Posnanski: Ready, aim — fire everybody

[Tribal Warfare]

Ready, aim — fire everybody

OK, I’m convinced now. Fire everybody. Fire Carl. Fire Herm. Fire Gunther. Fire the players. After that game, there’s really nothing to say but: Fire them all. And they should not stop there. The Chiefs should hire Greg Robinson back just so they can fire him again. They should call John Mackovic just to remind him that he got fired. They should bring in Donald Trump to walk through Arrowhead’s coaches offices and the locker room, just so everyone will fully understand what’s going on.

Everyone who would care knows that I’ve been holding out on the firing thing — holding out because I like Chiefs coach Herm Edwards, holding out because Gunther Cunningham has always been one of my favorite people, holding out because, even though I’ve written that Carl Peterson should be replaced, I do appreciate what he did for the Chiefs his first decade. And anyway, we are talking about real people with real families and real feelings; it’s a harsh thing to write in the newspaper that someone should lose their job, especially in times like these.

But … really, what else is there to say after the Chiefs’ utterly remarkable 22-21 loss to San Diego on Sunday at Arrowhead. I tried to come up with some positive thoughts about the game, even wrote them down, but as I look at the list now, it doesn’t seem especially impressive.

Nine positives to be taken from Sunday’s loss to San Diego.

1. Nobody set themselves on fire.

2. Nobody’s pants fell down; and that’s a full four quarters of pants-up football.

3. The Chiefs players did not start punching each other on the sidelines.

4. All the Chiefs players remembered to wear helmets and shoes.

5. Nobody set themselves on fire … oh, wait, used that one already.

5. Not one Chiefs player was abducted by aliens (the last concerns were relieved when rookie defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey was spotted running off the field in the fourth quarter).

6. The Chiefs sacked San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers three times on Sunday — that’s a season high. That gives the Chiefs nine sacks for the season, and five of them were sacks of Rivers.

7. No Chiefs player, at last check, contracted measles.

8. Herm Edwards did not try to trade an open Senate seat for campaign contributions.

9. Carl Peterson did not draft Trezelle Jenkins again.

That was pretty much all I could come up with. And really, even if you total up all the positive vibes, it probably does not quite make up for the astounding way that the Chiefs blew an 11-point lead in the final 5 minutes Sunday.

They blew it by punting on fourth and inches, then by allowing the Chargers to drive 89 yards in about 3 1/2 minutes (all without using a timeout), then by Dwayne Bowe dropping the onside kick, then by forgetting to cover a Chargers receiver deep (even though they were in a coverage conveniently designed to have four defensive backs deep), then by forgetting to cover a receiver in the end zone, then by pulling out their Three Stooges playbook for the final offensive drive, then by missing a 50-yard field goal at the buzzer.

The only thing missing was the “Psycho” music and the see-through shower curtain.

And the truth is that, after that sort of mind-shattering collapse, it’s hard to come up with a single good reason why anybody involved with the Chiefs should be back next season. Sure, everyone knew that this year would be trying, that there would be more losses than wins, that young players would make lots of mistakes. But there was no way to see this mess coming.

The Chiefs are 2-12. They have been shut out, they have been caught from behind, they have been humiliated, and now they have crossed over to comedy. People around the Chiefs talk about how the team is taking positive steps, but more and more that just seems like spin. What we need is a cold splash of reality, sent in by one of many frustrated readers:

“I’m not saying this team’s got to win 10 or 11 games next year. But I expect us to be competitive for a playoff spot. Certainly, if we’re 4-12 again that would be a failure, or anywhere close to 4-12.”

That quote came from Chiefs owner Clark Hunt back in January. Well, the Chiefs were out of the playoff chase in week one. They can go no better than 4-12 — and they can only get there if they beat Miami and Cincinnati the last two weeks. The Chiefs are a failure, and it’s now up to Hunt to figure out what to do about it.

My sense is that he would like to give it one more year. That seems his patient personality. Peterson has only one year left on his contract; and I feel certain that Hunt would rather not push him out when he’s so close to the finish line. Hunt promised Herm Edwards a fair chance to rebuild this team from scratch, and I’m sure that Hunt would like to give him another year to do that. I understand the temptation to give it one more year and hope for the best.

Can that realistically work, though? I don’t see how. It’s hard to imagine making no major changes after this calamity of a season. How do you explain that to the fans?

On Sunday — after almost a full season of coaching and teaching and working together — the Chiefs played a mediocre and thoroughly uninspired Chargers team at home, and they could not hold an 11-point lead in the final minutes. The offense could not make a play. The defense could not make a play. The special teams could not make a play. The coaches could not make a play. You can’t get a more clear-cut debacle than that.

This thing is not going in the right direction. That’s clear now, and it’s unavoidable. Clark Hunt needs to do something he doesn’t want to do. Yes, it is true that nobody set himself on fire. But the season is not over yet.

[DeezNutz]

http://www.kansascity.com/180/story/937307.html

OK, I’m convinced now. Fire everybody. Fire Carl. Fire Herm. Fire Gunther. Fire the players. After that game, there’s really nothing to say but: Fire them all. And they should not stop there. The Chiefs should hire Greg Robinson back just so they can fire him again. They should call John Mackovic just to remind him that he got fired. They should bring in Donald Trump to walk through Arrowhead’s coaches offices and the locker room, just so everyone will fully understand what’s going on.

Everyone who would care knows that I’ve been holding out on the firing thing — holding out because I like Chiefs coach Herm Edwards, holding out because Gunther Cunningham has always been one of my favorite people, holding out because, even though I’ve written that Carl Peterson should be replaced, I do appreciate what he did for the Chiefs his first decade. And anyway, we are talking about real people with real families and real feelings; it’s a harsh thing to write in the newspaper that someone should lose their job, especially in times like these.

But … really, what else is there to say after the Chiefs’ utterly remarkable 22-21 loss to San Diego on Sunday at Arrowhead. I tried to come up with some positive thoughts about the game, even wrote them down, but as I look at the list now, it doesn’t seem especially impressive.

Nine positives to be taken from Sunday’s loss to San Diego.

1. Nobody set themselves on fire.

2. Nobody’s pants fell down; and that’s a full four quarters of pants-up football.

3. The Chiefs players did not start punching each other on the sidelines.

4. All the Chiefs players remembered to wear helmets and shoes.

5. Nobody set themselves on fire … oh, wait, used that one already.

5. Not one Chiefs player was abducted by aliens (the last concerns were relieved when rookie defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey was spotted running off the field in the fourth quarter).

6. The Chiefs sacked San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers three times on Sunday — that’s a season high. That gives the Chiefs nine sacks for the season, and five of them were sacks of Rivers.

7. No Chiefs player, at last check, contracted measles.

8. Herm Edwards did not try to trade an open Senate seat for campaign contributions.

9. Carl Peterson did not draft Trezelle Jenkins again.

That was pretty much all I could come up with. And really, even if you total up all the positive vibes, it probably does not quite make up for the astounding way that the Chiefs blew an 11-point lead in the final 5 minutes Sunday.

They blew it by punting on fourth and inches, then by allowing the Chargers to drive 89 yards in about 3 1/2 minutes (all without using a timeout), then by Dwayne Bowe dropping the onside kick, then by forgetting to cover a Chargers receiver deep (even though they were in a coverage conveniently designed to have four defensive backs deep), then by forgetting to cover a receiver in the end zone, then by pulling out their Three playbook for the final offensive drive, then by missing a 50-yard field goal at the buzzer.

The only thing missing was the “Psycho” music and the see-through shower curtain.

And the truth is that, after that sort of mind-shattering collapse, it’s hard to come up with a single good reason why anybody involved with the Chiefs should be back next season. Sure, everyone knew that this year would be trying, that there would be more losses than wins, that young players would make lots of mistakes. But there was no way to see this mess coming.

The Chiefs are 2-12. They have been shut out, they have been caught from behind, they have been humiliated, and now they have crossed over to comedy. People around the Chiefs talk about how the team is taking positive steps, but more and more that just seems like spin. What we need is a cold splash of reality, sent in by one of many frustrated readers:

“I’m not saying this team’s got to win 10 or 11 games next year. But I expect us to be competitive for a playoff spot. Certainly, if we’re 4-12 again that would be a failure, or anywhere close to 4-12.”

That quote came from Chiefs owner Clark Hunt back in January. Well, the Chiefs were out of the playoff chase in week one. They can go no better than 4-12 — and they can only get there if they beat Miami and Cincinnati the last two weeks. The Chiefs are a failure, and it’s now up to Hunt to figure out what to do about it.

My sense is that he would like to give it one more year. That seems his patient personality. Peterson has only one year left on his contract; and I feel certain that Hunt would rather not push him out when he’s so close to the finish line. Hunt promised Herm Edwards a fair chance to rebuild this team from scratch, and I’m sure that Hunt would like to give him another year to do that. I understand the temptation to give it one more year and hope for the best.

Can that realistically work, though? I don’t see how. It’s hard to imagine making no major changes after this calamity of a season. How do you explain that to the fans?

On Sunday — after almost a full season of coaching and teaching and working together — the Chiefs played a mediocre and thoroughly uninspired Chargers team at home, and they could not hold an 11-point lead in the final minutes. The offense could not make a play. The defense could not make a play. The special teams could not make a play. The coaches could not make a play. You can’t get a more clear-cut debacle than that.

This thing is not going in the right direction. That’s clear now, and it’s unavoidable. Clark Hunt needs to do something he doesn’t want to do. Yes, it is true that nobody set himself on fire. But the season is not over yet.

[DeezNutz]

Mods, please delete. Bested by a minute.

[FringeNC]

wow.

[blueballs]

I nsut sht myse.,f

[Hammock Parties]

JoPo brings the ****ing axe down.

[blueballs]

It/sa trs,,y fqatthyof two posts

[T-post Tom]

"The Chiefs should hire Greg Robinson back just so they can fire him again."

[DeezNutz]

And the Herm regime has officially ended.

[Paniero]

I always hated Animal from the Muppet Babies.

Give me Grover any day of the week. At least my cookies are safe when he's around.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Here's the problem:

He's right, but he also admitted to willingly curbing his own opinion on what the Chiefs should do with Herm and Gunther because he likes them and Carl because of 15 ****ing years ago.

And that is the problem with the KC media. Herm and Gun aren't your friends, they're part of your job.

It's also harsh to advocate for Herm losing his job--when he makes 3 million a year and gets paid the entirety of the contract regardless, because the economy is bad?

Stupid.

[Hammock Parties]

Originally Posted by DeezNutz

And the Herm regime has officially ended.

Nick told me to tonight he doesn't think Herm will survive this loss.

[FringeNC]

Originally Posted by Claythan

Nick told me to tonight he doesn't think Herm will survive this loss.

Great -- a 5-year extension.

[Buehler445]

Wow. That was actually a really good read.

Thanks TW.

But that's absolutely true. There are no excuses for these horse****ers in the front office anymore.

[TEX]

Let the TRUTH be told! Great read.