Chiefs Council

2008 week 7 picks

• Balt @ Mia (-2.5) - Baltimore got exposed last week in several key areas, mainly Defense and quarterback. I am not sold on Miami just yet but I think Baltimore has more question marks on both sides of the ball right now. Pennington is playing fairly well, the Fins can run the ball, and other than some serious occasional lapses the Defense has held up ok. Baltimore is beginning to regret naming Flacco the season starter. He is too inconsisitent and unproven to lead this team right now. He just doesn't have the big play ability to covere up for any mistakes. Miami wins this game 28-10.
• Min @ Chi (-2.5) - Brad Childress is still the coach of the Vikings, right? He will do just enough wrong so the Vikings lose this game.. Orton plays just well enough to keep the Bears in most games and this week is no different. Chicago 28 -Minn.17
• Tenn @ KC (+7.5) - Tennessee has too much talent on both sides of the ball for the Chiefs. Anything is possible in the NFL but I just don't see a way for the Chiefs to beat this team without Johnson. Carl Peterson needs to explain his man crush on Gonzalez soon. Tennessee 31- KC 10
• Det @ Hou (-8.5) - Does anyone care about this game? Houston wins because anyone playing Detroit will beat them right now. Houston 31-Detroit 6. I want to give the Texans 33 in the hopes that Olkovosky runs out the end zone again without noticing but I thought that would be mean.
• Dal @ St. L (+6.5) - This game is scary to me. Dallas is on the ropes, players are getting hurt and suspended. Fans are jumping off the 'Boys bandwagon so fast that sprained ankles are being seen all over Texas. St. Louis wins a game last week for their new coach and seems to have gained some much needed confidence from it. I just can't see Dallas losing to a team with so much less talent. If Dallas loses here, they are done for the season. Dallas 24-Rams21
• Pitt @ Cincy (+9.5) -I have watched all the Steelers games and I just can't understand how they continue to win. I don't think I am going to have to think about it too hard in this game, Cincy is terrible. Marvin Lewis will be fired within the next two weeks. Steelers 31-Cincy 10
• Cleve @ Wash (-6.5) - I was a big  believer in the Browns and the "Skins before the season.  I picked both to make the playoffs. The Browns are riding into town on a wave of momentum, but Wash is a very good football team. I think Washington has too much talent and anger after letting the game last week slip away for the Browns to overcome. Washington 28-Cleveland17
• Indy @ GB (+1.5) -The Packers used to be unbeatable at Lambeau while the Colts just used to be plain unbeatable. Now the Colts are fortunate to win games at all and the Packers have lost to Atlanta at home this year in a game they should have won. I think the Packers have holes on defense but the Colts have more. Packers 30-Colts 28
• Sea @ TB (-10.5) - Seattle is just a terrible, putrid football team. I am not sure if Detroit can beat them but it would at least be a close game. Tampa wins this one by the end of the first quarter. Tampa 35- Sea 3
• NO @ Car (-2.5) - This game is going to be a great one because Brees is awesome and can really keep his team in games they should lose. Carolina has a bad knack for letting teams hang around too long in games they should control. NO 24- Car 21
• SF @ NYG (-10.5) -This spread is too big for me. The Giants looked flat against Cle or Manning is really hurt. Either excuse doesn't help against a much improved 49ers team. Giants win but don't cover, 17-14
• SD @ Buff (+.5) - San Diego got a huge monkey off their backs last week by finally beating New England. Now they will  experience a big emotional let down against a team that is more talented than themselves. Not a good thing. Buffalo 31-SD 17
• NYJ @ Oak (+2.5) - The Jets are a tough team to get a good handle on. Which team will show up? It really shouldn't matter because Oakland is once again a mess. NY 31- Oak 20
• Den @ NE (-3.5) -I can't stand NE. I am waiting for the eventual Moss meltdown and am hoping it happens this week. If Bailey is covering Moss look for him to get no catches and maybe one ball thrown his way. Cassell is proving that Sweatshirt man is certainly no genius. Having a back-up quarterback who  can't play isn't a good idea, Billy. Hopefully sweatshirt man will refuse to come out of the locker room after he as a run-in with that girl who carries his headset cord. Denver 28-NE 10.

Long-Term

The Chiefs are not a very good football team right now and they probably won't be competitive again for 2-3 seasons. I am pretty sure every fan of football would agree with those statements, as they are neither that astute nor controversial. If I am able to glean this knowledge as a casual observer of the team one could assume that someone who's full-time job is the Chiefs would know it as well.
I can only guess that Mr. Carl Peterson, the General Manager of the Kansas City Chiefs, who should know more about this team than anyone else sees a lot more talent than everyone else does. What other explanation would he possibly have for keeping Tony Gonzalez? The Packers, a much more talented team than the Chiefs, offered a third round pick for Gonzalez. According to this article from Wisconsin, the Chiefs agreed to the deal and than tried to up the ante at the last moment. Bad move. The Packers told the Chiefs to stuff it and walked away.
The outcome? The Chiefs end up with a player who doesn't want to be there, doesn't really help them all that much, and lose out on getting someone to help them get younger and possibly better in the long-term.
Rebuilding teams like the Chiefs need to be strong in their core. These Chiefs need a lot of things to have a strong core. For starters they need a quarterback, they need some help in the secondary, D-Line, O-Line, and special teams. Having one of the top two or three Tight Ends in the league is a luxury that this team just doesn't need and can't really use. Gonzalez seems to realize this. Herm Edwards seems to realize this. Carl Peterson, for some reason, doesn't seem to realize this.
By intentionally screwing up this deal Peterson seems to be putting his desire for Gonzalez to retire as a Chief above the immediate and long-range needs of the organization. Decisions based on personal feelings rather than business ones don't make rebuilding go any faster.
They do help coaches and general managers get fired though.

What is wrong with these guys?

I have some serious doubts about the sanity of some of the men in the NFL. These guys have tons of cash, women, and basically the world by the tail yet many of them screw it up time and time again. They have enormous amounts of talent, no question about that, but it boggles my mind that these guys ever set foot on a college campus much less actually earned a degree. Their intelligence level, decision-making abilities, and overall lifestyle choices just don’t scream college grad. Can you see yourself ever, no matter what was happening, acting like this, "A 26-year-old woman accused him of pushing the side of her head with an open hand at the Grand Emporium Saloon on Feb. 24, telling her "don't touch me" as he made his way through the club."? What kind of a man does that to a woman? Is it too many concussions, groin punches, fingers in the eye, or something else that makes them do these things?
It seems every week one or two of these guys are getting thrown out. Now it has happened to one of the most important members of the Chiefs. Larry Johnson may be a “high-maintenance headache to some in the organization" but he also accounts for about 75% of the offense. He may be a great teammate but his decision(s) that got him suspended for a game, against the 5-0 Titans no less, certainly doesn't help out the rest of his team. Now the Chiefs turn to Kolby Smith, who wasn't much of a substitute last season, and untested rookie Jaamal Charles to try and find some holes against one of the best defenses in the NFL. I'm thinking Brodie Croyle probably is wishing he could have waited another week before getting back under center.
I don't think the Chiefs stood more than a slim chance of beating the Titans this week even with Johnson but they may have at least been in the game. Thanks to Johnson's decision, slim chance is basically down to no chance.