Monday Morning Thoughts…
Happy Monday everyone…
This game was exciting for a while but still ended with the Chiefs losing to the Saints 30-20. This one was over much earlier than in previous weeks.
(I’m gonna sing at least one more time) “Gettin’ Thiggy with it, nah-nah nah nah nah-nah nah!” Tyler Thigpen played another good game yesterday. Thigpen did have the one late INT but when its fourth down you have to try to make a play because you are going to give the ball back anyway, so I don’t really blame him too much for that one (although I wish he could have got more on it as Bowe did have the CB beat). He gave the Chiefs a chance to win and that is all you can really ask for.
Chiefs QB Situation: I’m getting a Thigpen jersey!! Okay, maybe not (yet) but so far each new game has helped Thigpen raise his chances to be the Chiefs answer at QB, at least for next year. The rest of the year will tell…
BTW I did actually see a guy with a Thigpen jersey on at the game yesterday, he jumped on early, I hope it was for the right reasons.
BIG PROBLEM FOR THE CHIEFS: Pass rush. The Chiefs need to figure out how to get some pressure on the QB. If they don’t pressure on the QB it doesn’t matter how good out two “Brandon’s” are because even the best corners can’t cover someone forever. Right now a pass rushing DE looks like it would be a great choice with our first pick next year. (Right now I’m still sticking with DE or MLB)
Now some news about this site:
For now we are putting the Brick Hits Podcast on hold. This doesn’t mean they are gone forever (unless you want them to be) but for now it is “taking a break and seeing other people”. I am trying to get Brick to do a weekly article for us here so maybe I can get him going on that this week.
Well, that is all for this Monday morning. I hope you all have a great week and that we can see a Chiefs victory next Sunday.
Go Chiefs!
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
Bob Gretz Interview - A Mid Season Look
I was lucky enough to get together with Bob Gretz again to ask him some questions about the Chiefs. Gretz talks about the Chiefs record, Tyler Thigpen and the QB situation, and Larry Johnson’s recent off the field issues.
Kansas City Chiefs Football: What do you think of the Chiefs record so far and do you think it is a proper indication of where they are at as a football team?
Bob Gretz:Given the rebuilding project and the injuries this team has suffered, I think 1-8 is about right. We can all point to a game or two here or there where they may have been able to win. But I subscribe to the Bill Parcells saying that “you are what you are.” This is not a team that should be 5-4, but has had bad luck. They are 1-8, because that’s what they are.
Kansas City Chiefs Football: Tyler Thigpen has been looking really good these last few games, do you think he is the Chiefs QB of the future?
Bob Gretz: I have no idea at this point whether he’s the QB of the future but I know that he has a chance to lay claim to that designation over these final seven games. If he continues to make steady progression, there’s no doubt he’ll get the first shot at the job. But he’s still got to continue to move forward, continue to protect the ball. He’s due for a bad game; it’s only a matter of time. The question then will be how does he react to that bad game. There are a lot of steps Thigpen still has to make, but he’s doing the two best things any quarterback can do in this situation: he’s available and he’s not turning the ball ovver.
Kansas City Chiefs Football: With Thigpen’s strong play, if he keeps this up for the remainder of the year do you think the Chiefs should still look at a top QB in the 2009 NFL Draft?
Bob Gretz: I don’t know about top. I’m in the process of a lengthy research project on quarterbacks in the draft and the deeper I dig the more I believe that every decade there are maybe three or four QBs who rock solid picks; the rest are gambles not worth taking. I think the Chiefs have a lot of holes to fill and no matter what Thigpen does, quarterback is one of them. First-round pick no, but early draft choice yes.
Kansas City Chiefs Football: Around Arrowhead Stadium I hear a lot of fans say that we are just playing for draft picks right now and that last Sunday’s performance against the Bucs was an ideal performance (playing a good game, but losing in the end) because it shows progress but we still get a higher draft pick with the loss. What are you thoughts on this?
Bob Gretz: Anybody that says this has never been part of a team that has worked its tail off for months to be successful. This team is trying to win. Think about it: would anyone want to associate with a team that is trying to lose.
Kansas City Chiefs Football: Larry Johnson seems to have a hard time staying out of trouble. What do you think about his current situations and how does this affect the Chiefs future at RB?
Bob Gretz: Larry has a lot of ground to make up, starting with the Hunts, to Carl Peterson, Herm Edwards and his teammates. He’s going to have to change and we all know that change is not easy. As for the Chiefs, they’ve always been able to find running backs and I think that will continue.
Kansas City Chiefs Football: Who would you name the mid-season MVP of the Chiefs and why?
Bob Gretz: Right now, there’s no one worthy of that designation.
Kansas City Chiefs Football: Which players have stood out to you the most in the first half of the season and what players do you expect more from?
Bob Gretz: Tank Tyler, Bernard Pollard, Mark Bradley, Tony Gonzalez, Thigpen, and the Brandons, Flowers and Carr have grabbed my atteniton. I expected more from Bowe, Page, Derrick Johnson and Larry Johnson.
Kansas City Chiefs Football: Overall, are you happy with where the Chiefs are as an organization and a team right now?
Bob Gretz: I think the organization moved in a direction it needed to move. They might have been able to soften that blow by signing more veteran free agents in the spring, but that likely would have taken playing time away from young players. It makes real evaluation of Edwards and his coaching staff tough right now. They seem to be good talent evaluators because the young players they have added are good, some very good.
Kansas City Chiefs Football: I see that you started doing some podcast since our last talk. Good job on those, I know that people are enjoying them.
Bob Gretz: The podcasts have been fun. It allows me to do some of what I had been doing for Chiefs Radio for almost 20 years. Luckily, I have some good friends like John Czarnecki, Rick Gosselin and Len Dawson who have been willing to give their time. There’s more on the way as well. Like everything on the Internet, it’s a blank canvas and I can paint it any way that I would like.
Great job Mr. Gretz and you can get more Gretz at his blog.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
Why the Chiefs could beat the Chargers
Obviously most people are picking the Chargers to win this game, but there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about this game if you are a Chiefs fan:
San Diego’s defense in no longer a force: In fact they are quite the opposite. The Bolts currently rank 16th against the rush, allowing 106.5 yards a game with an average rush of 4.0 yards. Their passing defense is MUCH worse as they are DEAD LAST in the NFL in that category.
Also don’t forget that over the bye week the Chargers fired their defensive coordinator. Now granted they have former Bears defensive coordinator Ron Rivera to take over, but still, we all know that coaching changes don’t necessarily bear good results. Just look at Denver: Last season they fired their d-coordinator and hired a new one and this year their defense is even worse than last years.
Now for the Chiefs:
The Chiefs young secondary has more than doubled it’s INT total (7) for the season over the last two weeks, picking Favre three (3) times in week 8 and Garcia one (1) time in week 9. And don’t forget that in the giveaway/takeaway stat the Chiefs are +8 in relation to San Diego. The Chiefs are +7 in turnover differential and the Chargers are -1. By the way, that +7 for the Chiefs is good for third in the NFL. I can’t remember the last time a team was so high on this stat and had so few wins to show for it, so you would think this would have to start evening out more in the Chiefs favor.
Chiefs Offense: Tyler Thigpen has emerged the last two weeks and become quite an offensive force. Thigpen outplayed Favre one week and the next week had a very solid game against a very solid Bucs defense that is know for wrecking havoc on young QB’s; Thigpen had ZERO turnovers in both games.
And let’s not forget about Chiefs rookie RB Jamaal Charles, who is now starting because of the LJ suspension and the season ending injury to Kolby Smith last week. Charles had 18 carries for 106 yards against a tough Buccaneer defense, a defense that this season has been much better than the Chargers.
If the Chiefs want to win this game the key will be for the Chiefs to establish the run. The Chiefs will need long, clock draining drives that will keep the Chiefs defense, and more importantly the high-powered Chargers offense, off the field.
If nothng else, with both defenses being at or toward the bottom of the league this could be a very fun game to watch.
GO CHIEFS!
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
Monday Morning Thoughts…
Photo from nfl.com
Happy Monday everyone…
This game went much different than most probably expected but still ended with the Chiefs losing to the Bucs 30-27. I still feel some encouragement but a loss is still a loss.
(I’m gonna sing for the 2nd week in a row) “Gettin’ Thiggy with it, nah-nah nah nah nah-nah nah!” Tyler Thigpen played a great game again yesterday. He didn’t have a lot of yards, but threw one TD, caught a TD pass and had ZERO interceptions. He gave the Chiefs a chance to win and that is all you can really ask for.
Chiefs QB Situation: Count me as one of those people that was impressed that Thiggy played well for two weeks in a row, but still wants to see more. If Tyler Thigpen comes out next week at San Diego and plays like this again, I might be jumping to get on that bandwagon.
At this point I still say continue to look at QB’ in the draft, but keeping it mind that if Thigpen finishes out the year like he has been playing the last two games, then we may not need to look at one at the top of the draft. In my opinion the Chiefs needs to draft a QB in the 2009 NFL draft regardless of how Thigpen plays, but if he plays well we may not need to draft a QB until around the middle rounds, unless you think that “franchise” guy is there, then you take him regardless.
The Chiefs also had a good day running the football as they finished with 183 yards against a tough Bucs defense. Overall this game showed me what the Chiefs can be when they get consistent QB and offensive line play.
BIG PROBLEM FOR THE CHIEFS: Defense. The Chiefs need to figure out how to stop somebody. I know they had injuries at the CB position, but good teams find a way to win even with injuries. Also, if the defensive line could get some pressure on the QB that help out those corners (and the rest of the defense) a lot.
Now some news about this site:
Yesterday I finally decided that I would provide you something that you can’t find everywhere and wrote an article about our game day experience that covered everything from us pulling into the parking lot until the time we left. I figured that since I am actually a season ticket holder to the Chiefs and make it to every home game that some of you might like know what goes on from Arrowhead from someone who was actually there, especially since I know not all you can make it to the games (and no that does not make you any less of a fan). Anywho, you can find that here:Chiefs vs Bucs: Report from Arrowhead
Last week we got off track and did not released a new episode of Brick Hits, but don’t worry a new episode should be recorded and released within the next few days for your listening pleasure.
Well, that is all for this Monday morning. I hope you all have a great week and that we can see a Chiefs victory next Sunday.
Go Chiefs!
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
Chiefs vs Bucs: Report from Arrowhead
I have been doing this for a while now and I just thought that since I am a season ticket holder and actually go to all of the games maybe I should share what goes down at Arrowhead on the day of the game (at least from my perspective).
So we rolled off of the exit ramp at about 8:40 this morning, not seeing as much traffic as we thought we would but nonetheless happy that we got to the parking gates with the quickness. Once they scanned our parking pass we headed into the lot and noticed that the lots had more cars than they normally do at this time in the morning.
We normally get there about the same time every week and the last few games it was so crowded that we actually got to park in the first non-handicapped row, literally right in front of the stadium. (Holla parking section C7!). Today they were already working on filling up the second row, but we managed to Sneak-King our way on the backside of parking row 1. Yeah, its a sweet spot! 
After playing a little catch, while the cars kept filtering in, we went ahead and set up the party zone. (That’s right, I said “party zone” lol…) Anyway, after we got all set up we poured an anonymous drink and took a seat. As we looked around it took us by surprise; Our row was now filled to the brim with tents, grills and people. After having a semi-sub par outings the home game before the Arrowhead atmosphere was back… and it was awesome! You could actually feel the optimism in the air, people believed and Arrowhead was once again the place to be on a Sunday morning.
The rest of the tailgate was spent eating, drinking and socializing. We parked next to some really cool people (who’s names I can’t remember at the moment) who came all the way up from Wichita. We actually took a photo with this group of people which I will try to post with a few other photos from game day in a post within the next day or two. We had a blast and this dude had some of the best turkey I have ever tasted. It was the BOMB.
Pre-game tailgating was now complete so we packed it up and headed into the game with about 20 minutes left until kick-off. On the way to the gates we did get distracted when we spotted a couple Chiefs cheerleaders … don’t worry the photo will be posted soon.
We got to our seats with perfect timing as shortly thereafter we sang the Nation Anthem, yelled “Home of the… CHIEFS!!”, and saw/felt/heard the flyover. Man, that gets me every time.
Once the game kicked off Arrowhead Stadium was actually pretty full. More people than I thought would be there were filling the seats and judging by my recording the game was not blacked out. So that is good at least.
The mood of the stadium was pretty positive to start the game and, as you can guess, it got better and better as the first half went on. During the first half many hands were slapped, lots of “Gettin’ Thiggy with it” comments were made, and I think I may have seen a manly chest bump or two… yeah, I’ll leave that one alone.
Even at half time and well into the second half of the game you could tell everyone still believed the Chiefs could win this game and then it happened. I can’t tell you exactly what play or the time on the clock, but everyone in the stadium could feel it… there was doubt.
The momentum had officially shifted in their favor and everything then started going right for the Bucs. They scored on a half back option pass, connected on the two-point conversion for the tie, and then eventually won the coin toss along with the game. Once the Bucs won the coin flip in OT I had a bad feeling, I knew the game was over, I was just hoping I was wrong.
I only saw a few Tampa fans at the game and none of them stood out to me, I didn’t even really hear any cheering when the Bucs finally pulled out the game. I’m pretty sure they knew how lucky they had been to get this victory so they just left it at that.
As we took the “walk of shame” down the swirling concrete concord I just felt dejected. The heartbreaking Chiefs had gave me hope, only to let me down once again. We have now lost 16 of the last 17 games…
The rest of the late afternoon was filled with some post-game tailgating, kicking, passing, punting, and a ride back home where we discussed the status and played out future scenarios of our Chiefs.
Alas, I am at home writing you this blog entry, now dead tired from a day Chiefs football in the sun.
See you another day Arrowhead.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
Monday Morning Thoughts…
Happy Monday everyone…
This game went much different that I expected but still ended with the Chiefs losing to the Jets 28-24. I feel more encouraged than last week, but a loss is still a loss.
Gettin’ Thiggy with it, nah-nah nah nah nah-nah nah! Tyler Thigpen played a great game yesterday. He went 25 of 36 for 280 yards, 2 TD’s and ZERO interceptions. He gave the Chiefs a chance to win and that is all you can really ask for.
Chiefs QB Situation: Count me as one of those people that think the Chiefs still have QB issues. I will jump on the Thiggy bandwagon once he starts playing consistently, and by consistently I don’t mean he has to play every game like the Jets game but he should give the Chiefs a chance to win and not cost them the game, like he did in Atlanta.
At this point I am still saying bring in Culpepper for a workout. If he passes the physical and will come to the Chiefs with the understanding that he can COMPETE for the starting QB job then sign him up. He is still most likely an upgrade over any QB we currently have on the roster
One of the things that really affected the game more than people think is the injury to Jamaal Charles. He had 5 rushes for 45 and looked good while doing it. He was a spark in the offense and it seemed to me that once he went out the running game went in the crapper.
BIG PROBLEM FOR THE CHIEFS: Giving up the big play. The Chiefs have a bad habit of allowing 50-60+ yard TD runs and they need to fix this immediately. Also, don’t forget the Chiefs Defense still gave up 420 yards, that’s a lot of yards and for a defense that has been building for 3 years it should be better than this by now. Last week I was calling for Gunther’s head and I still think it should be considered.
Now some news about this site:
Last week we got back on track and released a new episode of Brick Hits. In Brick Hits: Episode 11 - Podcast Brick and I talked about the Chiefs loss to the Titans, previewed the Chiefs vs Jets game, and named a “Tool of the week”. Check it out to find out who last week’s tool was.
Yesterday right after the game we decided that we wanted to talk about it a little bit, so Brick and I sat down for a short post-game show, find out what we thought about the Chiefs/Jets game here:Brick Hits Special Edition- Chiefs vs Jets Post Game.
Guess who is back? Janson wrote another article for KC Chiefs Football Blog and it was great. Don’t forget to check it out here:The Final Whistle - Post Game Thoughts: Chiefs vs. Jets
Well, that is all for this Monday morning. I hope you all have a great week and that we can see a Chiefs victory next Sunday.
Go Chiefs!
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
Brick Hits: Episode 11 - Podcast
I told it was coming… and here it is! Here at KC Chiefs Football Blog we are back with another episode of Brick Hits… FINALLY!
This week Brick and I talk about the beat down we got from the Titans, preview the Chiefs vs Jets , and as usual we unveil our “Tool of the Week”.
Don’t forget that you can also now sync Brick Hits to your Ipod/mp3 player and listen to it whenever/wherever you please. Enjoy!
To play please click on the Play button or the “Download” link below.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
Chiefs Contact Daunte Culpepper and Connor Barth
All I can say is “Thank You”. It can be argued that this may not be the right move, but at this point I don’t hear any better options out there. I say give Culpepper a shot, he should have a good 3-4 years left in him.
- The Chiefs talked with Culpepper on Monday, a day after they lost Brodie Croyle for the season because of torn knee ligaments. Croyle was injured in the Chiefs’ 34-10 loss to Tennessee at Arrowhead Stadium.
A decision on whether the Chiefs would sign Culpepper did not appear imminent. A deal might not come until next week if one is reached at all. [KC Star]
The Chiefs are also looking at former Bucs QB Bruce Gradkowski. In my opinion this would a very short term deal, where if they signed Culpepper it could be for a few years.
- In the meantime, the Chiefs were preparing to bring former Tampa Bay quarterback Bruce Gradkowski to Kansas City today for a workout. Gradkowski played for St. Louis in a preseason game against the Chiefs in August at Arrowhead Stadium.[KC Star]
Now this is the part where I say “I told you so”.
- The Chiefs may sign rookie Connor Barth today to replace Novak. Barth was originally signed by the Chiefs in April and battled Novak throughout the offseason, training camp and the preseason.
Both players made two of three field-goal attempts in the preseason. The Chiefs went with Novak mainly because of his previous NFL experience.[KC Star]
Anyone that has read this site or knows me, knows that I thought the Chiefs should have went with Connor Barth from the beginning. I don’t know if he will work out any better than Novak, but one wouldn’t think it could get too much worse, right? BTW I heard Novak has the lowest field goal percentage int the NFL.
Welcome back Connor! We thought you might be back and let’s see what Culpepper can do. If nothing else we can still draft a QB to sit under him for a little bit.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
Around the Chiefs Blogosphere - Chiefs Sinking Fast after loss to Titan
If you happen to read my Monday Morning Thoughts it is pretty obvious how I feel about the game, so I have decided to show you that we are not alone in our feelings. Also, it is nice to show my other brothers from Chiefs nation some love (I need to more often) as they have been very kind to me lately.
“We may not win four games this year
Looking at the rest of the schedule, it’s doubtful the 2008 Chiefs top or even tie last year’s team in wins. The rest of the schedule isn’t particularly daunting but the Chiefs have failed miserably in virtually every game this year. Even in the Bronco game we definitely got our share of breaks to get that win. “
I have to agree with this. Looking at the games we have played so far what would make anyone think we could even win three more.
“Gunther Cunningham, as much as I love and respect what he has done for the Chiefs organization, I think it’s time to bid him farwell. I’m not sure he can coach the “Tampa Two” the way Herm has envisioned it. Tampa Bay has a solid D, Chicago, Indy (with Bob Sanders), they employee the Tampa Two with much different results. Is it personnel? I don’t know but this is the third year and no player has been able to grab the concept of it yet. “
Again, as I stated in my Monday Morning Thoughts article, I totally agree with this. THe only thing Gunther seems good at anymore is making contraptions of curse words that I have never heard before.
“The Tennessee Titans ran for 332 yards. 455 total yards. The season is over for Brodie Croyle. The Chiefs have allowed 68 points and scored just 10 in their last two games and are 1-5. Does it get much worse?”
I hope not, but it’s definitely possible.
Bob Gretz
“But the Chiefs did not play a good game. They were not only beaten on the scoreboard, but they were beaten up physically across the field. They were beaten up mentally, emotionally, physically and any other ally you can come up with.
Right now the Chiefs are not a young team, a rebuilding team.
They are simply a bad team, one that doesn’t do anything well, can’t get anything done and must still play 10 games in the 2008 season.”
Strong words from the usually positive Bob Gretz.
This is not how I imagined this season would go. I have always tried to look at the positives when things happen, but that gets harder and harder to do as the season goes by.
BTW the photo of the fan throwing a drink at LenDale White is from ESPN.com
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
Monday Morning Thoughts…
Happy Monday everyone… Well, this just SUCKS.
The Chiefs had another horrible game this weekend, losing to the Titans 34-10. These types of losses are quickly becoming the norm for the Chiefs. It just gets harder to watch every week.
The Chiefs rushing offense was pretty much M.I.A. yesterday as they had 17 carries for 58 yards. Anyways, that is just one of the many things that sucked for the Chiefs yesterday and we will definitely talk more regarding this.
Brodie Croyle: Many said that Croyle may not make it out of the Titans game without getting hurt, and they were right. Croyle suffered a knee injury that will keep him out the rest of the season and means that he probably took his last snap as a member of the Kansas City Chiefs. I have always said that he needs to be available to help the team, but you can’t help but feel for the guy. He is still a human being and he has tried hard to prepare and help this team the best he can. It’s a shame the way he keeps getting injured.
LJ didn’t play against the Titans and just like I guessed it didn’t seem to matter. The Chiefs, for the second game in a row, had 17 rushing attempts and minimal yardage. Against Carolina the average rush was something like 2.1 yards and this week against the Titans it was 3.4, so we actually did a little bit better without LJ, but not enough to make a difference in my opinion.
I do have one more question about this game: WHAT THE CRAP IS WRONG WITH CHIEFS RUSHING DEFENSE??? It is time for something to change (for now I’m strictly talking about the defensive side of the ball only) and that may start with Gunther. I really like the fire Gunther can (or used to) bring, but as one caller on the post game show said yesterday, the only thing Gunther seems good at anymore is his ability to use curse words.
Even for the hardcore supportive fans, is it time to ask for people’s heads?
Sorry I kind of went on a rant there. Now some news about this site:
Last week we decided not to release a new Brick Hits. It was the bye week and I just decided to give Brick a much non-deserved day off. Because of the backlash we received from not releasing a new podcast last week (ha ha) we will jump back on the horse this week and let out emotions run high and discuss the Chiefs. We will be talking about the Chiefs loss to the Titans of course, preview next week’s game aginst the Jets, and then name a tool of the week. Give us a try and let us know what you think, I would love to get feedback from any listeners to let us know how good/bad we are doing.
Well, that is all for this Monday morning. I hope you all have a great week and that we can see a Chiefs victory next Sunday.
Go Chiefs!
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
-
KC Chiefs Football on Facebook
-
