Ryan Shuck's Kansas City Chiefs fan blog

From the moment in 2006 when Larry Johnson was spewing his dislike towards white coaches and applauding Herm Edwards because he's a black head coach and "gets it" his on-field performance took a nose dive.  After his fourth incident with the law involving women over the bye week I believe Dick Vermeil had Larry's personality pegged long ago.  Vermeil didn't want to draft him preferring to take a defensive player such as Polamalu or a D-lineman in the draft but Peterson insisted. 

After all these troubles and the fact that Vermeil put LJ on the map with a high flying offense perhaps Larry should call his old coach and offer an apology. 

 Larry Johnson from 2003-2005 under Vermeil:

476 carries 2416 yards 5.1 ypc   30 TDs; 56 receptions 623 yards 11.13 YPC 3 TDs

Continue reading "Think Larry Johnson Might Want to Apologize to Dick Vermeil?"

Tyler Thigpen played his heart out Sunday.  I was frantically dialing all my friends on my cell phone to see if anyone else was watching the spectacle that Thigpen was making of the Jets defense.  Of course only one friend picked up the phone and his response was "no I don't watch that joke of a team". 

For the twenty Chiefs fans that did watch this game Tyler Thigpen gave us what we really haven't had all season.  Hope.  Leave it to Herm Edwards to take it away.  Jets fans had to be chuckling to themselves when with 5:20 left on the clock and the Chiefs starting at their own 20 the play calling was as follows dive left tackle 3, dive left tackle 4, dive left tackle 2, punt.  I knew it was game over when we were relying on a bottom ranked defense to beat Brett Favre.  I screamed at the TV, I cussed,  I was beside myself at the play-calling.  Thigpen has up to this point carried this team in the spread offense and we go to Kolby Smith?  Smith had up to this point 8 carries for 6 yards.  I can fall farther than that and Chan and Herm go into their shell scared to death of the criticism. 

Continue reading "Fourth Quarter of Chiefs at Jets a Microcosm of Herm Edwards Tenure in Kansas City"

I want to apologize in advance to the seven loyal Rays fans that were out there before this playoff run.  You guys/gals like myself (Royals fan) are long suffering fans of a moribund franchise until this season.  God bless you and I hope your team does well.

Attention all Rays fans not in the seven aformentioned above:

I realize you have never attended a baseball game before you purchased these playoff seats, but please leave your cowbells at home.  I know they sound great at your son's eighth grade football game but in baseball not so much.  Between the cowbells and that horrid stadium I was a little but in shock and awe at this spectacle this World Series has put before our eyes in high definition.

Perhaps I'm just bitter Royals guy but my goodness we at least broke 1 million attendance this season and we didn't need more cowbell.    

Continue reading "Needs More Cowbell"

In the Kansas City Chiefs continuing game of "Let's Make a Deal" they have chosen Quinn Gray over Daunte Culpepper and Bruce Gradkowski.  I watched Gray play a game or two for Jacksonville last year and while it wasn't spectacular he couldn't be any worse than Tyler "CFL" Thigpen.  Gray brings a combination of size and mobility, something the Chiefs sorely lacked in their quarterback options on the roster. Croyle and Thigpen are mobile but both are smallish quarterbacks.  Croyle can't stay healthy and Huard is an immobile weak-armed veteran. Thigpen doesnt step into his throws causing them to sail high and has awful pocket presence. Gray can't do any worse than these jokes that have been filling out the roster.     

Continue reading "The Chiefs Will Take QB Behind Door Number Two!"

The jobless quarterback VW-Bus keeps on rolling with stale snacks and odd jobs on the side.  That's what I picture when teams start auditioning out of work quarterbacks.  I picture them all in the same VW-bus traveling city to city showering at rest stops hoping for a job somewhere in the NFL.  It looks like Culpepper and Gradkowski pulled their VW-Bus up to One Arrowhead Drive this week for tryouts. 

I know the Chiefs are thin at quarterback and are scouring the waiver wire looking for a warm body but Culpepper seems like a bad fit.  He wasn't exactly a character guy in Minnesota and the last thing the Chiefs need is another malcontent or selfish player in the locker room. 

More importantly Daunte Culpepper isn't any good.  I know he has three Pro Bowls and I know he threw for 39 touchdowns in 2004.  He also did that with a terrific offensive line and a couple receivers you might have heard of named Randy Moss and Nate Burleson.  Yes Cris Carter was retired in 2004 but Culpepper was famous for just airing the ball down the field to Moss.  He didn't make quick reads and he wasnt a highly mobile quarterback even before his knee injury.  To think he is going to come in and save this franchise is short-sighted at best. After Culpepper and Moss parted ways Daunte was miserable. Don't believe me?  Go look at Culpepper pre-2004 and post-2004.

Continue reading "Daunte Culpepper? Is Moss coming too?"

Someone put this team out if its misery. Are there enough adjectives to describe just how poor this team is? In summary, a portly, short-yardage back burst off-tackle untouched for an 80 yard touchdown. That's right Lendale White the guy who has been getting grief from Titans fans for his out of shape body and slow feet burst untouched for an 80 yard touchdown. He averaged 8.8 yards per carry on the day. The Titans' "feature" back Chris Johnson in an attempt to run down the clock followed up that 80 yard plodding touchdown with a 66 yard effort. In all the Chiefs allowed 323 yards rushing. They allowed two backs to top 100 and each back averaged 9 yards a carry. Those are video game stats.

The Chiefs were ran over physically, emotionally and spiritually by the Titans. The spirit of the franchise was pounded into the turf at Arrowhead Sunday. Herm cannot fix this. At this point no matter what Edwards and Cunningham say players won't take it to heart. They will be hollow words and the players will have those glazed over eyes a son or daughter gets when their parent starts lecturing them. They need a new voice. They need new leadership from the top. Carl Peterson should do the honorable thing and fall on his own sword. Carl should step down from this mess he has created. I want to believe Clark Hunt is just saying the right things waiting for the off-season to make wholesale changes.

Continue reading "Put The Chiefs Out of Their Misery"

Crystal Croyle limped off the field in the second quarter and the Chiefs' "QB of the Future" proved once again he is not capable of remaining healthy through a single game let alone an entire season.  I think it is time to cash in your chips on that hope.  Croyle was 9 for 10 on the day so he was having a promising start but promising starts don't equate to wins and has been said many times availability is sometimes better than raw ability.

It's another day of watching Huard muddle through this game.  

Continue reading "Crystal Croyle Out in 2nd Quarter"

It is no stretch to say that the game against the Titans this weekend could define Herm Edwards coaching career in Kansas City. Tony Gonzalez's request to be traded and Carl Peterson's unwillingness to trade him for anything less than a second rounder has put a huge burden on Herm's shoulders. You could hear it in his voice and see it in his body language that Herm is on the edge right now. He was as friendly as a crocodile in the news conference yesterday bristling at reporters and repeating himself in his traditional manner when he's irritated about something.

Q: What does that say about you, about Carl, about this organization that he asked to be traded?
EDWARDS: “It doesn’t say anything about me. It doesn’t say one thing about me. It has nothing to do about me. You need to ask the player about that. That’s not for me to answer. I answer for decisions I make, what comes out of my mouth. So, you’re asking the wrong guy. You need to ask him.” ( http://kcchiefs.com/news/2008/10/14/herm_edwards_press_conference__1014/

Continue reading "Chiefs' Edwards Faces Titanic Task This Weekend"