FanPost

Arrowhead Pride Monthly: October 2010

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Wow, already three games into the season and the Chiefs are looking great! Who would have thought we would be undefeated and the front seven would be a strong point? There is quite a bit to go through this month. I am like most people who are excited about our coaching staff. Haley seemed to really turn a corner and change a lot of minds. I am 3-0 just like the Chiefs with my predictions thus far. I'll take a look back and see what I got right and wrong. I'll also look into our next four games into the month of October and why the game against the Bills will truly be scary. I'll take a look around the SB Nation blogs and find out if people think the Chiefs are for real. Another great interview this month with our beloved KaloPhoenix.

All About Haley

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via t0.gstatic.com

Last year a lot of people were skeptical of Haley's approach to coaching in the NFL. He took over as offensive coordinator a week before the season started and seemed to be a real jerk. He was also the muse for a million "fire this head coach" pages. He couldn't keep his cool on camera and loved to yell at Croyle. This year he is still fired up but in a different way. He seems to have a lot more time to game plan and adjust what is happening on the field. He is a better game manager and has helped this team start off so well. Let's look at a few Arrowhead Pride member's thoughts...

Haley’s conditioning program appears to be paying off.

-Bewsaf

I trust that Haley will keep this team focused the rest of the season because they really have a shot to exceed...

-JohnnyBgood

Whatever todd Haleyand Charlie Wiess are doing is obviously working and I say if its not broke don’t fix it

-chief_ferg

*In tradition upamtn has a spot in my posts*

I’d be willing to bet that after all this publicity Haleyhas torn him a new one all over again and that it DOESN’T happen again …

-upamtn

Predictions

I made a very early prediction post on April 26th of this year. So far I was right on the first three games and I have us going 10-6 which seems possible at this point.

VS Chargers

We win this because well...It is our first Monday night game in a long time. We will be pumped up and ready to show Arrowhead how we will open up the season for now on. The Chargers had an average draft at best but are still a high powered offense. We took care of our secondary so that will help a lot when dealing with the bolts. Also, the Chargers seem to start out seasons slowly.

It seems like I was pretty dead on with this prediction.

VS Browns

The Browns upgraded their secondary with the draft and got a decent QB in Colt McCoy. Although, McCoy might not start their RB that ripped us a new one last year will. I think RC will watch a lot of film of that game and find a way to keep him contained. We also have to worry about Cribbs returning the ball. Overall, we just have more talent where it stands and a better coaching staff.

I was right on about the Browns too. We kept Harrison and Cribbs both contained. In the end the more talented team won.

VS 49ers

So what do you do when you have a QB that struggles? Beef up the O-line...which the Niners did with two first round selections on linemen. Their offense is starting to look scary but in week three they will probably still be trying to find themselves. It will be a close win that could go either way.

Well it did seem like they were trying to find themselves but it really wasn't close.

The Next Four

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Wow, a bye week early but it might hold its advantages. We are on the road going to the Colts and Texans. We are then home against the Jags and the Bills. In my prediction post that I talked about previously I had a loss at the Colts and Texans. I also a had a win against the Jags and Bills.

Colts

I now think that this game is very winnable for a couple of reasons. The Colts can't stop the run at all and we are the number one rushing attack in the NFL. The game against the Texans the Colts gave up over 230 yards to Arian Foster. Who? Our defense is also playing lights out which will keep the score lower than expected. We are also coming off of a bye week. I think a full week of rest and preparation will be key in this matchup or another fluke win.

Texans

Out of these four games this is the game I feel uneasy about. I honestly don't think we have a shot at winning. Then again if we win against the Colts we might be too fired up for the Texans to handle.

Jaguars

The Jags always seem to be a thorn in our side. We play them close but never seem to win. The Broncos couldn't beat them last minute but we are a totally different team. Will the Jags take advantage of a team with 2 tough road games or get stomped by a team on fire at Arrowhead? We will see...

Bills

I usually never take a team for granted especially after the last few years but this is a win. We have to watch out because it is Halloween when we play them...

Are the Chiefs for real?

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We are 3-0 and A LOT of people still think the Chiefs are well, the Chefs. Let'slook at some of the other SB Nation Members thoughts.

I’m saying the teams you are beating aren’t good teams. Beating the Colts would prove you can beat a solid team.

-maxwellsdemon (Broncos Blog)

They’ll probably lose at Indy at Houston, but after that have a ridiculous run of weak opponents.

-Paxos (Chargers Blog)

they are over preforming, right? So they might be a faker team that was sent to beat up on the division and eventually fall out.

-JohnnyDangerously (Raiders Blog)

Appearently the Chiefsaren’t all that bad.

-SpurredOn (49ers Blog)

Interview with KaloPhoenix

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via cdn3.sbnation.com

We all know and love Kalo especially since he gives us some of the best defensive stats/posts in SB. He is very knowledgable about the defensive side of the ball so I thought I would gear this interview to our DEFENSE that is realy stepping up. Thanks Kalo! *Note - Joel, he deserves to be paid ;)

1.) What is your biggest surprise on defense thus far after two games?

The absolute biggest surprise to me is the effect Romeo Crennel has had on the front seven. The play of the nose tackle position improved so much more than I ever could have optimistically hoped. Thedefensive ends seem better withtheir gap responsibilities, and the inside linebackers seem to have found it easier to hit the appropriate gaps. By reinforcing the base of the 3-4, Romeo has shown that these very same players that failed at the transition last year can play a solid defense. The run defense going from nearly last to fighting to get into the Top 5 spots is statistical proof of how quick Romeo has gotten these players to believe in the system.

2.) What could you see our record being at the end of the year?

At the beginning of the year, with the favorable schedule, I thought an optimistic estimate was 8-8. Now, with the defense playing well and the run game effective, I'm going to say 10-6 is a realistic possibility. I've got losses @Indianapolis, @Houston, @San Diego, @Denver, and then two swing losses.

3.) Honestly, why do you love defensive analysis so much?

I just do. =) I've always found myself more focused on what the players on the defensive side of the ball were doing than what the offensive players were doing. Partof that may have been growing up with the strong Chiefs defenses of the 90's. Watching dominance on that side of the ball week in and week out probably spoiled me into thinking that's how a football team normally looked. As the teams shifted more towards an offensive focus, I didn't and kept watching that side of the ball, specifically how individual successes/failures had a ripple effect out through the defense, even on generic plays. I suppose that's how it started and how it led me to convincing Joel and Chris that I knew something about the defense. =)

4.) If you could pick one player from the Broncos to have on our team who would it be and why?

Hands down, it's Elvis Dumervil For the reasons I'm sure everyone expects, we would be a scary, scary teamto drop back to pass against with Tamba and Dumervil coming at the quarterback.

5.) You see more and more players throwing fits (Brandon Jacobs throwing his helmet) in the NFL. Do you think the Chiefs will ever go through anything like that on the field or sideline?

I'd like to think that a Chief player would conduct himself better than some of the recent incidents have shown. Still, one can never count out an individual's actions. If it did happen, I think most can agree that the coaching staff and front office would come down very hard on the individual. That alone may stop some players from overreacting.

Go Chiefs!

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.