Firing Back Against Negativity for a Chiefs Super Bowl Repeat

Firing Back Against Negativity for a Chiefs Super Bowl Repeat – This off season has brought many discussions, both from local and national media on the Kansas City Chiefs becoming the NFL’s next dynasty. Of course, we must always have the negative pundits to shoot it down, for a myriads of reasons, but jump into my time travel pod while I travel back to pre-2000’s, where I show that there were many teams that failed and there was a lot of negativity against any team becoming a dynasty.

Prior to the Patriots 

In a piece called, “Odds Are Against Bucs Becoming a Dynasty” offered by Orlando Sentinel, it says:

“History says the salary cap does not allow dynasties. History says the last four franchises to win championships — St. Louis in 1999, Baltimore in 2000, New England in 2001 and now Tampa Bay in 2002 — were all first-time Super Bowl winners.”

There were no repeat winners from those 4 teams listed above, at the date of this story, January 28, 2003, and while it was difficult to find 20 year old articles, below is a list of what I did find:

• The Associated Press – Oct 6, 1997 Updated Jan 25, 2015 – Salary Cap Destroys Dynasties – By Dave Goldberg. This article states the salary cap does not allow teams to have depth, which destroys dynasties.
• ESPN.com – July 12, 2001 – NFL’s Dynasty Days are Long Gone – By Greg Garber. When the salary cap was first implemented in 1960s, it states that cap will destroy possible dynasties.
• ESPN.com – January 31, 2005 Are the Patriots a Dynasty – By Gene Garber. This story written just before there 3rd SB win over Philly, claims that the Patriots were not a true Dynasty.
• Fieldgulls.com – What About the 2003 New England Patriots – November 19, 2019 – By Kenneth Author. Even though they were 14-2 that year, nothing came easy. They struggled through each and every game all year long.
• The Oklahoman – Published: Sun, August 29, 2004 – Endurance Test NFL Season is Tough Haul, Ever more for the Favorites – Dave Goldberg. This states that salary cap causes Teams with injuries cannot win. He predicts New England and Philadelphia will not make it to the Super Bowl but they were the favorites and New England beat Philadelphia 24-21 that year.

I share those naysayer’s articles because they were written before New England became a dynasty. The Pats proved them all to be wrong of course and now it’s time for the Chiefs to prove them wrong as well. A Bleacher Report article called: “The Greatest Show On Turf: The Dynasty That Never Was” states,

“A dynasty is the best thing in the world. Everybody remembers them. The 60s Packers. The 70s Steelers. The 80s Niners. The 90s Cowboys. And this decade’s Patriots.”

Since the 1960s there have been some teams that have reached the level of a potential dynasty. These are teams that won a Super Bowl, or two, but were unable to sustain long term dominance. A dynasty — paraphrasing dictionary.com — is a team or an individual that dominates their sport, or league, for an extended length of time [meaning years]. 

In 1999 the St. Louis Rams came in as a Cinderella team, after a bad 1998. They won the Super Bowl that year and then in the 2000 season they acquired a new moniker “The Greatest Show on Turf.” However, they didn’t seem to be able to handle the stardom that came with it. Offensive turnovers… defensive efficiency… and individual showmanship: all derailed their dynasty potential.

The Dynasty Difficulties 

It’s been said by many, how difficult it is to win repeat Super Bowls. I could write an entire article on why that is… since others already have, we don’t need another… so, I’ll focus on the Quarterback position. Many of the great QBs in the NFL only won one Lombardi: Brett Farve, Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson, Steve Young, Len Dawson, Joe Theismann, Kurt Warner,  Johnny Unitas, Joe Namath while other greats won none: Dan Marino, Jim Kelly, and Fran Tarkenton… among others. 

However, of all these great QBs, how many had the right ingredients to repeat? Did they have the same returning coaches, the same returning roster, did they have long term health, or improved rosters. In any event, NO quarterback has ever won or lost a game by themselves. The important point here is, that football is still the ultimate team sport, and always will be!

In the offseason of 2003, the Patriots signed both Safety Rodney Harrison and linebacker Rosevelt Colvin. Those signings were the first of only a few times that HC Bill Belichick spent big money on free agents and their contributions on the field sparked back-to-back Super Bowl victories and enticed other players in future years to want to join the Pats. A dejavu moment from 2003 and Back to the Future we see the Chiefs acquisition of Tyrann Mathieu and Frank Clark, which lead one Super Bowl victory… so will those moves lead to back-to-back SB victories and the beginning of a dynasty? We already see Patrick Mahomes and his teammates are enticing players wanting to play in Kansas City. On top of that they have added a potential ROY, in Clyde Edwards-Helaire and a potential RDOY in Willie Gay Jr..

 

The Birth of a Dynasty 

In 2001, the Patriots were huge underdogs, at -14 points, but they beat “The Greatest Show on Turf” … the St. Louis Rams… and it was their 1st Super Bowl win in team history. Upon reflection of those times, Willie McGinest was quoted as saying:

“We got complacent. We started feeling ourselves, [and we began to say] this is easy, we’re going to get back every year… and then we end up not even making the playoffs. The feeling from the guys, not even the coaches, but from the guys, was [that this was] the worst thing ever. Yes the Patriots, in the early days, were not immune to a Super Bowl hangover. That was the end of that. The Patriots won the next two Super Bowls, in 2003-2004”

That was the beginning of their dynasty. The 2001 Patriots were likely too young, and star struck, to handle their own newfound stardom. By the offseason of 2003, they had learned some important lessons, and it led to long term success. 

Complacency Won’t Be a Problem in K.C.

The Kansas City Chiefs current roster and coaching staff already have had there humility lesson and it came in the 2018 AFC Championship game against the Patriots through the fateful woes of Dee Ford snatching victory away. These Chiefs never want to experience that feeling again. You can still see the competitive drive in all the players this preseason. Last year was not enough to satisfy the hunger of this team. You can see it everyday… they want much more. 

The salary cap does make it hard to produce a dynasty. League parity makes it difficult to manifest a dynasty too, but the New England Patriots proved that it can be done. Tom Brady was the franchise QB who that made that possible, and now Patrick Mahomes appears to be the next franchise QB to make it possible. Now, beyond all the dynasty-negativity hype, the Kansas City Chiefs are ready, able, and built to accept the challenge and do what is said that can’t be done. 

Bringing the Light

I’m here to shine the light on a transformation of the longtime NFL “also ran” Kansas City Chiefs, who haven’t been known as a league powerhouse for such a long time, that most of the world has long forgotten that they once were that: a powerhouse. From 2001 until 2018, the New England Patriots were known as the NFL dynasty for the ages. Well, that baton has been handed off — from Brady to Mahomes — in the privacy of a locker room after the 2018 AFC Championship Game, played in January of 2019. 

Following the 2019 season, the Chiefs won the Super Bowl with 3 exciting comeback victories and while some say they squeaked by, the final scores were not even close. Now, in 2020, we will see a repeat of 2003-2004. My prediction is: in 2020 the Kansas City Chiefs will dominate on their way to another Super Bowl win. What do I base these thoughts on?

• 100% return of coaches
• 90%+ return of players
• Brilliant offseason moves by Veach: draft and Free Agency
• #runitback motivation of the players

We’ve heard the players talking of teamwork… talking about no egos… speaking to no complacency… and then putting their money where their mouth is by sharing the wealth agreeing to team friendly contracts. A long list of tremendous positives from the players. 

You have heard it said many times: “What have you done for me lately?”… “We can’t count on what we did in the past”… “Each new year brings on too many new challenges.” Plus, most every year teams are rebuilt, then players have to deal with new expectations along with new organizational structures, and often dynasties divide and conquer… but not in K.C.. The Chiefs locker room is as cohesive as you’ll find anywhere in the league.

The History of the Super Bowl Odds

Here’s a historical comparison of Super Bowl winning odds offered by Boston.com while the most recent odds are offered by CBS Sport:

As the odds show, the current Kansas City Chiefs teams have had a better chance of winning it all than what the New England Patriots had in there beginning.

Other Known Similarities

If we are going to be part of those teams known as dynasties, we must have something in common, right? Well, the Green Bay Packers lost the 1960 Championship game, then went on to win their next nine postseason games, including five championships. The Chiefs lost in AFC Championship game in 2018, now they have won 3 straight playoff games and still counting. The Pittsburgh Steelers went 41 years without a Championship,and Kansas City outdid them at 50. The San Francisco 49ers of the 1980s had Joe Montana who won his 1st Super Bowl and SB MVP in his 3rd season. Sound familiar? You’re right if you’re thinking about the Chiefs Patrick Mahomes. Also like Montana, Mahomes started only 1 game his rookie season. Doo-DOO-doo-DOO… Doo-DOO-doo-DOO: is it getting kinda eerie in here?

A Dallas Cowboys comparison may not be exactly the same but, they made the best trade — Herschel Walker — they ever made to jump start their run at the beginning of the 1990s… while the Chiefs best trade was to move up in the draft to take Patrick Mahomes II who, sealed the deal by leading the Chiefs to three postseason comeback wins for the Super Bowl LIV victory. Plus, those Cowboys also had to go thru the 80s dynasty to get to the promised land… and these Chiefs have to go thru the Patriots/Tom Brady/Bucs, so they’re not done kicking that door down quite yet.

Firing Back: Summary

The Kansas City Chiefs motivation top to bottom is 100% in sync. We see it in every practice, every day, every play and player, every press conference. This team is 100% driven, and not just for one or two championships. They are driven with the desire and the want for so much more. Last, but not least, both Chris Jones and Tyreek Hill have predicted this offseason that the Chiefs will win 5 or more championships. Take a listen to this :56 second vid… then my work is done here today.

Alan Haupt — ArrowheadOne

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