Your Week 15 Glass of Kool Aid

to see what he is all about. I’m encouraged by his play so far.

you know when Mays made that play I did make a mental note of it, but to be honest I forgot about it. It was a great play. I still have hopes that he can improve his pass coverage enough to be a part of this team in the future.

I thought that the Mayes defense of the pass was indicative of what you start seeing from your LBs when you get good push up the middle from the front 4 or 5. There was a wall of defenders standing tall in front of Fitzpatrick, who was forced to dump it off, but the dump-off was obstructed, as well.

The Bills game was a matchup against an inferior O-Line. With all due respect to Ron Edwards, for all the work he put in to switch to NT, I still noticed him being single-blocked quite a bit. But T-Jack’s numbers were indicative of the mismatch elsewhere on the line.

Carr looked pretty good, making some nice breaks on the ball (a pick would’ve been nice), but I think the Bills are similar to the Chiefs in the still-searching-for-WRs sense.

Next spring, we’ll have to remember that the corners having a field day in 7-on-7s and 11-on-11s doesn’t necessarily mean they’re great, but, unless there are significant changes at BOTH corner/safety and WR, such reports merely mean that the WRs still aren’t very good.

but at this point we are better off losing. Any additional wins will feel great now, but when the season is over all they give us is a worse draft position.

They have their share of problems, but not at all sure the Chiefs can capitalize.

He has talent, and Haley/Pioli actually upgraded WR position in garbage time, with guys like Chambers, Long and Wade. Nobody’s thrilled with the final product, but this is far different from what we saw from the Peterson regime for decades. I hope Lawrence has what it takes to round out his game, and I believe in the current coach’s ability to bring along diamonds in the rough at that one position.

I think KC has a fairly solid foundation that understands the job at hand. And after watching AZ’s defense struggle last night, maybe the fans (and mgmt) see Clancy in a more positive light and we can keep some continuity in men and message, and start plugging in talent (read “speed”) across the DB and LB corps, with surrounding (and competing) players who understand the system and how to prepare for it.

This has been an especially rough year on LB, RB and QB, with shortcomings at the other position groups being the near-invisible source of many of their struggles. As I’ve said before, without a NT and great coverage backs, Derrick Johnson’s job, in particular, was NOT as clear-cut as he (and we) was (were) expecting. No holes for RBs. No protection for the QB(s).

As the pace of incoming newbies slackens (one hopes), the 2nd-year-under-Haley guys will make it a LOT easier to plug-and-play, without the amount of confusion we saw most of this season. A new C would be a big upgrade for the offense. Not sure I’m interested in bringing up a rookie behind Rudy, though. The best rookie availabe plus Kevin Mawae (for instance) on a short-term deal would make me feel a whole lot better short- and long-term. Try Rudy at G, maybe, but starting him next season at C would be a slap in the face of fans. Rudy is plenty smart, and his insight from playing C could make him a standout G, and raise the level of competition in that position group. But on a team that’s well-stocked in the interior, Rudy’s fighting for a back-up spot, imo.

But your point is well-taken. I think that the threat of Jamaal Charles’ speed and Haley’s penchant for running the draw on 3rd-and-long opened things up for Cassel off the play-fake and his receivers in the middle of the field.

The last ten coaches to win the SB:
Mike Tomlin
Tom Coughlin
Tony Dungy
Bill Cowher
Jon Gruden
Bill Belichick
Brian Billick
Dick Vermeil
Mike Shanahan
Mike Holmgren

Out of these Tomlin, Coughlin, and Belichick were going no where.
Vermeil finally retired, Dungy was freshly retired, Shanahan freshly fired.
Can’t remember Holgren’s status, and Cowher seemed untouchable.
That would have left Jon Gruden and Brian Billick. Are those good choices?

Again I think you are on to something with this rookie HC thing. But it may be more of a rookie HC trying to be all aspects of the operation. Look at the list of those coaches again and find who that coach had as assistants, coordinators, scouts, etc. To me that is where SB head coaches seperate from the pack. Whisenhunt’s success may be more a reflection of the assistants he had/has than anything else.

Kray…week 15 is here and we suck. I am starting to see your point of view on alot of things. I was going crazy after the PIT upset (is it an upset really? Well…actually now that I am thinking about it, it still is an upset.). But 3 weeks later, it feels like the coaching staff hit their goal of winning that game, and now are throwing the rest of the season away…that is what it seems like. Everyone knew Haley wanted to beat PIT cause it was a personal measuring stick for him. I don’t know what to think anymore. It sucks that we got that HUGE win and now everyone is coasting instead of pedaling it to the metal gearing up for a run NEXT SEASON. With the proper approach to the final six games, we would have been ready for an immediate run (my opinion). Now we are fluttering because the coach had a different goal than the team (my opinion).

For the record, I am not anti-Haley just yet…I still think he can do it. It will just take longer because he hit his personal goal (my opinion) against PIT and has been complacent ever since. So moving forward, to steer this onto the right track, Haley needs to feel heat for his job. Then, I am hoping he gets his stuff back.

For all his youth, Haley’s been pointing towards this virtually his whole life. He has a rare combination of work ethic, originality, and, beyond believing in victory every week (crucial for HC to kid himself on this one thing), he believes more in what his eyes see than in what he wants to believe. I really think he’s the real deal, and will preside over a perennial contender for many years, after these growing pains are over.

I remember the days of Martyball, when Marty continually misinterpreted the reasons for his success and his failures. Cunningham the same way. The only exception to this in recent memory was Dick Vermeil, and it’s become clear in hindsight that he was just brought in for a charge at the playoffs on a team that was structured to de-construct immediately after, further handicapped by a GM who was not on the same page with personnel.

I haven’t been following Haley’s press conferences, lately, because all the pertinent questions have been asked and answered, and all that remains is soap opera from hacks looking for something to write/talk about. Just look at the dearth of new content there is here on AP that’s truly football-related, and project that to what’s happening in “Coach’s Comments.” If I were he, and I weren’t obliged to put a good face on things week in and week out, I’d offer up a 10-second “It is what it is,” and exit the damn podium, myself.

Gonzo must of taught him something….That was an awesome catch

That’s me in the middle!