Kansas City Chiefs State of the Union

        Another reason I didn't write about the game was because there wasn't too much positive to write about.  The stadium was two-thirds full, the team was dominated on both sides of the ball, even the tailgating was off- If fans had been wearing blue instead of red I would have thought I was going to a Royals game with the lack of excitement. 

Its sad to see a franchise as proud as the Chiefs hit rock bottom like they did in their 34-10 loss to Tennessee.  You expect to see fans booing the home team, leaving early, or not even showing up at all in places like Detroit and Arizona, but not in Kansas City.  The Arrowhead crowd is considered one of the loudest most intimidating stadiums in the NFL year in and year out, but against the Titans that crowd was non-existent.  The only time you could even tell there was anyone in the Stadium was when they booed Herm Edwards for kicking a field goal instead of going for a touchdown trailing 27-0 with under five minutes left, and when they booed Chris Johnson for banging on the Kansas City cheerleader's bongo drums after his 66 yard run on the ensuing possession*.

*Between the NFL fining Johnson's $10,000 for his antics and LenDale White getting beer thrown on him after his 80 yard run it would appear Roger Goodell and the drunk guy sitting next to the tunnel did more to stop the Titans running game than the Chiefs defense...not good Gunther Cunningham...not good.

       Walking out of Arrowhead Stadium it was clear Kansas City had hit rock bottom.  Everyone knew changes needed to be made within the organization, and it was clear to most what those changes needed to be:  Herman Edwards had to be fired after the season, and general manager Carl Peterson deserved even worse.  Fan's wearing red were more unified with hatred for the Chiefs front office than with love for the team on the field.

       Since the Titans game things have turned around in some ways for Kansas City.  Tyler Thigpen has started looking like a better than horrible NFL quarterback, and the team has been competitive in each of their last four games.  After losing their first six games by an average of 15 points they've lost their last four by an average of 4.5.  In three of their last four games it could even be argued Kansas City should have won.  They had their foot on the Jets' throats in week 8 before going too conservative on offense and allowing the Jets to score in the last minute; they blew a 21 point lead against Tampa Bay to lose in overtime; and they were a two-point conversion away from beating the Chargers in San Diego.  Last week both Joe Posnanski and Jason Whitlock wrote articles praising the Chiefs for their progress the past month. 

        I've never seen a city and fan base get so much excitement and optimism out of four losses.  I half expected Whitlock (a guy who I usually agree with) to hand out gold stars for participation after the San Diego loss.  If you were to just read the Kansas City Star articles and the reader comments on their website you probably would have thought the Chiefs had gone on a winning streak.  Some fans are so giddy about just barley losing that there are reports these last four games could save Herm Edwards and Carl Peterson.  Even before the recent string of moral victories Clark Hunt was quoted as saying he liked the direction the organization was headed. 

       Really?  You lost the last nine games of 2007 and the first three of 2008 eight and you think the ship is headed in the right direction.

       If the Hunt family is even thinking for a second about bringing back Peterson they should be tarred and feathered.  The NFL is a results oriented league, and Kansas City hasn't won a playoff game since 1994- not exactly great results.  This is the same cut throat league that sent Emmitt Smith to Arizona and Brett Favre to New York, but for some reason Carl Peterson has been allowed to hang around Kansas City with no real success in fourteen years. 

        A General Manager's job is to spot talent and oversee roster transactions.  Look at the some of Peterson's high draft picks and look how they're producing and tell me if you think he is good at spotting talent.  This past offseason Peterson got rid of Jared Allen in large part because of character issues, but had no problem paying big money to Larry Johnson, a running back whose immaturatey has left him suspended for much of the season.  When you throw in the inability to trade Tony Gonzales, they way coaching recent coaching changes have been made, and mess at the quarterback position Carl Peterson is the worst front office decision maker in the NFL over the past five years this side of Matt Millen.

       As for Herm Edwards it baffles me to no end that people insist he is a good coach.  I heard a quote from one Chiefs fan on JT the Brick's radio show who said "Herm Edwards is a good coach, but makes bad decisions at the end of the game."  Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't end game decision making pretty much the most important part of being a good head coach?  Thats like when NBA players say they're shooting well just not scoring; it makes no sense.

        Take a quick look at Herm's track record.  In 2001 became the head coach of the NY Jets and went 19-13 with two playoff performances in his first two years.  His last three years the team went 20-28, the team got worse over time with him as coach.  In 2006 he went to Kansas City, he went 9-7 his first year leading the Chiefs to the playoffs.  Since the playoff loss to Indianapolis to end the 2006 season the team has gone 5-30; they have gotten worse over time with him as coach.  You can make all the "rebuilding process" excuses you want, but the numbers don't lie- the longer Herm Edwards coaches a team the worse they perform.

        Sure, the team has gotten more competitive in recent games, but a loss is still a loss.  The argument can be made that these losses are good because it gives the Chiefs a higher draft choice.  With the organization's recent history in the draft do you feel confident they can make a good pick?  Eventually the Chiefs are going to have to "learn how to win games," why not learn now?  And isn't Herm Edwards the coach that plays to win the game?