If I see Mike Solari on the street...
by mikvogel
on Aug 15, 2008 10:42 AM CDT
... I'm going to kick him squarely in the TAINT!
Maybe I'm just yanking the scab off of a really old wound and if you're not interested in reliving the frustration of offensive ineptitude of last year, feel free to jump to the next post.
My re-ignited rage stems from an excerpt from the following article-
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ms-thegameface081508&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
There were times last season when Gonzalez felt like closing his eyes during film sessions, especially during Kansas City's nine-game losing streak to complete a 4-12 campaign. Frustrated by the motion-laden yet inflexible schemes of offensive coordinator Mike Solari, Gonzalez chafed as opponents such as Packers linebacker Brady Poppinga correctly called out his routes before they were run.
"Sometimes we'd do all that shifting and defenses wouldn't move," Gonzalez recalled. "They'd just sit there and wait, and we'd run the ball into an eight-man front and get stuffed. Even when we had a mismatch, the quarterback didn't have the freedom to change the play at the line. It's dumbfounding that we didn't do that."
Yeah- you just read it...
Let it sink in for a minute or two...
You can't believe it...
I know I couldn't...
Our KC QB's couldn't audible out of plays. At ALL. Ever.
Something that a 12 year old boy playing Madden on a PS3 can do by pressing the Square button... wasn't available as an option to our NFL quarterback.
Ugh.
It makes me sick and it makes me mad.
As a matter of fact, I've just moved beyond the "Taint-kicking" phase and have slid into the "Don't meet me in a dark alley" phase of my anger.
I hereby apologize for any and all thoughts, declarations, and postings I may have made towards LJ for his outbursts of frustration that I incorrectly labeled as "selfish".
He had every right to be pissed off.
Further, I congratulate him on having the self control to not charge up through the stands, climb into the press box, and beat Solari with his helmet.
Looking back, I'm sitting here thinking back to all the times that I screamed at my TV at the R2P2 scheme. It infuriates me even more to know that there could have been times when our QB saw a defensive weakness but was unable to exploit it- or even think about exploiting it- because they couldn't audible.
I think it's a good thing that Mike now lives in Seattle- over 1800 miles from me and the rest of the Chiefs fanbase.
Argh!
My best to all for a great weekend.
MV
This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Arrowhead Pride's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Arrowhead Pride writers or editors.
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2008 Offense already at an advantage
Last year is a great example of what happens when someone tried to hang on and replicate an original, successful system without knowing why it worked and under different circumstances.
by sunny D on Aug 15, 2008 11:02 AM CDT 0 recs
And THAT is the true benefit of a Chan Gailey
not so much the change of system (no system is designed to fail), but the playcalling and imagination.
Of course, the rotting out of the O Line didn’t help either.
by sm7600 on
Aug 15, 2008 11:26 AM CDT
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Agree
even with some new guys, Herm has said (and I agree) that the o-line now is better than the o-line of 2007
by PVChiefsfan on
Aug 15, 2008 12:21 PM CDT
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I HOPE that's true
and I WANT it to be true
but I am also WAITING for it to be true over the course of the season
by sm7600 on
Aug 15, 2008 2:09 PM CDT
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Hilarious post
I almost feel sorry for Solari, it’s like he didn’t know any better.
It’s like that anti-drug commercial in the 80’s.
Herm – “Is this your playbook, Solari?!? Carl said he found it in your locker. Where did you get it? Who taught you how to run this stuff?!?!”
Solari – “Saunders!! I learned it from watching Saunders!!!”
by Ochophosphate on Aug 15, 2008 12:36 PM CDT 1 recs
Dude...
It was a year ago and he’s gone…get over it.
Bad coaches don’t generally try to be bad coaches, so it’s not like Solari had some master plan to destroy the Chiefs, and frankly that team wasn’t going to go anywhere no matter who was in charge because they were a) old and b) largely devoid of talent. In fact, if Solari had been successful, Peterson would probably still be trying to slap a fresh coat of paint on a crap team with 30 year old free agents and bad contracts instead of rebuilding from youth (as he should have done some time ago). The Chiefs weren’t a good team in 2006 and they weren’t a good team in 2007 and most of the reasons for that didn’t have much to do with Mike Solari.
Supporting the lesser of two evils is still supporting something evil.
by UCrawford on Aug 15, 2008 1:28 PM CDT 0 recs
Agreed...
Mike Solari was one of the best assistant coaches we have had for his work with our O-Line, he just was incompetent as a play-caller. He didn’t have enough of a grasp on our offense to help mold it with our personnel, he continued to coach and call plays as if we still had his amazing linemen. If I saw him on the street I would thank him for the years he gave us one of the most dominant O-Lines ever.
by woodman212 on Aug 15, 2008 1:40 PM CDT 0 recs
He Was A Good O-Line Coach
Just a crappy offensive coordinator. And the Seahawks were very fortunate this season to be able to snag him to train their line. I wouldn’t have been unhappy if the Chiefs had been able to hold onto him as their o-line coach (although it was never going to happen after how things shook out).
Supporting the lesser of two evils is still supporting something evil.
by UCrawford on
Aug 15, 2008 2:32 PM CDT
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Since when...
…did UCrawford become the white knight riding in to save the opressed from the hounds? :)
Careful not to let that great sense of perspective turn into Mr. Posi Personality…
Nice summary woodman. You too, Dude.
I know… You just call ’em like you see ’em.
by sunny D on
Aug 15, 2008 3:29 PM CDT
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Always Give Credit Where Credit Is Due
I was pissed at Solari last season too when the games were ongoing because he was, in my opinion, the second worst coordinator in the league the last two years (behind that joker, Tom Walsh, that the Raiders had in 2006…now THAT was complete incompetence). But Solari was a good o-line coach for us, I’m sure he was trying his best as OC (he just wasn’t good enough), and the 2007 season is over and he’s gone so I don’t see a reason to bash the guy or be angry at him…it’s not like he crippled the team for years and years. In the long run, Solari being horrible at his job probably helped us out a lot because it forced the Chiefs to rebuild and (let’s be honest) if they hadn’t gone that route the team would be horrific this year even if Al Saunders was running the offense.
I’m more than happy to point the finger when I think it’s merited, but it’s also important to put things in perspective and try to see the big picture as well. Solari definitely hurt the team last season, but in the long run what happened during the 2007 season was probably for the best for the Chiefs’ future.
Supporting the lesser of two evils is still supporting something evil.
by UCrawford on
Aug 15, 2008 4:19 PM CDT
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Good perspective
I believe what got our dude friend Mike all charged up at this time was the new information that came to light in the article he cited. The report that our good soldier Tony G was apparently a little frustrated last year by the lack of an audible option and that it seemed obvious to Tony at the time.
Along with that came new empathy for LJ when he let his frustration show on the field last year. LJ and everyone else could see before the snap that the mandatory play is going right into the teeth of the D, but they were powerless to do anything in spite of the fact that even good high school programs have the option to check out of many plays. So meeting Solari on the street, we could just shake our head and say, “The Peter Principle gotcha, didn’t it? But thanks for your o-line work.” (Principle: People get promoted one level higher than what they’re good at to the point of incompetence.)
by sunny D on
Aug 15, 2008 5:27 PM CDT
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I'm Familiar With The Peter Principle
I was in the Army for 10 years…the Peter Principle is the guiding force behind selecting military leaders :)
Supporting the lesser of two evils is still supporting something evil.
by UCrawford on
Aug 15, 2008 6:20 PM CDT
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I can see both sides, however
I wish no one no harm. I think CP “forced” Solari on Herm to try and hold onto the glory years of Vermeil. But I absolutely agree without the 2007 results we wouldnt be where we are now.
by Lanier63 on Aug 15, 2008 11:53 PM CDT 0 recs
I would probably get arrested
because I would end up just walking around him, screaming at him, yelling “Are you happy with what you did? Are you? You killed our offense, you bastard! You killed our offense!” and then start ranting like the Leave Britney alone person. It was last year, but that offense set new lowmarks for our franchise in offensive futility. He made football not fun for a while.
by Ridiculous Matt on Aug 18, 2008 3:17 PM CDT 0 recs
?
He sucked. no doubt about it but, he was very good at his o line spot for a very long time but thta could have been because he had Roaf and shields for a long time. The fact is that he is gone and we are better because of it… I hope he does well in Seattle but we can’t hate the guy forever….he had no experience and shouldn’t of been in there so give him a break…and get over it and appreciate this season
by IamtheGreatest on Aug 19, 2008 1:42 PM CDT 0 recs
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