SB Nation User Blog: sunny D

How to be a good fan for a "rebuilding" team?

sunny D — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 05:38:53 -0000

Note: A little upgrade edit from "bad" to "rebuilding" after the Bronco win! With little to be sunny about, I am wondering how I am going to be a good Chiefs fan. Suggestions?

1. Problem solving. That seems to be popular and makes for pretty good blogging fodder. Sign this person. Bench that guy. Run more of these plays. Fine tune our analytical skills. I've done it. Will continue to do it. But it feels like buckling the seat belt on the Hindenberg at times.

2. Finger pointing. Carl. Herm. Others. Perhaps valid, but three more months of pointing fingers in the same direction -- or using the same finger -- is going to become exceedlingly tiresome.

3. Trash talking. Hard to do get much more than a yawn from opponents without much to back it up week after week.

4. Brown bagging it. Demonstrate dissatisfaction with management while staying warm and stylish. Show your Price Chopper spirit!

via farm3.static.flickr.com

5. Celebrating little things. Anticipate and cheer for Tony G's record. Watch Albert win his individual battles at LT. High five surrounding fans when our young corners make an outstanding play. Shout "About time!" when Savage replaces Sams. Enjoy the warm feeling of breaking into the 20s in the power rankings after the first win.

6. Predicting positive events. When will Jamaal Charles run for 100 and Will Franklin get 100 yards receiving/game? When will Flowers get his first TD off an INT? Can Colquitt work the sympathy vote for a trip to Hawaii?

7. Following the team. Even with a few expletives for bonehead plays or frustration with management, keep up to date on the personnel, watch the games, and be wiling to wear the team gear in public. It builds character and shows bravery.

8. Developing a secondary interest. A coping strategy that may feel like you're cheating on the Chiefs by secretly tracking the Cowboys, Packers or another team with a legit stake in the race. But you wouldn't actually be one of their fans. And hey, you can also spend more time managing that fantasy team line-up.

9. Practicing mock drafts. For months. Grow hair like Mel's and start doing YouTube videos on college football stars.

10. Embracing martyrdom. "You're a Chiefs fan? Wow. You're dedicated. You really are a fan." What better time to prove you're a Chiefs fan than during the down times? Anyone can be a fan for a popular team that plays Sunday/Monday nights and grabs the headlines. Obscurity allows real fans to know players that are not household names. Circle the wagons with fellow diehard fans.

11. Hoping for the future. There's always next year. Keep hope alive. Blog about it. At AP. And balance it with a look at past glory days once in a while to remind us that excellence is possible.

12. Laughing while crying. Keep a sense of humor. And sense of perspective. Fan and Fun are only one letter apart. The only difference is "u." (sorry - I'm oddly both embarrased and proud that I made that up) We choose to follow a professional sports team because it is supposed to be more enjoyable and entertaining than work, right? Keep the jokes flowing. Encourage one another. And remember why we became fans in the first place.

Chiefs Fan Base Ranked 2nd

sunny D — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 22:59:48 -0000

Chiefs Fan Base Ranked 2nd

Kansas City may be the sixth-smallest market, but they've had the second-highest attendance average over the last decade. Also known for having the best food at a tailgate, KC will blow your doors off with its BBQ. Arrowhead is widely regarded as the loudest stadium in the league and that is directly attributed to its fans.

The good news is that AccuScore simulations have the Chiefs offense scoring 25 percent more points...

sunny D — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 15:57:42 -0000

The good news is that AccuScore simulations have the Chiefs offense scoring 25 percent more points this season. The bad news is that this won’t do much, as the Chiefs finished next to last in total points scored last season. The 25 percent increase only results in a 17 point per game average, which means that the Chiefs are still being outscored by 3.9 points per game, leading to their 6-10 record in AccuScore simulations, with a slim 12 percent chance of making the playoffs.

http://accuscore.com/articles/nfl-articles/kansas-city-chiefs-preview/

Revising the 53 Man Roster

sunny D — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 13:11:04 -0000

Revised * (edited) the main post after the Cardinals game... How does the roster break down? Who's on the bubble?

Offense - 24

QB (3) Brodie Croyle, Tyler Thigpen, Damon Huard

RB (4) Larry Johnson, Kolby Smith, Jamaal Charles, Jackie Battle

FB (1) Mike Cox, Chris Manderino

TE (2) Tony Gonzalez, Brad Cottam, Michael Allan, John Paul Foschi, Mike Merritt (IR?)

WR (5) Dwayne Bowe, Devard Darling, Will Franklin, Jeff Webb, *Maurice Price, Bobby Sippio, Kevin McMahan, Kevin Robinson (PR), Jabari Arthur, Sergiori Joachim, B. J. Sams

OL (9) Branden Albert, Brian Waters, Rudy Niswanger, Adrian Jones, Damion McIntosh, Herb Taylor, Barry Richardson, Wade Smith, Edwin Harrison, Tre Stallings, Anthony Alabi, Ken Shackleford, Will Svitek, Travis Leffew, Rob Smith

Defense - 25

DL (9) Tamba Hali, Glenn Dorsey, Alfonso Boone, Tank Tyler, Turk McBride, Brian Johnston, Ron Edwards, T.J. Jackson, Derek Lokey, Jason Parker, Johnny Dingle, Trevor Johnson, Maurice Murray, Jonal Saint-Dic

LB (7) Derrick Johnson, Donnie Edwards, Pat Thomas, Demorrio Williams, Napoleon Harris, Weston Dacus, LeRue Rumph, E.J. Kuale, Oliver Hoyte, Steve Octavien, Aden Durde

CB (5) Brandon Flowers, Brandon Carr, Patrick Surtain, Maurice Leggett, Tyron Brackenridge, Dimitri Patterson, Rashad Barksdale

S (4) Bernard Pollard, Jarrad Page, DaJuan Morgan, Jon McGraw, Khayyam Burns

Special Team – 4

P (1) Dustin Colquitt

K (1) Connor Barth?, Nick Novak

LS (1) Jean-Philippe Darche

Returner (1) *Dantrell Savage, Kevin Robinson, B.J. Sams, Jamaal Charles is already a RB

Bold type indicates the expected number of people taken at that position corresponding to the number in ( ). To keep the main post short, I will make my comments about who's on the bubble as comments. Roster names are from kcchiefs.com depth chart 8/15. Player order and selections in bold are by the very unprofessional sunny D.

Vic Carucci's 8/12 Chiefs article

sunny D — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 17:01:45 -0000

Vic Carucci's 8/12 Chiefs article

Among the youngsters are four projected starters -- first-round draft pick Glenn Dorsey at defensive tackle, first-rounder Branden Albert at offensive tackle, second-rounder Brandon Flowers at cornerback, and undrafted free agent Mike Cox at fullback.

Changing the play at the line

sunny D — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 21:23:57 -0000

CROYLE: "I would say out of 16 plays we probably had seven or eight that we had the ability to change it. So that’s eight more than we had all of last season combined... It just kind of makes sense. If you go up there and they have eight guys in the box and you only have seven people to block them, it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to run the football. That’s where Chan getting us into one-on-ones comes into play, you know, checking to the pass. If they’re playing cover two zone, run the ball at them, that’s your best chance. It’s just kind of stuff that makes sense.

Duh... (I believe the reference to "16 plays" were the ones he QBed in the opening preseason game, btw.)

Why can't common sense be more common? Did Solari think calling two plays in the huddle would be too complicated for men whose full-time job is playing football? I realize the use of personnel packages limits the playbook when you get up to the line. But sheesh!

Sometimes I think the coaches who are determined to play tough football refuse to use any kind of misdirection or "finesse" just because they want to prove they're not pansies. It's like, "Here's the play we're going to run. We're going to prove that we can execute it even if you know what we're going to do." You play to win the game, and if that can be accomplished with a little legal deception -- go for it! Being tough and being creative are not mutually exlusive strategies.

Thank you, Chan, for being man enough to wear socks with your sandals, and for mixing up the plays to confuse the defense while still being tough! Block quote from Q & A with Brodie 8/12.

2008 NFL Rule Changes

sunny D — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 17:59:06 -0000

As games get closer, here's a review of the rule changes for this year. You know... So you're not screaming at the referee saying, "But he was PUSHED out!" Only to have a nearby ten-year-old tell you the rule has changed.

No "force-out" rule anymore. For a completion, you have to get your feet in whether you're hit or not. Exception: If the defender wraps both arms around the receiver and "carries" [my word] him out, the play can still be called a catch. Apparently, the league didn't want Derrick Johnson grabbing a receiver who's in the air in the middle of the field and running off the field with him before he put him down.
One defender on the field can have a radio earpiece. Only two defensive players get this privilege for the game. And when the play clock hits 15, the radio is turned off. That's been true on offense, but can't say I knew that. I guess it's so the coach isn't yelling, "I'm open!" into the QB's ear while the play is going on.
No 5-yard incidental face mask penalties any more. Only the 15-yard variety for twisting, turning or pulling.
If you win the coin toss, you can defer your choice to the second half, like college football.
Dropped forward hand-offs and all botched snaps (whether or not they contact the quarterback) are now considered fumbles. Hmm... Can't say that I knew they weren't fumbles. Just take care of the ball, guys.
Refs are now allowed to look under the hood and watch the replay of a field goal to make sure the right call is made (as long as the ball flies lower than the top of the uprights). ...You remember the weird one from last year that went through the uprights and over the crossbar (good!), but then hit the curved support piece and bounced back out. The initial signal was "no good" and the Ravens went to the locker room thinking they had a win. Technically, the guys in stripes weren't supposed to consider the video evidence that everyone else in the world could see. Somehow the ref worded the decision in a way that overturned the initial call without implying that the replay had any effect on their decision. Nice job.

References: Wikipedia and Palm Beach Post. Also, http://www.nfl.com/rulebook

Croyle on Audibles and Rollouts

sunny D — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 22:32:01 -0000

Q: The new offense will allow you to make more changes at the line. How do you feel about that? Is that kind of exciting for you?

CROYLE: “It is. It’s something where, if the numbers are stacked up against us, it doesn’t make sense to run into it. With the new offense you can either change the declaration of the play or we can change the play, or we’ll have checks going into different games or different game plans. It just gives us the best chance to get in the right play and have a positive play.”

Did Croyle audible at Alabama? Doesn't sound like a complicated call to make. Basically it sounds like they will have a second play in their pocket and Croyle will switch to it if he comes up to the line and sees the wrong defense for the origianal play. Sounds great! Link to 7/29 Croyle interview from kcchiefs.com.

Q: The roll-outs and bootlegs that you’re going to be doing – how well does that suit you?

CROYLE: “I like it. It kind of gets me out in the open. Let’s me show off my great speed (laughs). It’s good. It’s something that we needed. We didn’t run a whole lot of it last year, but it suits our offense as much as we count on the running game. ”

Okay...it's preseason. Time for optimism. Everything looks good on paper. Having said that, I'm likin' Chan's common sense. When everyone knows you're just going to sit in the pocket, it reminds me of a Bill Cosby routine in which he pokes fun at the British soldiers.... Imagine the British and colonists in the middle of the football field as the referee explains the rules:

You: The British army. You must wear red and march into battle in straight lines. You: The colonists. You may wear natural colored clothes and stand behind the rocks and trees.

Chan appears willing to mix it up and have our guys with the ball do things that the other guys trying to get our ball won't be able to anticipate. Don't place an X eight yards behind the center and tell the defense that's where our QB will be every time. Seems like decent strategy to me. What do you think? Audibles, rollouts and the occasional bootleg seem like a good idea to you? Can Croyle handle it? Can he throw on the run? Do we have the lineman that can do it?

I have to admit I have been a little fearful of Chan's time away from the NFL. But when people say he uses players' strengths and point out that he has been successful at each of his offensive coordinator's stops, I can see why. Chan, my man... Pour me some of what you're serving, also. I'ma thirsty for some scoring.

Jared, Jr: Brian Johnston

sunny D — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 03:41:09 -0000

Player to watch: DE Brian Johnston, Chiefs 7th round pick
College: Gardner-Webb
Height: 6-5 Weight: 274
Projected Round: 4

Some senior year stats:

24 stops for loss
6 sacks and 22 QB pressures
8 tackles on goal line plays
4 fourth down stops
played left end

Coming from Gardner-Webb (like Idaho State), can he play at the NFL level? If so, how fast can he get into the line-up? And can we remember that Jared Allen didn't play at last year's level in his rookie year? (only 39 tackles, but a respectable 9 sacks) Some people projected Brian to play DT in the NFL. Don't think that's the plan in KC, but it tells me he's got some beef.

So is it Turks time to shine? Can Boone find a new gear and play DE? Or will a possible Johnston, Johnson, Flowers trio on the defensive left side have opposing RBs looking for the sideline in a hurry to avoid the hurt?

Does DE Johnston start at any point this year?

Chris on this week's WPI roundtable

sunny D — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 14:47:20 -0000

Chris on this week's WPI roundtable

Chris Thorman of Arrowhead Pride, a site for Chiefs news and discussion, sits in for WPI's Michael Ash this week. This week our crew discusses rookie signings, depth charts, team camaraderie and practice length.