Chiefs Season Wraps-Up

The Chiefs 2007 season is over, thankfully, and now the organization can get down to cleaning house, whether it be in management, coaching or personnel. Carl Peterson told the media after yesterday's dismal 13-10 overtime loss to the NY Jets that he would retain his position as GM/President/CEO/Emperor of the team. Money Quote: "Clark has his thoughts and he expresses them to me, but it’s just not his way to make them public all the time." Or ever. Kevin Keitzman on WHB 810 today does not think the matter is settled just because Carl Peterson says it is, and there has been speculation that Clark Hunt will speak to the media in the coming week. Also, "Edwards indicated that if he made changes to his coaching staff, they would come this week." Two coaches that are definitely on the hot seat are offensive coordinator Mike Solari and special teams coach Mike Priefer. I wouldn't expect either to return, at least not in their present positions. The Ravens sacked Brian Billick today, leaving the former Vikings offensive coordinator available. According to Lions Insider, Mike Martz will likely not return as the offensive coordinator for the Lions. I'm mentioning these firings as food for thought, although I can't see Martz's offensive strategy gelling with Herm Edwards' ball control philosophy.

The only good that came out of Sunday's loss is a higher draft pick for the Chiefs as they surpassed the Jets in the draft order. Now the worst the Chiefs can draft is fifth, with a possibility of drafting fourth. The Chiefs, the Falcons and the Raiders are all tied at 4-12 for the season. The next tie-breaker is strength of schedule, but in this case the teams are also tied, with their opponents' records standing at 132-124. The Raiders and Chiefs split their AFC West series this season, but the Chiefs ended up having a better record against common opponents than the Raiders, so the Raiders and Falcons will flip for the third pick. In the case that Atlanta losses said coin flip, the Falcons will participate in another coin toss, this time with the Chiefs for the fourth draft pick. These coin tosses will take place at the NFL scouting combine in February.

Now the question becomes: What do we do with a possible fourth pick in the 2008 draft? Taking an offensive tackle seems to be the accepted wisdom, and Michigan's Jake Long is the highest rated player at the position according to "draft experts." Will Jake Long be available at the fourth, or fifth pick? Other players being hyped as top five picks are Arkansas running back Darren McFadden, LSU D. Tackle Glenn Dorsey, Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan and Virginia Defensive End Chris Long. In addition to his rant about Peterson in his WHB 810 "Between the Lines" monologue, Keitzman also lamented the fact that the Chiefs will not go after a top quarterback prospect out of college and develop him into an NFL franchise quarterback. Now would be the time for the Chiefs to reverse that trend, he contended. Keitzman admitted he had no confidence in Croyle and did not see anything this season to make him wait for a later draft to take a franchise quarterback. According to Keitzman's logic, this is the year to take a quarterback because it is rare to find three quarterbacks worthy of a top 10 pick -- Ryan, Louisville's Brian Bohm and Kentucky's Andre Woodson. Others complain that there is no sure-fire stand-out in this year's crop, but Keitzman would rather the Chiefs try and fail than skip over a quarterback for a offensive tackle or other position player. I agree with Keitzman that Croyle doesn't seem to be a super bowl quarterback, maybe a good back-up at some point, but definitely not an elite NFL quarterback. He's got a strong arm, no denying that, but his decision-making, accuracy and durability are too big of obstacles to get over with arm strength alone. I will analyze the Chiefs draft options as the off-season rolls on, but next, on to the Herm Edwards' apologists and their answer to critics who claim Herm doesn't care enough about offense and offensive personnel to win a super bowl.

Wakarusa Music Festival

I think it maybe a little premature to start selling tickets for a festival that is yet to have a home.
According to the Lawrence Journal World, Festival CEO Brett Moisman lobbied the Jefferson County Commisioners to host the festival on the private land of the Circle S Ranch and Country Inn but was turned down by a vote of 2-1. Those voting against the festival in Jefferson County cited security concerns over the lack of infrastructure in the case of an emergency. Jefferson County citizens in a surprise move attended and were in a tizzy about drugs and alcohol — namely the "freak factor" and how it could affect their kids.

One wonders why they don't automatically renew at Clinton Lake State Park. After all, the park is Wakarusa Music Festival. In my mind it is very difficult to separate the one from the other. I've heard rumors that Moisman and his operation are looking towards Wyandotte County now to host the festival. What has been reported is that the festival seeks a multi-year contract with the state to host the event at Clinton Lake with a few additional benefits not granted in the four previous years. First, they want to increase the capacity of the event by 3,000 people a year from last year's cap of 15,000 to 24,000 in 2010. Second, Moisman and crew wants to secure a catering license so they can upgrade from the 3.2% water schwill to more potent beers and wines. Another request would be more flexibility in determining how much law enforcement is necessary and finding the right mix of law enforcement and private security contractors. Other language in the letter sent to Governor Sebelius and the Department of Wildlife and Parks Secretary Mike Hayden calls for improvements to park infrastructure, more latitude on hosting non-musical entertainment and restriction of the public driving through the festival to use boat ramps and the lake without paying. The full text of the letter can be accessed here.

It seems obvious to me that the Wakarusa organizers are shopping other venues for the festival as a bargaining chip to get Lawrence to move forward on the new multi-year contract. Lawrence politicians probably have a lot of sway over in Topeka and don't want other counties moving in on their festival, even though no other county seems to want it at the moment. I think it is irresponsible that the website is now selling ticket packages without a definite site secured for the festival. Maybe falling back on Clinton Lake with a one-year contract that caps attendance at 15,000 is the worst case scenario, but I find it difficult to entrust my $100+ to a festival without a home. It does seem like Douglas County wants the festival to return again. I will attend next year when a location is finalized. The music lineup will be announced in January.

Winter's First Snow

Here's some news items for December 6, 2007:
* First snow of the year. We are supposed to get between 1-4 inches of snow, but I can see right now that the major roads are cleared and just saw a city plow steaming down Warwick [4PM].
* The Royals signed former Mariner outfielder Jose Guillen to a 3-year, $36 million contract, but he will not play for the first 15 games because of a suspension handed down today by Major League baseball for his purchase of human growth hormone. Royals GM Dayton Moore was in hot pursuit of a power hitting outfielder and looked closely at Guillen, Andruw Jones and Torii Hunter, but the other two signed more lucrative contracts with other teams. In Jones' case, he also signed a $36 million deal, but his contract only spans two years with his new club, the LA Dodgers. Moore has made clear that he will have no trouble spending Glass' Wal-Mart fortune to build a contender here in KC. But was Guillen a worthwhile recipient of this money considering his age--31. The suspension is unfortunate, but 15 games was obviously not a deal killer.
* Another Royals' note (is this really December?): The Royals will be sporting the old powder blue uniforms again. The most recent manifestation, however, will have them wearing the powder blues at home instead of on the road and with white pants. Why they couldn't just resurrect the full powder blue uniforms is beyond me.
* The new jamband music club, Crosstown Station, is set to open on December 14 at its McGee St. location across Truman Road from the Sprint Center. And what better band to christen the jamband junction than California Voodoo, Kansas City's very own Widespread Panic cover band. www.crosstownstation.com
* Go see some jazz tonight. The Sons of Brasil play at Jardine's, going from 8:30 PM to 12:30 AM.

Brody hurt; Chiefs sign old man

Brody Croyle is suffering from a sore back and may sit out of the San Diego game this Sunday, thus giving Huard another brief opportunity to start. This confirms one of my other major criticisms of Croyle, besides his poor decision making, which is that he doesn’t look durable enough to be an NFL quarterback. I’m not questioning his toughness. Anyone who can play nearly an entire college season with a separated left shoulder is tough. So is the fact that he finished last Sunday’s game against Oakland after taking the injuring hit on only the second offensive play of the game when he ran away from pursuit due to no open receivers. This sort of pressure will certainly continue this season with a patchwork offensive line that still struggles to create running lanes for our backs and protection for our passers. It could be Huard’s 34-year-old frame receiving the punishment from the likes of Shawne “Priest Killer” Merriman and Shuan Phillips. Imagine this headline: “Priest revered by entire city killed by homicidal Steroid Freak.” It happened…and it killed his NFL career, notwithstanding his brief flirtation with the league this season.
It’s nice to see that the Chiefs are gushing over this season’s third field goal kicker, NFL journeyman John Carney.
“But for now, we submit this scene for believe-it-or-not: the Chiefs cheering their kicker.
Yep. Happened around noon on Wednesday in their indoor practice facility, as new man John Carney was perfect on his first four kicks: from 30, 35, 38 and 40 yards.” { “Chiefs Cheer new kicker Carney” by Sam Melliinger in the Nov. 29 KC Star}
I presume Carney’s fifth attempt was beyond 40 yards and missed. Melllinger goes on to write that the longest field goal he made while filling in for Josh Scobee in Jacksonville this season was 41 yards. And we will lose field position compared to the Rayner days because of Carney’s poor range on kickoffs.
This just serves to highlight the huge whiff the Chiefs had drafting Justin Medlock instead of Packer rookie Mason Crosby. Medlock is now a basketcase sitting at home in his Southern California home wondering what could have been. Crosby on the other hand is tied for second in the NFL with 22 field goals made, although his field goal percentage is an unimpressive 26th at 79%. He is tied with Tennessee’s Rob Bironas for the most field goals attempted by a kicker this season. Crosby is 8 for 9 when kicking a 30-39 yard field goal, an improvement over Rayner’s 7 for 10. Crosby also sank a 53-yard field goal while Rayner missed his only attempt over 50 yards. Crosby has missed the bulk of his field goals in the 40-49 range, going 5-9 while Rayner is a hair better, making five out of eight attempts.
Crosby gets all the attention in KC because he was a Big 12 prospect, but the Chiefs could have also drafted the Dallas Cowboy’s Nick Folk, who along with Crosby went in the sixth round. Folk is sitting in the middle of the pack in field goal percentage at 15 with an 85%. An important note on that percentage, two of his three total misses were from beyond 50 yards.

Herm Edwards' Apologists

I was going to write this entry about the Chiefs' deplorable offense and how Herm Edwards and his coaching staff are to blame for its lack of productivity. Then I read Adam Teicher's "Chiefs' Solari takes some blame for struggles" article and learned that it's mostly the players' fault. "Our responsibility is to put them in position to make the plays. When they're called up, they've got to make the plays," Solari was quoted in Teicher's article.
Here's what I saw when I attended the Oakland Raiders loss at Arrowhead on Sunday: I saw one unimaginative series of play-calling after another. Faced with a first and 20, I saw the Chiefs run three straight draw plays. I saw the coaching staff waste two timeouts that could have been used to stop the clock during the Raiders' last drive and give the Chiefs another opportunity on offense to score. I saw them run a predictable 4th-and-1 dive play up the middle late in the fourth quarter with nine Raiders stacked in the box.
Its losses like these and the play-calls that cause them that turn fans against their coach. It's not news that Chiefs fans have been calling for Peterson's job since Schottenheimer parted ways with the franchise, but now a frenzy is growing around Herm Edwards and his future with the team. I know… blaming the coach is just fodder for sports call-in shows and drunken redneck debate, but sentiment spreads quickly in professional sports, especially considering how much emotional and psychic energy Chiefs' fans have tied up in their team. But the anti-Herm and anti-Carl rhetoric abounds on the comment boards and over the airwaves, so I thought I would address the silent authority… the Herm apologists. But I will do so by countering popular criticisms heaped upon Herm since he took over the New York Jets in 2001.
A popular Kansas City criticism of Herm Edwards is that he ruined the best offense in the league. Apologist have countered that the writing was on the wall. We had two Hall of Fame offensive linemen retire with no suitable backups waiting in the wings and an aging number one receiver with yet again no suitable backups in the stable. Apologists contend that the failure of the team is circumstantial rather than any particular coaching decision is on Herm’s part. In New York, Herm’s early success and three playoff opinions were often credited more to the strong veteran lineup Parcells left in tact when he left the organization. In fact, according to Wikipedia, the lack of player development was given as one of the reasons the New York Jets suffered a 4-12 hemorrhage after going to the playoffs the year before.
Apologists have countered that the writing was on the wall in Kansas City following the departure of Vermeil. We had two Hall of Fame offensive linemen retire and no suitable backups to take their places and an aging number one receiver with yet again no suitable backups waiting in the wings. The same apologists contend that the failure of the team is circumstantial rather than any particular coaching decision on Herm’s part.
I wouldn’t label Joe Posnanski an out-and-out Herm apologist, but he certainly blames the losses and poor offensive play this season on “a bad team.”
Posnanski: “And I think Edwards is just the right coach to build from scratch. He may drive people nuts with his defensive mindset and game planning, but the guy has a special talent for finding good young players and developing them, which is more important. All year, Edwards kept telling us that rookie running back Kolby Smith —— a fifth-round pick who did not even start at Louisville — was a special young player. Many of us didn’t see it.”
He goes on to write that the last two drafts have been the best in years and credits Herm with that success. I don’t quibble with Posnanski on these points, it certainly does appear that Herm has a knack for picking out young talent and then developing that talent into playmaking ability on Sundays. He spent six years with the Kansas City Chiefs in the pro personnel department scouting talent. Of course we never really recruited any offensive juggernaut during that period, but that might not be Herm’s fault at all, and the defense was awfully good. That might not have been Herm either.
To editorialize, I think the apologists and the detractors should all shut up and see what direction this team will take. Herm has two more years on his contract and in that duration we should have a pretty good idea where this team is headed. I agree with Posnanski that the team is rebuilding, and if Herm is allowed to rebuild the Chiefs from scratch into the team he and his staff scouted and game planned around, then let him do it. Now I sound like a Herm apologist, but is there really any other way to know whether Herm can turn this team into a contender or not?
Another criticism of Herm that goes back to his New York days is that he has poor clock management skills. I will give the apologists’ rebuttal in the next entry on this topic.

Border War

The Border War. MU vs. KU. Or Arrowhead Armageddon as Fox 4 News stupidly puts it. We here in Kansas City could never have predicted that this rivalry would have such high stakes as the game tonight does. The series is tied at 53-53-9 since the teams first faced each other in 1891. So not only will one team destroy their rival's ambitions of a national championship this season, they will also go one up in the alltime series after this historic tiebreaker game. A Wall Street Journal article and several local articles have invoked the bloddy history of the civil war skirmishes that took place just before and during the Civil War. Kansas was largely an anti-slavery territory, and Lawrence was the epicenter of the abolutionist ambitions of the state's residents. The Kansas-Nebraska Act laid the groundwork of the border war by declaring that the inhabitants of the new territories of Kansas and Nebraska would decide by vote whether the new states would allow slavery or not. Pro-slavery Missouri residents began pouring into Kansas and established pro-slavery outposts in Leavenworth and Atchison. Anti-slavery organizations from New England recruited heavily armed emigrants to settle Kansas and established free-state settlements in Topeka, Manhattan and Lawrence. The proslavery forces won, but abolitionists created a shadow government. John Brown then came to Kansas and skirmishes began. "Border ruffians", the name given to Missourians who illegally voted in the Kansas elections, would march on Kansas and burn the Free State Hotel while also ransacking businesses and homes. Brown retaliated by leading an attack on a proslavery settlement, which resulted in the hacking of five men to death with broadswords. By the time the border war ended in 1859, 59 people had been killed in the skirmishes and "mini-wars." Kansas would eventually enter the Union in 1861 as a Free State, but not after the damage had been done and resentment built up for the savage violence committed by both sides.
Flash forward to today, a St. Louis Post-Dispatch article sites a Misouri man "whose great, great grandfather had been murdered on his farm, apparently by a Kansan.
"And when he was telling me this story, he said, 'And we think we know who did it,' " said Rafiner, noting that the suspected descendants lived just miles away."
KU athletic director Lew Perkins claims that the Arrowhead crowd will be 70-30 percent in favor of KU, a claim that MU associate athletic director Mark Alnutt hotly disputes. The game is technically a "home game" for KU, which means it had a greater percentage of tickets to sell to its fans than Missouri, but the Chiefs also had 29,000 tickets to sell, and MU fans claim to have taken a large percentage of those. Many media outlets are claiming that KU fans outnumber MU fans 3-1 in the Kansas City area, where the border war takes on even greater significance given the intermixing that is forced to take place here.
The jokes fly back and forth between the two schools. One KU t-shirt witnessed recently declares, "My coach can eat your coach on and off the field." Another I picked up from that same St. Louis Post-Dispatch story has Mark Mangino lost in Kansas City, so he goes to a gas station to ask how to get to 435. The attendant responds, "skip a few meals."