Blame this on Clark Bidwell...

If Clark is not willing to spend enough to bring us out of the cellar then we will be stuck here for a LONG time.  I KNOW we are not one player away but look at Denver, look at Oakland (with an insane owner), and look at how Miami and Atlanta turned their teams around.  They went out and got players that they needed.  Some of us laughed at all the players Denver added but it looks like it is working.  Even Russ Hochstein who they just picked up in a trade from NE is playing MUCH better than Goff. Their defense is leaps and bounds better (Nolan helps a lot but they acted too fast for us to get him)

Oakland added Ellis and Seymour to a bad defense and they look much better.  If they would let go of the Russel QB dream they would be very tough.

Atlanta paid big money and risk to draft Ryan and also signed RB Turner and S Coleman not to mention trading for Tony G this year. 

Miami signed and added several players via trade.  QB Pennington, G Smiley,C Grove, S Wilson, etc

In 2008 we signed Devard Darling and Demario Williams.  In 2009 we signed Goff, Thomas, Engram, Toomer, Wade (great signing), and Mike Brown (smart but has lost several steps.  And traded for Vrabel (tough guy but WAY past his prime and Cassel)

Now I don't blame Herm for 2008.  I mean why would he not want to add more talented players? Do you think Herm wanted to trade the best young pass rusher in the league away for draft picks?  It is/was about money plain and simple.  Not at risk player (that is easy to write into a contract just ask LJ and his lost earnings due to getting in trouble).  As KC fans we have gotten used to this for the Royals but the difference is the Chiefs CAN compete and spend money because the revenue structure is so much more balanced in the NFL.  The Royals will never have the money to keep or sign great players when the big market teams can pay double.

I don't blame Haley for 2009 why would he not want to add more talented players.  He knows how to coach.  We have to run screens and draws because Cassel wont make it through a game with a standard 3 step drop (not to mention a 5 step for deep balls or play action).

I don't blame Pioli because why would he not want to go get more talent?  The pats never made a huge splash in free agency (other than the moss and welker trades) but they went after Adalius Thomas and Roosevelt Colvin and even this year added several players to the mix.

So Clark does not get a free ride from me.  We can all agree Lamar was one in a million as a person and owner.  Clark has a lot to live up to but we have to spend to improve this team.  I am not talking Daniel Snyder methods I am talking about targeting key players and making them an offer they cannot refuse.  How stupid is it to pay Cassel all that money and give him no line and no weapons? 

Haley is doing his job.  He worked the players hard and has changed the culture.  He is coaching his ass off. 

Pioli is doing his job.  He is trying to build this for the long haul and seems to constantly look for upgrades.

So in two years with all the free agents available we end up with Matt Cassel and Bobby Wade as the only long-term starters (and he is a slot.)  Mike Brown, Mike Goff, Ndukwe, Sean Ryan, Copper, Mays, Beisel, Williams, and Engram all look like below average players.

Would any of these players help out?

LT Pace, OG Dockery, OT/OG Pashos, C Brown, C Birk, C Grove, DE Canty, DE Olshansky, DE Ellis, etc etc etc and that is just people i remember from this year. 

So is it the bad economy?  Is it the fact the chiefs are putting their own money into the stadium?  Or is it the fact that an owner lives in another town and does not have the passion to bring a winner back to KC.  We have two teams like this in Kansas City.  Both have young talented GM's and owners that do not seem to have the dedication to right the ship. 

So am I overreacting to another pathetic Chiefs effort?  Probably.  But Clark deserves to be held accountable as does everyone in the organization.  I don't blame Haley in any way for this season.  He is learning on the job and has made mistakes BUT there is not one coach in the league that would be doing much better than he is now.  Even Belicheck failed in Cleveland.

Ironically the Cards are very close to the Salary cap fresh off a Super Bowl appearance and the Chiefs have the 3rd most cap dollars available (could be much more but they front loaded the Cassel contract).  We are the worst franchise in the NFL right now.  We have won two of our last 28 games.  That is 2 games in almost 2 full seasons and it does not look like a win is coming any time soon.

So I want to ask everyone a question.  Do you think this mess is Herms fault (easy scapegoat), Carls fault (easy to hate), Dick Vermeils fault (loved old players) or the man at the top of the decline signing the pay checks...?

Bill Bidwell Bio wikipedia:

As owner of the Cardinals

Bidwill's ownership has been marked by little success. In his 47 years as at least part-owner, the Cardinals have only made the playoffs five times. He moved the team to Phoenix, Arizona after the 1987 NFL season after St. Louis refused to build a new stadium to replace Busch Memorial Stadium. Bidwill had a reputation for running the Cardinals rather cheaply; the Cardinals had one of the lowest payrolls in the league for many years. In recent years, however, the Cardinals have begun to spend more since the opening of University of Phoenix Stadium in 2006.

The increased revenue paid off in 2008, when the Cardinals won their division for the first time since 1975 (while they were still in St. Louis), hosted a playoff game for only the second time in franchise history (the last coming in 1947, while they were still in Chicago) and advanced to Super Bowl XLIII.

In recent years, Bidwill has ceded most day-to-day control over the Cardinals to his sons Michael and Bill, Jr., who serve as team president and vice president respectively.

I really want to know everyone's thoughts on this?  When i listen to talk radio i hear a lot of heat on Cassel, Herm, Carl, and Haley and very little towards Clark.