The Chiefs’ biggest debacle so far hasn’t been losing to the Patriots, Raiders, Falcons or Panthers. It was letting Pennington get away. He wanted to come to Kansas City, but the Chiefs didn’t pull the trigger. Whether it was a coaching thing or a management thing, the bottom line is this season could have been different if Pennington was a Chief and not a Dolphin.
I definitely see the argument here. But what good is reliving the past going to do?
Well, it was fitting that this was the fifth week of the season because the Chiefs have now gone through all five stages of grief. There seemed to be no denial left in the locker room after the Chiefs’ nauseating 34-0 loss Sunday to Carolina. There wasn’t much anger. The Chiefs’ players were not in the mood for bargaining, and few players even seem very depressed.
Uh oh. When the anger and depression after a devastating loss isn't there, what's next?
Then again, the Chiefs are approaching the season’s midway point, and other than the Denver victory, there haven’t been many indications the defense can string together decent performances, let alone good ones.
It's getting to (or gotten to rather) the point where we really need to question the defense. That was our one area where we saw the potential last year. Even if it is a rebuilding year, the run defense is a major cause for concern for me.
The Red Zone on Tony Gonzalez's record breaking catch:
The broken record was considerably quieter than it might have been in Kansas City, where last week Arrowhead Stadium officials had planned to stop the game and acknowledge the 12-year veteran.
Ugh. After a game like this I feel sick to my stomach Tony couldn't break it at home. Although I will tell people I'm fine if he wants to go to a contender, I can't fathom this team without him.
“I’ve seen it coming. There are certain things in a game that you as a player know what’s going to happen. They’re going to gang up on the run because of the success we had the week before. That’s what you’ve got to live with. You’ve got to take it in stride and hopefully do better next week. This is a young team, and this is what happens when you rebuild.”
Somewhere in the back of my mind I wanted to see LJ get mad. I wanted him to be pissed. This lack of anger at a pathetic performance like this really makes me wonder what the state of the locker room is. At some point, being a "players coach" stops being a good thing, especially when you look around and can't pinpoint just one problem. It's the whole team.
All I'm looking for is a little accountability and for MY TEAM that's not too much to ask.
What about you - does it worry you that even LJ isn't throwing a hissy fit after a loss like this?