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The Popular Scapegoat

I'm sure I'll be hearing plenty of people piling onto Mike Brown's performance, but it was really awful.  After starting off strong in Baltimore, Brown's play has been shockingly poor.  First, he misses the tackle on McFadden's TD run in the Oakland game.  Then, as if we needed reminding, Miles Austin clowned all over him.  And finally today, he gives up two devastating touchdowns in Jacksonville.

For the record, I like Mike Brown as a person.  He really does seem like a great guy and a hard worker.  But, seriously, how long can he remain our starting safety.  If he plays at even an average level, any of those 3 games I mentioned could have been completely different.  Hell, we could even be a 3 or 4 win team (think about how much better you would feel at 3-5).

The popular stance to take is: why in God's name did we release Bernard Pollard?  And, admittedly, I catch myself thinking this frequently.  But as fans, we really don't know all the circumstances surrounding the situation.  Is Pollard a better football player than Brown at this point in his career? Unquestionably.  Was Pollard a bad influence?  Did he practice hard?  Did he want to be a part of this Chief's team?  Would he be a good piece in the long-term plan?  We have no idea.  We're fans.  We can speculate, but we don't know.  That's part of the deal.  But what we can know is that something has to be done, and it has to be done this week.  

I know we currently have no depth at safety.  None.  But the most disturbing thing about Mike Brown's gaffes this week is that he didn't get burned because he was too slow.  He is slow.  But he got burned because he was reading plays wrong, and he got caught in the wrong place.  He made rookie mistakes, and they cost the team dearly.  So the real question I think Haley has to ask himself is, "if Mike Brown isn't making plays using his football savvy instead of his athleticism, then why is he playing at all?"

After watching DaJuan Morgan put on a show against St. Louis in the preseason, I thought for sure he would be getting significant playing time this season.  I mean, sure, it was St. Louis.  But, still, he looked incredible.  After racking up 6 tackles today and recovering a fumble, he has to have earned another chance to start next week.  And, honestly, I don't care who is starting next to him as long as it's not Mike Brown.  Maurice Leggett can get caught out of position just as well as Brown can.  Except when Leggett does, at least he has the speed to maybe make up some ground and mitigate some of the damage.  Could he play any worse?

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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today was important because he was OBVIOUSLY responsible for the big plays.

i think everyone is going to have a knee jerk reaction, possibly calling for Morgan to start. I personally dont know that he would be any better but what do i know

A man who says he can, and a man who says he can't are both right. Which one are you?

by Bashman on Nov 8, 2009 11:22 PM CST reply actions   0 recs

it isn't a knee-jerk reaction for those of us who have questioned (blasted?) the whole Pollard thing since it happened

personally I’m all for the young guys … Morgan, Page, Carr, Flowers … Pollard when he was here … sure they’re gonna make mistakes, part of the game and hey, they’re human after all … but I’d rather get beat by a youngster out there learning than an over-the-hill guy who’s only here for a year or less

give the kids the chances they need to improve, to learn, and yes … to make mistakes … that’s HOW people learn (that and, you know, good coaching – do we have any?)

Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisiton!

by upamtn on Nov 9, 2009 9:21 AM CST up reply actions   0 recs

trust me im in the same boat...

i liked the brown signing if he was a backup. I was one of pollards biggest supporters and threw a fit when he was cut.

A man who says he can, and a man who says he can't are both right. Which one are you?

by Bashman on Nov 9, 2009 10:14 AM CST up reply actions   0 recs

… to make mistakes … that’s HOW people learn

I guess that doesn’t apply to coaches.

by JComp11 on Nov 9, 2009 7:30 PM CST up reply actions   0 recs

Yes. Please. Start anyone over Mike Brown. Start Succop in his position.

Anyone please…but i expect him to keep starting. You know why?…Because DJ, despite always making plays, is on the bench. Jamaal Charles, probably one of the fastest players on this team, averages 6 yards per carry this game. But what happens? He gets 6 carries all game long.

Next week, without a doubt, LJ will start and continue his 2.7 YPC
Mike Brown will probably make Heyward-Bey look like and allstar
BUT DEAR LORD!!! I hope i am wrong.

Bowe and Wade FTW.
When you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail.

by NJChieffan16 on Nov 8, 2009 11:22 PM CST reply actions   1 recs

That's it!

Start DJ as a safety. He needs to be on the field. Wasn’t impressed with Williams play

by 12t on Nov 9, 2009 11:20 AM CST up reply actions   0 recs

good points....why wouldn't we rush Jamaal more??

makes no sense….to me either..6 carries is a joke..most backs don’t even warm up til they’ve had a dozen or so reps out there.

by krayfish on Nov 9, 2009 11:30 AM CST up reply actions   0 recs

Really?
Because DJ, despite always making plays

Always? Because I remember seeing him on the field a decent bit yesterday and I can’t think of a single play he made. Not one.

by bh13 on Nov 9, 2009 5:53 PM CST up reply actions   0 recs

he forced the fumble by torry holt that morgan recovered

* "I doubt anyone will miss Connor Barth except UCrawford"
* the LB corps may become the biggest strength of the Chiefs in 2009
* The OL is NOT as bad as you think it is... give it time, and you'll see improvement this season

by stagdsp on Nov 9, 2009 6:30 PM CST up reply actions   0 recs

I stand corrected.

by bh13 on Nov 10, 2009 1:29 AM CST up reply actions   0 recs

Well...

You don’t have to worry about 2.7 now. Let’s go Chiefs, give us something to be proud of!

by Chiefs Fanatic on Nov 9, 2009 7:33 PM CST up reply actions   0 recs

Good points.

-Will Mike Brown be punished for losing his football instincts in his luggage after the Ravens game? Again, we’re fans and we just don’t know, but do you think the coaches are asking/coaching him to do things differently? Is there something in the scheme that’s causing him to over-think instead of reacting? It just seems odd to me that he’d lose so many of his instincts for the game over the course of a season.

-Will Morgan continue to see the field? I hope so. And like you, I wouldn’t mind giving Leggett…hell, even Travis Daniels a shot back there beside him. We need someone with CONSISTENT instincts AND recovery speed, which despite everything, we didn’t really have with Page either.

I applaud the Alleman over Goff move—that came about three or four (7?) games too late. I’m hoping to see more of these young guys get snaps, and see what talent we actually have on this team.

"You've only got 10 fingers to stick in the dike. Is there a breaking point that pushes you over the edge?...Where's the limit?"

-Marty Schottenheimer

by go_saleaumua on Nov 8, 2009 11:26 PM CST reply actions   0 recs

agreed salea...

Alleman came on too late. Maybe Haley really believes his own rhetoric about still winning, so he didn’t want to try young guys that may cost us the game. BAD CHOICE HALEY!

Oh well, I’m not on this post to bash Haley, I actually thought he looked a little crisper yesterday than any other game thus far IMO.

But I’m no band wagon fan with regards to Mike Brown. I didn’t like him from the word “go”. But I gave him time. He deserved that.

SO now he’s had his time and it’s time to make a change. Mike gots to go.

by krayfish on Nov 9, 2009 9:26 AM CST reply actions   0 recs


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