Playoff gain merely delayed rebuilding pain for KC
Associated Press
Updated: October 9, 2008, 7:00 PM ET

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Like a giddy gambler hitting a four-team parlay, the
Kansas City Chiefs beat Jacksonville on the final day of the 2006
regular season and then watched Tennessee, Cincinnati and Denver all
fall like dominoes.

Everything that had to happen for the Chiefs to sneak off with the final
wild-card spot did. Coaches, players and fans could hardly believe their
good fortune.

Only now do they realize that all their luck on that improbable New
Year's Eve was bad.

Getting into the playoffs, where they were clobbered 23-8 in the first
round by Indianapolis, caused influential people in the executive suites
to make a bad misjudgment. Instead of using 2007 to begin replacing
over-the-hill veterans and rebuilding with youth -- as coach Herm
Edwards wanted -- Kansas City stood pat, thinking it was only a couple
of key players away from a Super Bowl run.

So aging players like Eddie Kennison, John Welbourn, Chris Terry, Ron
Edwards and Ty Law all took the field last season -- and all they
created was disaster. Ending the year on a nine-game losing streak, the
Chiefs finished 4-12, their worst season in 30 years.

Instead of grooming young players, they wasted the entire season,
sinking deeper into decline and making their rebuilding project even
more daunting.

Now, finally, everyone is on board with the need to start over, and
almost instantaneously, the Chiefs have gone from one of the oldest to
one of the youngest teams in the NFL. Rookie starters are everywhere,
including the backfield, both cornerbacks and both lines.

Smarting week after week from the sort of mistakes that come with
inexperience, the Chiefs entered their bye week 1-4. Coupled with the
nine-game losing skid at the end of last year, they've lost 13 of their
last 14 regular-season games and angered fans to the point that the TV
blackout will almost certainly be imposed at some point this season for
the first time in years.

It's no wonder Edwards refused to let his team have the entire week off.
Instead of heading out to hunt or fish and hang out with old college
pals, the young Chiefs worked all week.

"I'm glad we're here," said third-year safety Bernard Pollard. "We don't
want to finish 4-12 again -- assuming we could even do that well. It's
terrible what's been going on with the team for the last year and a
half. We're all sick of it."

They've been competitive only twice -- in a surprisingly close loss to
New England in the season opener and in an even more unlikely 33-19
victory over Denver that at least got fans and media critics to stop
predicting an 0-16 debacle.

But the inevitable restructuring of the team Dick Vermeil built and
coached for five years without a playoff win is a year late getting
started. If it had been launched in 2007 instead of 2008, the transition
may well have been smoother.

One of many problems has been an inability to put pressure on the
passer. The Chiefs have only three sacks in five games, none from the
front four. Jared Allen, the All-Pro defensive end who led the NFL in
sacks last year but demanded to be traded, is missed.

One encouraging note, however, is the improved health of quarterback
Brodie Croyle. Out for four games with a separated shoulder, he'll be
ready to start next week against Tennessee and resume what the Chiefs
are hoping will be a steady development.

Team officials have said they expect the young team to be playing better
at the end of the season than it did at the beginning. That could still
happen.

But would it not have been better if either Tennessee, Denver or
Cincinnati had won on that New Year's Eve of 2006 and kept KC out of the
playoffs, hastening by an entire year what they're trying so painfully
to achieve now?

"Good question," Edwards said. "Some people say yes, some people say no.
You've just got to look at it that at that point in time, we continued
to stay with the same team. This year we've decided to go in a different
direction.

"I'll leave it at that."

Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press

Thanks for posting that article, Tarkus.

Looking at the current problems in light of the last playoff appearance is
an important perspective for several reasons:

For one, it brings proper focus on the real lack of success of Herm Edwards.
When people debate his qualifications they like to point out he has been to
the playoffs a few times. However those trips have not been successful where
IIRC he is just 2-4 with no divisional level win. Only one of those playoff
wins was really legitimate, as the other was against the Schottenhiemer
Chargers whose mission, as always, no matter now successful the regular
season, was to lose miserably at their first playoff opportunity. The one
legitimate playoff win took place in 2002, while Edwards was still fielding
a team he did not put together himself, getting into a wildcard spot via a
three way divisional tie. Edwards did not win his way into the single
playoff berth he had with KC. He backed into it completely, not winning it,
but rather with other teams losing him into it, as we are well reminded in
this article. His team proved not to be competent at that level. In KC, just
as in NY, the longer he is there, the worse it seems to get, and the more
creative the excuses. Its almost as if the "youth movement" exists to be
this year's well to go to for excuses.

For another it brings to light the fact that Peterson has lost whatever
touch and savvy he once possessed. It was obvious at the time that the
Chiefs were really overmatched completely as a playoff team, and it was
Peterson's job to be aware of reality and make sure that the giddiness over
making the playoffs did not supersede the need for a steady hand to rebuild
an aging team. He failed completely in that respect.

The article contains a particular telling Hermism: "You've just got to look
at it that at that point in time, we continued to stay with the same team."
What???

This article, and that quote in particular, helps me to see the truth, which
is that Edwards is not part of a youth movement rebuilding process, but
rather, he is an integral part of the old decrepit and neglected team, and
as such, just like most of the rest of that used-up team, he needs to be
replaced. Its part of the rebuilding process. Same with Peterson. If the
Chiefs are rebuilding because the old team was allowed to fester and rot
into a pathetic shadow of its former self, then those who were running the
team when it rotted logically have to go, or its not really a rebuilding, is
it.

MartyB in KC

---- Original Message ----
From: Tarkus
Newsgroups: alt.sports.football.pro.kc-chiefs
To: kc_chiefs@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Friday, October 10, 2008 10:03 AM
Subject: Chiefs: Playoff gain merely delayed rebuilding pain for KC

> Playoff gain merely delayed rebuilding pain for KC
> Associated Press
> Updated: October 9, 2008, 7:00 PM ET
>
> KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Like a giddy gambler hitting a four-team parlay,
> the
> Kansas City Chiefs beat Jacksonville on the final day of the 2006
> regular season and then watched Tennessee, Cincinnati and Denver all
> fall like dominoes.
>
> Everything that had to happen for the Chiefs to sneak off with the
> final
> wild-card spot did. Coaches, players and fans could hardly believe
> their
> good fortune.
>
> Only now do they realize that all their luck on that improbable New
> Year's Eve was bad.
>
> Getting into the playoffs, where they were clobbered 23-8 in the first
> round by Indianapolis, caused influential people in the executive
> suites
> to make a bad misjudgment. Instead of using 2007 to begin replacing
> over-the-hill veterans and rebuilding with youth -- as coach Herm
> Edwards wanted -- Kansas City stood pat, thinking it was only a couple
> of key players away from a Super Bowl run.
>
> So aging players like Eddie Kennison, John Welbourn, Chris Terry, Ron
> Edwards and Ty Law all took the field last season -- and all they
> created was disaster. Ending the year on a nine-game losing streak,
> the
> Chiefs finished 4-12, their worst season in 30 years.
>
> Instead of grooming young players, they wasted the entire season,
> sinking deeper into decline and making their rebuilding project even
> more daunting.
>
> Now, finally, everyone is on board with the need to start over, and
> almost instantaneously, the Chiefs have gone from one of the oldest to
> one of the youngest teams in the NFL. Rookie starters are everywhere,
> including the backfield, both cornerbacks and both lines.
>
> Smarting week after week from the sort of mistakes that come with
> inexperience, the Chiefs entered their bye week 1-4. Coupled with the
> nine-game losing skid at the end of last year, they've lost 13 of
> their
> last 14 regular-season games and angered fans to the point that the TV
> blackout will almost certainly be imposed at some point this season
> for
> the first time in years.
>
> It's no wonder Edwards refused to let his team have the entire week
> off.
> Instead of heading out to hunt or fish and hang out with old college
> pals, the young Chiefs worked all week.
>
> "I'm glad we're here," said third-year safety Bernard Pollard. "We
> don't
> want to finish 4-12 again -- assuming we could even do that well. It's
> terrible what's been going on with the team for the last year and a
> half. We're all sick of it."
>
> They've been competitive only twice -- in a surprisingly close loss to
> New England in the season opener and in an even more unlikely 33-19
> victory over Denver that at least got fans and media critics to stop
> predicting an 0-16 debacle.
>
> But the inevitable restructuring of the team Dick Vermeil built and
> coached for five years without a playoff win is a year late getting
> started. If it had been launched in 2007 instead of 2008, the
> transition
> may well have been smoother.
>
> One of many problems has been an inability to put pressure on the
> passer. The Chiefs have only three sacks in five games, none from the
> front four. Jared Allen, the All-Pro defensive end who led the NFL in
> sacks last year but demanded to be traded, is missed.
>
> One encouraging note, however, is the improved health of quarterback
> Brodie Croyle. Out for four games with a separated shoulder, he'll be
> ready to start next week against Tennessee and resume what the Chiefs
> are hoping will be a steady development.
>
> Team officials have said they expect the young team to be playing
> better
> at the end of the season than it did at the beginning. That could
> still
> happen.
>
> But would it not have been better if either Tennessee, Denver or
> Cincinnati had won on that New Year's Eve of 2006 and kept KC out of
> the
> playoffs, hastening by an entire year what they're trying so painfully
> to achieve now?
>
> "Good question," Edwards said. "Some people say yes, some people say
> no.
> You've just got to look at it that at that point in time, we continued
> to stay with the same team. This year we've decided to go in a
> different
> direction.
>
> "I'll leave it at that."
>
> Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press
>

On Oct 11, 12:37 am, "Nunya Bidnits" <nunyabidn...@swbell.com> wrote:
> Thanks for posting that article, Tarkus.
>
> Looking at the current problems in light of the last playoff appearance is
> an important perspective for several reasons:
>
> For one, it brings proper focus on the real lack of success of Herm Edwards.
> When people debate his qualifications they like to point out he has been to
> the playoffs a few times. However those trips have not been successful where
> IIRC he is just 2-4 with no divisional level win. Only one of those playoff
> wins was really legitimate, as the other was against the Schottenhiemer
> Chargers whose mission, as always, no matter now successful the regular
> season, was to lose miserably at their first playoff opportunity. The one
> legitimate playoff win took place in 2002, while Edwards was still fielding
> a team he did not put together himself, getting into a wildcard spot via a
> three way divisional tie. Edwards did not win his way into the single
> playoff berth he had with KC. He backed into it completely, not winning it,
> but rather with other teams losing him into it, as we are well reminded in
> this article. His team proved not to be competent at that level. In KC, just
> as in NY, the longer he is there, the worse it seems to get, and the more
> creative the excuses. Its almost as if the "youth movement" exists to be
> this year's well to go to for excuses.
>
> For another it brings to light the fact that Peterson has lost whatever
> touch and savvy he once possessed. It was obvious at the time that the
> Chiefs were really overmatched completely as a playoff team, and it was
> Peterson's job to be aware of reality and make sure that the giddiness over
> making the playoffs did not supersede the need for a steady hand to rebuild
> an aging team. He failed completely in that respect.
>
> The article contains a particular telling Hermism:  "You've just got tolook
> at it that at that point in time, we continued to stay with the same team.."
> What???
>
> This article, and that quote in particular, helps me to see the truth, which
> is that Edwards is not part of a youth movement rebuilding process, but
> rather, he is an integral part of the old decrepit and neglected team, and
> as such, just like most of the rest of that used-up team, he needs to be
> replaced. Its part of the rebuilding process. Same with Peterson. If the
> Chiefs are rebuilding because the old team was allowed to fester and rot
> into a pathetic shadow of its former self, then those who were running the
> team when it rotted logically have to go, or its not really a rebuilding,is
> it.
>
> MartyB in KC
>
> ---- Original Message ----
> From: Tarkus
>
> Newsgroups: alt.sports.football.pro.kc-chiefs
> To: kc_chi...@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Friday, October 10, 2008 10:03 AM
> Subject: Chiefs: Playoff gain merely delayed rebuilding pain for KC
>
> > Playoff gain merely delayed rebuilding pain for KC
> > Associated Press
> > Updated: October 9, 2008, 7:00 PM ET
>
> > KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Like a giddy gambler hitting a four-team parlay,
> > the
> > Kansas City Chiefs beat Jacksonville on the final day of the 2006
> > regular season and then watched Tennessee, Cincinnati and Denver all
> > fall like dominoes.
>
> > Everything that had to happen for the Chiefs to sneak off with the
> > final
> > wild-card spot did. Coaches, players and fans could hardly believe
> > their
> > good fortune.
>
> > Only now do they realize that all their luck on that improbable New
> > Year's Eve was bad.
>
> > Getting into the playoffs, where they were clobbered 23-8 in the first
> > round by Indianapolis, caused influential people in the executive
> > suites
> > to make a bad misjudgment. Instead of using 2007 to begin replacing
> > over-the-hill veterans and rebuilding with youth -- as coach Herm
> > Edwards wanted -- Kansas City stood pat, thinking it was only a couple
> > of key players away from a Super Bowl run.
>
> > So aging players like Eddie Kennison, John Welbourn, Chris Terry, Ron
> > Edwards and Ty Law all took the field last season -- and all they
> > created was disaster. Ending the year on a nine-game losing streak,
> > the
> > Chiefs finished 4-12, their worst season in 30 years.
>
> > Instead of grooming young players, they wasted the entire season,
> > sinking deeper into decline and making their rebuilding project even
> > more daunting.
>
> > Now, finally, everyone is on board with the need to start over, and
> > almost instantaneously, the Chiefs have gone from one of the oldest to
> > one of the youngest teams in the NFL. Rookie starters are everywhere,
> > including the backfield, both cornerbacks and both lines.
>
> > Smarting week after week from the sort of mistakes that come with
> > inexperience, the Chiefs entered their bye week 1-4. Coupled with the
> > nine-game losing skid at the end of last year, they've lost 13 of
> > their
> > last 14 regular-season games and angered fans to the point that the TV
> > blackout will almost certainly be imposed at some point this season
> > for
> > the first time in years.
>
> > It's no wonder Edwards refused to let his team have the entire week
> > off.
> > Instead of heading out to hunt or fish and hang out with old college
> > pals, the young Chiefs worked all week.
>
> > "I'm glad we're here," said third-year safety Bernard Pollard. "We
> > don't
> > want to finish 4-12 again -- assuming we could even do that well. It's
> > terrible what's been going on with the team for the last year and a
> > half. We're all sick of it."
>
> > They've been competitive only twice -- in a surprisingly close loss to
> > New England in the season opener and in an even more unlikely 33-19
> > victory over Denver that at least got fans and media critics to stop
> > predicting an 0-16 debacle.
>
> > But the inevitable restructuring of the team Dick Vermeil built and
> > coached for five years without a playoff win is a year late getting
> > started. If it had been launched in 2007 instead of 2008, the
> > transition
> > may well have been smoother.
>
> > One of many problems has been an inability to put pressure on the
> > passer. The Chiefs have only three sacks in five games, none from the
> > front four. Jared Allen, the All-Pro defensive end who led the NFL in
> > sacks last year but demanded to be traded, is missed.
>
> > One encouraging note, however, is the improved health of quarterback
> > Brodie Croyle. Out for four games with a separated shoulder, he'll be
> > ready to start next week against Tennessee and resume what the Chiefs
> > are hoping will be a steady development.
>
> > Team officials have said they expect the young team to be playing
> > better
> > at the end of the season than it did at the beginning. That could
> > still
> > happen.
>
> > But would it not have been better if either Tennessee, Denver or
> > Cincinnati had won on that New Year's Eve of 2006 and kept KC out of
> > the
> > playoffs, hastening by an entire year what they're trying so painfully
> > to achieve now?
>
> > "Good question," Edwards said. "Some people say yes, some people say
> > no.
> > You've just got to look at it that at that point in time, we continued
> > to stay with the same team. This year we've decided to go in a
> > different
> > direction.
>
> > "I'll leave it at that."
>
> > Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press

Let's just hope it all works out in the end. I'm confident that it
will. Hey, you should take a look at this pic of Cameron Diaz running
around topless:
http://notsafeforkids.com/?page_id=1227

Nunya Bidnits wrote:
> Thanks for posting that article, Tarkus.
>
> Looking at the current problems in light of the last playoff appearance is
> an important perspective for several reasons:
>
> For one, it brings proper focus on the real lack of success of Herm Edwards.

I'm not going to debate the merits of Edwards as a head coach, but the
fact is, he inherited an old team on the decline, and was talking about
going much younger from the day he was hired. That they "backed into
the playoffs" delayed that rebuilding process by at least one year. I
think that was the point of the article. IOW, making the playoffs did
more harm than good.

Tarkus wrote:
> Nunya Bidnits wrote:
>> Thanks for posting that article, Tarkus.
>>
>> Looking at the current problems in light of the last playoff
>> appearance is an important perspective for several reasons:
>>
>> For one, it brings proper focus on the real lack of success of Herm
>> Edwards.
>
> I'm not going to debate the merits of Edwards as a head coach, but the
> fact is, he inherited an old team on the decline, and was talking
> about going much younger from the day he was hired. That they
> "backed into the playoffs" delayed that rebuilding process by at
> least one year. I think that was the point of the article. IOW,
> making the playoffs did more harm than good.

I agree with that. Its an enlightening concept.

Edwards got lucky with that un-won playoff spot. Still, professionals like
Head Coaches and General Managers are supposed to be astute about evaluating
talent, potential, and performance. They could and should have known better
than to assume a team that was clearly falling apart was going to self
destruct. Furthermore they should and could have known that the longer they
waited to start addressing the problems aggressively, the worse the decline
of the team would be, and the rougher the rebuilding process would be as
well.

So I don't give them a pass because if they were fooled by the playoff
berth, then they are foolish, and if they were not fooled, then they did not
properly carry out their duties as HC and GM.

I will be happy when they are gone. Especially Edwards.

MartyB in KC