Let's make them remember IV (Photo via SI)
It seems that everyone is doing a 'Five keys to tonight's game' or 'Three questions entering the Chiefs game in Minnesota". So, I'm following the crowd.
As the Chiefs prepare to be on the field for Brett Favre's debut play the Vikings tonight, here are three questions I hope we get closer to answering.
Take a look at some questions I have and hash them out in the comments. Or give us the questions you have entering tonight's game.
Just win, baby
What do these dates have in common?
- August 28th
- September 28th
- November 30th
The dates of the Chiefs three wins in the last year (including the preseason). We're starved for wins. It doesn't matter to me that this is exhibition. For Chiefs fans, these games count.
This question is simple: Can the Chiefs get a win?
Even if it's just a preseason, we need something to rest our hopes on. We need something to point to and say this is why the Chiefs will win over six games this season. Or this is why the offense will generate points. Or the defense will pressure the quarterback.
Of course, there's that whole "evaluating players" part which is really the whole reason of these games. Kent Babb of the Kansas City Star says it's a balance Haley will have to achieve.
Haley’s biggest challenge will be balancing player evaluation with the pursuit of a win, and tonight’s game against a possible Super Bowl contender won’t make it any easier.
Something. Anything. And the best way to do this, is just win, baby.
Is Barry Richardson the Chiefs starting right tackle?
Continuity. Despite Herm's blinding insistence that the seemingly only key to the offensive line is continuity, it's important to note that the most successful lines are usually kept, for the most part, intact from year to year.
Continuity isn't everything in the regular season, but it's an important ingredient.
The same holds true for the preseason. If Barry Richardson is indeed ready to make the leap from reserve to starter, then tonight's gotta be the night he demonstrates that. We're not asking for anything mind-blowing, and I don't think the Chiefs coaching staff is either.
We're just asking for some consistency.
Richardson toned down, in a big way, this offseason. He started at 350 pounds and will line up tonight around 318 pounds. Brandon Albert is getting most of the praise for buying into the Todd Haley program, but Richardson deserves some credit for going from nobody to possibly somebody.
As Bob Gretz noted this morning, Richardson probably won't win the spot tonight. They key is not losing it.
What awaits Richardson in this game against the Vikings is another chance for him to increase the pile of chips in front of him. It’s doubtful a starter at RT will be determined in this game, but he could certainly play his way out of contention with a poor performance.
I'll paraphrase Herm Edwards again (Yes, that's twice): You don't have to necessarily win it, just don't lose it.
Make them ask this question
Has Brett Favre lost it?
That's the question we want to hear. He'll only be in for a series or two in his purple debut but we want people asking this question: Does Brett Favre just stink or did the Chiefs' defense cause him havoc?
While we're dealing with a legend, and the best ever at tossing touchdown passes, we're also facing the quarterback who has thrown more interceptions than any other in the history of the NFL.
Last year, he threw three picks yet still completed 70% of his passes against the Chiefs.
In the handful of passes Favre might throw tonight, the Chiefs need to make him pay for coming back. And get this defense back in the national spotlight.