Chiefs Blob Gretz = IT'S A TOUGH, LONG FIGHT - Page 7

teedubya · 09-17-2008, 04:31 AM

IT'S A TOUGH, LONG FIGHT
SEP 17, 2008, 5:04:21 AM BY BOB GRETZ - FAQ

http://www.kcchiefs.com/news/2008/09...gh_long_fight/

Let me start by writing about the Battle of the Bulge.

No, not the pivotal moment in World War II when the Germans made a last ditch effort to turn the tide of the war with an offensive against the Allies in France and Belgium. This epistle is about the battle tens of millions of Americans fight on a daily basis. I’m writing about the fight to lose weight.

How many times have you said “Starting (fill in the date) I’m going on a diet and I’m going to exercise and I’m going to lose (fill in the amount) pounds.” That start-day comes, you are motivated and prepared and for a few days, you eat less and work out more. But then your will wanes and you sneak a little something sweet here, and a little something salty there. It’s just a little; it can’t hurt.

Before you know it, you are back where you started.

I use this tale in relation to where the Chiefs and their fans are after two games of the 2008 season.

Before all this got started, Herm Edwards spoke for months – make that years – that the Chiefs needed to get younger. When the bottom dropped out of last season and the team finished 4-12, it provided the perfect storm. The roster was trimmed, draft choices were accumulated and the rebuilding through youth began.

Based on the e-mail and conversations I had with hundreds of Chiefs fans, the strategy was considered a winner. Most liked the idea that the direction of the team was changed and a group of young players would drive the future.

When a team goes in this direction, there is no going halfway. That would be a giant waste of time. You don’t dip your foot in the rebuilding through youth pool. It’s got to be a head first dive into the deep end.

But it’s one thing to say you are going young and rebuilding. It’s quite another thing to live through the efforts. They are not pretty. They do not always go well. There are ups and downs that wreck the stomach and create anger, second guessing, panic and delusions.

I write this only because I’ve read the e-mails I’ve received here at kcchiefs.com and at my own website, bobgretz.com. I’ve heard a few callers on sports talk radio. I’ve seen the writings and heard the rumblings of various pundits. There is outrage, there is anger, there is second guessing, there is panic and there are delusions.

Going young suddenly doesn’t seem to be the way to go. Fans want the Chiefs to go out and sign somebody, anybody. Others want somebody fired. It doesn’t matter who. They just want someone called on the carpet, head placed in the guillotine to answer for being 0-2 and losing as badly as the Chiefs did last Sunday to the Raiders.

Listen, the team’s performance against Oakland was without a doubt woeful. It was not up to the standards the team established the week before in losing to New England.

But it was but one picture in a series of 16 pictures that will make up the gallery of the 2008 Chiefs season. Those pictures very well may be a series of ups and downs as young players get their feet under them and learn the business of playing pro football. What few older bodies remain will play their way out of the picture or suffer injury that steals their availability.

This is what rebuilding looks like. It’s a dirty, stinkin’, gut-wrenching business, as difficult as anything there is to do in the game of football.

Some would say the Chiefs aren’t rebuilding, they are building. But that’s semantics. What the Chiefs had here for the better part of the last 18 years was winning football. It wasn’t the ultimate success, it wasn’t championship football, but there were more victories than defeat. There was always hope of something better. Eventually, there was a desire for something more concrete than hope.

Right now the Chiefs are trying to re-build a winning football team, one that will be good for years and will challenge for a championship. They easily could have gone out and signed various veteran free agents and put together a more experienced team that would go 9-7, maybe 10-6 and slip into the playoffs every once in awhile.

Would that be satisfying?

From personal experience, I can tell you the only way to lose weight is to eat less and use more energy and that must become a lifestyle, not a momentary thing.

The Chiefs have made a lifestyle change. There are going to moments of hunger, but the goal is better health and a winning football team.

It’s not time to start cheating.

triple · 09-17-2008, 11:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Claythan

He probably didn't anticipate Croyle getting hurt...

sounds like the guy is an idiot then

**HemiEd** · 09-17-2008, 11:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Claythan

Dude, all the players were old and washed up. You're seriously acting like Trent Green and Eddie Kennison had four or five years left?

Herm had to clean house. Vermeil's veterans were ALL DONE.

Name three players, young or old, that DV inherited from Gunther, that were the equivelent of LJ, DJ and Jared Allen.

yeah, I didn't think so.

Hammock Parties · 09-17-2008, 11:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HemiEd

Name three players, young or old, that DV inherited from Gunther, that were the equivelent of LJ, DJ and Jared Allen.

yeah, I didn't think so.

Tony Gonzalez
Will Shields
Donnie Edwards

Of course Vermeil saw fit to under use Gonzalez until it was apparent he was the best option. HE ALSO DUMPED DONNIE EDWARDS. WONDERFUL MOVE.

At least Dick found a way to use ONE future Hall of Famer correctly from the beginning.

triple · 09-17-2008, 11:30 AM

Herm's been captain of this crap barge for its entire voyage from the playoffs down to the sewer of the NFL. Just like the condition he left the Jets in. It's kind of funny that the Jets were also 10-6 when Herm took over, but were 4-12 when he left.

Too bad Herm couldn't leave the Chiefs when we were 4-12 last year.

It boggles the mind that people are still defending Herm like he's doing a great job or something. They aren't even losing competently. They don't look like they have little talent. They look like clowns who couldn't coach the Chiefs to a win against a peewee team.

Yippee, we're gonna lose 12 or 13 games this year! Herm is so awesome! Herm should be coach for life! Dick Curl is a QB genius! Gunther is the best defensive mind evar!

el borracho · 09-17-2008, 11:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OnTheWarpath58

Which would matter if we're a playoff caliber team.

We're obviously not.

So a loss to Oakland isn't any different than a loss to Atlanta. Or New England. Or anyone else.

[sigh] I know you won't respond to this (I've posted it numerous times in the last few days) but the problem isn't going 0-2 or even losing to the Raiders; the problem is that we got blown out by a bottom 5 team and the coaching was a huge part of the loss. 3 QBs in the 1st quarter, including a 5'9" WR running the option and ramming LJ into a congested line over and over and over is not productive and is not acceptable.

That Raider game was one of maybe 5 games the Chiefs will have a chance to win this year and, realistically, probably the easiest game on the schedule and the Chiefs were never in it at all in large part due to the coaching decisions. I'm fine with letting Thigpen play (while Croyle is hurt) and see if he develops but you cannot defend the choice to put Hagans at QB to run the option.

Herm ran that game as though it were a fifth preseason game and that is not acceptable. It is one thing if we lose while the young guys are learning and developing but it is quite another if we lose because we are using philosophies and strategies which don't belong in the NFL and putting players in who have no chance at developing into the position. Get McIntosh off the damn field, never put Hagans at QB again and play a professional style of ball and I will accept the 13 losses this year much more graciously.

Hammock Parties · 09-17-2008, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by triple

Herm's been captain of this crap barge for its entire voyage from the playoffs down to the sewer of the NFL. Just like the condition he left the Jets in. It's kind of funny that the Jets were also 10 and 6 when Herm took over, but were 4-12 when he left.

And then Mangini PROMPTLY made the playoffs with Herm's talent.

Quote:

They don't look like they have little talent.

WHAT?

That's exactly what they look like.

Our quarterbacks suck.

Our offensive line sucks.

We have one wide receiver.

We have one linebacker.

triple · 09-17-2008, 11:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Claythan

And then Mangini PROMPTLY made the playoffs with Herm's talent.

so what you are saying is Herm can take a playoff team and make them lose 12 games all by himself. I think I might agree with that.

Hammock Parties · 09-17-2008, 11:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by triple

so what you are saying is Herm can take a playoff team and make them lose 12 games all by himself. I think I might agree with that.

Are you seriously this dense?

The 2007 Chiefs did not have the talent of the previous year's squad.

triple · 09-17-2008, 11:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Claythan

Are you seriously this dense?

The 2007 Chiefs did not have the talent of the previous year's squad.

I said Herm has taken both teams he's coached from 10-6 and in the playoffs to 4-12. Then you said "well that team wasn't that bad because Mangini took them to the playoffs".

I simply repeated what you said, Herm took a playoff team and made them 4-12.

Herm sucks on gameday, but he also sucks at replacing departing talent on the team at a rate that will even keep the team on an even keel. The verdict is in, every team he coaches gets progressively worse. He blows.

**HemiEd** · 09-17-2008, 11:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Claythan

Tony Gonzalez
Will Shields
Donnie Edwards

Of course Vermeil saw fit to under use Gonzalez until it was apparent he was the best option. HE ALSO DUMPED DONNIE EDWARDS. WONDERFUL MOVE.

At least Dick found a way to use ONE future Hall of Famer correctly from the beginning.

Donnie "drag me 10 yards and I will get you down" Edwards? The other two were passed on to Gunther, and ended up being passed on to Herm ****ing Edwards as well. Try again!

Hammock Parties · 09-17-2008, 11:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by triple

I simply repeated what you said, Herm took a playoff team and made them 4-12.

What?

No, he didn't.

PLAYERS GET OLD. THEY RETIRE. THEY BECOME LESS SKILLED.

The decline of Vermeil's Chiefs had NOTHING to do with Herm Edwards.

Hammock Parties · 09-17-2008, 11:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HemiEd

Donnie "drag me 10 yards and I will get you down" Edwards? The other two were passed on to Gunther, and ended up being passed on to Herm ****ing Edwards as well. Try again!

Bullshit. Bull, ****ing, shit.

Bullshit.

You're full of ****ing shit.

Donnie Edwards was a MUCH better player in 2001 than Derrick Johnson was in 2006.

The fact you want to dismiss Tony and Will is bullshit.

BULL
****ING SHIT

Your hatred of Herm Edwards has completely clouded your point of view. You are not willing to give him credit for a GOD DAMN THING.

triple · 09-17-2008, 11:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Claythan

What?

No, he didn't.

PLAYERS GET OLD. THEY RETIRE. THEY BECOME LESS SKILLED.

The decline of Vermeil's Chiefs had NOTHING to do with Herm Edwards.

Exactly. The team has declined under Herm and he's not done a thing to stop it. He's inept.

And the decline curiously resembles what he did to the Jets, take them from 6 losses to 12. But what do you know, get a coach in there who's not a complete moron, and they instantly make the playoffs.

Hammock Parties · 09-17-2008, 11:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by triple

Exactly. The team has declined under Herm and he's not done a thing to stop it. He's inept.
.

What should Herm have done? Signed a bunch of free agents?

Herm did the only logical thing he could do - build via the draft. That process involves growing pains.

GET A CLUE.

**KC Dan** · 09-17-2008, 11:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Claythan

Your hatred of Herm Edwards has completely clouded your point of view. You are not willing to give him credit for a GOD DAMN THING.

I give Herm credit for an eleven game losing streak...

09-17-2008, 04:31 AM
teedubya Most Valuable Poster Join Date: Oct 2003 Casino cash: $9023042	Blob Gretz = IT'S A TOUGH, LONG FIGHT IT'S A TOUGH, LONG FIGHT SEP 17, 2008, 5:04:21 AM BY BOB GRETZ - FAQ http://www.kcchiefs.com/news/2008/09...gh_long_fight/ Let me start by writing about the Battle of the Bulge. No, not the pivotal moment in World War II when the Germans made a last ditch effort to turn the tide of the war with an offensive against the Allies in France and Belgium. This epistle is about the battle tens of millions of Americans fight on a daily basis. I’m writing about the fight to lose weight. How many times have you said “Starting (fill in the date) I’m going on a diet and I’m going to exercise and I’m going to lose (fill in the amount) pounds.” That start-day comes, you are motivated and prepared and for a few days, you eat less and work out more. But then your will wanes and you sneak a little something sweet here, and a little something salty there. It’s just a little; it can’t hurt. Before you know it, you are back where you started. I use this tale in relation to where the Chiefs and their fans are after two games of the 2008 season. Before all this got started, Herm Edwards spoke for months – make that years – that the Chiefs needed to get younger. When the bottom dropped out of last season and the team finished 4-12, it provided the perfect storm. The roster was trimmed, draft choices were accumulated and the rebuilding through youth began. Based on the e-mail and conversations I had with hundreds of Chiefs fans, the strategy was considered a winner. Most liked the idea that the direction of the team was changed and a group of young players would drive the future. When a team goes in this direction, there is no going halfway. That would be a giant waste of time. You don’t dip your foot in the rebuilding through youth pool. It’s got to be a head first dive into the deep end. But it’s one thing to say you are going young and rebuilding. It’s quite another thing to live through the efforts. They are not pretty. They do not always go well. There are ups and downs that wreck the stomach and create anger, second guessing, panic and delusions. I write this only because I’ve read the e-mails I’ve received here at kcchiefs.com and at my own website, bobgretz.com. I’ve heard a few callers on sports talk radio. I’ve seen the writings and heard the rumblings of various pundits. There is outrage, there is anger, there is second guessing, there is panic and there are delusions. Going young suddenly doesn’t seem to be the way to go. Fans want the Chiefs to go out and sign somebody, anybody. Others want somebody fired. It doesn’t matter who. They just want someone called on the carpet, head placed in the guillotine to answer for being 0-2 and losing as badly as the Chiefs did last Sunday to the Raiders. Listen, the team’s performance against Oakland was without a doubt woeful. It was not up to the standards the team established the week before in losing to New England. But it was but one picture in a series of 16 pictures that will make up the gallery of the 2008 Chiefs season. Those pictures very well may be a series of ups and downs as young players get their feet under them and learn the business of playing pro football. What few older bodies remain will play their way out of the picture or suffer injury that steals their availability. This is what rebuilding looks like. It’s a dirty, stinkin’, gut-wrenching business, as difficult as anything there is to do in the game of football. Some would say the Chiefs aren’t rebuilding, they are building. But that’s semantics. What the Chiefs had here for the better part of the last 18 years was winning football. It wasn’t the ultimate success, it wasn’t championship football, but there were more victories than defeat. There was always hope of something better. Eventually, there was a desire for something more concrete than hope. Right now the Chiefs are trying to re-build a winning football team, one that will be good for years and will challenge for a championship. They easily could have gone out and signed various veteran free agents and put together a more experienced team that would go 9-7, maybe 10-6 and slip into the playoffs every once in awhile. Would that be satisfying? From personal experience, I can tell you the only way to lose weight is to eat less and use more energy and that must become a lifestyle, not a momentary thing. The Chiefs have made a lifestyle change. There are going to moments of hunger, but the goal is better health and a winning football team. It’s not time to start cheating.
Posts: 36,825

09-17-2008, 11:30 AM	#94
triple Stop saying &quot;This.&quot; Join Date: Aug 2008 Casino cash: $10004900	Herm's been captain of this crap barge for its entire voyage from the playoffs down to the sewer of the NFL. Just like the condition he left the Jets in. It's kind of funny that the Jets were also 10-6 when Herm took over, but were 4-12 when he left. Too bad Herm couldn't leave the Chiefs when we were 4-12 last year. It boggles the mind that people are still defending Herm like he's doing a great job or something. They aren't even losing competently. They don't look like they have little talent. They look like clowns who couldn't coach the Chiefs to a win against a peewee team. Yippee, we're gonna lose 12 or 13 games this year! Herm is so awesome! Herm should be coach for life! Dick Curl is a QB genius! Gunther is the best defensive mind evar!
Posts: 2,110

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