to.

* Entertainment Weekly posted their 20 best “Idol” performances earlier today. Can’t really disagree with the group as a whole, but I sure as all hell can b*tch about where “Alone” by Carrie Underwood was placed. There isn’t a shot in hell that was only the 13th best performance. I’d rate it number one, and nobody even comes close to catching her. My top 10:

1. Carrie Underwood, “Alone”, season four. The defining “Idol” moment for me. She vaulted from middle-of-the-packer to front-runner in 90 amazing seconds.

2. Blake Lewis, “You Give Love a Bad Name”, season six. The most original, creative, jaw-droppingly awesome performance in “Idol” history.

3. Jason Castro, “Hallelujah”, season seven. Chillingly good.

4. David Cook, “Hello”, season seven. Performed immediately before Castro did “Hallelujah” that night. Possibly the best ten minutes “Idol” has ever aired.

5. LaKisha Jones, “This Ain’t a Love Song”, season six. I still think Season Six’s Bon Jovi night is “Idol”’s finest hour. I couldn’t stand LaKisha … but she absolutely nailed this performance.

6. Kris Allen, “Heartless”, season eight. Went from “likely to finish third” to “front runner” in a little over two minutes, by stripping Kanye’s smash hit down to just the barest chord. Awesome stuff.

7. Carly Smithson, “Here You Come Again”, season seven. The only decent performance on Dolly Parton night, and man, she nailed it.

8. Chris Daughtry, “Hemorrhage (In My Hands)”, season five. Good God was season five a disaster. The two best contestants went out third (Elliott Yamin) and fourth (Daughtry).

9. Kimberley Locke, “Band of Gold”, season two. She’s since released this as a pretty solid single.

10. Jordin Sparks, “With a Broken Wing”, season six. The song that launched her from “oh yeah, that girl whose dad was a pretty good NFL player” to “uuh, guys, this might be our front runner …”

* It’s been three weeks, and still no definitive explanation has been given for the debacle that was the attempted KU Athletic Director hire. Judging by how everything has gone to hell since she arrived, I lean towards the “Chancellor Gray-Little f*cked it up by revising the proposed contract” theory. That woman isn’t qualified to teach a group of eighth graders basic common sense, let alone run a major public university.

* If you haven’t seen the “ALF Drops the N Bomb” videos floating around out there, you have to. They’re absolutely hysterical. I nearly put ALF into my “10 Worst Shows of All Time” a couple years ago; he got spared because the last Hulu episode I pulled up actually made me laugh a couple times. But I mean seriously, lighten up people. It’s a friggin puppet. If you want to go after the dude who actually voiced the character, that’s one thing. But spare the puppet. He’s an inanimate object for Christ’s sake.

* Hang on, let me check something real quick … yup, the Chiefs are still the 2010 AFC Western Division Champions. I keep finding myself shaking my head in disbelief at least once an hour. Really? This happened? Miracle turnarounds happen for everyone but us. Until now!

* Haven’t seen much college hoops yet. Thought the MU / Georgetown game was one of the best games I’ve seen in a few years. Not really surprised KU is struggling early on – we don’t really have a go-to guy when it’s clutch time. Maybe Selby becomes that guy. As improved as the Morris twins are, they ain’t that guy.

And KSU … ugh. Still plenty of time to right the ship, but something’s missing on that team.

* And Jacob Pullen getting a three game suspension for getting comped for a couple hundred dollars worth of clothes … is an absolute outrage. The NCAA should be disbanded. There isn’t a more corrupt, pathetic, outdated institution in this country than the NCAA.

You know, the organization that pimped itself out 20 years ago in a pathetic cash grab to “find a new home”. The organization that refuses to suspend 5 Ohio State football players for the Sugar Bowl, who knowingly violated NCAA rules regarding profiting off of merchancise. The organization that refuses to suspend Auburn QB Cam Newton for selling himself to the highest bidder. You pimp yourself out for $200,000, that’s all good in the NCAA’s eyes. You accept a couple t-shirts that are comped to you? Three games pal.

The NCAA is a f*cking joke. How anyone can claim otherwise, I have no idea.

* Speaking of freaking jokes, NBC Sunday Night Football everyone! Silly me. I thought the whole point of flex-scheduling was to put the best non-protected game into the prime time slot! How stupid and naïve of me to think that way. Because why flex a game with huge postseason ramifications, like the Colts at raiders, or the Giants at Packers (neither of which were protected) into the national TV slot, when we can put Michael Vick (gag me) and the already-clinched Eagles in there against a “maybe, possibly, there’s a .0000002 percent chance he’ll play, so let’s flex it in!” Brett Favre led Vikings team. This only two weeks after NBC opted to pass on a potential AFC West championship game (KC at San Diego), and opted instead to leave a horrendous Cowboys team in there, hosting (you guessed it) the Vick led Eagles.

I’m glad to see more and more readers are calling out this bullsh*t in Peter King’s emails and tweets every week. If you’re going to have flex scheduling, you HAVE to flex in THE best game possible, that isn’t network protected. Period. Keeping a 4-8 team, and flexing in a 4-10 team, is utterly ridiculous.

* Also, kudos to the NFL for dictating which game NBC will air this Sunday. NBC was not given the choice. (Because God knows they’d have chosen 5-10 Dallas at “playing for nothing” Philadelphia). St Louis / Seattle might be ugly, but it’s the best game on the board, because literally, the winner is in the playoffs, the loser is sitting at home. That’s what SHOULD be aired in Week 17 in prime time, a playoff game for all intents and purposes. Congrats to the NFL for telling NBC to f*ck itself, you’re airing this game like it or not.

* I see Pat Robertson has once again inserted himself into a national argument that doesn’t concern him … only this time, I’m shockingly in agreement with the wacky Reverend. Seems Pat thinks our marijuana laws are “outdated” and “don’t accomplish anything other than clogging the court system with needless cases”. While Pat stopped short of what he and every thinking American should advocate (legalization now), this is still huge. Pat Robertson calling for the decriminalization of weed. When even Pat Robertson is on the right side of an issue, and that guy finds himself on the correct side of the issue about as often as I turn down a glass of merlot, I think the issue has been decided.

* Finally, congrats to Brian Waters, Dwayne Bowe, and Jamaal Charles for making the 2010 Pro Bowl team. Hitting on my first point way back 10 some odd pages ago – NONE of those three were drafted by the current regime. Yes, Pioli deserves a boatload of credit for this season. But it’s not like he walked into a talentless situation.

I’d expect to see a few Chiefs possibly named as replacements (Derrick Johnson, Tamba Hali, and Brandon Flowers) as the playoffs roll along, and the inevitable drop-outs from the game begin. Still, to go from no Pro Bowlers for three years now, to multiple candidates, is pretty sweet. That’s how this whole season has been, pretty sweet. And it’s about to get a whole lot sweeter …

chiefs! titans! (steve breaking down in tears ...)

“I’ve been alone with you inside my mind,
And in my dreams I’ve kissed your lips a thousand times,
I sometimes see you pass outside my door,
Hello? Is it me you’re looking for?

I can see it in your eyes!
I can see it in your smile!
You’re all I’ve ever wanted,
And my arms are open wide.

Cause you know just what to say,
And you know just what to do,
And I want to tell you so much,
I love you …”

-- “Hello”, best performed by KC native and fellow Chiefs fan David Cook on “American Idol”. The smirk at the 1:23 mark of the Youtube! clip above. The knowing, "holy sh*t, I nailed this!" sh*t eating grin that David Cook exhibited that night. Today, leaving Arrowhead, but especially leaving the postgame party, watching the Chargers self-destruct as only a Norv Turner team can. That grin was all over my face. And good luck finding anything that can erase it ...

--------------------------

And it's still there three hours later.

How fitting that on a day when not one, but two unstoppable, unreal streaks come to an end at Arrowhead Stadium … that two simple words sum up the happiest day of my 2010 (save for, you know, that day when my nieces were born. That was happier).

Two simple words, that I texted to a boatload of friends at about 6pm Sunday night.

Two simple words, that even now, I am grinning a goofy ass grin in anticipation of typing, as I reach for the celebratory huge glass of merlot:

(joe starkey voice) Hello Playoffs!!!

Sweet Jesus, we’re in! There’s no need for backdoor shenanigans, no need to figure out five team teasers in week seventeen, no need to stress and worry – and drink needlessly from said stress and worry.

Hello Playoffs!!!

Holy God. It’s been over two hours since the Chiefs clinched the AFC West Division championship, clinched the New Arrowhead’s first playoff game, and I still cannot even begin to type up my thoughts coherently. Hang on, let me get another glass of merlot. I know it won’t help … but damn if it don’t go down good!

I should have known from pretty much moment one today that this was going to be an epic, celebratory day that took at least some things full circle. (More on that to come). But as I got to my seat today, and walked down the aisle, I just felt like this was going to be an epic day. I can’t explain it. I just sensed it. Walking down row 26, arriving at my seat (14), and patting seat 13 in front of me to welcome my always-loved, sadly-departed friend, I just sensed that today, for the first time since Randy was sitting in that seat, something great was going to happen.

Not something fun. Not something good.

Something great.

As always, your recap, as best I can remember it …

* Arrived at the gates at 7am. We were second in line, behind Carl’s buddy Larry. Phil and his crew were next to us. It was cold, it was snowing … and by 7:30, the line was backed up to Stadium Drive. Arrowhead Nation was ready.

When I mentioned in the picks this week that a large part of me wanted this game blacked out, because I wanted this win for “us”, the “die-hardiest of the die-hards”, this is who I meant. The folks who win or lose, rain or shine, keep showing up, keep tailgating, keep the faith. Today more than anything, was about “us”. It was a payment for everything “we’ve” invested in this team. “We” never gave up. “We” never quit on these guys.

* About 8am, Carl and his crew discovered the gates weren’t locked. So of course they swung those bad boys wide open. Only …

* The first incredible streak to die today, was Carl beating the parking attendants. For some reason, he never pulled through. He entered at the same time as everyone else, and (presumably) paid this week. Here’s to starting a new streak next week buddy.

* We had everything set up by 8:30ish (the gates did open early, thanks to Carl I guess). Not much on the menu today. This was all about … well, attempting to not freeze your ass off. Hence the ridiculous amount of adult beverages available for consumption.

* About 9:30, Gregg and his brother-in-law arrived. They were supposed to hoof it over to A2 to meet Ross and his crew. Go figure, they never made it.

I have to be honest – there’s nobody I’d rather share this day with, than Gregg. He’s the biggest Chiefs fan I know. (He puts me to shame, which is a scary, scary thought). He’s the one guy who’s never given up on me, no matter how many times I p*ss him off. Let’s just say, looking back at the 2 minute warning, as the scoreboard showed the opening touchdown for the Bengals, and the Chiefs and Titans were running out the clock … it got a little dusty in 132. And the only two of us left at that point were me and Ray.

* Unintentional comedy moment of the day: me and Cory explaining what a dugout is to an obtuse tailgater. Dammit D, we missed you today …

* Also about 9:30, a text message from “The Crush” arrived: “you freezing out here today”. Normally at 9:30 on a gameday (and insert the sport here, they all apply I guess), I’m already so far gone that the implication of those five words would have whizzed right over my head. Today was so freaking cold though, that the multiple shots of Kamikaze, Alabama Slammer, Apple Pie, Lemon Drop something, and the Bloody Mary’s and spiked hot chocolate I was plowing through didn’t really kick in. I immediately texted back “yup where yall at”. After seeing she was a couple rows in front of us, I of course invited her to join in the fun.

Which she did! See, who says I can’t be a charming, incredible, sexy-as-hell catch? Other than everyone reading this, of course.

(Damn I have a crush on that girl. More to come).

* Had to head down about 10:30ish to do a full round of apple pie shots with Phil and his crew. So, as I’m standing there shooting the sh*t with them, turns out his mom and dad live in the next subdivision across from Katie. But not just that – oh no, it gets better! They’re my buddy Tim and his wife Jamie’s backyard neighbors! Sweet Jesus it’s a small world out there!

* Reason 1,096,387 to love tailgating: we’re setting up reciprocal pool days with Phil and his crew next summer.

* Got an awesome multiple tailgate group pic with our crew, Phil and his guys, The KC Kicks Gr-Ass guys, and the newbies from Wichita who parked next to us. And I know his name! (It’s Steve). Not even I can screw that one up. (Damned if I can remember his wife’s name though. But I do remember they have 6 kids, all under the age of 9. Drew, buddy – you and Ash got some more “work” to do to catch up! You’re only halfway there!)

* We broke the tailgate down early today. Once the sun popped out, it was actually fairly decent out there. So rather than freeze on the hill … it was time to go “bake” in our seats.

* No Castro today. Tragic. Although at least his crew gave us one funny moment: they pulled in backwards at the gate opening … then realized after 90 minutes they were pointed in the opposite direction, and tried to turn the bus around, resulting in screwing over their whole tailgate setup.

On the other hand, they had a sweet “All I Want for Christmas Is a Super Bowl Berth” stocking stuffer that I took a pic of (and will post once I upload it). It was awesome. I know I texted it to a few folks. Two down, four to go guys. Four to go to bring Lamar’s Trophy home …

* I stopped to offer my condolences to Carl on the walk in. He just laughed and noted “every great thing ends sometime”. I’ve been coming to that stadium every Sunday since I moved back from college 12 years ago, and I’ve never seen that guy have to wait for everyone else. So at least 120 games, he beat the parking attendants. That’s a streak at least equal to the other unbeatable streak: my flask vs. gate security.

* Which also tragically came to an end today. No, I didn’t get caught. I … left it in the cooler. It was filled. It was cold. It had delicious Hot Damn! in it. And like a dumbass, it sat until the game was over. So, I put the question out there: is the streak over? Or do you treat this like a rainout in baseball, and no stats count until the next game?

* After a quick stop at the bathroom, I headed down to my seat. And like I said in the opening, I can’t explain it, I just felt today was our day. Everyone who arrived after me (I was second there, after Mona), I just welcomed with “today we win the f*cking division!” I’d like to think that friendly “still love ya pal” tap on seat 13 was the cause of it. But I just knew it. We were winning this thing today.

* Great pregame moment with Chris. She’s the strongest person I know. I have so much respect for not just her, but how she’s handled the blow life has handed her. So glad to see she’s got the best support system imaginable, as Greg’s brother Frank was with her today in Greg’s seat. He will wake up. He will recover. As Ray put it at halftime, “just tell him we made the playoffs. That would wake anyone out of their sleep!”

* KC Wolf sketch: uuh … if you were to rate the Wolf’s sketches from 1 to 10, with 1 being “worse than a preschool play” (which I sat through for my special little guy this week – and he nailed his lines, thank you very much!), and 10 being “seeing Tim’s sister on Broadway” … today’s sketch was a negative 500. It was Wolf, on a sleigh, with a couple kids they recruited from the early arrivals, being pulled by “Rudolph” Warpaint. I booed it. It was awful on a truly awful scale.

* The Anthem, on the other hand. Well, after the abortion that was the Eli Young Band, there’s nowhere to go but up. It was Zeke Montana from Q104. (I had to ask who he was – I don’t listen to local radio). He was done in under 40 seconds. Wonderful.

* Chiefs win the toss, choose to receive. My brother was stuck at family Christmas number three, so I promised him updated until he got home.

(Note: I got at least seven different “you’re going to the Chiefs game” directed questions from my mom the last two days. At least. I knew what she was trying to do. (Get me to show up for the family get-together). For once, I held my ground. Every response was “yup, I’m going”. Then she’d always follow up with the “well, it’s gonna be cold out there” response. After about six of these yesterday, my dad (reason 1,989,385,287 why I love that guy to death) steps in, and the conversation basically went like this:

(steve) yes, I’m fine. I’ve sat through colder games than this.
(steve’s dad) hey, why don’t you stop by on your way home, I’ve got some boots that should fit you.
(steve) that’d be great!
(steve’s mom) (fuming mad)
(steve’s mom) (glares at steve’s dad)
(steve’s dad) while you’re at it, can you get me a blanket? I think I’m on the couch tonight.
(steve) (laughing)
(steve) sure.
(steve’s dad) oh, and jets updates. Please send them.

So the note concludes: how do I handle a Jets / Chiefs wildcard game? Oy. My head hurts. Let’s move on).

* The Chiefs scored a touchdown on the opening drive for the first time all season yesterday. And it was a beauty. Just cram it down the Titans throat with Charles. 7-0.

* After the Titans drive but fail to convert a fourth down, the Chiefs punch it in again with Jamaal Charles on a flare pass. 14-0 Chiefs. My brother’s response: “your not missing a dam thing”.

* On the other hand, Drew’s “encouragement” to us this morning was to “be lud and be drunk”. Uuh, lud? That’s grouse. That’s Zues in nature. (dusty voice) stop it Stevo! You’ve run this one into the ground!

* Chiefs tack on a field goal to go up 17-0.

* After exchanging punts, one of the sweetest conversions on 3rd and long you will ever see. 3rd and 19 I believe. (Note: I usually do these recaps on Monday morning, when I can get the exact down / distance / time left perfect thanks to the nfl.com play-by-play. Tonight? I’m winging it). I know it was 3rd and (my uncle geno’s voice) fuhgedaboudit. Cassel hits Bowe at our 40, already has the first … and about 4 missed tackles later, dives into the east end zone, it’s 24-0 (with a b.s. personal foul penalty for celebration tacked on). Should be ballgame, except …

* Forget if it was Tennessee’s second or third play, but Collins drops back, and Kenny Britt is WIDE OPEN. I mean, I had a 50/50 shot to catch this if I was running Britt’s pattern, that’s how open he was. Suddenly it’s 24-7, about 5 to go in the first half. The Chiefs drive, then miss a field goal. (Positive? Note: I texted multiple people in pregame that “succup struggling with the wind”. He definitely misjudged it on this kick, it was at least 3 yards short).

* Titans take over, under 2 to go, can definitely make this a game … and Collins underthrows his receiver, and Eric Barry, after juking, jiving, simply surviving!, takes it to the house! 31-7! Effectively the ballgame. What made me laugh about this, was that at pregame tailgating, I got into it with a Chiefs fan who was trashing Berry. And as I noted, “well, Dale Carter had a great first game, then sucked ass for three months, then poured it on in December his rookie year to get the Chiefs in the playoffs, including his TD-INT to seal the game against denver to get us in”. Full circle! Another rookie DB from Tennessee takes it to the house to seal a playoff berth!

* More full circle: “The Crush” and her party happily made their way down late in the second quarter. I say “full circle”, because the first time I ever met Megan? Was in that exact spot, so to speak. She went with us to a preseason game against Miami (Trent Green’s return) in 2007, and actually sat in the exact seat she wound up in today (I gave her and D my two extras for that one). The next hour and half, was “the ex” and “the crush” competing for my attention for like, 15 seconds … and spending the remaining 89 minutes and 45 seconds becoming friends. Uuh … I think this is good?

* I kid, I kid. It was great. I always love sitting by Katie, because she ignores my being dialed into the game non-stop. And I love sitting by Megan because, hell, it’s Megan. I’ll always love sitting by her.

* Highlight of my second half: dropping multiple times the (sawyer voice) sonofab*tch! blast. Other than me, she’s the biggest “Lost” fan I know. I would think 35 plus (sawyer voice) sonofab*tch! blasts would work in my favor? Ok, probably not. But still, that game got stressful for a while.

* Boring 3rd quarter. Titans got another long TD, we tacked on a field goal, its 34-14 headed to the fourth.

* Best 4th quarter play: Chiefs running out the clock (or trying to), it’s 3rd down, and we toss a wounded duck down the sideline right in front of me to D Bowe … who one-hands it, gains another 5 yards, and stays in bounds for the first. Ballgame.

* Other best 4th quarter play: the clock striking zero. Everyone else around me left about the two minute warning (perfectly acceptable: we’re up huge, the sun has gone down so it’s cold, and you can already hear the pounding on the columns up Gate H). I just stood there, raised two huge fists to the sky, pumped them a few times, then pounded seat 13 in front of me. Headed out the right side (the 131 aisle) because I had to pee. And the only other one of the faithful left was Ray. We just slapped hands, both with goofy “is this really happening!” grins on our faces, and Ray put it best: “Let’s hope next week is a godd*mned scrimmage!” Uuh, other than for seeding? I think we got our wish, champ.

* The walk out was uneventful. High five to Davey and Tracey, and Beth. Quick stop off at Carl’s tailgate for a bite or two of the postgame spread. Finally made it up to the command center, cold as can be … and then, well, you can’t make sh*t like this up.

Our neighbors to the west (newbies) start screaming at some car with a dude driving it in a donkeys coat. The car stops in the middle of the exiting traffic. Dude in donkeys coat gets out, as does some dude in a D Bowe jersey, and an old-school Boomer Grigsby jersey (46). And …

Brawl.

Not just a “brawl”, a “six golf carts carrying Missouri Highway Patrolmen” show up to police it brawl. They’re still throwing down when the cops arrive. The 82 jersey guy actually takes out 3 cops before he’s hauled to the ground. The 46 jersey guy is screaming at our neighbors. The donkeys coat guy is visibly agitated.

We were all set to go before this. But you can’t walk out on a brawl. Not only can you not walk out on a brawl – a guy in a Chevy Suburban was driving along trying to exit, saw the fracus … and plowed into one of the Highway Patrol golf carts, because he was distracted watching about 5 dudes and 3 girls throw down for no obvious reason. Me, Mona, Sheila, and Tyler could not look away. Finally, after about 20 cops show up, a couple accident reports are filed, and (sadly) no field sobriety tests are conducted, the cops (awesomely) let the brawlers walk free, and the Suburban dude drove off. I know I bag on cops a lot, because … well, they’re power-hungry crazies 99.99 percent of the time. But I gotta give credit where it’s due. It was a verbal spat, got a little bit ugly, got a little out of control … but nobody got hurt, nobody was really criminally negligent … and the cops let ‘em all walk. Good job, MSHP. Now if you’d just move your cones at 8:40am, you’d be good guys.

* Postgame ride back was an adventure. The command center was hurting for gas. Somehow, we limped home. I’d be lying if I said I knew how – I thought that thing ran out of gas at least 5 times on Blue Ridge alone.

* The rest of the postgame was watching the Chargers lose to Cincy, and exchanging Christmas gifts. I thought Mona’s gifts were the best – she picked one individual item for each person that fit what they loved (in my case, the merlot I’m plowing through tonight, with a Santa outfit on it, absolutely sweet), but also, a Chiefs picture magnet with an image one of us had captured this year at tailgating. Mine was from the Arizona game – just me, an adult beverage, tossing washers. I’m guessing I found a way to lose to Dusty that day, even though he wasn’t there. But the pics were awesome gifts. Mine’s going up in the cubicle tomorrow, if only so Linda and Kathy can confirm that I’m a little bit of a “free spirit” (their words, not mine. That reminds me, need to ask them what they thought of D. I’m guessing “free spirit” is a little bit conservative?)

* Until next week, or the next time I post, do yourself a favor.

Buy the Monday Kansas City Star.

(Trust me – I lived in Dallas in the glory years. I know what I’m saying here).

Buy the Monday Kansas City Star.

Open up the A section.

And count up all the ads for “Chiefs Divisional Championship Apparel!” You’re guaranteed to have at least half-page ads from Hy-Vee, Price Chopper, Dillards, Macy’s, JC Penney’s, Target, Wal-Mart, Arrowhead West, Pro Image, Champs, Foot Locker, Kansas Sampler.

And then save that ad to show to everyone you know. Because it says what some of us have dreamed of, some of us (hey, that’s me!) predicted back in September, and all of us are craving, those two magical words not even the NFL can deny us from crying out in glee now:

Hello Playoffs!

Can’t wait to see how Peter King still justifies putting the Chargers ahead of the Chiefs in his MMQB column in the morning. If anyone can do it, that “well, they were good last year, so clearly they’re the best this year” asshat can …