Mellinger article on Hill

[jjchieffan]

DJ''s left nut, TTC, and Clay, you may want to avoid this thread. It may get your panties in a wad.

Five seconds on a perfect afternoon is all you need to see to know why. It's why the men in charge of the Chiefs put their own credibility on the line for an admitted domestic abuser. It's why they were willing to drag the franchise through another messy argument, at least temporarily turning much of what they say they stand for into laughable propaganda.

This is a column about football, not morals. But this is also a column about Tyreek Hill, which means the line is blurry. Tyreek Hill made the most exciting, most breathtaking play in the Chiefs' 27-21 win over the Saints on Sunday.

That sentence will make Chiefs fans feel, something. Maybe all you care about is the touchdown. Maybe you will never forgive Hill for his monstrous act two years ago, or the Chiefs for bringing him to Kansas City.

Maybe you're like me, and go sad and sick whenever you think about what he did, and are disappointed the franchise of Jovan Belcher drafted Hill, but think the blame should be less on a football team and more on a justice system shamefully light on sentencing for convicted abusers of women.

No matter where you are on that issue, this column is not intended to change your mind.

This is about why the Chiefs took that risk in the fifth round of the draft back in May, why they've made sure Hill attends his court-mandated counseling, and why they thought the muck would be worth it.

It’s because of these five seconds.

"He's still a rookie, but he's off to the right start," veteran receiver Jeremy Maclin said.

First and 10 at the Saints' 38, and this is a perfect time to throw deep. If it goes incomplete, you have two more downs, and you're already on the edge of field goal range. Coach Andy Reid and quarterback Alex Smith are famously reluctant to go downfield. You know that, they know that, the other team knows that.

So it's doubly important for them to take those shots, to at least show they can, because otherwise they're throwing tunnel screens against 11 men close to the line of scrimmage.

Hill is freakishly fast — 4.24 seconds in the 40 at his pro day — and could be the Chiefs' best deep threat since, what, J.J. Birden?

"He opens everything up for all of the rest of us," Maclin says.

So, about those five seconds. Smith sees the read he wants — single coverage on Hill, with no safety over the top. He takes a short drop back and makes a trust throw high and long, believing that his guy will win the play. When Smith throws, Saints cornerback Ken Crawley is three or four yards closer to the ball's landing spot than Hill.

"Alex just told me to run as fast as I can," Hill said.

At the 14, the ball still in the air, Crawley is still a yard or two ahead of Hill. From that moment to the goal line, Hill takes seven steps. He runs past Crawley around the 10. By the six, Hill is a step behind the corner. Crawley knows it, too. He starts tugging and shoving at Hill around the five.

Hill is small — 5-foot-10 and 185 pounds, the third-smallest man on the roster — but he is also strong. Crawley's hands aren't effective. Receivers coach David Culley has talked about this moment all week, telling his guys they will have to fight downfield against a physical group of defensive backs.

Hill shakes off the coverage, plants his left foot at the 1, and leaps into the end zone. Smith's pass is perfectly placed, and in midair, Hill makes a one-handed basket catch with his left hand, rolling onto the ground with the touchdown.

There is nobody else on the roster who could've made this play. Nobody on any Chiefs roster in recent history could've made this play.

Maybe the Chiefs could've scored on this drive anyway. The Saints' defense stinks. But this was the Chiefs' one big play that was more about a singular talent than preparation or scheme, and the Chiefs won by six.

The front office did not take this kind of risk for a singles hitter.

"We're asking him to do a lot of different things," Reid said. "He's a sharp kid. So we've been able to give him maybe a little bit more than I thought as a rookie that you'd probably be able to do, but he's handled it."

Funny moment after the game. Someone asked Hill about Smith, and to be fair, Smith has played very well two games in a row — 36 for 46 for 438 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions in two wins.

Tyreek Hill says extra work with Alex Smith paid off
Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill said extra work with quarterback Alex Smith paid off with a touchdown reception Sunday against the New Orleans Saints.
Blair Kerkhoff The Kansas City Star
But, then, well, Hill said something of Smith that no serious person has said about Smith since, well, ever.

"He could be a future Hall of Famer, who knows?"

Well, Smith knows. Smith's family knows. His coaches know. You know. I know. But that's not the point. This is where Hill is at the moment, and it's who he's been with the Chiefs. He is eager. He is earnest. He calls everyone sir. Compliments his coaches constantly. Talks more about his mistakes than his successes, and more about his weaknesses than strengths.

He spent training camp driving an enormous old clunker, literally getting around in what his coaches saw as a symbol of humility.

Hill still has much to clean up. He made a mistake with the Chiefs leading late in the fourth quarter, going out of bounds on an end-around, stopping the clock. His teammates say his route running is more advanced than he's shown in games, but so far he's been limited mostly to screens and go routes.

DEFENSE STEPS UP, CHIEFS HOLD ON FOR 27-21 WIN OVER SAINTS

The rest of it may or may not come, of course. He's still young. His ultimate success or failure will be digested by many fans and media as a statement of his character. That will be misguided. It will only be a statement of his ability to play in the NFL. We don't know how any of that will work out.

All we know now is that he's doing the right things, and showing enough to see why the Chiefs took on this significant risk in the first place.

"I feel pretty good," he said. "I'm laughing, each and every day. I'm having fun with these guys. The guys are starting to trust me, and I'm starting to trust them. Once you get that down, you're comfortable."

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt...#storylink=cpy

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by jspchief

That you only have to disclose felons.

Depends on the state, but many don't allow you to discriminate based on criminal history unless it's relevant to the job.

[ThaVirus]

Originally Posted by tk13

The Broncos held them to 18 last year.

Obviously I'd like to see the offense play better, but one year this board will learn that great defenses often win in the playoffs. Or not.

They had the home game and damn near full health.

Give us Houston, Maclin and Ware and replay that game in KC, there's probably a different outcome.

[jspchief]

Originally Posted by DaFace

Depends on the state, but many don't allow you to discriminate based on criminal history unless it's relevant to the job.

And who polices that?

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by jspchief

And who polices that?

You could face a law suit for asking it on a job application in such states. Will it come out in a background check? Most likely, and that would be harder to police. But few places will directly ask about it.

[jspchief]

Originally Posted by DaFace

Depends on the state, but many don't allow you to discriminate based on criminal history unless it's relevant to the job.

That's also not the same thing as not being required to disclose it.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

There are some things more important than the outcome of a football game.

And the the Hill issue is not solely about Hill, because the Chiefs aren't just a team in a vacuum. Jim Tyrer killed his wife. Jovan Belcher murdered the mother of his girlfriend less than four years ago. And the team with those stains on its history still saw it fit to draft someone that choked and beat his pregnant girlfriend.

I just don't want to hear the Chiefs say anything about domestic violence or promote awareness against it, because their actions demonstrate that they really don't care. I'd have more respect for the organization if someone would just say, "We don't care if you beat on women."

[RealSNR]

Originally Posted by BryanBusby

Okay, than take a Xanax? idk

Being aggressive every week isn't the best gameplan. Sometimes, it actually works to be conservative.

If they're gonna go into Foxboro and try to nurse a small lead than uh yeah that's not good. But that's not what happened yesterday.

Dudes just can't be ****ing up every single week.

Being conservative against QBs like Drew Brees and Andrew Luck is a ****ing reeruned idea.

****, I'm about to go full Clay, but I can't wait until it ****ing happens again to us in the ****ing playoffs.

It's shit that has to ****ing change. We absolutely HAVE to be able to step on throats. It has to be a tool we're able to use. Not every week, But it has to be something we can do if we have to.

The Vermeil Chiefs could do that. ****, even that asshole Haley did it to a couple teams.

Not Reid. 1 TD lead in the 3rd quarter? Eh, just get the game over with. No need to score more points at all.

[BryanBusby]

Originally Posted by RealSNR

Being conservative against QBs like Drew Brees and Andrew Luck is a ****ing reeruned idea.

****, I'm about to go full Clay, but I can't wait until it ****ing happens again to us in the ****ing playoffs.

It's shit that has to ****ing change. We absolutely HAVE to be able to step on throats. It has to be a tool we're able to use. Not every week, But it has to be something we can do if we have to.

The Vermeil Chiefs could do that. ****, even that asshole Haley did it to a couple teams.

Not Reid. 1 TD lead in the 3rd quarter? Eh, just get the game over with. No need to score more points at all.

"This offense can't score a lot of points"
"Why the **** didn't this offense rack up a bunch of points?"

[RealSNR]

Originally Posted by BryanBusby

"This offense can't score a lot of points"
"Why the **** didn't this offense rack up a bunch of points?"

That's the point. That's still a huge limitation of the team.

Call it playing smart and letting Alex get his hidden TDs. I call it asking for trouble when we play good QBs.

[NJChiefsFan]

Originally Posted by jjchieffan

I guess you're the perfect human being. You've never lost your temper and done something that you regretted later. And if you have, then I guess that you expected people who don't know you or anything about you to hold that over your head and call you human trash for the rest of your life. I know that I've lost my temper. I've done things that I can't take bac. But I'm sure glad that those mistakes are a part of my past and will never be brought up again.

I've lost my temper and looked a fool plenty of times. But if calm is the earth and beating a pregnant woman is the moon, I've never even jumped of the ground in how close I would come to reaching that place. It's not just a temper. Having that in you is concerning.

As for the forgiveness of the woman, somebody pointed it out that plenty of people go back to people when they shouldn't. That isn't some mark of proof that he is a good guy.

I also find it interesting that you tell people not to judge others yet here you are judging the judgers. If you want to say you forgive the guy fine. Acting like others who haven't have their "panties in a wad " comes off at best as poor wording.

[BryanBusby]

Originally Posted by RealSNR

That's the point. That's still a huge limitation of the team.

Call it playing smart and letting Alex get his hidden TDs. I call it asking for trouble when we play good QBs.

Call it whatever you want, but they took the Saints out of their typical element and won the game. It probably isn't a nail biter if they can execute their assignments reliably.

Alex Smith, even if you call the best ****ing gameplan ever, likely isn't going to get you 40-50 points. That's what you'd need, ideally, if you want to play shoot out with Drew Brees.

Nobody said take that same gameplan to Indianapolis in a week. Where the **** are you getting that idea?

[OldSchool]

Originally Posted by KC Tattoo

I'm not complaining about winning I'm complaining that our offense still needs to step it up because we will be facing much harder defenses maybe not this week against the Colts but we still need to show this offense can put up points because scoring points is how you win games. Duh.


Good ****ing God you can't just God damned expect a little better than we ****ing are doing around here **** you asshole.

Maybe expect just a little less giving the Saints a chance for a comeback by having the offense shove the ball down their throat to finish the game.

You act like Smith has never won against tough defenses before.

[RealSNR]

Originally Posted by BryanBusby

Call it whatever you want, but they took the Saints out of their typical element and won the game. It probably isn't a nail biter if they can execute their assignments reliably.

Alex Smith, even if you call the best ****ing gameplan ever, likely isn't going to get you 40-50 points. That's what you'd need, ideally, if you want to play shoot out with Drew Brees.

Nobody said take that same gameplan to Indianapolis in a week. Where the **** are you getting that idea?

I'm getting that idea from Reid's history with this team.

[BryanBusby]

Originally Posted by RealSNR

I'm getting that idea from Reid's history with this team.

Well yeah, we all know he's conservative as shit. It's frustrating as hell, but shit good teams sometimes grind out the clock too without a 21 point lead and go home.

Sometimes it's not the worst idea. Reid's history doesn't mean any poster has said they should go into Gillette, in January, and Martyball a 10 point lead. Or even next week.

[NJChiefsFan]

Originally Posted by BryanBusby

Well yeah, we all know he's conservative as shit. It's frustrating as hell, but shit good teams sometimes grind out the clock too without a 21 point lead and go home.

Sometimes it's not the worst idea. Reid's history doesn't mean any poster has said they should go into Gillette, in January, and Martyball a 10 point lead. Or even next week.

The point is there is evidence that concern here is warranted. Same reason why giving poe get a pass(I mean backward pass that would have been a fumble) and the next goal line having ware get a screen is concern that Andy gets in his own way on goal line situations. The one thing Andy should have learned from that horror in Indy 2013 is not to **** around.

In a vacuum what happened yesterday isn't concerning. That it has happened a number of times and could in future big games certainly is.