Injuries No Excuse for Chiefs in 2008

by Joel Thorman on Jan 12, 2009 5:09 PM CST in 2009 Offseason Comment 31 comments

Through most of the 2008 campaign injuries to the Chiefs were viewed by some as an excuse for the Chiefs' futility. Some others, however, insisted that it's just the way it goes in the NFL.

A recent compilation of injuries by Rick Gosselin of the Dallas Morning News proves the latter to be correct.

The Chiefs did incur injuries in 2008 that were devastating to the team. But so did the Ravens and the Steelers, ranked as the 28th and 24th healthiest teams, respectively, of 2008. So did the Colts (21st) and the Broncos (30th).

There's certainly a connection between health and success in the NFL. But it's not the end all, be all that it's made out to be. The Colts, Steelers and Ravens all ranked in the bottom half of the league in terms of healthiest teams yet all three made the playoffs.

The Chiefs actually ranked in the top half of the NFL when it came to health. They were the 15th healthiest team in 2008 using Gosselin's system which is explained below:

There are 16 possible starts at each of the 22 positions. So it's impossible to have more than 16 games lost at any one position. For instance, Washington strongside defensive end Philip Daniels suffered a season-ending knee injury in training camp. So that's 16 starts off the top. The Redskins traded for Jason Taylor, who replaced Daniels in the lineup. Taylor missed three starts because of injury himself, but his would not count in the team total because Daniels' 16 games lost are already on the books. To count Taylor's would be double-counting at one position.

59 times this season a Chiefs player was listed on the official injury report as either questionable (50% chance of playing) or out.

Interesting notes from Gosselin's research:

The Chiefs only had 36 games missed by starters due to injury compared to the healthiest, the Jets with 12 games, and the unhealthiest, the Bengals with 84.
The Chiefs only had 2 players listed as starters prior to the 2008 season that ended on the I/R list.
Of the top 10 healthiest teams, 8 made the playoffs. Of those 8, 6 won their division. The two in the top 10 that missed the playoffs were the Jets (NFL's healthiest team in 2008) and the 49ers.
The Chiefs only had 9 starters start all 16 games.
Only 3 Super Bowl winners in the last 10 years (New England in 2003 and 2004, Colts in 2006) haven't been ranked in the top 10 for healthiest teams of that season.

I had no idea that the Patriots won the Super Bowl as the least healthiest team in the NFL. And you know why I didn't know? Because everyone else is facing injuries as well! The Chiefs weren't unique in 2008. We were almost exactly average.

While the Chiefs did incur plenty of injuries in 2008, this is not a legitimate excuse (nor should it be) when looked at relative to the rest of the league.

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Comments

Yet Another Nail In Herm's Coffin

There’s no argument to bring the guy back…seriously, even the excuses for why he was so inept as a head coach are shown by the evidence to be weak.

“Crappy drafting”…well, Herm was the one who apparently wanted most of the players that were drafted while he was here. So at least partly his fault. Same could probably be said of the free agent busts that happened while he was here (McIntosh, Harris, Williams). Herm didn’t seem to be raising a stink about any of those guys.

“Injuries”…the Chiefs aren’t any worse off than most of the teams in the NFL, so the only way injuries undermined Herm is if he gameplanned around never having anyone get hurt all year.

“Aging, declining team”…which was readily apparent when Herm agree to take the Chief’s head coaching job. If he didn’t notice that his roster was long in the tooth before he came here, he simply wasn’t paying attention and it calls into question just how capable he is of judging talent in the NFL.

He’s just a crappy football coach who’s all out of excuses for why he’s a crappy football coach…basically he just is what his record says he is.

Herm Edwards will not be the Chiefs' head coach next season.

by UCrawford on Jan 12, 2009 5:29 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

"Aging, declining team"

Carl was the one who didn’t want the rebuild.

That’s another part of the complex relationship between Coach/GM which, I guess, should have been recognized by Herm when he was hired.

by Joel Thorman on Jan 12, 2009 5:32 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Exactly what I've been saying

He was so desperate to get out of NY, he didn’t look at the situation comming in. He should have “negotiated” a rebuild of the roster before he took the job.

by Buck'O on Jan 12, 2009 6:39 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Word

Our injuries are directly related with our conditioning and practicing. It’s well known throughout the NFL Herm’s practices are weak and should come as no surprise to see a full IR while Herm remains coach

by KansasCityShuffle on Jan 12, 2009 5:32 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Weren't Vermeil's known for being tame as well?

by Joel Thorman on Jan 12, 2009 5:35 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

That's how I remember it

Players liked them, after the exhaustng Marty/Gun practices.

How was the injury situation under Marty?

If the O-line isn't built up, a rookie QB is gonna look bad next season. If the O-line is a lot better, Thigpen will look better next season.
A rookie QB drafted at #3 has less than a %5 chance of starting Game one of '09. Slotting holdouts will prevent him from competing with Thigpen.

by Bleedingredandgold on Jan 12, 2009 5:52 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Dick Vermiel ran

long drawn out practices, as far as offense goes it showed on the field, you could say the same for special teams.

Lets hope Clark lets the new GM start fresh, with his guys. Who would want a coach, who has lost twice as many as he has won in KC?

by Eric Allen on Jan 12, 2009 6:56 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Our injuries are directly related with our conditioning and practicing.

So since we were in the top half of the NFL regarding injuries, does that mean Herm is better at conditioning his guys than the Steelers, Ravens and Broncos?

by ChiefDJ on Jan 12, 2009 7:26 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I Think That The Continual Second Half Fades Shoot That Theory Down

The team just fell apart too often in the second half to make me think they were better conditioned than anyone else. Of course, the problems in the second half probably weren’t just about conditioning either.

Herm Edwards will not be the Chiefs' head coach next season.

by UCrawford on Jan 12, 2009 9:05 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I was being sarcastic

by ChiefDJ on Jan 12, 2009 10:15 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Sorry About That

Tough to gauge sometimes in written format. :)

Herm Edwards will not be the Chiefs' head coach next season.

by UCrawford on Jan 13, 2009 7:46 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Didn't Mean To Post That Twice

I have no idea why my computer is acting so weird lately.

Herm Edwards will not be the Chiefs' head coach next season.

by UCrawford on Jan 13, 2009 7:47 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Sorry About That

Tough to gauge sometimes in written format. :)

Herm Edwards will not be the Chiefs' head coach next season.

by UCrawford on Jan 13, 2009 7:46 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

vets

I think we should have rebuilt but not totally rebuilt we should have sprinkled in some vets just to plug some of the holes and we have no leadership at all.If you notice some of the teams around the league there might be some young teams out there but they some how always sprinkle in some vets . Pats especially I dont know how they do it but they got an old experienced team and they some how get the job done I wish we would have spent some money and got some free agents .

by sexassassin on Jan 12, 2009 5:40 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

We had some vets this year

Surtain, Waters, Donnie Edwards, Tony G, Huard, and our punter (senior momnt), and probably a few I am not thinking of.

Just what percentage of the team should be vets?

by Bleedingredandgold on Jan 12, 2009 5:55 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

vets

Im talking guys on the market that are not like 10 years deep in their careers. guys like asante samuel . Someone said im glad we didnt spend money on him . Its so amazing how the guy just keeps making plays in big games and is a pro bowler. And we didnt even try to get him when he was on the market . Anyways point is we need someone in the front office who can make a move on talented players or guys with potential we need some one like clark hunt is talking about that can evaluate good talent . RIght now we aer taking guys that are left for dead or we not that big on other teams those are the vets we are getting and we dont need.

by sexassassin on Jan 12, 2009 6:16 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

09 will be more telling

everyone who was paying attention knew that Herm was taking this team young in 08, and (apparently) his view was that every vet on the team was taking time away from a young guy getting experience.

I think he overdid it, but the season’s done. I commented elsewhere in detail on that one. (Both as ‘games as training’ and ‘too devoted to plans’.

by Bleedingredandgold on Jan 12, 2009 9:57 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Who were the 9?

to start every game?

by ArrowDread on Jan 12, 2009 5:56 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Give me a little bit

And I’ll dig it up and post it here.

by Joel Thorman on Jan 12, 2009 6:05 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I would argue

That injuries on deep teams like the Steelers and Ravens where your backups could be starters on some teams do not hurt you as bad as injuries on a team like the Chiefs where many of our starters would be backups on those teams.

by ChiefDJ on Jan 12, 2009 7:25 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

That injuries on deep teams like the Steelers and Ravens where your backups could be starters on some teams do not hurt you as bad as injuries on a team like the Chiefs where many of our starters would be backups on those teams.

Ouch! Yeah, good point. And so we give them “tree fiddy” or a “dollar” to go away and build in the draft and FA…hopefully we’ll have a GM that knows who to get.

Bill Parcell’s: "You are what your record says you are."

Thigpen WILL NOT be the Chiefs starting QB next year IMO. He can compete for the job and should be 2nd or 3rd string.

by THE_TRUTH on Jan 12, 2009 7:44 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Exactly

Many of the players who wound up replacing our starters when injured were picked up off of other teams practice squads. Meaning there were 1, 2, or even 3 players who would start ahead of that guy, and he was our second stringer.

by ryan_andersen98 on Jan 12, 2009 7:56 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

si.com chiefs page

Hey just popped over to sports illustrated hoping to find some different news and the link to this post was there. I thought that was pretty cool man.

by pc9165 on Jan 12, 2009 10:13 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Yeah it's definitely cool

SI has been good to AP.

by Joel Thorman on Jan 12, 2009 10:18 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

This Injury v. healthy are IMO is non-factor, with the talent we had we still would of sucked.

Opinions are like A--holes, everyones got one.

by aPacificChief on Jan 12, 2009 10:32 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Good Coaches

plug someone in and go- Herm has used it as an excuse. If you believe what you read, he was also responsible for being so far under the cap and having no depth because he did not want competition for his young players. Then he blamed Carl for not being able to overcome injuries. I am tired of his whiny excuses and his easy acceptance of losses.

by KHAZAD on Jan 13, 2009 4:37 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Gotta give it up to Herm

For all his shortcomings as coach he has done one thing very well. That is convince enough people in the NFL that he is a competent head coach. He fooled people in New York for a couple years till he ran out of excuses. He then somehow parlayed that into another couple years in KC, where it was painfully obvious that he had no business being a head coach. Hats off to you Edwards for being the best used car salesmen in the NFL. How you managed to pull off being a head coach in the NFL this long is beyond me.

by wjp1982 on Jan 13, 2009 7:56 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Agreed

He then somehow parlayed that into another couple years in KC

Although that’s due as much to Carl Peterson picking his coaches solely out of his network.

And the NFL coaching fraternity is a pretty small circle. There aren’t a ton of candidates so you’ll see guys like Norv Turner and possibly even Herm popping up again.

by Joel Thorman on Jan 13, 2009 8:42 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

UC said it best, Herm is a BS artist.

Lets hope Clark lets the new GM start fresh, with his guys. Who would want a coach, who has lost twice as many as he has won in KC?

by Eric Allen on Jan 13, 2009 9:23 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

You play..to win..the game..helloooo..

Lets hope Clark lets the new GM start fresh, with his guys. Who would want a coach, who has lost twice as many as he has won in KC?

by Eric Allen on Jan 13, 2009 9:24 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I agree with Chiefdj

When you look at the injury situation with no context, we weren’t the most devastated by injuries. But when you consider that probably our 2 positions with the least amount of depth coming in to season were the ones that were hit hardest. DE and LB.

And then we lost our 2 top QBs(as much as an improvement as it might have ended up) I think it was just us and the Browns who lost 2 QBs this season, and ours was for a much larger chunk of the season. Not to give our coaches credit for changing the entire system around for a 3rd string QB who had only been with us a year would be a shame.

We were supposed to be a team that sucked early on, and got better throughout the year due to experience. Injuries stunted whatever growth we were going to get as a team.

by JayrodT on Jan 13, 2009 11:34 AM CST reply actions 0 recs