Morning Update (Sad, Sad AFC West Edition)

by Chris Thorman on Dec 11, 2008 8:41 AM CST in Article Updates Comment 32 comments

Bill Williamson of ESPN.com breaks down the current state of the AFC West.

CHIEFS NEWS

Michael Ash: "This week Michael Ash talks about how Tony Gonzalez might throw a clog into the Chiefs' offseason plans, why Tyler Thigpen needs some time, and puzzles over Larry Johnson's absence from the offensive gameplan in Denver."

Adam Teicher: "Tyler Thigpen, whose future as the Chiefs’ starting quarterback is still being decided, has a lot to learn about self-promotion."

Bob Gretz: "But what about the flip side of the Chiefs when it comes to pressure on the quarterback? While the defense has been abysmal when taking down the quarterback, the Chiefs offense has actually done a good job."

Your weekly local media rebuff from KCChiefs.com.

NEXT OPPONENT: SAN DIEGO CHARGERS

Bolts from the Blue goes over the Chargers' wide receivers.

RB Jacob Hester enjoyed playing full back last week and may do it again this week.

This guy definitely has potential to hurt the Chiefs this weekend: Vincent Jackson Gets A First Down Ninety Percent Of The Time.

OTHER NEWS

The Arena League may not survive for much longer.

Is Pacman Jones' career over?

I wouldn't be betting on either team this weekend: "NFL oddsmakers at BetUS.com have the Chargers as -5.5 point road favs over the Chiefs with the over/under set at 45.5 points."

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Pacman

That’s a shame if his career is finished…but neck injuries are those you just don’t screw around with. And even if the injury itself is not career-ending, combine a neck injury (which have a tendency to recur) with his off-field problems and you’ve got a guy that teams are not going to want to rely on in their starting lineup.

The Chiefs should win 5 to 6 games this year and no less than 4 for this season to be considered progress in any way. If he can't win at least 9 games next season, Herm's a joke.

by UCrawford on Dec 11, 2008 8:46 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Why?

I think it’s more appropriate to say it’s a shame he was injured, because I don’t wish injury on any player. I don’t think it’s a shame if his career is finished, the guy was an embarrassment to the game. He had all the potential in the world but never developed beyond the emotional maturity of a third grade bully. I think the league would be much better if the standards for personal conduct were much more strict. Yes, we want great athletes, but those athletes also have a responsibility to be good role models for the kids learning to play the game. Do you want a 10 year old saying he wants to grow up to be like Pacman? I don’t.

by Chiefs4Life on Dec 11, 2008 9:28 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

by Official Arrowhead Pride Parade on Dec 11, 2008 9:35 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I didn't know the forecast

predicted rain

by KansasCityShuffle on Dec 11, 2008 12:20 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Pacman's Personal Life Has Got Nothing To Do With The Fans Except In Whether It Affects His Availability

For all my personal dislike of Larry Johnson, I don’t believe that his tendency to treat women like crap makes him a worse football player. It makes him a crappy human being, but except for the legal ramifications of his actions (suspensions and jail time, which I think are entirely merited if he’s guilty of assault) it has no bearing on what kind of football player he was. And I don’t think it takes anything away from the game itself if there happen to be a bunch of morons playing it, until it actually affects the on-field product directly.

“Athletes should be role models” is the classic rallying cry of crappy parents and it’s ridiculous because it’s not the athletes’ job to raise anybody’s kids but their own. Athletes aren’t responsible for feeding and sheltering kids that aren’t theirs, parents are. Athletes aren’t responsible for childrens’ education, parents are. Athletes aren’t responsible for teaching children right from wrong, parents are. And if some 10 year old out there is saying that he wants to be just like Pacman Jones when he grows up, and his parents blame Pacman, that’s his parents fault for abdicating their child-rearing responsibilities to some jackass that they probably only know from the television. So if Pacman screws up in his personal life like he did in Vegas, I’m all for the cops busting him and throwing him in jail (which I think he should have been done based on what I read), but it’s got no bearing on my evaluation of him as a football player and I could care less what effect it has on kids who are unfortunate enough to have vacuous idiots for parents.

The Chiefs should win 5 to 6 games this year and no less than 4 for this season to be considered progress in any way. If he can't win at least 9 games next season, Herm's a joke.

by UCrawford on Dec 11, 2008 11:27 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Bullshit

It’s the parents job to be role models and if kids are immulating Pacman than the problems have go a lot further than that. I don’t want role models in professional sports, I want athletes

by KansasCityShuffle on Dec 11, 2008 12:19 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

To both UC and Shuffle

Whether you like it or not athletes and pop stars are going to be seen as role models. Is it the responsibility of parents to teach their kids morals and proper behavior? Absolutely. But the fact remains that a young athlete will try to emulate their hero, and will learn from the example set for them. in the examples of Pacman and LJ the kids will constantly hear announcers (and bloggers) say they don’t care about off-the-field antics as long as the athlete performs at a high level, and they will learn that if you’re rich and famous enough you won’t have to face any repercussions for your actions. So before you start yelling “bullshit” at people try to see the world for how it is rather than how you think it should be.

by Chiefs4Life on Dec 11, 2008 1:10 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Role Models

Whether you like it or not athletes and pop stars are going to be seen as role models.

Sure, by morons. I don’t believe in making the world safer or easier for morons because I hate paying that extra taxes that incurs and because Charles Darwin was my hero.

But the fact remains that a young athlete will try to emulate their hero

Only if they’re morons and/or have crappy parents who don’t teach them any different. In which case the problem really isn’t the athlete.

the examples of Pacman and LJ the kids will constantly hear announcers (and bloggers) say they don’t care about off-the-field antics as long as the athlete performs at a high level

Oh, so now it’s my fault? Fine.

"Hey, all of you kids out there reading this blog who are too stupid to think for yourselves. Larry Johnson is a great football player and a rotten human being and if you do the same kind of stupid crap that he does off the field the world won’t feel the slightest bit of pity for you because you will be a dumbass and they’ll see it as you getting what you deserve.

Sorry that your parents don’t care enough about you to give you this message…it’s probably because they’re drunks. Stay in school."

So before you start yelling "bullshit" at people try to see the world for how it is rather than how you think it should be.

I’m more calling “bullshit” on the idea that I or anyone else is responsible for raising somebody else’s kids instead of those kids’ parents. If I wanted to be responsible for a stranger’s kids, I’d go out to a schoolyard and abduct a few.

The Chiefs should win 5 to 6 games this year and no less than 4 for this season to be considered progress in any way. If he can't win at least 9 games next season, Herm's a joke.

by UCrawford on Dec 11, 2008 1:33 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

The Scourge Of Professional Athletes As Role Models

“Pacman is the shizz.”

The Chiefs should win 5 to 6 games this year and no less than 4 for this season to be considered progress in any way. If he can't win at least 9 games next season, Herm's a joke.

by UCrawford on Dec 11, 2008 1:44 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Damn...Picture Didn't Post

It was a good one, though…

The Chiefs should win 5 to 6 games this year and no less than 4 for this season to be considered progress in any way. If he can't win at least 9 games next season, Herm's a joke.

by UCrawford on Dec 11, 2008 1:44 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Here

by Joel Thorman on Dec 11, 2008 2:19 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

It's The Decline Of Western Civilization

Pacman will destroy us all.

The Chiefs should win 5 to 6 games this year and no less than 4 for this season to be considered progress in any way. If he can't win at least 9 games next season, Herm's a joke.

by UCrawford on Dec 11, 2008 2:31 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

You're right

And we shouldn’t need police because everybody lives by the golden rule. Militaries? Don’t need those, because all world leaders have decided dialogue and diplomacy are the only ways to resolve disputes (when disputes do arise since we are all warm and fuzzy people now). In fact, since everyone has learned to get along so well, we can now disband governments all together.

The real world and what aught to be are vastly different things.

by Chiefs4Life on Dec 11, 2008 3:30 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

And Police, Militaries, And Diplomacy Have What To Do With Professional Athletes Not Being Good Role Models?

You know what’s even more ridiculous than parents thinking that people on TV are responsible for raising their kids? People thinking that what pro athletes and celebrities do actually means anything in the real world.

You know what affect O.J. Simpson getting away with murder had on my life? None. You know what affect O.J. Simpson getting convicted would have had on my life? None. Because I don’t know O.J. Simpson, I don’t hang around people who know O.J. Simpson and I’m of at least average intelligence so I don’t need the television to tell me that beating up and killing women is wrong so I’ll never be in O.J. Simpson’s shoes. And if someone out there is dumb enough not to be able to figure out the downside of beating up women, or getting into fights at strip clubs, or committing murder, then I don’t really care what happens to that person, nor am I interested in doing anything to make life easier or more manageable for them if it in any way inconveniences me (which is what demanding that pro sports banning all mean people would do). That’s the parents’ job to help their kids figure out the world…not mine or anyone else’s.

The Chiefs should win 5 to 6 games this year and no less than 4 for this season to be considered progress in any way. If he can't win at least 9 games next season, Herm's a joke.

by UCrawford on Dec 11, 2008 3:45 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

They were

intended to show that the real world and fantasy are different, not directly connected to sports. My question is, if you had a son wanting to play linebacker would you want him studying Donnie Edwards or Ray Lewis? Not that Donnie or Ray will be raising your child, but your child will be paying attention to that individual because he wants to play like that when he grows up. Do you think a kid playing receiver in little league in the Dallas area isn’t watching TO? When he sees TO yelling at his QB or coach on the sideline, do you not think that will influence his actions during a game? The kid’s coach and parents will try to teach him teamwork and sportsmanship, but those lessons will be subconsciously battling the example set forth by someone who is living his dream. And anytime TO’s name shows up in the paper or on TV you can bet that kid is paying attention.

by Chiefs4Life on Dec 11, 2008 4:24 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

If He Were Studying To Be A Linebacker

I’d probably have him study both because they were both excellent…depended upon what his strengths were. If he were to ask me who made the smarter decisions with his life, I’d tell him Donnie Edwards and then ask him why it mattered.

Do you think a kid playing receiver in little league in the Dallas area isn’t watching TO? When he sees TO yelling at his QB or coach on the sideline, do you not think that will influence his actions during a game?

My brother and I learned not to argue with officials and coaches when we played sports growing up. Guess who taught us that? (Hint: It wasn’t a professional athlete). And we were both fans of John McEnroe and watched his matches all the time (we grew up in a family that loved tennis).

The kid’s coach and parents will try to teach him teamwork and sportsmanship, but those lessons will be subconsciously battling the example set forth by someone who is living his dream.

Right, because professional athletes exert mind control on kids and they’re powerless to control their own actions.

I think my brother tried that excuse once when he argued with the coach during a game…right before dad grounded him and made him apologize to the coach. My brother didn’t argue with coaches after that, and yet the players he watched on TV weren’t behaving any differently.

The Chiefs should win 5 to 6 games this year and no less than 4 for this season to be considered progress in any way. If he can't win at least 9 games next season, Herm's a joke.

by UCrawford on Dec 11, 2008 4:36 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Or As Noted Celebrity, Misanthrope, And "Oasis" Frontman Noel Gallagher Once Said Of Celebrities Affecting The World

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but are they hoping that one of these guys from the G8 Summit is on a quick 15 minute break at Gleneagles (in Scotland) and sees Annie Lennox singing "Sweet Dreams” and thinks, ‘F**k me, she might have a point there, you know?’

“Or Keane doing "Somewhere Only We Know” and some Japanese businessman going, ‘Aw, look at him… we should really f**king drop that debt, you know.’

“It’s not going to happen, is it?”

The real world doesn’t care what celebrities (to include professional athletes) do…they’re just a distraction from the real world and until they’re actually committing crimes (at which point they’re a problem for the judicial system to solve, not the fans) then nothing they do has any relevance to what goes on in the real world.

The children of the world will go on doing what they do whether Pacman Jones smacks around more strippers or not. I, on the other hand, will be sorry to see a professional athlete of his caliber not perform anymore because he was often very good at what he did. But I also probably won’t remember him in another five years because he doesn’t really matter in the greater scheme of things.

The Chiefs should win 5 to 6 games this year and no less than 4 for this season to be considered progress in any way. If he can't win at least 9 games next season, Herm's a joke.

by UCrawford on Dec 11, 2008 4:27 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

UC

Quoting Noel Gallagher is one of the best comments I’ve seen.

That is all. Carry on.

by Joel Thorman on Dec 11, 2008 7:12 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I'm A Huge Oasis Fan

I won’t make the argument that they’re the best band ever…I think the Stones, Beatles, or Zeppelin have a better claim to that. But they’re by far my favorite band. I’ve got every album they’ve ever put out and most of their good b-sides.

And Noel Gallagher is brilliant…not only a great songsmith but a frigging hilarious and intelligent interview.

The Chiefs should win 5 to 6 games this year and no less than 4 for this season to be considered progress in any way. If he can't win at least 9 games next season, Herm's a joke.

by UCrawford on Dec 11, 2008 8:44 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

And If You Want To Hear One Of The Funniest Interviews Ever

Go to iTunes and check out “Wibbling Rivalry”…it’s an interview of Noel and Liam Gallagher that some Brit reporter did where Liam and Noel spent the entire interview fighting. It was absolutely hilarious.

The newspaper the reporter worked for released it as a single and it actually made it in the charts.

The Chiefs should win 5 to 6 games this year and no less than 4 for this season to be considered progress in any way. If he can't win at least 9 games next season, Herm's a joke.

by UCrawford on Dec 11, 2008 8:50 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Also

In fact, since everyone has learned to get along so well, we can now disband governments all together.

Sounds good to me…frankly, I don’t see much of anything that governments do that individuals couldn’t figure out on their own and probably do better.

The Chiefs should win 5 to 6 games this year and no less than 4 for this season to be considered progress in any way. If he can't win at least 9 games next season, Herm's a joke.

by UCrawford on Dec 11, 2008 3:48 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Really?

Could you imagine walking around in KC if there were no police? And how would you get around without publicly-funded roads? Education without public schools? Does Intelligent-Design-Taught-As-Science sound like a good idea? Because that is likely what would be taught in private schools.

by Chiefs4Life on Dec 11, 2008 4:27 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Are You Saying

That nobody ever built roads before there were governments? And that nobody was ever able to walk outside without getting shot before there were police? And that nobody ever learned anything until the government created schools? And that if there were no government everyone would suddenly believe in intelligent design?

The Chiefs should win 5 to 6 games this year and no less than 4 for this season to be considered progress in any way. If he can't win at least 9 games next season, Herm's a joke.

by UCrawford on Dec 11, 2008 4:40 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Can you think

of an example of roads being built without the government? The earliest example of roads I know of was in ancient Mesopotamia, and were likely built by the government. The closest thing I can think of without government support is called a “trail”. The question wasn’t “did people ever walk around without police” it was “would you do so now”. And I’d be willing to venture a bet that literacy rates have increased since the creation of public schools. As for people “suddenly” believing in intelligent design, the vast majority of private schools that I know of are religion-based and would likely be far more willing to teach intelligent design as science.

by Chiefs4Life on Dec 11, 2008 5:00 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Roads, Etc.

Sure…the port of Baltimore had privately built turnpikes and paths that were used to transport goods to and from the port until the federal government intervened and incorporated those into the National Road.

You can make arguments about what the scope of our nation’s roadway system would have been without the federal government’s involvement, but when people needed roads they built them, whether the government paid for it or not. Private roads are rarely constructed now because there’s not really a demand for them since that function has been ceded to the government. But if the government went away, people would still build roads because they’re a necessary function for commerce. Same as they’d build schools, and houses, and farm crops even if the government wasn’t telling them to do it.

And I’d be willing to venture a bet that literacy rates have increased since the creation of public schools.

Let’s see the numbers and a study showing that students at government schools have a higher literacy rate than students at private schools.

the vast majority of private schools that I know of are religion-based

That’s because a largely secular, publicly-subsidized government educational system has squeezed private competitors out of the market for students (and parents) who aren’t interested in religious schooling. That’s why libertarians often go on about voucher systems, because they hope to break up the government monopoly on secular education.

The Chiefs should win 5 to 6 games this year and no less than 4 for this season to be considered progress in any way. If he can't win at least 9 games next season, Herm's a joke.

by UCrawford on Dec 11, 2008 5:18 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

FYI

I’m also an atheist, so I’m not arguing with you because I like intelligent design.

The Chiefs should win 5 to 6 games this year and no less than 4 for this season to be considered progress in any way. If he can't win at least 9 games next season, Herm's a joke.

by UCrawford on Dec 11, 2008 5:20 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I wasn't saying

public schools have higher literacy rates than private, but rather that public schools have made education more accessible and thus led to an overall increase in literacy rates.

by Chiefs4Life on Dec 11, 2008 5:40 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

If Public Schools Weren't Available

I expect that private schools would have filled that need.

The biggest mistake that people who believe government programs make is assuming that everyone else is too stupid to look out for themselves. And that’s rather arrogant assumption.

(I’m not including you in this…just making a statement about the faulty base on which advocacy for government intervention also rests).

The Chiefs should win 5 to 6 games this year and no less than 4 for this season to be considered progress in any way. If he can't win at least 9 games next season, Herm's a joke.

by UCrawford on Dec 11, 2008 5:53 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Correction

just making a statement about the faulty base on which advocacy for government intervention oftenrests

The Chiefs should win 5 to 6 games this year and no less than 4 for this season to be considered progress in any way. If he can't win at least 9 games next season, Herm's a joke.

by UCrawford on Dec 11, 2008 5:53 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

And

I liked your point on the port of Baltimore. Well done. But I also agree with your later point that the breadth of public roads would be vastly reduced without government support.

by Chiefs4Life on Dec 11, 2008 5:42 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

But Bigger Is Not Always Better

With private roads, people only build roads they need…they also have more reason to take care of them because it directly serves their interests to keep them in good shape. Government doesn’t work like that.

I don’t have a problem with the Interstate Highway system as it stands, by the way (except when the feds use the funds for it to extort states)…but I also think it’s a stretch to assume that people wouldn’t have built bigger roads on their own if there was really a need for them and the feds weren’t around to do it for them.

The Chiefs should win 5 to 6 games this year and no less than 4 for this season to be considered progress in any way. If he can't win at least 9 games next season, Herm's a joke.

by UCrawford on Dec 11, 2008 5:57 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs