Thanks to the NFL Lockout and pure laziness, I haven't posted in awhile. Not that anyone noticed, since nobody reads this thing anyway. But, I felt I needed to address a few things that I've seen other bloggers and twitter folks discuss and 140 characters isn't enough to get the point across.
1st Rant: Todd Haley's job security
There have been a lot of people calling for Haley's job this year and I don't quite understand it. He took a very average team to the playoffs last year and people want him fired after an 0-3 start this season? What has he done that's so bad to lose his job? Absolutely nothing, that's what. It's complete bullshit to blame this shithole of a start on the coaching staff. The Bills are 3-0 and are scoring 30+ points per game. They just beat the mighty Patriots. Plus you have to account for a little team letdown that week after Eric Berry went down with an injury. The same goes with the Lions game. We looked pretty decent until Charles went down, then it all spiraled down the shitter like a huge turd. Remember when we knocked Tom Brady out for the season against the Patriots in 2008? They barely beat us (17-10) that year and we only won 2 games all season, while the Patriots went on to win 11 and narrowly missed the playoffs. Had we been remotely decent that year, and not been stopped on 4th and goal from the 5 with under a minute left, we would have won that game. And in my opinion, it's due to the post-Brady letdown they suffered. Any athlete who has played with a great player and lost them during the course of the game knows how hard it is to get your focus back. You're constantly thinking about how badly that player is hurt, if that guy is going to come back, who is going to step up and take charge. It's almost like knowing your best friend was in a terrible car accident, but you're stuck at work and can't leave. You're there, but not really there. Listen, we're not bad because of Haley and the coaching staff. Hell, if Todd pulls out a 5-win season without three of our top guys, he's a coaching genius. We're bad because we've been screwed over by injuries, we've faced two very good teams and for the reason I'll discuss at #2 which cost us the 3rd game.
2nd Rant: Matt Cassel
I hopped on the Matt Cassel bandwagon right after the Chiefs traded for him and Mike Vrabel back in 2009. I so badly wanted the Chiefs to have a QB that wasn't shitty that I forced myself to blindly allow Cassel's mental miscues, poor throws and bad game management. I chalked it up to him being in a new system and not having much time in the pocket to throw down-field. I was dead wrong, however. Matt Cassel is terrible. He can't throw a pass 40 yards down the field without a running start and even then it's a lame duck pass that has no accuracy. It's gotten to the point where the coaches don't even trust him to throw a pass over 6 yards unless they absolutely have to. Which, in turn, allows the defense to stack the box with 8 guys, forcing Cassel to beat them through the air. Something he just can't do. There's a reason why he never started a game in college and never did in the NFL until Brady went down. It's because he isn't a starting QB. Had Brady not gotten hurt, Cassel would still be the backup in New England, never sniffing the field except late in pre-season games.
Now, I don't really want us to #suckforluck, because I'm tired of cheering for a loser and I just can't be happy rooting for the Chiefs to lose. Nevertheless, "sucking for Luck" may be the best thing for this franchise in the long run. As of today, there are ZERO starting QBs in the NFL I'd pass on to take Cassel. And no, I didn't forget about Tarvaris Jackson. He can at least run and has a somewhat strong arm. We've seen the high point of Cassel. That was last year and in 2008. That's as good as he'll ever be. Actually, I'm not even going to count 2008 because he was on the Patriots. A team that with Brady, probably would have gone 14-2 or 13-3 and made the playoffs. The only reason why Cassel did so well in 2010 was due to the running game being so amazing all season. That allowed more one-on-one coverage and the quick slants were open thanks to the linebackers sneaking up to stop Charles and Jones. But, Week 17 last year was when it all turned for the worse. That week Oakland stopped the run and Cassel couldn't do anything. Then the Ravens did the same. Now the movie is on loop for the first 3 games this year:
1) Force the Chiefs to pass
2) Put pressure on Cassel so he gets flustered and makes bad decisions
3) Win the game
- ACF
