"Yesterday, and this is an obvious statement, it wasn't good enough."
That pretty much sums up Todd Haley's thoughts on yesterday's performance by the Kansas City Chiefs in a 41-34 loss to the Cleveland Browns.
"I know that everyone in this building is working their tails off, players included," Haley said. "That being said, this is a win/loss evaluation, ultimately. And right now, yesterday was a loss.
"There's nobody that gets a pass when it's a loss, especially a game we had a chance to win."
The defensive line certainly didn't get a pass after giving up 351 yards rushing yesterday, including 286 to Jerome Harrison, third most in NFL history. After the game yesterday, Haley was visibly upset with his team's performance, particularly the guys up front.
Today, he wasn't as tense but the message was the same.
"After yesterday's performance, that entire group I'd say was not good enough," he said. "And if that doesn't change, it won't be good enough.
He went on to say that he expects these guys to bounce back because they've shown the ability - just not on a consistent basis. We've heard of the progress all these players are supposedly making but come the past few Sundays, there aren't tangible results to attach to that.
"No matter what you say, when you give up that amount of rushing, it's hard to preach progress," he said.
Glenn Dorsey was one of the players Haley has highlighted recently because of the progress he's made. His position, 3-4 defensive end, doesn't lend itself to many accolades so it's hard to judge his performance from our perspective. However, he missed Sunday's game with an injury and the results would indicate the Chiefs missed him dearly.
Still, that's no excuse according to the head coach.
"Regardless of the circumstances, regardless of injuries, or whatever the situation is, they can't let it happen."