Herm Edwards – KC’s embarrassment
Son,
I am a fair weather Kansas City Chiefs fan. But even mildly interested folks like myself are embarrassed this year. The Kansas City Chiefs had one of the most potent offenses of this decade. Today they were shut out in the infamous Arrowhead Stadium. ( OK – they scored a touchdown with three seconds remaining in the game – shut out!) With Larry Johnson in the backfield they had only ten yards rushing.
The north west Missouri news media is having a hey Herm day; the local bloggers are blogging; and some of us are just spitting mad. (don’t you like that imagery – spitting mad – it is an old cliche but it is just so appropriately conveys anger.) I watched most of the game today and every time the cameras panned around to the Head Coach – Herm – I just winced. I cannot imagine what my die-hard Chiefs friends are doing right now.
So it is just a game, right. No big deal, right. Wrong! The NFL is the single biggest sporting franchise in the history of man. (I like to say that – the history of man). But seriously – this is big business. The Kansas City Chiefs were founded by none other than Lamar Hunt – one of the early organizers of the AFL and the man who coined the phrase “Super Bowl.” Now someone like Herm Edwards carries the mantle of a once proud team.
Kansas City and Jackson County have invested many millions of dollars supporting the Chiefs – the taxpayers have a stake in this. Arrowhead Stadium is beginning a three year ba-zillion dollar renovation. The Hunt family is putting up 175 million dollars – the Chiefs are a mere weekend hobby for that former Texas oil family. I don’t know – perhaps they still have oil investments.
Herm is famous for a quote, “We play to win the game.” He has the best running back, the best tight end, and the best rookie wide receiver in the game and he could not generate any offense. The problem is not with the talent on the team – the problem is focused directly on the Coach – and the General Manager – know locally as King Carl.
Here he is:
his team consistently looks to the local taxpayers to subsidize their operation with sophisticated stadium upgrades. The fans purchase the NFL/Chiefs licensed apparel and other paraphernalia. We buy their outrageously priced tickets, and we have kept every seat in that stadium warm for the past 16 years. We pay $21 just to park our car. We have a right to expect a playoff caliber team. We have a right to expect a commitment to excellence! We should expect, at the very least, professional football.
Dad
Comment by OMAR on 8 October 2007:
I never finished writing my preview of the KC defense, but did manage to write a bit about Herm and the offense. http://www.3pointdog.com/?p=54
Bowe developed much quicker than I expected, and the defense is one of the best in the NFL.
This is the first week in which someone has scored a second half TD against them. With the Chiefs offense so horrid, the defense is out there quite a bit. I say the KC defense is very very good.
I agree that Herm is the problem. He foolishly slammed Larry Johnson into 8 man fronts all year last year. I don’t think Johnson looks the same this year. Teams seem to bring him to the ground much easier than before.
Comment by Shane on 8 October 2007:
Herm is without question the problem here. I didn’t think he was the answer when we hired him and I sure as heck don’t feel like he’s the answer now. His theories on offense are tired and he can’t even execute them like he should. Jack Del Rio showed that the Jags are WAY more capable of playing our game than we are.
Good post.