It’s a heartache
Nothing but a heartache
Hits you when it’s too late
Hits you when you’re down
It’s a fool’s game
Nothing but a fools game
Standing in the cold rain
Feeling like a clown.
~Bonnie Tyler, 1977
Some people have typified the Kansas City Chiefs players in 2016 as the cardiac kids. However, it wasn’t just the players performance on the field which broke their hearts. Events on and off the field have provided a steady circular stream of oohs-and-aaahs-then-OH-GOD-NOOOOOO [echo intended]! Since we’re about to transition into the a new beginning with training camp, as I look back at the K.C. Chiefs 2016 year, it’s a heartache… nothing but a heartache.
When looking back at last offseason perhaps you may recall that both RB Jamaal Charles and Justin Houston were “supposed to be” coming off of their injuries to help the team make a Super Bowl run. J.C has long been an all-time favorite Chief of mine right up their with Bobby Bell, Christian Okoye, Derrick Thomas, Will Shields and Priest Holmes… but that’s a post for another time. The point is, the anticipation of having JC return to the field with his speed, ability to take on tacklers up the middle and his all-time best yards per carry average was a thrill to think about. One that never came to being… but has been flipped on it’s head with his going to Denver with his comments about always wanting to play there. Although I am happy that he is healthy and well and it sounds like he’s making good progress making cuts this week… I’m in a kind of walking-dead-nightmare-shock that he’ll be making cuts… FOR THE BRONCOS!
Justin Houston’s return was equally tantalizing because he had nearly set a record for sacks in a season two year’s previous and the thought of him returning to form was exciting, to say the least. However, once Houston did return, “the least” is about what we got from him. Yes, he had one great game against Denver but his overall performance left many wondering as the season came to a close, if he’d ever be the same sack-master-of-disaster that he used to be.
See, those are two very good examples of how the 2016 year was a heartache… and we haven’t even talked about the games yet.
- Who can forget game one against the San Diego Chargers. Does the Alex Smith Hulk-face come to mind after he dove into the end zone in overtime? I though it might.
- The next three games didn’t tell us much about the team: a 19-12 loss in Houston, a 24-3 drubbing of the Jets at home, and 43-14 squashing of the Chiefs in Pittsburgh. J.C. made an appearance with 2 rushes for 9 yards and anticipation was rising.
- Next, the Chiefs beat the Raiders in Oakland 26-to-10 but were only leading 13-to-10 at half time. Charles had 9 carries for 33 yards and it looked like he was about to break out when he delivered a 17 yard gain.
- Back at Arrowhead, the Chiefs beat the Saints in a thriller 27-to-21 including a dramatic one-hand reception by Tyreek Hill at the back of the endzone… and a star was born. Little did we know that one-carry for zero yards was the last time we’d ever see J.C. in a Chiefs uni.
- The Chiefs marched into Indy and whipped the Colts 30-to-14. The big buildup for that game was whether or not the Colts had the Chiefs number. As it turns out, 14 was the wrong number of points to score and expect to win vs. K.C.
- Back in Kansas City against the Jags and leading 19-14, the home team gave the ball back to their QB Blake Bortles with 3:00 left in the game but he couldn’t make anything happen and the Chiefs walked away in a close one… creating four turnovers… and a win. Another game that was much too close for comfort.
- Talk about too close for comfort… the very next week in Carolina, it took Marcus Peters grabbing the ball out of Kelvin Benjamin’s hands plus an Eric Berry pick-6 to secure this heart-stopper.
- At Arrowhead, the Buccaneers took a two-point victory home with them in a game that could have gone either way… but the Chiefs let this one get away. This was Justin Houston’s first game back and he had 2 tackles. However, it was thrilling to see him jog out onto the green grass of home field.
- Then… the men in Red and Gold flew to Denver and bonked a field goal off of the field goal post in over time… a ball that barely made it though the uprights… and everyone went home and called their doctor for more blood pressure meds. Houston had three sacks and ten tackles and set up a Lemonade Stand in the Broncos backfield while Chiefs fans everywhere were celebrating his return.
- The Chiefs went a callin’ on the Falcons in Atlanta and Mr. Eric Berry ran away with the game including a pick-six and the first ever 2-point INT conversion. Was that game dramatic? It seemed like every game was getting bigger and bigger. Justin Houston had 4 tackles and one sack..
- Back in K.C for some home cooking it was Raiders Week. It took two Tyreek Hill TD’s, one receiving and a special punt return to bring this puppy home. Houston had 5 tackles but this was “it” for the year. And… it was clear he was not back to his old self.
- The Chiefs game vs. the Titans back at Arrowhead was a duplicate score of the game with the Buccaneers one month earlier: 19-17 loss. More heartache and confusion about who will win the division.
- The Chiefs hosted the Broncos and tore their lungs out in a 33-to-10 victory including a late “drive-me-crazy” — in a good way — Demetrius Harris TD reception from none other than… Dontari Poe. What a trip!
- The Chargers hosted the Chiefs in the last game ever in San Diego but that didn’t help them to a victory. Both team score 17 second half points to keep the game within striking distance for the Bolts but two INTs, one by Daniel Sorensen and one by Marcus Peters helped secure the win.
Winning the AFC West was an awesome accomplishment and the week off to prepare for Pittsburgh helped build up and hype the game. That made the outcome all the more disappointing as the defense held the mighty Steelers offense to no TDs and six FGs. It was clear that the Chiefs offense was not up to the task of imposing their will enough as the last pass that Alex Smith threw to Jeremy Maclin at the back of the endzone for a two-point conversion was slapped to the ground with 2:34 second left and it represented the whole season in a nutshell: so much hope… so much disappointment.
The offseason for the Kansas City Chiefs began the way many had thought it would with a debate over who the Chiefs would keep: Dontari Poe or Eric Berry? Once we were able to take a closer look at Poe’s overall 2016 performance, what the result should be became evident. Berry in. Poe out. Another heartache.
The draft was a buildup based on the idea that the Chiefs would only be drafting players who could help the team win the Super Bowl THIS YEAR… then they drafted their QBOTF in Patrick Mahomes II instead and for all that matters… it looks like none of the draftees will be major players this season except maybe RB Kareem Hunt. So, the draft was happiness for some but heartache for others. Especially those who have been waiting for decades for the Chiefs to field a team that truly looks like a legitimate contender.
The loss of Jamaal Charles and Jeremy Maclin was heartbreaking (notably, the way they were let go) but those events were followed up with the news that Justin Houston is indeed back to his old self. The ups and downs of the year are the real source of torment for Chiefs fans. I don’t recall anything like it in the history of the organization. It’s hard to be indifferent when you care. The reason for the heartache is… that as fans… we care. If you’re being honest with yourself, even if you were not a John Dorsey fan, you have to think that it was a sad day when Clark Hunt fired the man. You have to think that Dorsey was at least in part responsible for bringing this team out from under the doldrums of a 2-14 team in 2012.
While I’m glad that the 2016 has come to a complete close… I believe the roster the Chiefs have is special, filled with the right kind of players who can bring a championship home… this year. I was watching when the Los Angeles Lakers finally broke through against the Boston Celtics in 1985. I was just a kid who was listening to the radio for ten years straight as Bill Russell and his Celtics teammates won again and again against the Lakers of the 1960s. Watching Magic Johnson play the center position because of Kareem Abdul Jabbar’s injury was just that… magic. I was also watching in 2004 when the Boston Red Sox finally broke through against the N.Y. Yankees to end an 86 year drought of no World Series wins. I also watched as the 2015 K.C Royals won the World Series for the first time in 30 years. The thing that all those teams had in common was the host of excellent characters. After the Sox came back from a 3-to-0 deficit against the Yanks, their manager, Terry Francona said, “It shows, although we have a lot of characters, we have a lot of character.”
When I think about this collection of players the 2017 K.C Chiefs have assembled, it reminds me of those teams of year’s gone by who have won it all. They have the championship DNA to get it done. I’m just hoping they can turn their theme song from… “It’s a Heartache” into… “We Are the Champions of the World.” Otherwise, I’m just not sure my body can take another season of heartache like 2016.
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