I'm not really sure whether I'm offering anything new or not, but for me, not much has changed since last year, at least defensively.

I heard a lot of complaining last year about Herm Edwards' "Cover Two," an exotic system from planet Girlie D in the constellation Whimp E only used by the Chiefs; it was my contention, however, that regardless of how terrible a system may or may not be, if the players on the field don't even feign to execute the system, the system will fail.

I provided as evidence the sickeningly high number of times that our linebackers, whom I contended were the worst in the league, jumped three yards beyond their gaps just to watch whichever HB happened to be lucky enough to line up against the Chiefs skitter by, usually in the space they had just vacated with their...what...overaggression?

No, that's not it; the term "overagression" would imply some type of "aggression." And the way those guys were tackling provided an immediate rebuttal to anyone using any English word with the root "aggress" to describe any Chiefs linebacker.

Nonetheless, the new guard arrived and we all spent the offseason as so many fireworks spectators, oohing and aahing over the exotic new system some dude named Yancy installed which actually required MORE than the three linebackers that "played" for us last year.

And the result? Demorrio Williams jumping three yards out of his gap just to watch the HB skitter by in the space he'd just vacated.

I guess the question is this: can the Chiefs defense ever succeed with guys like Williams and Mays?

Yes, Derrick Johnson looked better in the game against Baltimore and, with his apparent athletic skill, I'm going to give him a chance as in ILB in the 3-4. And yes, Mike Vrabel is/was a heckuva player who can do nothing but help the younger guys around him. But Williams, whom I've never seen play an even adequate game, is an unbelievable liability.And however much loyalty we may wish to shower upon Corey Mays for his work ethic, he is still a guy who couldn't crack the starting line-up in Cincinnati. And however much we may love Tamba Hali's attitude, watching him try to get deep over the middle is simply painful.

Last year, the Chiefs ran a system (the Cover 2) that depended heavily on linebackers and the Chiefs failed miserably. This year, the Chiefs are running a system (the 3-4) that depends even more heavily on linebackers and 501 yards later (not to mention 10-17 on third down), the Chiefs failed yet again.

And I'm unconvinced things will be any better until there's a major overhaul of the guys in two-point stances.

CRB

"Whoops!"
~ Safety Officer, Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, 26 April 1986, 01:24 am local time

To say that I am excited about today's events is to understate my emotion so profoundly as to rival the (admittedly fake) ill-fated declarative above.

Less wordily, Scott "Freakin" Pioli is our General Manager!

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I'm not normally prone to wild bits of fancy-free prognostication but I thought I'd make an exception today considering the quarterback situation.

As weird as it may sound, I think our quarterback situation is now decided, for better or worse. At the beginning of the season, for example, we all "knew" that Brodie Croyle was going to be the starter. But we also "knew" there wasn't a snow cone's chance in the seventh level of hell that he'd finish the year. Some of us probably tried to deny this "knowledge" (COUGH! yours truly HACK!) but in the end, in that deep down, reptilian reality center, squirming in the very bowels of what passes for my...I mean our brains, we knew.

Yes...we knew.

And now we don't have to worry about it anymore. Brodie Croyle fulfilled his destiny with one short but familiar limp out of the stadium. Gone too is Dameon Huard presumably to collect his social security between trips to the VFW and episodes of Murder, She Wrote.

Whom, or more precisely what, are we left with? Apparently, some Peanuts character who is currently under investigation for blacking my poor neices eye in the third quarter of the game against the Titans.

For the record, I think he's innocent. But try telling that to my snot-nosed kid sister and her pedantic, pontificating, pretentious little offspring.

Seriously though, I think it's fairly easy to predict what we'll see today. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll yell at the television. Question is, will you be performing these little acts in anger and disgust or in outright surprise.

The Jets' current ranking against the pass gives me hope; their current ranking against the run gives me pause. It is good to know that Tyler has been told he's the starter win or lose. And I expect one of two things from him: 1) more of the Atlanta game or 2) a pleasant surprise that could just catch the Jets off guard.

Yeah, yeah...go ahead and fling your poo of hyper-optimism at me ya bunch of apes, but there is a chance, however small, that the relative calm Thigpen displayed last week will continue and that he'll be able to provide a spark via his winged wheels between, of course, lackadaisical lobs to the fans in puke-iest green.

However silly, I for one, am looking forward to the game.

GO CHIEFS!

CRB

My head's spinning from all the crap going on! Economy's flipping us the super-bird. The Presidential candidates and their subordinates keep showing their asses all over national television. And now two (count 'em) quarterbacks on IR?

Anyone have the number for Calgon? 'Cause the low pressure area between my ears needs a vaca-cay :(

So, after Brodie Croyle limped out of the stadium Sunday afternoon, I was gonna come on here and be all provacative and say that Thigpen should be the starter for the rest of the season, even though I'm not a huge fan. I was gonna say that Huard isn't the future and we're not going to the playoffs anyway and the guy at least has some wheels and he's young so he should get an opportunity no matter how many incompletions he throws to my neice in the first row (and yes, her black eye is doing much better...thanks for asking). I was gonna say he deserved to get every single snap in practice and that Damon should go on holding that clipboard...on the sideline...

Now I have nothing to offer! Oh the humanity! *slinks away with bushy tail between legs*

Seriously though, Thigpen showed me a little something Sunday. I was mildly impressed. He seemed more comfortable. Beyond the one play where he confused himself with Barry Sanders, he moved well, he only overthrew a couple receivers and he showed a strong arm.

Considering that I've completely given up on Brodie Croyle ever being an option at quarterback, I think he's our only choice right now.

And I feel bad for the guy. These aren't the kind of injuries where you question a guy's heart. It's not a "thigh bruise" or a "strained pinkie," he's had real, honest-to-goodness injuries. ACL tears, cracked ribs, separated shoulders...these aren't injuries one can fake. But he's just snake-bit. And I think the organization needs to move on.

Other stuff that needs a discussin':

• I stand by my first post on this site with a few exceptions. Niswanger has taken a serious step backward in my eyes. And I still think Carr is the superior of the two corners (at least at this point). And don't bother arguing that "Flowers is a prototypical Cover 2 corner" unless you're gonna actually explain why you think that's so. Carr is big, fast, strong and tackles well. Flowers is showing good coverage skill but has missed several key tackles which is a real no-no in the Cover 2.
• The other youngsters are holding their own respective to their levels of experience, I think, including Herb Taylor. Anyone else notice how pass protection improved when he replaced McIntosh for two series? When he and Albert were out there, most of the pressure was coming from the center-right of the line where we continue to lead the league in "starts by a fat chick."
  
• Hali has sooooooooooooooooo peaked.
• We have the worst linebacking corps in the league. And it's not even close. The only one I'd even consider keeping next year is Johnson and that's only if he's the weakest link in a strong unit. Again, I know we all like the guy, but just lease that DVR your wife won't let you have and watch him play. The vast majority of the time he's just as badly out of position as the rest of the bunch. And spare me the "it's the system" argument. The Cover 2 isn't some exotic, far-out, rarely used system. It's a very simple system that relies on linebackers who are able to maintain their gaps and get deep when they need to. None of our linebackers appear to be capable of either of those things.
• Staying on the linebacker subject, did anyone else want to tear their eyes out and feed them to a pack of ravenous wolf-people watching Demorrio Williams against the Titans? Twice I watched him push "It's" Pat Thomas farther to the right just to watch the Titans run to the defense's left. Of course, after Mr. Williams' helpful adjustement, all three linebackers were overly committed before the ball was even snapped which is something they certainly don't need any help doing. And if I have to watch either Thomas or Williams (or both) run headlong into a mountain of sweaty man-meat on one side of the line or the other as the opposing half back scitters up the middle with that dazed look of shocked surprise one...more...time...I think I'll scream.
  
• As an aside, those first two defensive series in the second half were an example of how to play linebacker in this system. All three of them stayed in their gaps and made plays. It looked like a different team. Too bad they can't remember to do that all game long.
• Cut Bernard Pollard. Cut him now. Scores 3-0 in the first. It's 3rd and 8 at the Titan 49. THIRD AND EIGHT! Titans call a draw and Chris Johnson makes Pollard his ever-loving bitch. Bernie didn't even touch him! The result? 13 yards and a first down. In my eyes, that was the play where the Titans started to take over. It just broke the defense's back. BTW, another guy missed a tackle on that play too. I'll let you guess who this "protypical" player might be. ;)
• Erik Walden has moved into my "keeper" category. In fact, the whole of special teams is a keeper. Savage is playing well. And the Chiefs are quietly ranked tenth in kickoff returns, twelfth in kickoff coverage and fourth in punt coverage. This gives me hope for the future.
• Did I mention our linebackers are really...just terrible. Really.
• Cut...Bernard...Pollard.
• That is all XD

CRB

Caw Caw! No! Caw! CrunchCrunchCrunch...caaaaaaaw! Gulp.

Okay, I'm eating a little crow. DJ played lights out. LJ was a man. And, at least for this week, I won't refer to Adrian Jones as a fat chick.

Other things that impressed me and/or I noticed:
• Herm pulled Hali;
• Taylor was awesome at LT;
• Niswanger was overmatched at times;
• Brandon Carr played very well and was a finger tip away from stopping the Bronco's only touchdown;
• The special teams have turned a corner. They hit, they block, and, if B. J. Sams starts again for this team, I'll be VERY disappointed;
• Why couldn't we have tried one more freakin pass to Tony G? Now he's gonna get the record on the road;
• Demorrio Williams was surprisingly effective at linebacker. Maybe he should get a chance. Williams/Edwards/Johnson? Might be worth a try;
• Dorsey and the other linemen were very effective against the run early (and pretty much all game) but faded terribly late in the pass rush.

I think today's win was another example of just how young this team is. I think we'll continue to see mistakes but I think it's pretty obvious they took a step forward today.

Question is, do we go back to Croyle now? I love his physical tools but he's a China doll out there.

So, if you're a Chiefs fan, you don't need me to tell you how painful it's been to watch this young team perform thus far this season. Fact is, the phrase "worst team in the league" gets thrown around a lot, but me and Herm Edwards know it's all-too-applicable to the 2008 Chiefs.

The question is, who are the worst players on the worst team in the league and are there any players worth keeping?

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