For all the fandom that ranges between fanatical, to whimsical unrealists, to pessimistic naysayers, this post's for you. Let's start by explaining and discussing The Process....how long is the process of building a winning team supposed to take? What areas of bad teams are normally addressed in building a team....do you get a solid offensive line, then stock your running backs and quarterbacks and receivers? Or do you start building a solid defense? Or do you just get your team slightly well rounded overall via cleaning up the garbage you walked into as a new regime, and how long does that take? And did last year's "surprise" run towards the playoff set an unrealistic curve? Remember, a lot of teams that made jumps to their curve with sudden turnarounds, often slide backwards the next year. Given that, this year is pretty well on track with the "norm". Urban Legends: 1) Pioli and Haley are at odds? Anyone have any facts, quotes, evidence to back that? Or has the repeated talk of this just grown into its own source of evidence? 2) Cassel is not a good quarterback for the future. There's been enough numbers thrown around here to let that debate rage on and on...and the point really comes down to the fact that fans are just ready for a change, for some excitement. Unfortunate for Cassel, who came in and did the job asked of him. There are success stories of quarterbacks coming back and becoming greater then they were...Alex Smith comes to mind this year. But as much as I defended Cassel, and do think he can be a good quarterback, I also find myself wishing for change, for some excitement in that position. 3) Why does Haley keep running Thomas Jones and not utilizing Dexter, Battle or McClain more. Who knows? Do YOU really know the reason why? 4) Fans are fickle..oh wait, we're talking legends, not fact. Lose the first three games and we're ready to torch you, then go on a winning streak and you're up for coach of the year. Catch a TD and you're a superstar! Drop a pass and you're a bum... Does The Process really entail being like any business manager? OR does management and motivation practices take on a different character once you step onto a field of play? Does building a consistant, winning regime mean you try not to micro-manage and handle things on a reactionary base as a Fan would do? Or do you manage by objectives, motivating players to achieve to their levels, clean out the players who can not or are not willing to work on those levels, and build around that strong internal strength and team core to achieve goals on the long term? 5)...let' see what "legends" did we have going around last year...uh, Tyson Jackson was a bum, and early on Bowe was a bum. Year before that I believe DJ was a bum. Haley and Pioli were superstars...now they are bums. Any others come to mind? 5) Fans are never wrong and coaches are always wrong, except when they are not.....

Leadership.   Certain veterans brought in for leadership/mentoring factors high in team development.  But if you are looking to build a young team, one that can contend year in, and year out, while plugging in new pieces as players retire or move on; you have to look at building a system of leadership.  Bringing in big name free agents tends to take away from that system.  A system that Pioli thrives on.

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Haley isn't easy to work with.  Haley doesn't use Jamaal enough.  Haley won't shake McDaniels' hand.  The headlines in the media, and many of the blurbs here at AP, are aimed at what Haley isn't.  But perhaps, before we focus on what he isn't and what the Chiefs do not have going for them, we should look at what we do have, and what the Chiefs and Haley want for the future.  This is not a Kool-Aid supportive viewpoint, merely the other side of the coin.  Head coaches are the leaders.  They are the ones who make the calls.  There are some other head coaches who make the offensive play calls.  Are they called hard to deal with just because they control the team and make those calls?   No.  It all started with head butts with  certain Terrell Owens and the speculations hasn't been let go of since.  It hung on Haley when he first came aboard and the Brian Waters' incident was started up.  Seems Mr. Waters is pretty happy nowadays, and haven't seen any other players disliking how things are going.  So, just perhaps, things aren't that bad on the Chiefs' sidelines.

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The Jets will likely release a "failed" Vernon Gholston from their DE/LB experiment.  By all rights he has been a bust.  But the man has talent and is a physical specimen who just didn't make the jump to the NFL.  But in college, he was a QB eating machine.  A sixth pick out of Ohio State, he was on our radar, and many fans radar in 2008.   You would think with defensive minded Rex Ryan taking the young man under his wing, the athlete would have flourished.  Rather, the blip has faded.  And now seems more like watching a blip on a heart monitor marking the loss of life.  But I wonder if the Haley approach can revive the young, once touted college star.  Why would we even want to try to give him a second chance.  Because he has the right mentality of the right 53 and that is refreshing.  HE approached the Jets this last offseason and offered to take a pay cut to extend out his career.  The bad, even though the incentive laden contract would extend him into the next two years if things worked out, they did not.  Something is just not clicking for the young man.  But he has some flashes, and just makes me wonder if he can be reworked in the fashion of Derrick Johnson.

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I'll first lead with a rumor going around during the days of choosing our next new Head Coach and then throw a few other tidbits your way.

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Several sports stories now have Hue Jackson being warned by NFL..the article goes on to discuss possible players who may have used the substances.

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So that means that nothing like that is to happen at all?  Actually, hate to say anything positve when it comes to the Raiders, but Saunders style and the Raiders fit.  And unfortunately for the Chiefs, Hue and Al could cause us some issues in the coming years.

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A good NT will take our defense to the next level.  Another lineback addition will tighten things up on defense.  A good (no, let's make that great) wide receiver addition will open up the passing game.  However, I think given what we have seen, our play was tolerable this season, except the offensive line breakdowns in the big losses we suffered.  Yeah, our receivers disappeared yesterday, but a lot of that can be attributed to the plays not developing in time as the Ravens came storming in and likely the wide receivers seeing the pass rush and trying to adjust patterns, etc and the whole offense not being able to get into a flow in second half.  But, if you break down the game, it was moments that contributed mostly to our demise.  The Charles fumble in the second quarter gave us a chance to take control of the game heading into halftime.  We were moving well and the halftime adjustments may have looked a little different and kept the same game going in the second half.  But the Ravens were able to do what they had done all year.  Realize it was the same game they had played all year and let the D pin its ears back.  The failed fourth down attempt in the third was a killer.  Argue what you will, it probably was the right call at that point in the game.  It just failed.  That really was probably the killer.  Who knows if we had gotten back into gear before the McCluster fumble.  A lot of our youth showed up....turnovers and drive killers are the best evidence.  The anger on the field as things broke down was another.  But to keep things headed in the right direction from this point forward, Pioli and Haley have some tough choices.

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It sucks to lose.  But we are not losers.  We saw the frustration of the players, and we have seen the frustration of APers.  Let's just all take a deep breath and come back with a new perspective after we absorb the hurts.  It's now 2011 for the Chiefs.  Time to move on and look to the future. 

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If you look at the course of the season for the Baltimore Ravens, you find that they played tough games against tough opponents.  But their record could have well been way opposite of the outcome, given the number of close games they played, and with weaker teams.  They do seem to play to the level of their competition.  They do not get blown out, however.  But, they also do not run away with games.  The MVP of this team seems to be Billy Cundiff.

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So what really are we looking at as we head into the playoffs?  Where do we stand as a team and what are the teams like that we will be joining?  Lets take a step back and look at the intangibles and also zoom in on the statistical matchups.

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I believe players should not play injured.  Playing hurt is one thing, but injured is another.  It is quite apparent that players of old played with injuries and injured their bodies for life.  Many were pressed into that service by coaching and owners more then likely.  However, this year, with all the focus on concussions, I wonder how many of the injuries are truly concussions.  Take the Aaron Rodgers hit.  It appeared a fairly light hit by most standards and you would not have thought he had suffered an injury.  And on the flip side, I have seen much more intense helmet to helmet hits that you wonder why the player got up with a spring in their step.  Everyone is different and every situation is different.  But the focus has been placed squarely on concussion prevention this year and oddly, the numbers for concussed events has gone up...nearly 30 percent I believe.  Which begs the question, are players and staff taking greater prevention, maybe above and beyond what is really needed.  Or with the CBA negotiations ongoing, and the information pouring in on concussions, are players being overly protective and making an example of any possible concussion "situation" to protect future medical claims, etc?  It seemed especially during October, players were dropping like flies with concussion issues and on moderate impacts.  Again, players need to be protected...but are the numbers being manipulated a bit by over zealousness?

So we had our butts handed to us, and we lost our ass.  But a reminder about this season.  Seems like everytime we have came down on our team and ourselves, we usually end up eating crow.  Early year post hatred of Cassel merged into Cassel-Bowe hatred.  Then we came back later to find ourselves in love with Cassel-Bowe.  Early dismissal of Charles-Jones ball sharing as ludicrous then became understanding and joy that Charles kept fresh. Etc, etc.  Before we give up on the team and continue to fight amongst ourselves, let's hope that the Chiefs do not act like we have.  We still have three games to go in the season, and last I checked, we were still Division leaders.  Lest you forget, it has been a long time since we could say that in December.

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After the "slobberknocking" the Jets took last night (great quote from one source read) the playoff picture got a little clearer at the top.  What is not clear to most of the NFL world, is where the Chiefs are and where they are going.  At least it appears they are taking us lightly.  Even with our vaunted running game, newfound passing game and young and coming secondary starting to gel, all eyes appear to be on Cassel's old team.  Which, given the show they put on last night, is not without merit.  But I'd say to the naysayers...........we matchup pretty well with each of the potential playoff teams.

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We've seen Tyson get his share of healthy scratches this year.  Which is not good.  He looked good in the very early part of the season, but after his injury he was left in the wake by Smith.  Smith is playing good ball, but Tyson needs to get his motor running as we need him in there.  The intensity we had in the first part of the season on defense is needed now, plus more.  We need Dorsey, Smith, Jackson, Hali and the rest of the of the defenders capable of pushing the front line to be doing just that at 110 percent.  This is not fodder for the "haters", but food for thought.  When will Tyson follow the path of Derrick Johnson and step up his game.

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Well, Matt get's to unwrap one this week.  The return of McCluster.  Sure it's and old toy, but it was still pretty shiny new when it got put back in the toy box.  And like any very child, this team probably forgot about the toys they have and it's like Xmas again when you dump the box of old toys out on the field.  For the team there are McCluster, Moeaki and the newest edition of Cassel 7.0 that just came out with windows.  Windows showing a bright future for this club.

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He played at Ol Miss with McCluster and started out as a receiver.  In fact, coming out of high school, he was respected as the number 35 receiver in the country.  He played receiver as a freshman at Ol Miss, but switched to defense in his sophomore year and saw time at free and strong safety.

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That caught your attention, didn't it.  A lot of you may know this and other tidbits I do not, but with the success Cassel, Charles and Bowe are enjoying, I thought it would be good for us to know who these athletes are really.  To see exactly how little experience Cassel has and that he is a pure athlete in a learning curve that has more to come.  And to see how much of an athlete Bowe is and how good he was and that previous issues that hampered him were likely an aberration.  And Jamaal Charles has always had an affinity for a high yards per carry average.  Oh, and Cassel can punt the ball.

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The recent fireworks of the Chiefs have thrown a surreal haze into the AFC this year.  No wants to really believe.  No one would have even tried to guess this was coming.  They surely won't.  They surely couldn't.  They surely will?

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Interestingly it was just two weeks later that Todd Haley refused to shake hands with McDaniels, pointed the finger and stated things were being said about McDaniels....hmm.  Apparently there was a whistleblower who came out with the information about McDaniels little London photography work against San Fran.  Did that same whistleblower approach Haley for advice or Pioli?  There could be some pure animosity brewing for this weekend.

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I'll preface this by noting that a lot of my belief in Haley is that I get what he is about.  I have observed the progression of what he is doing with the players and how each game, a little tidbit of tinkering is added to build on from the week past.  And that is where you can visibily see the effect of the coaching.

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This video by NFL today, gives us just a bit more to remember we need to be thankful.  To extend Thanksgiving one more day, a week, a month and year for ourselves and those around us.  Life is good.  Chiefs are good.  Chiefs Will.  And God willing....each of us will have something each day to be thankful for and to give thanks.  Click on this link for the Chris Henry spot.  as the seven-minute feature rolls along

Okay...so I just read the breaking news.  Childress was fired!!  But on with what I was writing before I read that.

Any given Sunday.  So prognosticating would be of great benefit.  However, first, lets eyeball predicting the Chiefs down the stretch.  And really, it is becoming easier and easier to see how Haley's plans work in turning this team around.  A fairly straightforward, piece at a time approach to fixing this team.

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We let ourselves get one dimensional...and now the Defenses are on to us.  You stack the box to limit the run and put pressure on the QB of the Chiefs.  It seems to have been a success, albeit last weeks game was a bit of a mirage as the early barrage of Donkey points made us get out of our game plan.  But the question is valid.  Did we finally find the wall on our running game approach.  Do we have to let Cassel open up the field from the get go?

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Cassel has his best game statistically, and really seemed to be the only  one trying, along with Bowe (another hatee).  When a defense totally collapsed and all we want to continue to do is debate Cassel?  I know its a free world but can we can the debates about who should be gone or not gone and have some talk about football.  This site is getting way too negative with all this BS and that is sad we are losing some good input from once good posters because they are tired of the nonsense.  How many nephews and nieces and cousins does Croyle, the Raiders, Donkeys and Chargers have trolling on here anyway!  For at least one week, can we give it a break and discuss things other then how pitiful a certain player is or isn't?

There are a few things I have noticed this season.  But what concerns me the most is the lack of fire after the first couple games.  We came out against San Diego with the fire that the Broncos showed yesterday.  That made all the difference yesterday as the Broncos seemed to be possessed almost to the point of wanting to lay wood to anything that moved.  Although a couple times a little too extreme, this is a fire you want boiling in a pro player.  And here is why I think we have yet to let the fire take hold.

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The playcalling.  But mind you, we have all questioned moves by the staff since last year, and time and time again we are proven wrong in our second guessing.  We may, and probably are, still growing and developing our offensive scheme of things.  We have been pretty one dimensional to this point, thus the number one running team (still?).  We opened up the passing game a little yesterday, whether out of the sheer necessity of need due to running game not there, or by design?  Bowe and Cassel and the other unknown receiver?  Moeaki has been great, but we need a WR to step up.  Said it once, will say it again after yesterday.  Can you say Verran Tucker.  But remember, Dexter is also developing and will be back.  More after the jump.

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First...geez, the hate.  Cassel seemed like the only bright spot...McGraw also, he had one pick and would have, should have had a couple others.  Verran Tucker...I told you.  And yeah, playcalling was a question, as Tucker had a TD catch and a fumble recovery...but disappeared from the offensive play calling.  And holds against Hali are getting rediculous.  I have really never seen so much blatant holding of a man and not get called.  We can all go on and on about why no Charles, why Bowe dropped the ball, why Cassel didn't make every play, why Weiss did this or that.  But really, guys we need to quick ranting with player hates, etc..because the next week the one we are hating on has a great game and we are back saying ok he is our good graces again.  So...

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