I moved this past weekend from my apartment of four years to the apartment complex next door. I love the neighborhood too much to leave, but I had grown tired of the management of my now former complex leaving me voicemails and handwritten notices on my door hinting at eviction if I did not rid myself of my dog, whom they wrongly believed to be a chronic barker (he isn’t–the chronic barker belongs to the family down the hall). They were careful not to use the word eviction, as they had no legal grounds for actually following through on their threats.

One of my least favorite aspects of moving is dealing with our local cable company. Prompt isn’t in their vocabulary. I placed the call to have service transferred on Thursday. I was told they’d have a rep out to take care of it on Tuesday. That means no cable for the weekend. That means no football. No football to watch on my new 42” flattscreen. Yes, for the first time in probably 20 years, I was going to go an entire weekend without seeing a single snap. I did catch enough of the Redskins/Eagles game on radio to know that one of the subjects of this article was injured, but I don’t think I could tell you right now the final score of a single game. Thank God it’s the bye week. (more…)

Three weeks ago I ended my article The Ell Roberson Effect with the line “who wants to talk about Brett Favre?”. Well…. who wants to talk about Brett Favre? Well, I do, and I’m the one with the magic electronic pen that makes words appear on the front page of the website, so we’re going to talk about Brett Favre.

I’m about to take a very unpopular stance: Brett Favre may be the best thing in professional football right now. He’s a flawed but redemptive hero–a guy who acknowledges and atones for his failings, both as a player and as a human being. He’s a good front face for the company too–he’ll do everything from commercials to cameos in R-rated comedies to locker room renditions of week one American Idol tunes. To top it off, he’s still one of the sport’s best athletes–entering his 20th season, he’s a legitimate Pro Bowl candidate, and, in the eyes of his teammates, he’s still the missing link that can take a team from a playoff berth to a Super Bowl appearance. (more…)

I realize that the Kansas City Chiefs did not stun the professional football world in their win over the Washington Redskins. They did not convincingly stomp a maligned Redskins team. They did not assert themselves as contenders for the AFC West crown. Further, the next few weeks will bring a new set of challenges for our inexperienced players and coaches to overcome. However, it was most definitely progress.

In all but one of the previous games this season the Chiefs held the game close into the fourth quarter, only to find a way to lose. Against the hated Raiders, we watched as Matt Cassel threw two interceptions and Savage failed to get out of bounds as halftime ended the drive. When it counted, our defense made JaMarcus Russell look like JaMarcus Elway, as he drove the Raiders down the field in the fourth quarter to take a lead the Chiefs would not take back. We’ve seen multiple penalties and some confusing play calling. Just last week I had to cover my eyes as our second-year corner Maurice Leggett twice missed tackles and our veteran safety was not in a position to stop game changing – and game ending – pass plays.
(more…)

Just a real quick line to everyone–I have been dealing with an injury to my right hand this last week. I think I’m starting to pay the price for all those years playing the drums. I feel like I have my typing fingers back tonight, So it’s high time we started serving some Koolaid. Don’t tell me you’re not thirsty.

The tone has been doom and gloom as of late. I hear stories of Brian Waters not caring about his charity and Mike Vrabel not excited to be a Chief. I listen to everyone talk about how Devard Darling shouldn’t be running with the first team offense, and Jackie Battle playing at cornerback. We just can’t seem to grasp the simple fact that this team is being worked into the ground right now. Players are being held accountable. New schemes are being installed to fit the players we have, and some of these players are starting to sense this thing turning around.
(more…)