About 3 p.m. on Sunday, as I drove past a gloomy Arrowhead Stadium with a few thousand of my fellow Kansas City Chiefs fans, heading towards home, it took all my ”glass half full” personality to come up with anything positive about the 44-13 Bronco beat-down that just took place.
Other than 1) Tamba Hali had a great game; and 2) Dustin Colquitt and Ryan Succop are the team MVPs, I couldn’t find anything.
What really struck me was that the Denver Broncos had a bad defense last year. Really bad. In some categories, they were worse than the Chiefs. And yet, this year after hiring a new defensive coordinator and switching to a 3-4 defensive scheme (sound familiar?); they are a top-10 defense.
If that wasn’t bad enough, I’m sitting in my easy chair watching the Green Bay Packers beat the Baltimore Ravens on Monday Night Football hearing the announcers tell me that the Packers are the #1-ranked defense in the league despite losing two of their best players to season-ending injuries. Oh, and they’re the youngest team in the league too.
To refresh your memory, Green Bay was in the lower-third of the league defensively in 2008, hired a new defensive coordinator and switched to a 3-4 defensive scheme during the off-season. (Hmmmmm, are you sensing a theme here?)
So it was about 10 p.m. Monday night that the honeymoon for the Pioli-Haley regime started to end for me. Even though statistically the Chiefs had been still playing badly, they had won three out of six games and we fans weren’t embarrassed to root for the team. Now after the Denver game ... not so much.
My biggest problems are with the defense. It’s been in a steady decline since Marty Schottenheimer left, and despite the use of several high draft picks to fix it, it’s getting worse.
The halftime ceremony honoring the late great Derrick Thomas just hammered home the fact that the 2009 Chiefs have two players on defense that could have played on those great defensive teams of the 90’s. And those two players, LB Tamba Hali and CB Brandon Flowers, probably wouldn’t have been able to start. A younger Mike Vrabel possibly could have started, but we don’t have the young Mike Vrabel on this team.
And you would have had a hard time convincing me during the third quarter of the Denver game that the aging Neil Smith, Kevin Ross, Tracy Simien and Dan Saleaumua, four former Chiefs who were there to honor Thomas, couldn’t have thrown on their old jerseys and played better than any of their current counterparts in the second half.
And I would have given my left arm to see Marty Schottenheimer on the sideline or up in the coach’s booth calling defensive plays. Seriously people, would the Chiefs have lost two AFC West games by a combined 87-27 score when Marty was coach? No.
In the last two seasons, four of the ten worst home defeats in the history of Arrowhead have happened. Luckily our last two opponents, Buffalo and Cleveland, have struggled all year offensively and aren’t much better on defense.
This isn’t a rant against Todd Haley and a call for him to get fired. I completely get the fact that it’s a rebuilding year, the talent level is low, and it will take some time to get back to where the Chiefs need to be. Having said that, if Haley doesn’t get rid of defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast and defensive line coach Tim Krumrie about five minutes after the last game of the season, I’ll scream.
Haley needs to get an offensive coordinator that he can work with and turn the defense over to a veteran defensive mind that can turn this thing around. I’m not asking for a top-5 defense next year, but I don’t think asking for a top-20 defense next year is asking too much.
And Scott Pioli needs to have the off-season of his life to pump some talent into this team through free agency and the draft. We can only hope that this year’s #1 pick, Tyson Jackson, is his only high-profile bust. Of course, Jackson’s been seen less this season than Jimmy Hoffa or Amelia Earhart, so I can’t exactly call him “high-profile”.
Comments
The new chiefs coach, GM should get at least 2 years of honeymoon time. there is no talent on that team. they need to learn to finish. they need to learn to win. they've lost 2 or 3 they coulda shoulda won....or they could have gone winless. give these guys time.
The lack of an extended hineymoon is their own fault. Making statements that he could get 52 guys off the street and win more than two games will do that for you (yeah I know they won three...whoopee). Tossing players off the team in the name of accountability will do that to you as well. How about firing your Offensive coordinator right before the season...bad coachig move by all accounts. Any accountability? Hiring Pendergast...are you serious. I know Arizona made it to the SB but it wasn't because of their defense.
I'm not saying they need to be fired right now , but the dynamic duo had better start showing some life quick. As the article points out, other teams have had successful turnarounds so the old 'it's a rebuilding year' argument only goes so far.
Best of luck to the Chiefs but I hope this coach and GM start earning their paycheks and reps soon.
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