Confessions of a Spoiled Chiefs Fan

Confessions of a Spoiled Chiefs Fan – If you had told me in 2008 or 2012 when the Chiefs went 2-14 both years and were last in the AFC West, that I could ever be a spoiled fan, let alone a spoiled Chiefs fan, I would have laughed in your face. After all, spoiled fans don’t root for the Red, White, and Gold. Spoiled fans root for teams like the New England Patriots, Dallas Cowboys, or even the Denver Broncos.  Kansas City Chiefs fans are not spoiled fans.  That’s the other guys.

Yet there I sat after Saturday night’s preseason loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers pouting, utterly, undeniably, and absolutely dismayed, disgusted, and disappointed in their performance Saturday night. I’ve known preteen girls whose parents took away their cellphones who have shown more class and maturity than I did on Saturday night.

Why didn’t Coach Reid keep our starters in longer, I wondered. In fact, I pondered many why questions after the game:

• • Why didn’t Defensive Coordinator Spagnola blitz more often?
  • Why did S Tyrann Mathieu get pulled from play after only two plays with a minor shoulder injury?
  • Why didn’t the first team play longer?
  • Why didn’t we try harder to win?

I was a HAM (hot-a##-mess) after Saturday night’s game. I really should be ashamed. Then, Sunday morning brought reflection and the answer to all of my Why? questions.

The sight of TE Deon Yelder walking off a meaningless game in a boot and the uncertain status of WR Marcus Kemp should be enough to shut me up with my stupid questions.

The purpose of preseason games is primarily to provide new players and players on the bubble to prove their worth and allow the coaching staff the opportunity to see who merits a spot on the 53-man roster in 12 days from now.

A preseason game is not to pacify the wants and needs of a middle-aged Chiefs fan who has all too soon forgotten the 2-14 seasons when he was already muttering “Wait until next year” even though it was just the end of September.

[Note: Don’t worry about me, I often refer to myself in the second person]

Enough berating my brattish inner-child. Here are a few things I really liked about the Pittsburgh game.

The Chiefs did not let the Steelers first-team march down the field and score on their first drive as they did against the Bengals a week earlier. The defense last night bore no resemblance to the nightmare that the Chiefs passed off as a defense last year.

Running back Darwin Thompson continues to impress and make me look like an NFL prophet. His four carries for 30 yards (7.5 average) was better than all the RBs (Chiefs and Steelers) last night.  He also looked good in his 22-yard kickoff return.

DTrain is the real deal!

“He’s doing a nice job.  He’s able to see the blitz, which is a big thing for the young guys. He’s got good vision in the run game, and then he’s got a pretty good understanding of the pass game, so he’s really a focused kid. He’s kind of a no-nonsense [player], wants to do it right, real focused, studies a lot. I liked the way he’s made up that way.” – Chiefs HC Andy Reid on RB Darwin Thompson

• • Punters Dustin Colquitt and Jack Fox both looked in mid-season form with 3 punts apiece with a 44-yard and 45.3-yard average, respectively.
  • As David Bell pointed out in yesterday’s insightful article, Chiefs: Player Focus and a Fresh 13, wideout Cody Thompson was a winner with 7 receptions for 69 yards.
  • Blake Bell did not look bad either with 2 catches for 33 yards.
  • On the defensive side of the ball, Ben Niemann (5 tackles, 2 assists), Darron Lee (4 tackles, 1 assist), Herb Miller (2 tackles, 1 assist, 1 forced fumble) and Charvarius Ward (3 tackles, 1 assist, 1 interception) were impressive.

Here’s what I did not like about the game against the Steelers.

• • Come on Carlos Hyde! One of the most important jobs of being a running back is not fumbling! This is not how you ingratiate yourself with Coach Reid.
  • Patrick Mahomes II and the entire first-team offense looked flat coming out, but so too did the Steelers. I blame this on the 1-hour rain delay.
  • Injuries: I hate injuries in football to any team, whether it is preseason, regular season, or postseason. I never like to see a football player hurt.

Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid had this to say about CB Charvarius Ward afterwards:

“I thought (Charvarius) Ward, I thought he played well, which was good. He had the big pick before halftime there. I thought he played well, though, throughout. Had a big breakup in the first series there and did a nice job, I thought all the way around.” 

Other observations I wish I didn’t have to observe include:

• • The Chiefs backup quarterbacks (Chase Litton, Chad Henne, and Kyle Shurmur) look exactly like backup quarterbacks.  Henne’s interception did him no favors.  In terms of our QBs performances, I’d have to give the edge to Litton.
  • I don’t see Darrel Williams as the answer in the backfield.
  • Fumbles, dropped passes, interception, and penalties (7 for 44 yards). That’s not how an Andy Reid-coached team plays football.
  • Mecole Hardman, you can’t run the wrong way on a punt return. Two returns for 0 yards?  Really?!?

I know that it’s only preseason and I need to reel in my expectations during such games, last night was a lackluster performance by the Chiefs. What I saw that I liked, I really liked. What I saw that I did not like, well… that really sucked!

Bonus Fun Fact:  The Chiefs have never had a first-year starting QB finish with over 5,000 yards passing and 50 touchdowns and not reach the Super Bowl the following year.

Michael Travis Rose — ArrowheadOne

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