Well, it's finally over. My beloved Kansas City Chiefs closed out the season with their ninth consecutive loss on sunday, this one coming againts the equally hapless Jets. It seems like only yesterday that we were 4-3 and sitting atop the AFC West, with at least 5 "sure win" games ahead of us. But alas, how quickly everything falls apart. While the New England Patriots were making a run at history with a 16-0 record, so too were the Chiefs chasing their own piece of history, finishing with their worst single season record since 1978. In the recent past, teams dreaded the day they came to Arrowhead to face the Chiefs on their own turf, but now, most teams mark their calendar excitedly with a W long before the game actually takes place. I remember a time, (granted i am only 25) when the Chiefs were renowned for being the only team to make it to the playoffs every year in the 1990's. And now we are seen as the butt of many jokes around the NFL. What caused this decline in prestige and wins in recent years? Here are just a few reasons we went from the Chiefs to the Griefs:
1. Offensive Production: Actually, I should say lack of offensive production. This year the Chiefs were ranked 31st in points, barely beating out the San Francisco 49ers by one touchdown. Even if you count the yards gained by both of our leading rushers, we still did not break the 1000 yard rushing mark. As far as the passing game goes, we had 17 touchdowns and 20 interceptions and an average quarterback rating of 55.1 (not including Larry Johnson's one pass for an incompletion). You simply can not win games without scoring points.
2. Defense: Opposing offenses averaged 5.5 yards per play against the Kansas City Chiefs this year. 5.5! That means that teams were getting a first down on every other play in any given series. But also take into consideration that KC was near the bottom on first downs allowed. That means that we give up ALOT of big plays. Our aging corners can't turn and burn anymore with the young guys, and that allows fast recievers an extra step on the outside. Also, our corners are only 5-11, lower than the current average American male.
3. Tackling: Looking at our defensive roster, one would think that we had one of the better tackling defenses around. But each and every game, I see players trying to "hit and quit" or simply try and arm tackle. While that may work against your ten year old nephew at his birthday party, such antics will do little good against a 200 pound professional football player. Too many times we have seen our linebackers step into a hole only to be caught with stationary feet eating some running backs dust.
These three items are only the tip of the iceberg that was the Kansas City Chiefs problems in 2007. Also on the list are : The O-Line, the Quarterback situation and the issuses with the coaching staff, but patience my good fans, i will address all of these in my next blog.
