MVN - Most Valuable Network

Chiefs Live Game Blog - Week 1

11:52 a.m. - Let’s get this started!  Even though the outlook looks bleak this year, it’s finally, finally football season!  I’m actually excited, despite the doom and gloom predicted for the Chiefs.

11:53 - Mmmm…Stephania Bell on ESPN.  Is it me, or does she use words like “burst”, “pulsing”,  “sac”,”erupting” or “blowing” more than most? 

11:54 - the ESPN fantasy projections are stupid.  I realize that fantasy football is played by millions and millions of people, but there is absolutely no way to know who’s going to do what. 

11:54 - what was more shocking: that Cris Carter thought Marvin Harrison would have  a huge year, or that Keyshawn Johnson chose the Cowboys as his game pick? 

11:55 - Early contender for “Dumbest Thing Said By Someone Not Named Emmitt Smith” - Mike Ditka choosing the Jets to win because “they have to win for the New York media”.  If you know what that means, please email me immediately.  I’m confused.

12:01 - Oh God.  This season is already off to a bad start.  Dan Dierdorf is announcing the game.  If you want to know my version of hell, it would have Dan Dierdorf announcing everything, calling everyone by their full names.  I hate Dan Dierdorf.  I may have to switch to the Fox for Lenny Dawson.

12:02 - the worst part of the NFL season?  The ads for all the “hit new shows’ that no one will watch.  Listen, unless your show rhymes with “LOST”, “The Office” or “Heroes”, you’re not a good show.  There, I said it.  Oh, and “24″, if it ever comes back on the air.

12:03 - Please let this election get over soon.  The “I’m (insert candidate here) and I approve this message” ads are making me pine for Dan Dierdorf.

12:07 - Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go…

12:08 - One whole touchback in your career, Nick Novak?  Awesome.  Doesn’t it seem like every freaking college kicker puts it through the back of the end zone when they kick off?  Why can’t that carry over to the NFL?

12:10 - Pat Thomas with the start.  I’m not sure how I feel about that.

12:11 - Good coverage on the crossing pattern.  I’ll take a 4-yard completion, despite Dierdorf calling it an 8-yard gain.

12:11 - That has to be a victory…and then we kill their punter.  I was about to compliment Tamba Hali, but now I’m about strangle rookie Brandon Flowers.

12:13 - If New England doesn’t score on this drive, I think the NFL will intervene and give the Pats a do-over.  Good defense by Brandon Carr on Gaffney there.  Excellent play.   Of course, Tom Brady can do no wrong according to Dierdorf.

12:14 - FUMBLE! FUMBLE!  WOO HOO!

12:16 - Great play by Surtain.  Run the damn ball, now, Chiefs.

12:17 - Perfect Brodie Croyle/Chan Gailey throw - the 5-yard out to the running back.  Get used to it, Chiefs fans.  By the way, that was good pass protection by Branden Albert on the last two plays.  He held his own on both attempts.

12:19 - Great punt, Dusty.  Keep the Pats inside their own 20-yard line.  Continue the march to Canton, Mr. Colquitt.

12:21 - I’m not saying this because he’s on my fantasy team, but if I were the Pats, I would run the ball 70% of the time today.  Until the Chiefs can prove they can consistently stop the run, they’re going to be run on. 

12:23 - Yikes - that’s a deep cushion that we’re giving Moss.  Well deserved, though.

12:24 - Excellent play by Turk McBride.  Keep the pressure on Brady, fellas. 

12:25 - Oh no…if Brady can’t play, should we call off the season? 

(Sorry for the sarcasm - I just don’t like the fawning over Brady by Dierdorf.)

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The Chiefs Probably Won’t Beat the Pats

Don’t believe any of the rumors: the Chiefs are still massive underdogs to beat the Patriots. You’ll probably hear a lot of talk about Tom Brady and how he’ll been unseasoned, unpracticed, and unready to go against Kansas City. You’ll probably hear a lot of talk about how Wes Welker may not see the field or, if he does, in a very limited role. You’ll probably also hear how the Pats are going to overlook the Chiefs.

Sorry, but to make any of those claims is like saying Screech Powers has a chance at beating Mike Tyson in a boxing match because Tyson broke his toe. Brady is Brady. He’s the best QB in the league. While he may not be his usual sharp self, Brady at 75% is still better than most quarterbacks in this league. And really, how accurate do you have to be when Randy Moss is your primary receiver? As long as you put the ball anywhere within the same zip code, Moss is going to catch the ball.

The above accusations try to pretend that the Patriots only won 16 games because of Brady and Welker. It completely discounts the fact that the Pats also have arguably the best offensive line in football, an MVP-calibre receiver, a terrific kicker, an underrated running game, a solid defense, and outstanding coaching. I suppose if you discount all those other factors, then yes, the Patriots are going to be very beatable. Even if Matt Kassel is the Pats’ quarterback, it’s not going to change the fact that the Patriots’ offensive line and the Chiefs’ inexperience on their defensive line is going to give the quarterback a ridiculous amount of time to throw the ball. It doesn’t change the fact that Randy Moss is going to line up against either a rapidly declining veteran or an unseasoned rookie: welcome to the NFL, Brandon Flowers! It doesn’t change the fact that the Chiefs, at last glance, were embarrassingly bad at stopping the run and will face a pretty strong tandem of RBs who will force the Chiefs’ defense to be disciplined.

Yes, I believe losing Brady and Welker makes the Patriots more beatable, but it still demands that the Chiefs be perfect and then some to beat them. And I’m sorry to break the news to Chiefs fans, but the Chiefs are not going to be perfect. They are exactly what we thought they were entering the preseason: a young, developing team that is going to make mistakes and hopefully get better as the season goes on.

So please, root for the Chiefs, but don’t hold unrealistic expectations. The Chiefs will most likely lose to the Patriots, but we shouldn’t be measuring our season by wins and losses anyway.

Can the Chiefs Beat The Patriots On Sunday?

Originally, this was going to be a snarky, sarcastic column - where the answer to the above question would be “Yeah, if Tom Brady gets abducted by aliens” or “Only if Randy Moss goes ‘Last Boy Scout’ on his entire team and New England forfeits”.  But the more I thought about it, the more I started to devise ways that the Chiefs could win.

Now, I realize the Chiefs are being picked in most of the suicide/last man standing pools in the country, and for good reason.  There is a reasonable chance the Kansas City good guys could finish as one of the worst teams in the league this year.  Rebuilding + unproven quarterback + 80% new faces on the offensive line + Herm Edwards usually doesn’t equal success.  Toss in the fact that we play New England on the road, and that the Patriots are probably more than a little pissed about the whole “18-1″ thing…and yeah, we may see the first mercy rule in NFL history Sunday.

Or - the Chiefs can shock the world.  Here’s how it must be done.

1.) No turnovers- I’m looking in your direction, Brodie Croyle.  Croyle must become the textbook definition of a “game manager” this week.  No spectacular throws, but no mistakes, either.  Remember - a 7-yard curl route on 2nd-and-9 can be a quarterback’s best friend.  Keep the game in hand, don’t panic (easier said than done), and make the simple throws.  Try to keep the “WTF?” throws to a minimum.

2.) Keep Tom Brady off the field - Not exactly a major insight or earth-shaking news here, but this is the key.  If the Chiefs can keep the Patriots’ offense off the field, then they can’t score.  Brilliant, right?  And you wonder why I’m one of 98% of the Earth’s population who writes a blog. 

3.) Run the damn ball - I want Larry Johnson, Jamaal Charles and Kolby Smith so tired after Sunday’s game that instead of sitting in an airplane seat, the Chiefs just place them in their hot tubs in the cargo section of the plane.  If the Chiefs can get 40-45 rushing attempts on Sunday, we win.  Simple as that.  If Croyle only has 15 pass attempts, I don’t think anyone would be disappointed with that.

4.) Make field goals - It’s sad we have to make this a priority, isn’t it?  However, with the recent “ahem” kicking troubles of the Chiefs, and the inclination of Herm and the boys to kick field goals and play the field position game, points are at a premium for the Chiefs.  Making field goals is a cheap three points.  We need to capitalize on it when available.

5.) Special Teams must make a play -No, I don’t mean return a kick or a punt (that’s way too much to ask for).  I mean that we need to cause a turnover on a return, or Dusty Colquitt must continue his march to Canton and keep the Patriots pinned inside their own 20-yard line all day.  Inside the 10 would be even better.

The Chiefs need for all five of these things to happen.  Not two or three, or even four.  All five.  New England is too good and has too much talent otherwise.  Simply put, the Chiefs must play the perfect game on Sunday to win.  Young teams cannot rely on their talent to overcome mistakes.  Can they do it?  Sure they can.  Will they do it?  That remains to be seen.

Sunday, I hope to have a live blog during the game.  Hopefully it won’t be too depressing.

Why the Chiefs Will NOT Win 8+ Games in 2008

Now, for the unfortunate reality. My previous post about why the Chiefs will win 8+ games is, in my opinion, fairly unrealistic.

The stars will need to align in a very big way for the Chiefs to go .500 this season. Let’s look at some of the limiting factors:

• Chan Gailey - It usually takes at least a half season for a new offense to learn an entirely new offense. Before the Chiefs were the greatest show on grass under Vermeil, they spent a half season behind TrINT Green and a pretty stagnant offense
• Gunther Cunningham -I have seen too little from Gun to believe that he is still capable of fielding a top 10 defense in the NFL without Marty Schottenheimer looking over his shoulder. You haven’t seen our young guys get much better under his tutelage, and that’s going to be the absolute defining measure of his success this time around in KC
• Branden Albert -I love the kid’s upside, but he’s almost certainly going to frustrate more than he excites in his first games as an NFL starter. It’s hard enough to play left tackle in the NFL; it’s even harder to play left tackle while missing an entire offseason. And it’s even tougher to play left tackle when you spent your entire college career as a guard
• Brodie Croyle - Now, I have been one of Croyle’s biggest supporters and I have always argued that a Chan Gailey offense never revolves around the quarterback, but based on what we’ve seen so far, we should expect Croyle to make mistakes and a few of them could cost the Chiefs games. Croyle will play behind a very developmental offensive line, operating in a brand new offense, and will have a new responsibility of changing plays at the line of scrimmage. I think he’s capable of overcoming these problems, but I think it will take a little bit of time

As I have always said, I’m perfectly fine with the Chiefs going under .500, as long as they get better as the season goes on and we see a hot streak to close the season. What I fully expect is a team that looks like a shell-shocked deer in headlights to open the season and a tough, competitive team to close the season.

I know these negative viewpoints may be uncomfortable for some, but I absolutely believe that we need to be careful to temper our expectations. Chiefs fans should always root for the Chiefs to win, but they should be satisfied with losses where their young players shine and start to show their potential. Be patient. Get excited about improvement. It might be a rough season in 2008, but it will pay enormous dividends.